OUR STORY

From the Garage to the Shop

Captain’s Custom Shop started the way a lot of good things do — with a problem at home and a stubborn refusal to settle. Ben McGauhey, a career professional mariner, started building closet organizers and nightstands for the family home because what was available off the shelf didn’t cut it. That led to guitars. Then projects for friends and family. Then a neighbor needed finish carpentry, another asked about cabinets, and the phone kept ringing.

Stephanie brought her eye for design and her background in luxury retail to shape the customer experience, and what started as a garage hobby became a real operation. In 2025, Captain’s Custom Shop moved into a dedicated shop in Kingston, WA — with CNC capability, a proper finishing room, and a growing staff of craftsmen building and installing full time.

We’re still family-owned, still hands-on, and still building every project like it’s going in our own home.

“What started as a stubborn refusal to settle turned into a business built on the same standard.”

OUR MISSION

We Build Beautiful Things

That means gorgeous, functional products for our clients — pieces that fit your home and your life perfectly. It means strong families for our employees and stakeholders through financial security and steady, meaningful work. And it means craftsmen who keep the skills and spirit of trade carpentry alive in an industry that’s increasingly driven by automation and cost-cutting.

Every project we take on serves all three. When we build something worth bragging about for you, we’re also building a shop where skilled tradespeople can make a real living doing work they’re proud of. That’s the business we’re building, one project at a time.

HOW WE BUILD

The Details Behind the Craftsmanship

We don’t cut corners on construction, and we don’t apologize for being particular about materials. Every cabinet that leaves our shop is built to a standard informed by trade association best practices, hands-on experience, and a simple belief that if it’s worth building, it’s worth building right.

Built to Last, Not Just to Look Good

We build both frameless Euro-style and traditional face-frame cabinets depending on the project and your preference. Our cabinet boxes use blind dado and qualified tenon joinery — the same construction methods used in high-end architectural millwork. This isn’t pocket-screw assembly or cam-lock flat-pack construction. Every joint is engineered for decades of daily use.

Premium Sheet Goods, Hand-Selected

We work closely with specialty vendors to source high-quality sheet goods that most shops don’t have access to. Our close supplier relationships mean better material selection, better pricing, and access to specialty finishes and substrates that set your project apart from anything you’ll find in a showroom. We prefer FSC-certified sources because sustainability isn’t an upgrade — it’s the baseline.

Hardware You’ll Never Have to Think About

The hinges, slides, and mechanisms inside your cabinets matter as much as the wood on the outside. We use professional-grade hardware from Häfele, Blum, and Salice — the same brands specified in luxury kitchens and high-end commercial installations. Soft-close is standard on everything we build. You’ll open and close your cabinets thousands of times. They should feel right every single time.

PROUD MEMBERS

We stay sharp by staying connected to the industry. Our trade association memberships keep us current on best practices, building codes, and emerging techniques.

CMA (Cabinet Makers Association) · KCMA (Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association) · NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) · BIAW (Building Industry Association of Washington) · Kitsap Builders Association