Arline: Inside the Build of a Custom Wooden Boat Designed for Generations

Some boats are built to be fast. Some to make a statement. Some to win races.

Arline was built to carry a memory.

The owner’s central image—the one that guided every conversation from the beginning—was his grandchildren kneeling in the forward cockpit, wind in their hair, on a small inland lake in Northern Michigan. The boat needed to work for him—and for the generations that will come after.

The name on the steering wheel cap and transom comes from the signature of his late wife.

What’s Being Built

ARLINE is a 26-foot custom wooden boat powered by a Mercury sterndrive and designed for speeds in the high 40s. Sized for versatility, but detailed in a way that punches well above its length.

Design features include:

• A sculpted frameless walk-through windshield
• Curved armrests across the cockpit
• A custom helm binnacle
• A generous U-shaped aft seating area — the kind designed for afternoons that don’t end until well after sunset

Design, engineering, and naval architecture were done in collaboration with Michael Peters Yacht Design — the same firm behind Victoria Z, and one of the most respected names in wooden boat design.

Where the Build Stands

The work to date is foundational in the most literal sense. Frames are set. Planking is complete. Chine corners are shaped. The distinctive “potato chip” transom—a Van Dam signature on builds at this scale—is showing its form.

This is the phase where the boat reveals herself. The renderings give way to actual wood, actual curves, actual presence in the shop. Each day, the shape gets sharper and the decisions more concrete, as the build moves steadily toward launch.

Scheduled for Summer 2026

Arline launches in Summer of 2026. Stay tuned for more updates as her build nears the finish line.

If you’re curious about what it looks like to commission a custom wooden boat — the process, the timeline, the cost, what’s involved in a collaboration like this one — contact us directly and we’ll walk you through it.