Interview with Sam Ingram, Marine Systems '08

Hometown: Sherborn, Massachusetts
Employer: Goetz Custom Yachts

What did you do before enrolling in the Marine Systems program at IYRS?

Sam Ingram (SI): After graduating from Bates College in 1997, I took a teaching job down in the Bahamas. While I was there, I met Emerson Albury, a retired wooden boat builder. I spent a lot of time in his shop and helped varnish the furniture he built. After a couple of years, I moved home, set up a shop in my garage, and started my own cabinetry and carpentry business. I taught myself as I went along and took all sorts of work in the beginning. My exposure to boats began as a kid, daysailing and racing Lasers on Wellfleet Bay. Several years ago, I purchased a very tired Marshall 22’ catboat. The restoration took five years and was a lot more involved than I had anticipated.

But why IYRS?

 SI: IYRS had been on my radar ever since I graduated. My residential carpentry business was keeping me very busy, and my work schedule made it difficult to consider a move, but I missed working on boats. Also, I liked the location—I wanted to be in Newport where I could sail and meet people with similar interests. I decided that the Systems curriculum was what I was looking for after meeting with IYRS Systems instructor Geoff Almeida. He has a thorough understanding of technical theory, as well as a sense of what’s practical and feasible in the real world, based on 30 years in the business. 

Why the shift from your woodworking background to marine systems?

SI: I had already done the cabinetry and the fiberglass work. A boat is one massive, self contained system, operating under the harshest of conditions. I like this type of problem solving.

What are you working on right now?

SI: We’re just finishing up the advanced electrical segment. We started with an empty hull, installed AC and DC systems to ABYC specifications, and wired a main panel for the demands of the boat. We are about to connect the panels to the hulls and see if everything works—an opportunity to do some trouble shooting.

What’s the neatest thing you’ve learned so far?

 SI: I used to look at relatively simple wiring diagrams and feel overwhelmed. Now I’m working with things that are a lot more complex. It’s a little like learning a new language.

Any plans yet for what you’ll do once you graduate in 2008?

 SI: I know I want to work on boats, and I want to remain in this area. I see myself as a well-rounded employee who’s good at carpentry and composites and will now have a good systems “mindset.”

What’s your favorite thing to do in Newport when you’re not at school?

SI: Sailing, mostly. I’m planning to do a circumnavigation of Aquidneck Island on my catboat this weekend. I’m also going to do some carpentry projects over the winter.