- Kids have been working hard everyday this week to build a boat by hand in Panacea.
- A neighborhood nonprofit that teaches wooden boat building along with Maritime heritage and the value of marine life.
- Watch the video above to hear from the kids who are learning at the program.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
For neighbors in Panacea, life near the water means knowing your way around a boat. I’m Kenzie Krueger at the Larry Tucker Maritime Centerwhere these kids have been working hard everyday this week to build a boat by hand.
“It’s fun and it gives me something to do," said Conner Hall. Hall is part of a summer boat building camp with the Larry Tucker Maritime Center. It's a non profit that teaches wooden boat building along with Maritime heritage and the value of marine life...important topics that are built right into this neighborhood. “It’s just something I love to do I like boats, I like fishing so it all goes together,” Hall added.
PLAY OUR PREVIOUS REPORT ON VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS BUILDING A WOODEN PADDLE BOARD AT THE CENTER:
They use reclaimed lumber to build the boat and spend a week working on it. Dena Kieserling has been teaching boat building for 15 years and says they learn valuable skills. “It is an old fishing community and these kids are learning skills here they wouldn’t learn anywhere else for several hundred miles you can’t find anything close to the opportunities that we’re offering the kids here.”
The program is one week and free to all children in Panacea. This is all funded by Panacea Waterfronts. “There’s not a lot of opportunity here in Panacea it’s a little bit of a food desert so we give kids the opportunity to get out and see things outside of the community during our field trips.”
This opportunity is in memory of Larry Tucker, a boat builder and designer. Kieserling says he’s still inspiring the community today. “He has been impactful on the kids and the community for decades.”
Not only does this opportunity teach kids in Panacea valuable skills, but they also look forward to it. “It is cool to build your own boat.”
The Maritime Center offers different opportunities for children and adults.
