What’s the Plan?
We’re running a fundraiser to raise matching funds for a MassDevelopment Collaborative Workspace grant, for Boatbuilding at The Brickyard. The goal? A regularly scheduled multi-week yearly program bringing boatbuilding to kids in Lynn and the North Shore.
But what is that going to look like? Why do we need the funding? Well, here’s the plan.
Right now, we’re working with Community Boatbuilding to use their expertise and experience in helping us launch our program. Our next build will be in August, and we’re going to be building their bigger, 13’ skiffs for Kayak and Sail Lynn to use on the water, more for adults than the 10’ boats they usually build for, and with the kids.
This is going to need new forms for the bigger boat. A form is a sturdy “jig” that holds everything in place as you construct the boat. This takes materials, space, tools and time. Much of it is working with wood, but there’s some metal fabrication too. That work is going to be starting in June.
We need to dedicate some space to the boatbuilding program, which takes from our large, but still pretty full, 10,000 square foot shop. We’ll need to store the forms, the jigs and fixtures, the stock and materials and any partially-built structures. We need the space to be safe and secure for the kids.
We want to engage kids in fabricating the parts and pieces, which requires a higher level of safety and protection than is in a standard shop. The SawStop table saw is a great example – proven to protect users by instantly stopping the blade drive system of the saw on contact with hands, fingers (and even hotdogs, take a look at the videos!) We also want to teach the kids CNC machining – fabricating some parts on a large CNC router. Operating this is much like running a 3D printer, which many of the kids have run at school, except this removes material rather than places it – and the principles are the cornerstone of much of current 21st century machining.
Finally, we want to open up new ideas, such as a foundry where hardware for the boats can be designed, 3D printed and then investment cast from bronze, just as they have over centuries of marine manufacturing.
Sure, this will take time, and this is probably a project that will span years, but with your help we can put the plan in place, and start getting things rolling… and start launching boats!
Want to help? Drop something into the bucket at the Brickyard’s Patronicity campaign, here, …and THANK YOU for your SUPPORT!
Read all about what boatbuilding brings to a community of kids here, at Community Boatbuilding.
Read all about the Kayak and Sail Lynn program, giving kids and veterans a chance to learn about our rich marine heritage here on the North Shore, here.
Read about our mission to bring boatbuilding to Lynn, here, and visit the Brickyard’s Patronicity campaign, here.
We’re off to a great start, help us take it over the top!
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