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Wooden boatbuilding and water-based programs help underserved youth build the self-confidence and skills to finish high school, maintain healthy relationships, and create bright futures. |
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 16 high-school-aged students work in a professional-grade wooden boatbuilding shop to build a full size traditional wooden boat from start to finish. During the summer, the program relocates to Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow and students build a historic boat wearing 18th-century costume and using traditional hand tools. Often without any previous woodworking experience, students study architectural drawings, create patterns, and build the entire backbone of the vessel before cutting and steaming planks and frames, painting, and then launching it into the Bronx River. About half of the fleet of 30 boats are Whitehall rowing boats, but other designs include a Cape Cod oyster skiff, a bateau, a colonial river ferry, a decked canoe, a Rangeley Lakes boat, a dory, a peapod, and a Melonseed skiff. Design decisions are influenced by the specific needs of the On-Water Program, with students from the two programs collaborating to arrive at the best boat. |
 20 high-school-aged students use the boats built in the Boatbuilding Program to learn a wide range of maritime skills and implement real environmental restoration on the Bronx River. Students undergo a special multi-week training on the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, ultimately hosting the entire Rocking the Boat student body on the 106-foot tall ship for a two-hour sail. All students learn all the maritime skills needed to be safe on the water and use them to execute a series of environmental projects that are revitalizing the health of the Bronx River. Maritime skills training involves boat handling, traditional and modern navigation techniques, and sailing, as well as swimming and training in CPR/First Aid. Environmental projects include growing and monitoring oysters, measuring water quality, and surveying fish, birds, and plant life. All projects are conducted in conjunction with Rocking the Boat's professional scientific partners. |
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Equal numbers of boys and girls participate in both disciplines. The majority of students are drawn from the Bronx but also come from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, and represent Latino, African-American, Caucasian, West Indian, Indian, Asian, South American, and African cultures. All 36 students benefit from the comprehensive social services directed by Rocking the Boat's Licensed Master of Social Work, the Student Advocate. The Student Advocate meets with students' teachers, guidance counselors, and parents, and counsels each student individually throughout each semester, identifying issues in social and emotional development and strategizing on how to address them. The Student Advocate also coordinates weekly group Life Skills workshops throughout each semester that explore topics necessary for adult life, but generally not taught at school or at home. Students join together for numerous trips during the semester, including day-long rowing trips to SUNY Maritime and sails on tall ships; weekend camping adventures to the Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival and the Ashokan Field Campus; and five-day rowing and sailing expeditions during the summer up the Hudson River, along Long Island Sound, or out on Atlantic Ocean. A large community boat launch event completes each spring and fall semester, allowing Boatbuilding and On-Water students to show their work off to their friends and families and get a first opportunity to name and use their new creation. schedule Each semester after school programs are offered from 4pm - 7:30pm.
Fall: 2nd week of September - 3rd week of December Spring: 1st week of March - 1st week of June Summer: 1st week of July - 3rd week of August eligibility All high school age students are encouraged to apply. You do not need to be enrolled in school to join. requirements Students need not have any prior experience with boatbuilding or carpentry, rowing, or science. They must only have the desire to learn new things and be ready to make the effort to overcome challenges.  |
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