Welcome to SAILOR 2019!
Over the next 5 months 90+ students from 8 Philadelphia area High Schools will complete another 19’ Outboard Garvey as they explore the myriad STEM challenges that present themselves in the real build of a real wooden boat.
At this point we are a few months into the build and as I’ve been slow to update you all, I’d like to apologize by painting a thorough picture of the year so far. I invite you to read on for highlights from 2018 and tune back in next week for highlights from January and February before continuing with weekly updates as we get into the meat of the build!
October- We started the year with a dive into three basics of boat design- displacement, buoyancy and propulsion- primarily through foil boat competitions. It’s Physics. We all know some Physics. Having spent our waking lives interacting with and observing this physical world, we’ve learned a bit about how things work. We know how objects interact with one another in many environments. We can describe their relationships to one another with both exhaustive accuracy and absolute whimsy, yet, when asked if we know anything about physics, we shrug. But watching a 9th grader sculpt a tinfoil marvel that under one balloon’s breath can glide arrow-straight across a 20’ pool and crash into the back wall with enough energy to send a small wave rippling back across that pool, there is no doubt, we know Physics. It is in this spirit of proud curiosity that we get to commune with Archimedes, Bernoulli, Alden and Herreshoff as we look with wonder at one object dancing gracefully across the water, and another taking a hilariously dramatic dive to the depths of our tank, and call them both boats.
November- Equipped with heads full of nautical notions, we took to the shop to learn the working of wood and master the keeping of fingers. Building a beveled side tool tote with a half-blind mortised handle provides opportunities for learning the safe use of the Miter Saw, Band saw and Drill Press as well as screw-driving, planing and abrasive fairing techniques. Paired with an overview of the Lofting process, our students wrapped up November both physically and mentally ready to start building their boat!
December- Immediately before the first saw blade shears the first fiber of the first timber a certain magic lingers in the shop air. Be it here in the WOW, at Urban Boatworks’ shop across the river or in the hundreds of boat shops dotting the bay shores of the northeast, enthusiasm and temporary amnesia emulsify into a dreamy anticipation in the mind of the shipwrights when, for a fleeting moment, nothing has gone wrong and everything is still perfect. Many students joined in on our giddy smiles while some peered with dread at the plans laid out before us as we cut our first cuts and fastened our temporary forms to put together a reliable Strongback- the base from which our hull will emerge.
With the strongback readied, hardwood timbers met circular saws, thickness planers, tablesaws, and hand planes as they began resembling the structural members of our Garvey’s Backbone.
Thanks for joining us in our educational adventure! See you next week!
- Jesus Castro, Manager of Hands On Education and Special Projects, Independence Seaport Museum
