Students learn more than boatbuilding in class

While shop classes are common in schools across the country, not many offer students a chance to build their own boats. The marine fabrication class at Wrangell High School had decades of history, according to teacher Winston Davies, who said it teaches students important lessons for their lives and careers.

"This marine fab program, I think got started back in the '80s with Dave Brown," Davies said. "He was my shop teacher, and it's been going ever since. ... It's kind of a hallmark of the district."

This is Davies' first year of teaching the shop class, he said. He stepped in because he didn't want to see the program go away.

Students start by making a paper design of the boat or another project they want to spend the year building. That was around November. Then the students purchase in some cases about $3,000 in materials, he said, and spend the year completing their projects. They get to keep their completed projects at the end of it all.

He has five students in his class this year, he said, all juniors.

"They come into the class, they've already completed a basic welding class," Davies said. "There's way more than welding going on here."

Beyond just career skills, there are many life lessons students can take away from this class. Critical thinking is one such skill, he said, to a degree that could not be taught in another type of classroom. Building a boat involves lessons from a variety of classrooms and figuring out how to properly apply them, he said.

Time management is another important skill the students practice, as they work to complete their projects by the end of the school year. "These guys will have something to be really proud of when they're done."

Student Liana Carney is building a trailer in class this year. She said she really enjoyed welding from previous classes, and decided to continue with it in the marine fabrication class. She plans to try to build a boat next year.

Student Jake Eastaugh is building a gas tank for a boat he already has. He has taken a lot of shop classes in the past, he said. This fabrication class has been a good opportunity to learn different types of welding, as well as to continue taking types of classes he enjoys.

Student Ryan Rooney is building a boat that he will give to his dad when it is finished. His dad helped him with the design, he said.

Rooney said what he has learned in the class will help him through life.

"I've learned to weld better, and you really have to have good time management," he said. "Having to do a little bit of math to do measurements and everything. Kind of good life skills."