This past month, we’ve had a two-part lightweight fabric-on-frame boat building workshop, led by Mark Jaqua. I got the chance to talk to Mark this past weekend and it was a really great chat. We talked about the accessibility and affordability of the design, the joy that one can take from building a boat, and how much of a game changer having a boat like this could be for someone who doesn’t currently have a way to get out on the water.
It was great watching the workshop attendees work so hard on the boat’s frame. It’s meticulous work, but the end result is so worth it. There were participants of all age ranges, working together on this vessel. There was someone younger than me, guys older than me. It was awesome to see that diversity of people interested in learning how to build a watercraft. The participants were tying wooden parts together, gluing, sanding, and planing. The cover still needs to be added to the boat, but once they do that, it’s ready for the water. They should hopefully be finished on Saturday and ready to take the boat out on the water and I’m excited to see how it goes!
Mark talked extensively about the boat design, which he made, and we own. Many boat designs cost money, even lightweight fabric ones. You can find PDFs of designs online for about $50, but what makes ours so special is that our tool library members can check it out for free. We often talk about building community resilience and improving resource sharing, and I think this boat design is the perfect example of that. For a member who may not be able to afford a new boat, but wants to get out on the water for fishing or just to enjoy nature, this design is for them.
Additionally, all the wood used for the boat was found at Home Resource, making it cheap and sustainable – two things we love. Many online designs will expect you to use high quality material, increasing the overall cost of building, but that isn’t the case with ours. It’s our expectation that a person using this design will be sourcing wood for cheap, that’s why the workshop included this important factor. It really isn’t about the quality of the material. What matters is, will the boat float?, and yes our design does. Mark is a talented boat maker and designer and we are so grateful and lucky that he wants to give his skills back to the Missoula community the way he does.
Mark was saying so many great things during our conversation. It made me wish I had a mic on me to record him, but I do remember a lot of what he said, because it resonated so much with me. One thing he said was, “I’d like to see another tool library in this country with its own boat design.” This is not coming from a place of competition with other tool libraries because that would be ridiculous considering our goals and missions. It is, however, an opportunity to brag about ourselves. A chance to take a step back and go, “Wow, we are accomplishing what we set out to do.” Having workshops and being able to educate the public and increase their likelihood of doing things on their own is one thing, but having a physical design from a workshop and being able to loan it an infinite amount of times is a different level of special. Like Mark said, how many libraries can make that claim? I’m going to guess not too many.
Want a summer project? Looking to build something with a child or grandchild? This boat design could be just the thing you’ve been looking for. You’ll get the chance to plane, sand, tie, glue. It’s tough, it requires attention-to-detail, and it may take a while, but the end result is a boat, and what’s cooler than that? There is nothing like building something from scratch, especially when the design is unique and free. Our tool library, of course, has all the tools you need to do this project, so come on down today and get started!
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