{"id":442,"date":"2022-12-21T12:39:52","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T12:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/?p=442"},"modified":"2022-12-21T13:17:51","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T13:17:51","slug":"built-with-intention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/class-notes\/built-with-intention\/","title":{"rendered":"Built with Intention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alum shares his passion for the outdoors and canoe building with an online audience<\/h2>\n
\n

Dave Cloutier \u201995 has lived a life built with intention. Following in his brother John Cloutier\u2019s \u201994 footsteps, he decided to pursue an education at MMA, knowing that a bright future would await him if he did. \u201cI was amazed at the value placed on our graduates,\u201d he says. \u201cThey roll into their fields armed with knowledge and skill, but they maintain a humble approach and strong work ethic.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Upon graduation, Cloutier was fully prepared for a career at sea. \u201cI thought I would sail into retirement,\u201d he recalls. \u201cBut that plan changed when I met my wife, Anna.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, he and Anna decided that family would be priority, and Cloutier soon began looking for opportunities to work closer to home. In 1999, he took a position at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. He is now a Group Leader in their Test Planning and Engineering division and considers himself \u201cfortunate to have had a long career at such a historic and proud establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to professional stability, the decision to stay shoreside has allowed Cloutier to focus on other areas of his life, including raising the family he and Anna dreamed of and spending time in New England\u2019s great outdoors. \u201cGrowing up, my dad would take my brother and me to the North Maine Woods for camping trips. They were so full of adventure,\u201d he explains. \u201cI was taught at an early age to appreciate the wilderness and I have ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cloutier began sharing that appreciation with his three kids as soon as they were old enough to enjoy it. \u201cWhen the time presented itself, I brought them to canoe the Allagash and the West Branch of the Penobscot,\u201d he says. Over the years, his love of paddling has only grown. \u201cI really got back into canoeing within the last six or seven years. I really appreciate the peace and quiet of a canoe trip,\u201d he says. After buying a fixer-upper a few years ago, Cloutier began to gain a new set of skills: woodworking. \u201cThe house needed a ton of work,\u201d he remembers. \u201cI learned by trial and error as I went about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Canoe<\/div>\n

Over time, Cloutier\u2019s skills developed a new way for him to engage with the outdoor world. He connected with like-minded friends on social media and decided to build a canoe by hand. He credits Gil Gilpatrick\u2019s book Building a Cedar Strip Canoe<\/i> and engaging with other canoe builders for keeping him inspired. \u201cNow I\u2019m restoring a 1930\u2019s Chestnut Chum Wood Canvas canoe which I hope to take on a late fall trip this year,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Cloutier shares his progress on social media through his YouTube channel<\/a> and Instagram presence. His followers are fellow adventurers and fans who appreciate his care, patience, and sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned over the years that if you take care of yourself, your family, and your friends, everything else will take care of itself.\u201d\u2588<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alum shares his passion for the outdoors and canoe building with an online audience<\/p>\n

Dave Cloutier \u201995 has lived a life built with intention. Following in his brother John Cloutier\u2019s \u201994 footsteps, he decided to pursue an education at MMA, knowing that a bright future would await him if he did. \u201cI was amazed at the value placed on our graduates,\u201d he says. \u201cThey roll into their fields armed with knowledge and skill, but they maintain a humble approach and strong work ethic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon graduation, Cloutier was fully prepared for a career at sea. \u201cI thought I would sail into retirement,\u201d he recalls. \u201cBut that plan changed when I met my wife, Anna.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, he and Anna decided that family would be priority, and Cloutier soon began looking for opportunities to work closer to home. In 1999, he took a position at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. He is now a Group Leader in their Test Planning and Engineering division and considers himself \u201cfortunate to have had a long career at such a historic and proud establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

…Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":456,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442\/revisions\/456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}