Urban BoatWorks

Contact

Jesus Castro, Program Director
(817) 600-1930
email

IN THE NEWS:

Students build boats, sail on Cooper River (6/3/2010)

Building boats helps dreams set sail for urban youth (4/15/2010)

Boat builders enjoy the fruits of their labor (8/9/2009)

UrbanTrekkers, in partnership with the Camden Shipyard and Maritime Museum, brings boat building back to the struggling Waterfront South Neighborhood of Camden, once a thriving maritime community and home of the New York Shipbuilding Company. Urban BoatWorks is teaching inner-city youth the craft of wooden boat building. A group of caring adults are working with our students to build rowing, sailing, and paddling boats. As they teach this craft, our students are also taught swimming and sailing, so that they can eventually take their boats out on the water.

The program goals are to not only train our youth in the craft of boatbuilding, but to also help them learn the skills they need to become successful and productive adults. When one of our young men was asked by a reporter if boat building was something he would be interested in after graduating from high school, he quickly replied, "No, but it is something I could do with my kids some day". This comment might very well be the best expression for the goals of Urban BoatWorks.