Our guys recently used a boat kit to build a boat from beginning to end. Projects like these help our guys find passions, outlets, and gifts that they may have not known were ways to change the direction of their lives. The boat we built was a 8′ Chesapeake Light Craft lapstrake Eastport Pram.
Some of the first steps in the boat build was learning to take the next step. Through projects like the boat build, our guys are empowered with skills and new passions which may help them avoid obstacles over which they have stumbled in the past.
It was our goal to provide a tangible, water-worthy craft that our young men would proud to say they created from a kit. Through this boat building journey, we were extremely intentional about developing transferable skills/traits that include responsibility, problem-solving, teamwork, communication skills, self-worth, and self-confidence. All of these skills/traits tie into a young man’s journey of addressing their addiction and promoting pro-social assimilation into their home communities.
Following the completion of this project, we have seen that this boat build has been a project that our young men really found passion and joy in and we hoped that this was a project that we could do again. Thanks to the John Gardner Grant through the Traditional Small Craft Association, we will be able to expose more young men to a boat build project. Our young men typically receive services for approximately 3 months and then step down into lower levels of care or assimilate back into their home communities.
Given the associated expenses with building a kit boat, Manos House will continue seeking community and business donors to support portions of this and similar projects. If you are interested and able to help these types of projects in any way, please reach out to us through our contact page.
