The Carl Cramer Scholarship

About the Scholarship

The Carl Cramer Scholarship celebrates the life and legacy of Carl Cramer (1946–2025) – a sailor, publisher, father, friend, and lifelong learner who believed that good work and good company made for a life well-lived.

Carl was the longtime publisher of WoodenBoat magazine and co-founder of Professional BoatBuilder and the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference (IBEX). But beyond his professional impact, Carl was best known for his warmth, curiosity, humor, and generosity of spirit. He delighted in people, their stories, their quirks, their potential, and had a gift for making anyone feel like they belonged at the table.

He loved design and craftsmanship, especially the artistry of wooden boats and the hands that built them. He valued books, conversation, and the kind of friendship that weathers time and tide. To his family and many friends, he was both anchor and compass: steadfast, funny, and endlessly interested in the world.

Purpose

In Carl’s honor, The Charles Bruce Foundation – a 501c3 – will award annual partial-tuition scholarships to WoodenBoat School. This award supports someone who shares Carl’s love of creativity, craftsmanship, and connection, whether through building, learning, or simply showing up with heart and curiosity.

How to Apply

Applicants are invited to submit a haiku inspired by the sea, craftsmanship, or connection. The poem can be funny, profound, or quietly observant, like Carl himself.

Please include your haiku, your name, contact information, and a brief note (up to 200 words) on why you wish to attend WoodenBoat School.

Timeline
•    Submission Deadline: April 5, 2026. (Going forward the deadline will be December 5 — Sinterklaas Day, the Dutch holiday that inspired modern Christmas traditions and celebrates generosity, wit, and good company. It’s a fitting date for a man who loved Amsterdam and delighted in giving joyfully, often with a twinkle in his eye).
•    Recipient Announced: Early May
•    Awards: First place – Fifty percent tuition scholarship for a WoodenBoat School sailing, boat building, or boat design course in the upcoming season. Second place – chosen entirely for humor – twenty-five percent tuition scholarship for a WoodenBoat School sailing, boat building, or boat design course in the upcoming season.

Selection

The recipient will be chosen for originality, heart, and resonance with Carl’s spirit: curious, generous, creative, and unpretentious.

Carl Cramer believed in experience over pretense, in boats and books, in family and friendship, and in the kind of joy that grows when shared. This scholarship continues that voyage – helping another mariner, maker, or dreamer find their way, light on the wind, and gone laughing.