2010 will be an exciting year!
Dear Friends,
Summer is right around the corner and some of you are probably wondering what’s in store for your favorite island boatbuilding program. It’s been a number of months now since that day in late August when we launched last summer’s craft into the waters off Sand Beach and months since Ashley Bryan, in celebration of his winning the boat raffle, recited a poem, and had us join in with him. These months have not been without progress, and as Islesford Boatworks (IB) enters its fifth year I’m excited to be sharing with you a number of new developments. One big change that occurred this last fall is that Peyton Eggleston has become the newest member of our board. Peyton, who comes originally from Baltimore, has been summering on Islesford for a number of years now and has been a long time IB volunteer. He has always been a welcome helper in the shop, usually charged with complicated parts of the boat, and always completing his tasks with positive attitude and a quick smile. Peyton joins Hugh
Smallwood, Tom Caliandro, Steve Philbrook, Richard Dudman and Amanda, Geoffrey and Brendan Ravenhill on the board, bringing our number to eight. Our board got together for our annual meeting last October and discussed the future of IB, looking back at the previous summer’s program and looking forward to what next summer’s program might be. It was at this meeting that Peyton and Hugh stepped forward with their support to shepherd IB through a transition and beyond. Peyton and Hugh, in conversations with the Ravenhills, had become aware of the inability of Geoffrey and I to commit ourselves to another summer-long boat building program. Despite our strong love and passion for summers spent
in Maine building boats, we were, due to our other careers, unable to once again commit to the two months on the island needed to run the program.
Into this void stepped Peyton and Hugh, who had over the previous year had many a conversation as to how to help IB evolve and grow. It was decided and agreed upon by the entire board that the 2010 summer boatbuilding program would be spearheaded by a triumvirate of Amanda, Peyton and Hugh. Together they would undertake the tasks of
planning, fundraising and recruiting for the 2010 season. Much progress has been made in those categories and we are happy to be announcing in this newsletter the dates and structure of this summer’s program. One big change that particularly excites me is a new class structure designed to attract and engage teenagers, a group which we have had trouble retaining in the past. Peyton, Hugh and Amanda have worked hard these past months developing a program that caters to the differing needs of our students. They have worked closely together to move Islesford Boatworks forward. It has been incredibly comforting for me to know that while I focus on my career, Islesford Boatworks is in such capable and loving hands. These are big and real changes that are occurring. IB will certainly be different in 2010 than it was in the years previous. These changes are a natural part of growing and maturing as an organization. But Islesford Boatworks will still be a community-supported youth boatbuilding program. I hope that
you are as excited as I am to be a part of that community support, without which IB would not exist.
Love,
Brendan Ravenhill
MCF Matching you Dollar for Dollar
MCF Matching Grant We need YOUR help to reach a generous matching grant from the
Maine Community Foundation! The Foundation has agreed to give IB a $4,500 grant, but ONLY if we’re able to come up with matching funds by May 15th. Please give what you can to help us match this grant today!
Click here to make a donation:
A Gift for Your Support
We are thrilled to continue to offer a limited edition printing of our dear friend Ashley Bryan’s beautiful print Bobby Shafto’s Gone to Sea. All donations of $500 or more will continue to receive a framed and matted copy of this breathtaking print. We promise you'll love it.
2009 boatbuilding recap
On July 14th, 2009, we opened The Barn doors for the fourth year to any and all eager and willing students and volunteers that wanted to lend a hand in the construction of a Geodesic AeroLite Classic 10--a skin-on-frame rowing dinghy modeled after the
Whitehall and simply gorgeous. Over the following six weeks, we made friends, built community and, of course, crafted a skiff unlike any other. We sawed, planed, sanded steam bent, sanded, glued, sanded, varnished, and you guessed it, sanded, the oak,
cedar, spruce, apple, hackmatack, and Douglass fir into a 10 foot, 30 pound beauty. Boatbuilding and woodworking lessons were complemented by nature walks through the woods and on the waterfront where we all learned about the environment around us and our stewardship of the earth. Trips to the Islesford Museum taught us our history and a trip to the IDR restaurant garden taught us how our wood waste turns into the food we eat. Every day we wrapped up with journal time writing and drawing everything we learned, from new tools to new friends’ names.
We were endowed with a set of new island students this year, five 7 yr-olds: Louise, Oliver, Raymond, Nate, and Zachariah. Keeping up to par with the students that have come before them, this crop amazed us with their innate wood working skills; picking
up hand planes and going to town on the spar, oars, floorboards or whatever was set in front of them with incredible grace and stunning confidence. What a blessing to have such skillful students who soak up boatbuilding skills like little sponges.
New Programs . . .
Teens
Get ready, get set, build! This summer we are excited to offer a brand new teens-only adventure program. The class will be split into two teams, competing against one another to refit a classic Banks Dory with a centerboard, mast and rowing stations, turning it into a sort of Hurricane Island pulling boat. The teams will adventure into the woods and cut down spruce trees to make oars, spar, boom and gaff for their craft. The groups will compete with each other throughout the program to promote working together as a team, helping and supporting fellow team members. In coordination with the LCYC, there will be joint events like a picnic to another island; a joint navigation class; sailing competitions and more.
Adult Workshop
We are happy to announce our inaugural adult workshop. In coordination with the Islesford Dock Gallery Labor Day Artist Workshop, Islesford Boatworks will conduct a 5 day workshop to build a 16 foot semidory. The workshop will be led by a master boat builder and the senior staff from IB, assisted by 2-3 skilled adult volunteers from Islesford. In addition to hands-on boatbuilding, the class will attend lectures by Ralph Stanley, a legendary local wooden boat builder, and a curator from the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport. Gourmet meals will be provided by the Islesford Dock Restaurant.
2010 Schedule
Juniors: (ages 7-12) July 5 thru August 20 - Wednesdays & Fridays – 8:30-noon
Seniors: (ages 13-18) July 5 thru August 20 - Tuesdays & Thursdays – 1:30-4:30
This schedule is coordinated with both NE Harbor and SW Harbor Ferries
Students are expected to bring a snack, closed toe shoes and lots of energy!
Tuition will be $90/wk. Students who need will be given scholarships to cover all or part of the tuition.
Click Here For Registration Page
Great Article About IB
Check out this great story by Dieter that ran in the Connecticut & New York Home Waters Section of the November issue of Soundings magazine. Just click on the pages below!
“Reprinted with permission from Soundings Publications LLC.”
