University of Michigan Spotlights Van Dam’s World-Class Wooden Boat Craft
Van Dam Custom Boats and company president Ben Van Dam were featured by the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering in a June 2026 profile on Michigan-made craftsmanship. A 2005 graduate in naval architecture and marine engineering, Ben grew up in the Boyne City shop his parents founded in 1977 and has co-owned the business with his wife, Erika, for the past decade.
The piece looks inside a workshop where nearly every component — hulls, metal fittings, and electrical systems — is built by hand under one roof, and where master boat-builders train the next generation of Great Lakes craftspeople. It captures what sets a Van Dam apart: each custom wooden boat is a one-of-a-kind vessel that can take more than a year and thousands of individual steps to complete, drawing on Michigan’s automotive, aviation, and fine-watchmaking heritage.
The University of Michigan’s recognition adds to a body of coverage — including Robb Report’s ranking of Van Dam among the world’s best wooden boat builders — that reflects the shop’s standing in the custom marine field.
Read the full University of Michigan feature on Ben Van Dam →
