Addressing the perceived lack of figuration and organic expression in Modernist architecture and the separation of expression from tectonics in Post Modernist architectural work, this thesis examines the boat as an architectural artifact that may provide clues to a more complex relationship between man, nature, and technology. Specifically it provides ideas for the transformation of design and construction methods used to produce a boatbuilding museum and restoration facility on the island of Galveston, Texas. The intent is to achieve a sense of constructional transparency in a skin and bones structure through literal as well as phenomenal revealing strategies. The design and construction process of the boat demonstrates ways of structuring the relationship between the measurable rational grid and the dynamic nongeometric forms and processes that are related to the changing natural environment.