Building a wooden sea kayak with your own hands is a rewarding challenge in itself. Combine that with paddling that same vessel on a sea kayak expedition along the Maine coast and you’ve got a five-week adventure that produces deep learning, and a strong sense of accomplishment and leadership.
2025 Program Dates:
Length: 5 Weeks
Eligible Grades: 9th, 10th, 11th
Group Size: 8 campers and 2 trip leaders
Starting Location: Wiscasset Maine
Cost: $10,950
Note: Interested families must commit by January 1, 2025 to be eligible for this program!
Students in the Boatbuilders Expedition spend the first half of the program on the Chewonki campus creating their own Willow sea kayak, designed by boatbuilder Bill Thomas of South Berwick, Maine. Bill teaches the students basic boat building techniques and works with them to guide the process of constructing these boats from frame to finish utilizing hand tools. Between work sessions, they acquire paddling skills at our waterfront. After just two weeks, these striking, voyage-worthy boats are ready to launch.
The final stretch of our Boatbuilder’s journey is where all of the hard work in building pays off as they venture out on a trip paddling the very boats they built. After some time to test out the boats, the group will embark on a multi-day journey along the Maine coast learning the rich history of boatbuilding along the way.
It’s hard to pack all the excitement of a Chewonki experience into a short webpage, so we encourage you to reach out to our team for a phone call, or to schedule a tour in the off season.
We hope to see you at camp next summer!
Providing safe, equitable, and inclusive education programs is our purpose and mission. While we do not specialize in programming for people with disabilities, we welcome a diverse community of participants and we will seek safe, reasonable accommodations whenever possible.
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