The elder son of a career U.S. Navy career officer, Rick Fortenberry has long been drawn to the sea in general and to small watercraft in particular. His fondness for nautical subjects is reflected in his twenty-five-year avocation of boat and ship modeling construction and restoration.

Rick grew up in the British West Indies and on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, spending summers on the island during his college years at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and Berklee College of Music in Boston.

He creates historically accurate and meticulously-detailed scale models of whaleboats, among other small working watercraft, from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From plans, photographs, sketches and measurements of existing full-sized craft, Rick constructs miniature vessels faithful in all respects to the original craft.

Rick's work is exhibited and sold at the Nantucket Whaling Museum and fine maritime galleries on Nantucket, Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. In addition to specializing in whaleboats and other working craft, Rick acquires, restores and markets antique models of all types and builds custom commissioned models for private collectors internationally.

Rick is a member of the Nautical Research Guild, the USS Constitution Shipwright's Guild, Mystic Seaport Association and the Old Dartmouth Historical Society (New Bedford Whaling Museum). He lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts where he renders opinions of value of fine shipmodels and maintains several prominent model collections in the Cape and Islands area. He also teaches guitar at his private studio in Dennis and plays jazz guitar in a number of venues.