STEM to Stern: Boatbuilding 101
Radcliffe Creek students in grades 5- 8 have the opportunity to register for the STEM to Stern: Boatbuilding 101
on Wednesdays as an after school program. Students will be learning basic woodworking skills like sanding and planing; learning to use limited hand-powered tools under supervision; and working together to assemble a Bevin's Rowing Skiff.
The program provides a STEM-related learning environment with a focus on practical arithmetic; measuring, ratios, fractions, angles, calculating area, etc. Participants will likely make a field trip to where the wood is purchased and will also discuss the maritime history of the Chesapeake Bay-area.
There will be a total of 10 sessions beginning on Wednesday, February 5 and running through Wednesday, April 16 (not including March 19 which is during Spring Break). The program will run from 1:00 - 3:00 PM.
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The program can accommodate up to 8 students. A waitlist will be created if we exceed the capacity.
Line Drawings of the Bevin's Rowing Skiff
A radio controlled sailing model
built by volunteer, John Henderson
Bevin's Rowing Skiff RCS Students will build
Volunteer, Joe Smith's, current work in progress; a 1957 Whirlwind runabout. Restoration is expected to take one year.
Sign-up to build a Skiff!
Meet Our Volunteers!
Joe Smith
Volunteer
Joe Smith is a retired lawyer living in Chestertown. During most of his career, he lived in Washington, DC and worked closely with lawyers, managers, and engineers in the defense industry. For 10 years from 1998 to 2007, he managed two biotechnology companies in North Carolina.
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Joe's first big project was building a radial-engine biplane, which he dedicated 20 years of his spare time. He has since sold the airplane, so no more free flights!
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Joe's first boat project was a rowing and sailing skiff, which he built on Little Cumberland Island, Georgia, in the 1990's. This boat is similar to the one we will build together at RCS.
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From 2020 through 2023, he build a 19-foot mahogany runabout like a 1930's Chris-Craft. This one is powered by a 150-hp diesel engine, though.
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At present, he is restoring a 1957 Whirlwind runabout, which was stored in a barn from 1985 until Joe purchased it in late September 2024. He expects the restoration to take about a year.
John Henderson
Volunteer
John Henderson is a retired electrical engineer, with a career in consumer electronics research and development. His most recognizable contribution was as part of the leadership of the industry group that developed the US digital high-definition television standard (HDTV). For this work, he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He has a BSEE from the University of Pennsylvania and an MSE from Princeton University. He has about 30 issued US Patents.
His interest in boatbuilding is an outgrowth of his lifelong enthusiasm for sailing. He has raced sailing dinghies and keelboats for most of his life. As a hobby, he has built a variety of sailing dinghies, rowboats, canoes, and kayaks.
Since moving to Chestertown and downsizing his hobby space, he has developed an interest in designing and building radio-controlled model sailboats. These range in size from 3 feet to 6 feet and include sailing models of such iconic Chesapeake boats as the log canoe, the bugeye, and the skipjack, as well as other boats that interest him, such as early America’s Cup boats.