About Timber Arched
Who We Are
Our Story
Michael Grundman is a carpenter and engineer turned wooden boat builder. He has been fascinated with the art of steam-bending wood since he was introduced to the process on his first wooden boat project in Patagonia, Chile.
Soon after returning home to Minnesota from the months long Latin America bicycle journey, he sought to construct his own wooden vessel. By good fortune he came upon a perfect white oak tree on a family friend’s land suitable for the keel. He spent the next year and a half constructing a 21 foot sailboat that would later take him on many adventures sailing in New York and later Midcoast Maine.
He took a job as an instructor at a wooden boat school, and later worked as a shipwright for a 6th generation family shipyard in Newcastle, ME. It was during this time that he became familiar with the Gothic Arch found in these “bow frame” structures that many boat owners would build out of lightweight materials to provide cover for their vessels throughout the snow-filled winters.
The shape is excellent for heavy snow loads, which upon returning to Minnesota, was also a favorable quality. Combining the steam bent wood aspect within an arched timber-framed structure gives us the Timber Arched design you see today.