Tallship Institute Opens Small Boat Center

Oxnard, California – In February 2010, the American Tall Ship Institute (ATSI) began their first boat building program. Based on programs such as Rocking the Boat in South Bronx and Alexandria Seaport Foundation in Virginia, the course was directed toward helping gang involved teens, under-served youth, and young adults develop critical job training skills in a unique and valuable way.

Students meet with a professional master boat builder who teaches the theory of boat building, vocational math needed for building the boat (designed to teach math needed for GED), tools and use of tools, and appropriate vocational socialization. ATSI currently has two master boat builders on staff.

The last two years, ATSI’s boat building shop offered about 700 sq. ft. boat building area. The limited space could only allow for one boat building class at a time. In that time, nine boats were built with nearly 80 area youth. Recognizing a demand among area youth for such vocational programs,