A little light boatbuilding at Urban Boatbuilders

Urban Boatbuilders

Planning the night's tasks

It's not one of the Wooden Boat schools on the coast, where apprentices learn their trade by working on schooners from the 1800s with names like the John B Allen, and building boats that owe their heritage to Nat Herreschoff or Ted Monk.  It's in a hole in the wall on the back side of a small strip mall in St Paul, Minnesota just off University Ave.  And the apprentices are high school students - many of whom have walked a difficult road to get to the program.

Steam bent stems drying on the forms

On Wednesday nights, the apprentices are off doing homework, hanging out or whatever, and the shop is taken over by a mostly volunteer cadre of people interested in working on small boats, mostly by hand.

Last week, I helped carve a keel out of a 70 year old rowboat.  This week, it was making the keel for a canoe that will be used to end-end paddle the Mississippi River next summer.
Other volunteers were working on tightening the rivets and backing roves for a Danish style rowboat, fabricating a replacement keel to replace the one we removed last week, making templates for another project, cutting mortises for yet another.

Make me a keel, please!

Different people bring an amazing array of skills, ranging from master carpenter, boat builders, and a couple of people who just show up to help with whatever needs done.  It's not unusual to see a former apprentice come by to share or help out. Volunteers are always welcome - check out the website for details.

A good eye and steady hand

White oak ribs

Tracing to fit a new deck