Dartmouth’s sailing boathouse on Mascoma Lake, the varsity women’s and open sailing teams’ primary facility, is under construction. The project, which will replace the preexisting 70-year-old Allen Boathouse, began this summer and is set to finish in September or October, according to athletics director Mike Harrity.
The $13 million project is funded by anonymous philanthropic contributions of “alumni and friends” of Dartmouth sailing, he said. As of last month, more than $8 million had already been committed to the project.
The new boathouse is designed by Maclay Associates of Waitsfield, Vt., the firm behind the new Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. The planners hope to create a residential, “lake-house aesthetic” through natural wood elements, senior project manager Lindsay Walkinshaw told The Dartmouth in June.
The new facility — which will consist of a main boathouse and adjoining boat barn — will include classroom spaces, lockers for students and staff and drying equipment to strengthen the team’s student-athlete experience, Harrity said. The structure will also feature spaces for visiting teams and a viewing room overlooking the lake.
According to Harrity, the boat barn addition — which will feature a 24-foot tall door — will create greater storage capabilities than the previous boathouse. The new boat barn’s increased height will allow sailors to save time by storing the boats fully rigged.
“The barn where we store our boats [will experience] a phenomenal upgrade,” Harrity said. “We will be able to store boats as we practice in them — with the center mast up — which will allow more efficiency with students’ time.”
Connor Vogel ’25, a former sailing team member, said the old boathouse was not spacious enough to easily store their gear.
“We would store the masts for the boats on the ceiling of the classroom area,” Vogel said. “[The renovation] is a great thing. We had been hoping that an upgrade would come for us next.”
Dartmouth sailing member Phoebe Lee ’26 said the new boathouse will allow the team to host competitions more frequently. She said that schools of a similar caliber host regattas weekly, while Dartmouth has historically hosted only twice a year because of the old boathouse’s age and distance from other sailing teams. In June, Walkinshaw told The Dartmouth that the previous facility was “beyond its useful life.”
“I’m most excited about the ability to host regattas, because we usually travel most weekends,” Lee said. “I’m hoping that we can host nationals some time in the future.”
According to Harrity, Dartmouth sailing alumni have also reacted positively to the renovation.
“A lot of alumni who participated in sailing while they were [at Dartmouth] were blown away,” he said. “They’ve been interested and clamoring for a new boathouse since the [19]80s and didn’t know that something like this was ever possible for the program. They are thrilled.”
Still, Lee said she will miss the “charm” of the old boathouse — which had accumulated mementos from many Dartmouth sailing members of years past.
“It was pretty small and built of cinder blocks,” Lee said. “It was definitely cozy and had a lot of charm. There were old plaques hanging on the walls. It was cool to see [the relics] that hadn’t been cleared out [since it was built].”
While sailors look forward to the project’s fall completion, renovations have prevented some non-sailors from learning the sport. Until the renovation is finished, Dartmouth Athletics cannot offer the popular sailing physical education course — which typically gives non-sailors a chance to try sailing during their sophomore summer.
In past summers, students had flocked to Mascoma Lake for classes. Houston Kilby ’25, a beginner who participated in the sailing program in 2023, said she enjoyed her time in the course.
“It’s pretty unique that Dartmouth offers [sailing],” Kilby said. “I had a great experience.”
Kilby also appreciated the opportunity to learn from peers who had sailing knowledge. The course is partially taught by members of the Dartmouth sailing team and other young sailors in the state.
“Two friends of mine on the sailing team were instructors [in summer 2023], and we were also taught by a high school student,” Kilby said. “[The student instructors] were another reason why I signed up.”
Vogel, one of the instructors in summer 2023, also enjoyed spending time on the water with his peers.
“It was great to share the sport with my friends,” he said. “[I got] to teach people something that’s a large part of my life [that] they knew little about.”
Once completed, Dartmouth Athletics will use the new classrooms for students who take the sailing physical education course, according to past reporting by The Dartmouth.
