 Kate and Chris Gill Building a Carolina Skiff with Instructor Wayne Ford By Kate Gill My husband Chris had been dreaming of building a boat for a few years now, but with kids, there’s just never time for such a big project. After having looked into different boat building courses throughout the Northeast, I finally stumbled upon your weekend family boat building course. Build a dinghy in just 2 days! This was such an amazing and memorable experience. We came with no knowledge of boat building, and some experience of wood working. I was really surprised at how much time our instructor Wayne Ford spent teaching us techniques, and explaining the the process so we were able to think 2-3 steps ahead. I had gone in thinking this would be a sloppy rushed job, but wow was I wrong! We came away with a beautiful boat which we brag about to the other parents in town. Not many people can say they’ve built a boat! Looking forward to the spring when we’ll paint her and have a lil boat christening and launch party at the lake here. Build Your Own Stand Up Paddle Board One of the finished wooden paddle boards in the water and ready for paddling! Thinking of building your own boat? Try your hand at a stand-up paddle board! Built over two weekends, you'll end up with a beautiful wooden board you can use for years to come. But hurry! Registration deadline is Tuesday, March 15! Dates: April 2 & 3, 9 & 10, 2022, 9:00AM-5:00PM Deadline to Register: March 15  An in-process wooden paddle board. You can build your own from scratch! Want to get your Captains License? We have one more spot left! Did you know? HRMM members get discounts on all classes! Join today. Interested in learning more? Check out some of the classes and programs we offer below, for all ages and all experience levels.
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 The author in the blue shirt at the tiller of her Bluejay in 1969 When I was six years old, my father introduced me to sailboat racing aboard his nineteen-foot Thistle, a tender centerboard sailboat. It heeled (tipped) easily and moved quickly through the water. I was terrified. I spent the afternoon crouching low, by the centerboard trunk (most interior part of the boat), crying. Even though my father encouraged me to sit on the rail (edge) to help balance the boat and reduce its heeling angle, I was too scared to move. At the end of the day, after I walked safely down the dock to dry land, the first thing I said was, “Daddy, can I come racing again next Sunday?” My father was incredulous. “But, honey, you were scared all day. Are you sure you want to go again?” “Oh yes,” I responded. “I love sailing.” Thus began my long and tumultuous love affair with sailing. I sailed on Dad’s Thistle until he sold it a few years later and bought a 26 foot racing/day-sailing keelboat on which I raced with my father every Sunday. At age nine, I joined our yacht club’s Junior Sailing Program and sailed with other kids as a crew member from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday all summer long. At age eleven, my father suggested I could borrow my brother’s Blue Jay and take it as a skipper to a novice regatta for kids my age. Terrified, I agreed. I remember my stomach in knots, as Dad and I trailered the boat to the regatta location with my crew and lowered the boat from the dock, via the lift, into the water, at the yacht club where the regatta was held. My fear was that I would crash my brother’s boat into another vessel, a dock, or some other obstruction and wreck it. I didn’t. Instead, I participated in each race, crossing the starting line near the time of the starting gun, rounded all the required turning marks in the proper direction, followed the right-of-way rules and avoided collisions, and finished mid-fleet in each race. I was hooked. I have been racing various boats as skipper ever since. Each time I traveled to a new place to race or sailed a boat that was new to me, I was scared. Every time I was exposed to a sudden squall, I was nervous, but I learned to face my fears head on, quickly identify alternative courses of action, pick one, act as if I knew what to do, and then do it. I survived a lot of challenging sailing situations and learned a great deal along the way. People who know me as an adult might be surprised to know I was a very shy child. I was not bold. I was not confident. I always had anxieties. I still do. But, among many other gifts that sailing has given me, it has taught me I can overcome each challenge as it appears in my life because I have done that so many times on the water. For me, sailing is comprised of equal parts fear, exhilaration, peaceful communion with nature and the elements, challenges to overcome, pride in accomplishment, confidence in my skills, and goal-setting. I cannot think of another activity that gives so much to its participants. I hope you will join The Sailing School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum and learn to sail this summer. You’ll have a blast! AuthorJody Taffet Sterling, Director of the Sailing School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum, learned to sail as a child on Long Island Sound. We have wonderful opportunities for youth and classes for adults. We hope to see you this spring or summer! Museum members get discounts on classes. Join today!
Sailing class tuition will be increased March 15, so act quickly to register at 2021 prices. Welcome to our new boat school blog! Each Saturday we'll be posting stories, educational materials, programs, and upcoming classes from the Wooden Boat School, Sailing School, and Rowing School! Build Your Own Stand Up Paddle BoardThis week we're highlighting an exciting new class, Build Your Own Stand Up Paddle Board with Instructor Chaz Corallo. If you're sick of the winter weather and ready for summer, this is the class for you!
In this 4 day class students will learn the fundamentals of wooden paddle board building. Each student will start with a preassembled frame kit ready for board construction. The students will build-up the rails from bead and cove strips, add a deck, install hardware and shape the board. By the end of the class each board will be ready for fiberglassing and finishing. Instruction and demonstration of the fiberglassing process comes with the class. Glassing the boards can be done as added extra after the workshop is complete. Glassing the board can take 1-2 more days. Instructor Chaz Corallo will guide students through the easy step-by-step process to ensure that each board that leaves the class will be a beautiful one-of-a-kind paddle board. We will explore basic surfboard design concepts, the simple application of steam to manipulate wood into shapes, adhesive applications, elements of edge tool work and use of other traditional hand tools, glassing and effective use of epoxy. To streamline this class as much as possible, some initial prep work will be done by us before you arrive. Dates: Saturday & Sunday, April 2 & 3, 9 & 10, 2022 9:00AM-5:00PM each day Registration Deadline: March 4 General Public & Museum Members: $400 Material Fee: $750 (Glassing kit is an additional $400 for epoxy and cloth.) Did you know? HRMM members get discounts on all classes! Join today.
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AuthorStaff and volunteers of the Hudson River Maritime Museum's Wooden Boat School and Sailing & Rowing School. Archives
August 2023
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