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During the summer of 2006, Islesford Boatworks successfully built a traditional wooden sailing skiff in nine weeks with over 40 kids. These kids gained valuable wood-working skills and learned boatbuilding methods and vocabulary. Through a combination of museum visits and in-class discussions, they learned about the construction of wooden boats and the history of boatbuilding on the Cranberry Isles. |
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A Letter from the President
Dear Friends,It seems strange to be writing to you from the other side of a successful summer program. For so long Islesford Boatworks existed solely as this dream, this future thing. But it is a real and living thing now, with a beautiful boat to prove it.
Our inaugural year was a stunning success, and all my doubts and worries about the viability of such a program have been put to rest. The community and the kids responded with incredible support and energy. Over the nine-week course, 43 kids built a boat from scratch. They did this with the assistance of three full time staff and over a dozen volunteers who gave invaluable time and patience to the project. The efforts of volunteers and members of the community reminded me how special Islesford and the coast of Maine truly are.
We faced many challenges before the program began and I can honestly say we wouldn’t be here today without the supportive staff and board of the Island Institute, a nonprofit organization based out of Rockland Maine that provided Islesford Boatworks with the fiscal sponsorship we needed to apply for grants. The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation also joined us as an early supporter, providing a well-timed and much needed grant which allowed us to secure insurance, materials and tools prior to the beginning of programming. Many thanks to Harry Bryan who, believing wholeheartedly in our mission, very graciously donated his plans for the 12 ˝’ Daisy and was always available to answer our many questions. We received additional funding from the Maine Community Foundation and the Arno Day Memorial Fund, and in-kind materials donations from MAS Epoxy and Ellsworth Builders Supplies.
These donations and the generosity of many local residents enabled us to subsidize tuition, while covering our expenses and still carrying a small balance into next year’s budget. The costs of establishing and running a nonprofit boatbuilding program are high. Our various insurance policies alone total more than $6,000 dollars (three times as much as we spent on lumber!)
But we are encouraged by our first year’s success, empowered by the enthusiasm of our students, and we hope that through future grants and the generosity of the Maine community we will be able continue our programming for years to come.
Sincerely,
Brendan Ravenhill
President, Islesford Boatworks
“Islesford Boatworks’ first-year results exceeded even the most ambitious expectations of its supporters. Founded upon the idea that boat building with youth would link Maine’s maritime past to the present generation of islanders, the Ravenhills accomplished so much more. The initiative to build a sailing dinghy from scratch over an eight week period in the summer imbued the team of young builders with a strong sense of teamwork, discipline, inter-dependence, mutual trust and respect for each other. Moreover, the project brought together members of an entire off-shore island community that has wrestled for years to find its modern day identity. Imbuing the children of both year-round and seasonal residents alike with skills long dormant, Islesford Boatworks wove a diverse social fabric together in a way that reinforced the mutual love of tradition and created a common bond for all island residents. “Boatworks galvanized all of us,” one parent remarked, “to mutually respect our ancestors, each other, and our children.” Sentiments like this were echoed throughout the launching ceremony and reflect a wonderfully successful inaugural year for Islesford Boatworks. Perhaps the biggest lesson learned, however, was that if they take pride in their work, every individual of varying age, station, and skill level can contribute. Working together creates results beyond the imagination. We look forward to seeing what next year will bring!”
-- Frank Reece, Community Member
“One indelible image—almost aerial—is the closing go-around every time Islesford Boatworks adjourned for the day: everyone sitting down, legs straight as spokes, feet meeting at the center of an axis that is also a locus for the reflections to come: What’s one thing you learned today? What did you enjoy most? What kind of knot is that? What is that tool called? Hearing what kids said at the end of the day was one of my favorite things. All of you fostered in them a real sense of accomplishment, of how to work cooperatively and toward mutual benefit. Also, the mentoring relationships were striking. The boat house had the feeling of a guild, a place where apprenticeships were served, where those who were more skilled were facilitating the learning and practice of youngsters who would, someday and in their turn, succeed them.Gil, Luke and Sarah loved going, hated leaving, always talked at length with us every day about what skills they’d learned, the names for tools, parts of the boat, knots (naming is at the heart of really knowing honoring things and places!). All this to say that you have started something here that will leave a durable mark on the kids you have invited into this program. Some of them will no doubt build their own boats, some will at least learn to know their away around them, others will acquire the confidence and sense of pride that comes from starting a project and seeing it to completion, all will leave feeling the buoyancy that comes from being part of something enlightened, compassionate and wholly dependent on a spirit of collaboration. We can’t wait for next year.”
-- Rick Benjamin, father of three Islesford Boatworks students
Islesford Boatworks (IB) focused on developing a boatbuilding program with local youth during its inaugural summer, 2006. Through a hands-on approach to education, the IB boatbuilding program offered young people from Islesford and the surrounding communities the opportunity to develop practical skills and achieve tangible goals. By utilizing volunteers, under the direction of three full time instructors, IB was able to maintain a student to teacher ratio of 2 to1, allowing for close supervision and hands-on instruction. The students were divided by age into two groups, each attending class twice a week for four hours per class.
Over the nine weeks of programming, 43 students between the ages of 8 and 15 were responsible for the creation of a beautiful sailing skiff, complete with mast, tiller, rudder and centerboard. The students also shaped three sets of oars, made numerous bat houses, learned rope splicing, learned to maintain and clean the shop, and most importantly became avid writers, each keeping a journal full of thoughts, lessons and drawings based on their experiences.
The students were eager and quick learners, and initial fears about some students being too young proved unfounded. Even our smallest eight year olds were able to use block planes and sanders with impressive control under close supervision. Growing up around the ocean, we found that the kids were also very insightful about the purpose of the various boat parts and were quick to learn the terms associated with boatbuilding.
The attendance to the program was incredible, with students arriving early every day and more importantly showing up eager and excited to work. This made for energetic and productive classes, and the boat was successfully completed in just eight and a half short weeks. The program culminated on August 29th with a grand pirate-themed community boat launching, complete with costumes, treasure maps, pirate jokes and, of course, buried treasure.
One of the most important lessons learned from the summer was the need to better utilize the efforts of our volunteers and perhaps consider hiring older students as apprentices in an effort to help with class preparation. We found that we had no shortage of enthusiastic volunteers, but without a structured prep schedule we were not making the best use of their desire to help. Additionally, we regretted the fact that we were unable to enroll many students over the age of fourteen, for at that age most are already holding one or more summer jobs.
To address these challenges, we are hoping to raise money for a volunteer coordinator and start an apprenticeship program for the summer of 2007. The volunteer coordinator would be responsible for scheduling and recruiting volunteers from the community, freeing up staff time to concentrate on teaching students and mentor apprentices. Under the apprenticeship program, the staff would work closely with older teenagers to prepare for the next class, giving them direct and advanced instruction in woodworking and boatbuilding. The apprentices will be given the opportunity to learn the safety and operation of more advanced tools, as well as how to maintain them. Both the volunteer coordinator and the apprentices would help to reduce the long hours of prep which took a toll on instructors during our first summer.
IB is planning to offset its use of natural resources by adding a tree planting complement to programming next year. We will be planting tree species often used in boatbuilding, while educating program participants on species recognition and usage. IB will sell trees at cost to Cranberry Isles community members who wish to have one planted on their property.
The Board of Directors
Islesford Boatworks is proud to announce the creation of our Board of Directors. We convened for our first meeting October 7th and on that day elected our officers, reviewed the summer’s program, and discussed the future of the organization. We are very excited by the enthusiasm and thoughtfulness of our new board members, who through guidance and advice will help shape the future of Islesford Boatworks
Tom Caliandro lives in Middlebury, Vermont, his home base for advising documentary filmmakers and the networks who air their work. His ten year-old daughter Anna and most of her friends worked through the summer on Islesford Boatworks' first boat, Class Work. In August she announced that what she wants most for Christmas this year is a hand plane. Anna and Tom, along with his wife, Francisca and their son, Marco (6), have a summer place on the island's most fantastic spot: Right next to the IB shop, where the sound of young voices and hand tools at work fill the summer air like music.
Richard Dudman retired in 1981 after 31 years as a reporter and correspondent for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He and his wife, Helen, and their two daughters, Iris and Martha, had been coming to Islesford for summer vacations since 1957. They now live in Ellsworth in the winter and on Islesford in the summer. Richard sailed the Friendship sloop Freedom for 29 years and built a wooden Cat's Paw dinghy in Southwest Harbor. He writes editorials regularly for the Bangor Daily News. He is delighted to be associated with Islesford Boatworks.
Steven Philbrook is married to his high school sweetheart, Amy, and has four wonderful boys. He and Amy moved to Islesford 17 years ago and rapidly became an integral part of our year-round community. Steven has been fishing for the better part of that tenure here on Islesford, and is the Chairman of the Cranberry Isles’ Planning Board, and sits on the Comprehensive Plan committee.
Amanda Ravenhill studied International Development at Clark University and had always said that development should start at home, where one understands the culture and history of the place. She never imagined she would be able to apply this to her life so quickly after graduating last December. Islesford Boatworks has been an incredible way to learn and grow while helping foster community development where it matters most to her, at home.
Brendan Ravenhill was inspired to help found Islesford Boatworks after working for a year at Rocking the Boat, a boatbuilding and environmental education program in the Bronx, N.Y. Having long had a love and passion for the coast of Maine, Brendan decided to apply the knowledge he had gained to a community with historical links to boatbuilding. Islesford Boatworks is a fusion of two of his passions: education and woodworking.
Geoffrey Ravenhill grew up thinking he’d one day be able to affect global and local change. This summer, at the side of his brother, sister, and many, many great friends, he got the chance to do just that; building a boat and Islesford Boatworks, and planting the seeds of change in the hands and hearts of the community’s youth. Geoffrey looks forward to the coming summer and a chance to do it again, and is excited by what seems to be a very bright future for Islesford’s working waterfront.
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FINANCIAL SUMMARY
PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT |
| Income | |
| Contributions | 3,669 |
| In-kind Contributions | 1,090 |
| Fundraising Revenue | 7,857 |
| Program Revenue | 16,544 |
| Grants | 13,000 |
| Total Income | $42,160 |
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| Expenses | |
| Program Expenses | 6,278 |
| Professional Services | 1,500 |
| Administrative Costs | 51 |
| Fundraising Expenses | 2,088 |
| Insurance | 6,360 |
| Salaries and Related Expenses | 19,697 |
| Total Expenses | $35,974 |
BALANCE SHEET
| Assets | |
| Checking/Savings | 4,942 |
| Equipment and Tools | 1,244 |
| Total Assets | $6,186 |
We are thrilled to announce that our dear friend Ashley Bryan has donated his beautiful print "Bobby Shafto’s Gone to Sea" to Islesford Boatworks. Ashley Bryan is a two time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for children's literature, creator of over 30 books and longtime Islesford resident. He has completed a limited edition printing solely for Islesford Boatworks, and all donations of 500 dollars or more will receive a framed and matted copy of this breathtaking print.
'Bobby Shafto's Gone to Sea' print by Ashley Bryan
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Donate your WoodenBoat magazines! Islesford Boatworks is building up our wooden boatbuilding library. We are seeking donations of WoodenBoat magazines and texts on woodworking, wooden boats, and Maine maritime history. Please help us create a boatbuilding library for the Islesford community. |
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