Introduction and Overview
This blog will document the weekly progress of a wooden boat built by Penn State Abington students participating in a sequence of courses held on-site at Independence Seaport Museum’s Workshop on the Water at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia.
Courses are co-taught by Penn State Abington Art Department faculty members H. John Thompson, Associate Teaching Professor of Art, and Bonnie Levinthal, Professor of Art, in collaboration with David Dormond, Workshop on the Water Assistant Director and Shop Educator.
BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE STUDENTS’ BLOGS TOO!
– Francis Bellocchio: https://sites.psu.edu/francismakesaboat/
– Sierrarose Biello: https://sites.psu.edu/sierrarosebielloboatbuilding/
– Zoe Brouse: https://sites.psu.edu/zoeboatbuilding/
– Emily Chan: https://sites.psu.edu/emichanboatbuilding/
– Karley Feather: https://sites.psu.edu/kjfeatherboatbubilding/
– Sam Feather: https://sites.psu.edu/samfeather/
– Paul Kyriakos: https://sites.psu.edu/paulkyriakos/
– Alexa Pagan: https://sites.psu.edu/alexaboatbuilding/
Q&A
WHAT WILL THE BOAT BE USED FOR?
In these courses, students will build a 12′ wooden duckboat made of cedar and mahogany. The boat will be donated to the Independence Seaport Museum collection to be launched in a naming ceremony at Penn’s Landing in May 2022. In August 2022, the boat will be entered in the World Ducks Charity Regatta in Barnegat, NJ to compete in an amateur sailing race. The duckboat will be on display alongside student research creative works in the Penn State Abington Art Gallery in September and October of 2022 before being returned to Independence Seaport Museum to support the museum’s educational programming.
WHAT’S A DUCKBOAT?
Duckboats originated as boats called “sneakboxes” which were traditionally used throughout the Delaware Valley and New Jersey Shore region. Sneakboxes are low profile single-person rowboats designed for duck hunting in shallow marshlands. The sneakbox design evolved to include a basic sailing rig to bring game to market quickly. This led to faster and faster designs, and a culture of racing was quickly established. Before the advent of plastic boats, a duckboat would have been a young person’s first sailboat where they learned the physics of sailing as well as boat maintenance and so it’s a fitting project for our Penn State Abington students as they learn about the waterways in the region via a multitude of disciplines through the lens of the rich craft of wooden boatbuilding.
WHAT ARE THE COURSES INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT?
Fall 2021
ART197B: Interdomain Special Topics
Introduction to Wooden Boatbuilding I (3 credits) GA, GH
ART269: Methods and Materials I
Introduction to Wooden Boatbuilding I (3 credits) Art major/minor studio requirement
Spring 2022
ART297C: Interdomain Special Topics
Introduction to Wooden Boatbuilding II (3 credits) GA, GH
ART469: Methods and Materials II
Introduction to Wooden Boatbuilding II (3 credits) Art major/minor studio requirement
THIS COURSE SEQUENCE AND RELATED PROGRAMS ARE MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF:
The Pennsylvania State University
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
2021 Teaching Innovation Grant
http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/
The Penn State Center, Philadelphia
2021 Seeding Change Grant
https://philadelphia.center.psu.edu/
The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College
2021 Chancellor’s Grant
funded by the Albert and Suzanne Lord Chancellor Endowment.
The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College
2021 Faculty Development Grant
The Pennsylvania State University – Humanities Institute
https://hi.psu.edu/
The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College
Division of Arts and Humanities
The Penn State Abington Art Gallery
https://sites.psu.edu/abingtonartgallery/
The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College
Student Initiated Fee Fund
Penn State Abington College
1600 Woodland Road, Abington, PA 19001
https://www.abington.psu.edu/
Independence Seaport Museum
211 S. Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19106
https://phillyseaport.org/