Building to Teach

 
Wood is an accessible and adaptable material. The boat can be as simple as a “six hour canoe” or as complicated as a Herreshoff daysailer. The material is still wood. It’s easily machined by basic, familiar tools. If the correct design is selected, the building process is accessible to any skill level. Usually, supplies are [...]

 
Boat building is out of the ordinary. In most cases the kids aren’t familiar with it and don’t think they can succeed. Overcoming these hurdles is a tremendously powerful experience for these young people. Add to this the use of the boat which requires balancing the individual, the boat and mother nature in order to [...]

 
Get people to see what you’re doing while the boat is being built. Seeing young people build a boat is a more powerful image than seeing a finished boat sitting somewhere. Make sure that the press, community leaders, politicians and other potential groups see the work being done. It will excite them. Remember that if [...]

 
Potential instructors get tied up in knots over what the first day is going to be like. How you teach is up to you. Your technique will probably be a reflection of your personality. Each group I work with differently. With some, I explain the whole project, have them build models and then start cutting [...]

 
You’ll need shop space, tools, materials, liability insurance. Make sure these things are buttoned up before you start. For your first project, you may want to work under the umbrella of an existing organization that has some of these things. Schools, churches, municipalities are all

 
Picking the right “first group” is vital to getting the program off the ground. Select a group that already exists, where the adults already do a good job with the kids. The adults in the group will know what the kids need. Make sure they have an integral part in setting the project’s goals. This [...]