While the boats at Point Hudson struggle to find somewhere to go with the rebuild of the breakwaters looming, so too many weary travelers to the area struggle to find somewhere to rest.

Lisa Widner has a solution: benches.

At the Port or Port Townsend commissioners last meeting, Widner shared her proposal for 12 additional benches to be installed around the Wooden Boat Festival route.

The idea was met with authorization to move forward on the project.

“I feel like I’m well-supported as I ask for help,” Widner said in an interview with The Leader.

“Part of my dream is that nobody really has to stretch too far on this one,” she added.

Her idea involves creating a bench design contest with the top 12 winners selected in possible categories like “most beautiful, ugliest, sea worthy, funkiest, coolest, most Port Townsend,” she said. “What I’m offering is a base that can then be embellished.”

The idea first came to her after working a few years on a survey crew for the Wooden Boat Festival, doing rounds throughout the crowd and asking about what could be improved. The need for somewhere to sit was always at the top of the list.

At the moment, Widner is busy helping prepare for this year’s return of the Wooden Boat Festival. She plans to announce the bench project at the event.

“I’m just going to ask lots of folks what parts they might like to play and go from there,” she said, adding that she plans to distribute half-page flyers throughout the festival weekend.