Life Skills Learned Building One Boat At A Time

A unique program based on boat building is teaching students in the Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate School District life and workplace lessons, while earning the school or related organizations extra money when the boats sell.

For example, The 916 Education Foundation received one of the finished boats and auctioned it at their annual Gala in 2022. Another will be auctioned at the foundation’s 2023 Gala.

The program, Urban Boat Builders, sets up boat-building programs in area schools, with the goal of teaching woodworking and teamwork that will empower youth “to succeed in work and life.” In the 916 Intermediate School District, Urban Boat Builders has programs in four schools: Quora Secondary School in Little Canada; East View Academy, a high school and Area Learning Center; Pankalo Education Center in Lake Elmo; and Bellaire Education Center in White Bear Lake.

One school’s experience

Randy Mott, woodwork and special education teacher at Northeast Metro 916 for 20 years, hosts the Urban Boat Builders workshop at Quora’s woodworking shop. “Students love this program,” he says. “They’re working together to achieve something great. They make wooden boats that are beautiful. These boats sell for a lot of money and the money comes back to our school district.”

Urban Boat Builders sends instructors to the school with tools and supplies. Students work on a boat. Boat designs vary from a lightweight canoe, kayak, stand-up paddleboard, skiff or even a large Adirondack guide boat. Students also make paddles.

In the process, students learn woodworking skills, teamwork, and even project management skills, all experientially. “The students use mostly hand tools,” Randy says. “They learn about project planning, steam bending, knot tying, lashing, and woodworking skills.”

After the frames are made, the boats may be wrapped in a nylon fabric and waterproofed.

“We can never give up on kids.”

Randy says the program is popular especially with kids who haven’t worked out in traditional schools. “Everybody learns differently,” he says. “We have four groups of kids working on the boat building project each week. “The program attracts many different types of students, whether they are regular students, special ed students, alternative learners or others.”

“We can never give up on our kids,” Randy says.

Urban Boat Builders say that boat building is a magical way to influence youth to learn skills, confidence and even leadership. “Boatbuilding is magical,” they say. “This hands-on process allows our youth to channel their passion and energy into building something tangible and lasting that can also be used to access wild spaces.”

Their two signature programs—youth apprenticeships and community partnerships—have allowed Urban Boat Builders to reach more than 8,000 young people in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region.