LYNN — Four students from Lynn decided to spend their April vacation this past week building a boat. The makerspace The Brickyard Collaborative, Kayak and Sail Lynn, and the Boston-based nonprofit Community Boat Building came together to help the students learn how to build it.
The students started on Monday with nothing but a piece of wood. On Friday, construction of the boat was nearly done. Finishing touches including the paint will be added soon.
Once the boat is finished, the group is planning on presenting it to Kayak and Sail Lynn for Lynners — specifically veterans — to use, said Sean Reid, the president of Kayak and Sail Lynn.
Lynn English High School freshman Jaleel Khamis said the most recent addition they added to the boat was the ribcage. He said he decided to participate because “what other time am I going to build a boat.”
Crystal Fernandez, a seventh grader at Thurgood Marshall Middle School, participated this week with her brother Uriel Fernandez.
“We just wanted to try something fun,” Fernandez said. “My brother told me ‘hey, you want to build a boat?’ and I was like ‘sure why not.’”
Reid, who is also the district director for Sen. Brendan Crighton, said this is a program Kayak and Sail Lynn has wanted to start for a few months now.
“Everything came together and we went into the schools and we found some kids who’d be interested over the break,” he said. “We hope to keep this program going and expand it down the line.”
Bob McCarty of Community Boat Building said the organization typically works with Boston Public Schools but is looking to branch out to places like Lynn.
“Kayak and Sail Lynn found us students and some money to get the program going. So we’re building a 10 foot rowboat with these four students,” McCarty said. “They’re learning all kinds of skills along the way and I think also this is a lot about teamwork.”
The students did all of the work themselves with assistance from McCarty, including all of the math and logistics that go into building a boat.
“It’s such a perfect example of what a project like this can bring to an education program,” Ted Dillard, executive director at Brickyard Collaborative, said. “To see [the program] come here, we’ve just been trying to put it together and finally it just happened. It’s just amazing.”
For McCarty, the best part about working with the students is seeing their excitement when they finish the boat, he said.
“I always tell them, my only goal is that you walk away saying, ‘I built this and I’m proud of it,’” McCarty said.
