All hands-on board

Although South Philly is bordered by two rivers, the area is not normally associated with boating. But you wouldn’t know that to see the work that goes on at the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory.

The factory, at 2045 W. Moyamensing Ave., provides children free lessons on canoe-building. This year, the facility has added yet another program that gives students the chance to acquire leadership and teamwork skills.

Geoff McKonly cofounded the nonprofit Boat Factory with Chad Brenner in 1996. The two childhood friends, natives of York, shared an interest in boating. Originally, Brenner was the full-time boat builder and instructor, while McKonly taught the students — both youths and adults — how to sail the canoes. McKonly has handled both duties since Brenner’s departure in 1999.

"I’ve been sailing since I’ve been about 12," says McKonly, adding that he and Brenner had the idea to open the Boat Factory back in 1994.

In 1998, the pair started a program for grade-school children known as the Marine Education Initiative. While the Boat Factory always had programs for students, the newer initiative is more closely connected to the curriculum of the School District of Philadelphia. As a result, its links to classroom activities are organized, rather than coincidental.

"We work with kids from third through 12th grades," says McKonly. "It’s a program that focuses primarily on basic skills and uses boat-building to help kids with academics and confidence and teamwork, and just being able to function well within school and out in the world."

Over the past several years, more than 300 children citywide have constructed more than 40 canoes at the Boat Factory each year. McKonly is proud of the fact that the students’ canoes can be found in five states, giving other youths the chance to enjoy them.

"A lot of teachers use it as a service-learning project," he says, adding students are "from all over, but primarily from South Philly just because of the location."

Students from Vare Charter, Kirkbride Elementary and Southwark Elementary have recently visited the Boat Factory.

Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from the Greenwood Charter School in Roxborough are currently working on the construction of four wooden boats that will likely become a permanent fixture in their school.

The children typically drop by the center three times each month for about two-and-a-half hours per session.

"It’s really been an amazing project," says Ashley Vandegrift, who teaches sixth and seventh grades at Greenwood. "It’s just really fun to see them get into it and figure things out. It’s such a hands-on project for the school."

The children, not surprisingly, unanimously favored working at the Boat Factory over being in the classroom.

"I think it’s better than school because it’s hands-on learning, and you get to use power tools, which is fun," says sixth-grader Yousuf Khaled.

"It’s better than school because it’s work, but it’s not as much as we get in school," says Tim Gonzalez, a seventh-grade student.

Joe LaPorte, also in the seventh grade, adds that the most challenging part of the program has been "when you measure how long each part of the boat has to be, and you don’t know whether you have the right measurements or not."

"I like using saws, especially the band saw," says seventh-grader Jaclyn Bissett. "It’s fun, and I like building things — and there’s no tests."

Kayla Donlen enjoys using the electric saw. The sixth-grader prefers the activity to school because "it doesn’t require a lot of thinking — it requires skill and teamwork."

The Boat Factory staff has its own list of advantages.

"It gets them out of the classroom, gives them a chance to experiment with problem-solving at their own pace, and take time to figure things out," says Christina Piazza. "I also think it gives teachers the opportunity to work with kids outside the classroom, and observe different strengths and weaknesses."

Sixth-grader Samantha DeSantis sums it up more simply: "We don’t have to do any work except fun work."

In addition to the Marine Education Initiative, the Boat Factory is now offering an afterschool program for high-school students from across the city.

"One of the things we’re trying to get them to do is to work independently, and there are not too many things in school where they have a lot of individual development," McKonly says.

"The best part about the program is learning new stuff about how to make a boat, and having fun," says Jonathan Peden, 16, a sophomore at Simon Gratz High School in North Philadelphia.

Louis Chatmon, 15, a junior at Gratz, also sees many benefits to the program. "When I first got here, I didn’t know how to use a saw, and every week I learn something new."

Unlike the Marine Education Initiative program, which participates with schools, teachers and principals, the afterschool program recruits students more on a one-on-one basis.

In addition to the free programs for children, the Boat Factory offers a wide variety of adult boat-building classes, which can run from one day to several weeks, depending on the size of the project.

McKonly has big plans for the future.

"We would like to open a marine-industry trade school and then offer more hope that the kids here are able to use it as a possible career choice, as opposed to just an afterschool program."

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For more information on the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory, call Geoff McKonly at 215-755-2400 or visit www.woodenboatfactory.org.