TAKE A LOOK AROUND VINEYARD HAVEN Harbor. Beyond the occasional super-sized power-yacht and the shiny white hulls of fiberglass sailboats, you'll see a little slice of sailing nirvana. Scattered throughout the harbor are dozens of beautiful wooden boats of all kinds--rowboats, daysailers, catboats, schooners--with their planked hulls, polished wooden decks, and lovely classic lines that sailors longingly admire, like photos of an old girlfriend.

These are the kinds of boats that even a landlubber can appreciate, and they help make an already scenic harbor a little more beautiful. A nice perk for Vineyard Haven, it's a rewarding by-product of being home to the builders of some of the world's most finely crafted, most beautiful wooden boats--Ross Gannon and Nat Benjamin.

Since its beginnings as a modest boatyard on the shores of Vineyard Haven in 1980, Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway has become something of a shrine to the craft of wooden-boat building. Using plank-on-frame construction techniques popular in the 19th century, they have built boats ranging in size from an eight-foot dinghy to a 65-foot schooner, including a 25-foot Canvasback daysailer for James Taylor. After General George S. Patton's 1939 Alden schooner When and If was wrecked in a 1990 storm, Gannon and Benjamin bought it, rebuilt it, and now charter it. Along the way, the two men have become minor celebrities in boating circles for the quality and beauty of their vessels. Their formula for success is simple: They passionately love what they do, so they do it well.

"You build a reputation by the boats you build," says Nat Benjamin.

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Ross Gannon and Nat Benjamin met in Vineyard Haven in the 1970s. The two sailors loved working on wooden boats, and eventually they kicked around the idea of starting their own boatyard. Benjamin had been inspired by boatyards he'd visited in Morocco and Martinique, laid-back places where sailors could work on their own boats or hire a professional if need be. They decided a similar boatyard would be a good fit on their home island of Martha's Vineyard.

In an ironic twist, the boatyard that has gained a worldwide reputation for great craftsmanship was born in the wake of a company forced off the island for its very lack of craftsmanship: McDonald's. In the late 1970s, the fast-food company wanted to open a franchise in Vineyard Haven. A groundswell of opposition by residents caused McDonald's to back off eventually, and a local family bought the property. Hoping to preserve the area's seafaring culture, the landowners leased it to Gannon and Benjamin, an arrangement that continues to this day.

Despite its success over the years, the Gannon and Benjamin boatyard is all business and zero pretension. Those who have never been here might have a hard time finding it by either land or sea. There are no giant signs advertising its presence. The yard is a narrow slice of beachfront a few hundred yards from the Vineyard Haven ferry terminal. The brown, wooden building that houses the operation looks like a large shed or barn, with some of the siding chipped and falling off. The window frames look like they haven't been painted in 28 years.

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Inside, the smell of wood permeates the air. A small rowboat being worked on is propped on wooden horses. Curls of wood that have been planed off the boat are scattered on the floor. Sawdust is everywhere. Saws, hammers, ships wheels, beat-up drills, files, and wrenches line the walls. Boards are stacked in the rafters and lean against walls.

Up a flight of stairs, above the workshop, the sail loft houses half a dozen sewing machines. Tape and scissors dangle from hooks. A large sail is spread out on the floor. And up on the wall hang two large maps of the world.

The fruits of the labor that goes on in this modest building can be seen all around the yard. Outside, eight small wooden skiffs lie next to each other near the beach. On the other side of the building is a 60-foot work of art--a wooden schooner with a white hull and maroon trim that Benjamin built and named after his grandmother, Charlotte, an adventurous woman who inspired him. The launching of the Charlotte last September was front-page news on the island. Crowds came from all over--and from ports far beyond the Vineyard--to watch Benjamin's stately labor of love slide into the ocean.

Operating the boatyard is a full-time job for both Gannon and Benjamin. They have roughly 15 full-time employees, along with occasional friends and family who stop in to do some work or just to be around boats.

When the two sailors started building wooden boats nearly three decades ago, it might have been seen at the time as a quaint attempt at building a style of boat whose time had passed by. Other materials, such as fiberglass, had long since taken over the boating world. But, looking back on it from today's perspective, the pair were ahead of the curve. Pick up any boating publication today, and you'll see plenty of articles and ads featuring boats made of wood.

"There is a bit of a renaissance in wooden boat building," says Benjamin. Wooden boats are in more demand today than they've been in decades. Besides being more beautiful, Benjamin says they are also more practical because they last indefinitely. It is easy to replace parts of a wooden boat's hull. Benjamin says they've worked on wooden boats that were 90 years old. Wood is also a lot more pleasurable to work with, he explains, because wood doesn't need fancy adhesives or solvents. And nobody is going to find materials such as fiberglass, aluminum, and steel much fun to work with.

Twenty-eight years after they started the boatyard, Gannon and Benjamin are as busy as ever. Recent projects include a 24-foot catboat, a 36-foot lobsterboat and a 45-foot sloop. There's no slowdown in sight for these talented masters of their craft, and why would there be? They are doing what they love, in a place that they love, surrounded by friends and family.

"I have to pinch myself sometimes to think of the life we're living and what we're doing," says Nat Benjamin. "It's a pretty nice lifestyle."

Freelance writer Dan Mathers is a former associate editor for Northeast Boating magazine.