Boat Building
In the winter of 2011, four, somewhat bored retired guys got together at The Different Blend Coffee Shop, in East Tawas, for a discussion about building
some kind of a boat. The discussion resulted in a decision to:

• Build a kit boat, because we were unsure of our available time, tools and skills.
• Build the type of boat that had local historical significance to tie in with the development of the US 23 Heritage Route
• Build a boat that could start a rowing, community fitness movement similar to Scottish Coastal Rowing and the St Ayles Skiff.
• Research and thread following led us to the classic Great Lakes Mackinaw boat, a UK boatbuilder/designer, a UK boat kit designer and
  kit manufacturer in Maine. We built the first H-23, WAABIZII, in warehouse space borrowed from Brian Bishop. The Story is detailed in
  the Heritage 23 section of VESSELS.

The boats that we have built, or completed are described in the table below.

The Winter 20 / 21 finds us doing boat maintenance in preparation for the summer. We will return to our building program as soon as the
COVID pandemic is under control. These programs will include the:

• 4 Partners At Risk Kids boat building.
• The Elks, a Probate Court youth responsibility program, HCS&R and some at risk kids built boats as a work crew. Working, not as a class, not as penance,
  but as a team, working together to complete a somewhat complicated, community oriented, project while experiencing positive crew dynamics and learning skills at the same time. The adult volunteers have varied life experiences as crew members and provide on the job examples of purposeful cooperation, focus, discussion and teamwork.
• Group Boat Building. We are available to a build boat with local area groups. We were disappointed when the Pandemic forced cancellation of a 4H build.
• HCS&R Crew: The HCS&R crew seems always to be looking for a
  compelling project.
• Other: We are open for ideas, plans and dreams.

The Building Program will focus on building boats for the Sailing School or to raffle for program funds. It is our hope to replace the Sailing School fleet, over time,  with boats that we build and to expand the schools capability to Keelboat Certification. Information and photos of the building the Workstar-17, the USCG Dory, and the Paddleboards will be added over the next few months.

Caption:
This page us under construction.