Bayview-Hunters Point youth launch handcrafted boat in bay

SAN FRANCISCO - A group of 16 local students celebrated over a year of hard work as they launched a handcrafted, 16-foot wooden vessel on Saturday into the water at India Basin Waterfront Park.

Learning skills

Why you should care:

The achievement is part of an after-school youth initiative run by Rocking the Boat, a non-profit organization founded 30 years ago in New York City. The project marks the organization's expansion and its first completed boat build in San Francisco.

Students learned technical woodworking skills from scratch, working from raw plywood to draft, measure, and assemble the vessel. 

The finished craft—a replica of a 1906 vessel named the Alderbrook—is a San Francisco Whitehall, a style of rowboat common throughout the Bay during the 19th century. Marking the 61st boat produced under the national Rocking the Boat program, the replica was launched alongside the original 1906 vessel.

Beyond technical training, the organization provides long-term support to help participants stay on track through high school graduation, continuing into college or trade school pathways.

What they're saying:

"We exist to serve young people who do not otherwise have the resources to participate in opportunities like this," said Adam Green, CEO of Rocking the Boat. "Sixteen students built this thing that is beautiful. It floats and it works."

Family members and local residents gathered along the dock to cheer as the students navigated their inaugural sail.

"He has great self-esteem and feels confident," said Tracy Mitchell, a grandparent in attendance. "He says he is going to be building boats. If you have a grandson building boats, you have a boat maker—and I am ready to go."

The vessel will remain at India Basin Waterfront Park as a permanent fixture for the community, offering public rides every other Saturday.

 

San Francisco