Dara is all about connecting builders and traditional craft people with a local, sustainable source of high quality timber.
For those who believe that taking care of our forests should be at the heart of every mill yard.
Dara means oak
In the Irish language “Dara” is synonymous with oak. A tree both sacred alive and valued as wood. In particular, shipwrights are drawn to its rugged attributes and durability in a marine environment. It is a very fitting mascot.
Dara was founded on the idea that we need to rebuild the disconnected relationship of nature and humans as well as foresters and craftspeople. Money drives foresters to choose what gets cut and its not always economic for them to cut crooks and knees. Dara provides a connected service that begins with sustainable forest management and ends with fine timber.
Shipwrights rejoice
Dara offers custom cut knees, keel and cruck timber for traditional boat building. Knee timbers are harvested from tree crotches and root balls. Keel timber can be free of heart center or boxed heart. Crucks can be sourced and milled specific to your needs. In most cases the best way to assure stock is to send out or bring patterns in.
Pick up and delivery available
Dara is conveniently located in Berwick, Maine – within an hour of Portland, Maine and the North Shore of Massachusetts. We can schedule a time for you to look at timber stock in person. Can’t make it to the mill yard? No worries – we can discuss your order and delivery options.
Dara services
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Arboriculture Consultation
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Forest Management
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High Quality & Locally Harvested Timber
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Wooden Boat Building
Meet Jack
Since 2010, Jack has been cutting and working with trees. It is a passion that came from growing up at the foothills of the White Mountains of central New Hampshire. With an array of experience in many aspects of arboriculture and forestry, he is confident in any wooded New England setting. When he immersed himself in both modern and traditional construction techniques of wooden boats at Pease Boatworks (now Firstlight) in Chatham, Massachusetts, he realized there was always difficulty finding the trees to build boats, even though they were growing right there in the woods. Since then, merging that gap between arboriculture and milling has been his passion.
“As an ecological timber framer, going to Dara for all of my big build needs is a no-brainer. Working with Jack is always enjoyable and his timber is high quality. I love to visit the mill yard to see what’s in stock, but it’s also nice to have someone deliver 3 tons of pine beams right to location.”
— SPENCER M., TIMBER FRAMER
