What do you get when you give a group of kids a bunch of lumber, caulking, screws and paint? Well, lots of things can happen, but when you add water and the plans for a Sea Quest 100 scow to the mix, chances are you’ll get a sturdy, seaworthy, 10 ft. boat. At the Kids Aboard Boat Building Workshop, held this year in conjunction with the Seven Seas Cruising Association’s three-day-long Annual Meeting, SSCA member’s children and teenagers built not just one, but two of these fun and colorful vessels, all the while learning boat safety, boat building, and a little about themselves.
Curtis and MaggiLu Tucker, the founders of the water sports magazine KidsAboard.com, organized and ran the workshop during the three day event, with the help of the president of Advance America Foundation’s Sea Quest Kids, Steve Gronka. “When they asked us to do the kids' program, I wanted to include building boats with the kids. That’s when I thought of Steve and the Sea Quest Kids boat building,” said Curtis Tucker. Advance America Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes boating safety and camaraderie through boat building with kids around the country.
Approximately 25 kids participated in the event, from ages 3 ½ to 17 years old. The Sea Quest 100’s that they built included the hull, benches, paddles and an outboard motor mount. During the workshop the kids learned valuable skills such as measuring wood, operating electric drivers, caulking guns, paintbrushes, hammers, and the basic theories behind building a boat.
As part of the kids’ workshop the children wrote about their boat building experience and articles about their experiences boating for KidsAboard.com. As teachers, the Tuckers use the boat building workshop to incorporate learning in other areas such as language arts and math.
“I thought that we were not going to be able to build the boat when I heard we were,” wrote Danielle Jerrells, age 11. “At first I thought it was going to be a boat that people couldn’t fit in. Then, when we started building it, it turned out big, and it was easy. My favorite part was designing what to do on the outside.”
Sam Horvat, age 10, wrote, “Building [the boats] was fun. Our boats are great. Now, they are ready to sail. The boats are well built, and the wood is strong. It’ll be fun testing out our boat.”
On the third day the kids divided up into two teams and raced the boats in the Intracoastal Waterway just off of Conchy Joe’s restaurant, north of the Eau Gallie Blvd. Causeway bridge in Melbourne. The boats, named by the kids “Morning Star” and “Invasion 2002,” proved their seaworthiness to parents and onlookers who watched and cheered from the shoreline and adjacent pier.
Joshua Webb, 17 years-old, was an enthusiastic participant in building and racing the Sea Quest 100’s. A candidate for the U.S. Naval Academy, he has lived and sailed with his parents his entire life. “This is the third time I have been to the [SSCA] meeting and I think that so far this has been the best activity that the kids have done. Along with having fun, it also allows them to learn some new skills and get some hands on experience,” he wrote.
His friend, Ben Murphy, also 17 and a lifelong boater who has been accepted by the U.S. Coast Guard after graduating high school this year, agreed. “I think that the boat building was cool. I had never built a boat before. I learned more about boats this weekend than I knew.”
To learn more about Kids Aboard Boat Building Workshops, contact Curtis and MaggiLu by email at boatbuilding@kidsaboard.com or call toll free 1-877-228-1569. To read more of the kids' writings, visit www.KidsAboard.com, the free, world wide water sports magazine for kids and parents, where children and teens contribute their articles and stories about water sports.