Women only: Building boats and connections

When temperatures across Long Island began to plummet last December, Ann Bell had no difficulty deciding how to occupy her time. To dispel the winter blues, she signed up for a challenging task, joining six other women at the Carmans River Maritime Center in Brookhaven for its inaugural women-only boatbuilding class.

During the program's three-hour sessions on Sunday afternoons, starting in early December and lasting for about six months, she constructed her own kayak from a kit, complete with a seat, seat back, footbraces and a hatch. It was her first building experience of any kind.

"I was excited about spending my whole winter here working with a group of women," Bell says. "And the idea of actually learning how to craft a wooden boat -- I've always wanted to do that, and I never dreamed there would be such an easy opportunity."

Bell, 53, of Brookhaven, grew up boating across the various lakes of Tennessee. She later moved to Hawaii, where she spent 15 years on and off the water. When her next move landed her on Long Island -- where lakes, rivers and bays abound -- the boatbuilding class and its nautical environment seemed a perfect match for her.

"I've been boating all my life in canoes, kayaks and motorboats," she says. "So it's really exciting [to build your own] when you've always admired everyone else's wooden boats. And to do it now at such an older age, I just loved every minute of it."

The not-for-profit center works to educate the community on building, restoring and repairing wooden boats. It has a deep nautical history, operating from the same boatyard as the famed shipbuilder Sam Newey, who constructed hundreds of ships during the first half of the 20th century. His vessels ranged from rowboats to 80-foot ferries to "Shore Bird" class yachts.

The boatyard has since evolved into a classroom and modern workshop for boatbuilders of all skill levels. In 2003, the center opened its doors to its first boatbuilding class. In the years that followed, young architects also joined the ranks. By the spring of 2008, 40 middle school students completed the "Youth Kayak Building Program," a boat workshop that paired teens with mentors, many of whom were the mothers, fathers, uncles or grandfathers of the students.

So, it's not surprising that a women's boatbuilding workshop would be the next class offered at the center. Based on its success, the center is hoping to offer a similar class this fall (carmansrivermaritime .org, 631-286-2700).

"These ladies loved coming here on a Sunday afternoon," says Steve Gould, the center's president. "They were all very focused on their boats." The women worked at their own pace, and while most completed their projects by the end of May, some, like Bell, still had finishing touches to add.

The women browsed through boat kit catalogs to determine which craft they would build. Six, including Bell, decided to construct Wood Duck 12 kayaks that measure 12 feet by 30 inches; the kits averaged $700 each.

Jennifer Clement, 67, of Brookhaven, chose a more complex project: a 15-foot Chester Yawl rowing boat, which cost roughly $1,000.

"I'm not much of a kayak kind of girl," she says. "I have back trouble, and I've heard that rowing helps. I also have four grandkids, and I'm sure they will get a lot of fun out of it."

Clement is no stranger to water. She has traveled to Antarctica, where she served as both a naturalist and Zodiac (inflatable boat) driver, introducing and educating tourists to the environment and wildlife there. Her love of the water came, in part, from her father, Dennis Puleston, who traveled around the world in sailboats in the 1920s and '30s and later authored "Blue Water Vagabond: Six Years' Adventure at Sea."

Clement has helped others to build boats, but this marked her first experience constructing her own. The class had a safety net of knowledgeable volunteers to assist if needed, and the women agreed that having those experts on site gave them the confidence to finish their projects.

"The big part about it, I think for all of us, is that none of it would have been possible without volunteers," says Bell. "It was intimidating at first, but it was the members of the Maritime Center who really alleviated our fears."

Under instructor and volunteer supervision, the women used a "stitch-'n'-glue" method to construct their boats, which involved stitching the wooden pieces together using copper wire, sanding and then gluing them together with epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth. Painting them was an option. Each kit came with booklets and pre-cut materials, and power tools were available in the center's workshop. Tuition for this class was $300.

"It's been so much fun," Clement says. "And I know pride is a sinful thing, but I feel so proud that I made it," she says of her yawl, which she painted a deep blue.

Fellow classmate Bree Nurnberger, 66, of Bellport, knows her father would be proud of her accomplishment, and shares a special connection with two of the women from the class.

"Our fathers were best friends who sailed together and owned a boat together, and I think it's wonderful that after all these years, the three of us still have that link because of our fathers," she says.

Bell, too, credits the class for the shared camaraderie. "For me, it was almost like therapy to be able to come down and do this with a group of women who were all about the same age, and in about the same place in life. We all wanted to learn a new skill set, but not feel intimidated about it," she says. "I've only been here for about a year-and-a-half," she said of her time on Long Island, "so for me, it was also a great way to get to know the women in my own neighborhood."