PUBLIC BOATING AND EDUCATION IN HUDSON, NY
We are raising money to fund our after-school programming at the Hudson Intermediary School. We just finished another wonderful semester building and designing boats, learning woodworking skills and collaborating with the students at the Hudson Intermediary School.
We need to raise $3000 by January 1st so that we can continue this programming in the spring. Please help us reach this goal by donating today! #givingtuesday
Check out some of the educational programming we've been up to at the Hudson Intermediary School. Last Spring a group of 6th graders build this wooden punt and launched it at Oakdale (see video!). This Fall, a group of younger students, aged 7-10 have been developing their woodworking skills, learning about boats, buoyancy and hydrodynamics.
(the 6th graders and their boat!)
Join Riverkeeper’s Kate Hudson, Watershed Program Director and Scenic Hudson for a presentation about the risks of crude oil transportation in the Hudson Valley on July 9, 2014. This presentation is being co-hosted by the Hudson Sloop Club and is made possible by the generosity of our venue host, Basilica Hudson.
The event is free, and the public is encouraged to attend.
Background: Until recently, there was little or no crude oil transported in the Hudson Valley. The growth of oil production in North Dakota and elsewhere has spurred industry to make the Hudson Valley into an international conduit for crude oil. Up to 5 billion gallons of crude oil is being transported through the Hudson Valley annually by train, barge and ship. All three transportation methods – what is being called by industry a “virtual pipeline” – could affect our communities and environmental resources. Spills, explosions and fires—some resulting in the catastrophic loss of life—have occurred elsewhere on this virtual pipeline. Further, proposed Hudson River oil facility expansions and the proposed development of a regional pipeline could increase the transport of crude oil locally by as much as 3.8 billion gallons annually.
- See more at: http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/events/rvk-events/community-meeting-on-the-risks-of-transporting-crude-oil-on-the-hudson/#sthash.DBQSjQs2.dpuf
“Unfortunately folks the threat of rain and thunderstorms is forecast at 80% for tomorrow. So we’re going to pull the plug and freeze the fish. Stay tune for the next event hosted by the Hudson Sloop Club. Thanks for all your support.”
May 16, 2014 from 5-7pm at Rick's Point on the Hudson Waterfront! Bring a boat, a fishing rod and a dish if you wish! Come kick off the 2014 season with the Hudson Sloop Club!
Check out the full Register Star article here: http://www.registerstar.com/news/article_3d34db8a-becf-11e3-9a05-0019bb2963f4.html
David Lee/Columbia-Greene Media : The Hudson Sloop Club, led by Nick Zachos (standing on the raft on the right), brought their various boats to Oakdale Lake last summer to see how they would float.
Sloop club offers program at M.C. Smith Intermediate School
Posted: Tuesday, April 8, 2014 12:30 am
By John Mason Columbia-Greene Media |1 comment
Practical skill-building and a connection to Hudson’s river-going heritage will be fostered in a new program at M.C. Smith Intermediate School. Over the next nine weeks, a group of sixth-graders will build a traditional wooden boat, and, if all goes well, take it out on Oakdale Lake.
The class, which starts Wednesday, is being taught by members of the Hudson Sloop Club, led by Nick Zachos and Ed Csukas.
The dozen sixth-graders enrolled in the class will develop carpentry and construction skills, while learning about the cultures and histories of the Hudson River Valley, Csukas stated in an email, “from the Native Americans that first set out in dugout canoes to Hudson’s rich history as a maritime port and whaling center to the modern uses of the river.”
The class will meet for a half-hour lunch and hear stories about the history and ecology of the river, Zachos said. Then after school they’ll meet again, for two hours, “to dig into some hands-on construction.”
There will be three volunteers from the sloop club and one volunteer from the Hudson Afterschool Program, making four educators for 12 kids, he said.
The end-product may be a rowboat, or some other type of boat, Zachos said, depending on what the kids want to do. There will probably be “some messing around with materials, doing something new from scratch,” he said.
“Boat-building is a great way of doing educational projects,” he said. Participants get natural lessons in geometry, physics, chemistry and ecology, Csukas stated.
Making a traditional rowboat would be exciting for Zachos because it would involve soaking the wood to curve it, and would bring in some of the geometrical aspects of boat-making.
Another kind of boat that could emerge from the workshop is a flat-bottomed sailboat with a square sail and no keel. These were the boats used by the Vikings and the ancient Greeks, Zachos said; the more flexible Marconi or Bermuda rig sail, most familiar today, wasn’t popularized until the 17th century.
The class will also learn about the four archetypal boats common to every water-going culture: dugout canoes, reed boats, birchbark canoes, and skin boats.
Once the boat, whatever kind it is, is constructed, participants will carry it down the path that leads from M.C. Smith to Oakdale Lake, where it will be tested by adults for seaworthiness before being tested by students. All will be wearing life preservers.
The class got its start at Kite’s Nest last year.
“They gave us an amazing opportunity to teach a class in wooden boat-building,” Zachos said. “We taught the kids in the daytime and the adults in the evening, but we were all working on the same boat.”
A carpenter by trade, Zachos is also a sixth-generation boat builder. His Norwegian ancestors were building boats at least as long ago as the early 1800s.
Eventually the boats, made in Annapolis, Md., became known as Trumpy Yachts. Zachos’ uncle was the last family member to work there. The company is known for its pleasure yachts, but also for wartime vessels like PT boats — John F. Kennedy’s PT 109 may have been one of them.
It was only in the last few years that Zachos, after a boat-building workshop in Maine, turned to the family obsession.
Zachos and Csukas are founding members of the sloop club, a community-based boating organization dedicated to getting people out on the river and educating them about the river.
Although Hudson has a maritime history, there’s not a lot of connection to the river in its daily life, Zachos said. “You don’t see a lot of people out on the river,” he said. “Our idea is to bridge that gap, provide education and access to the river.”
The club is fundraising to restore boats it owns and to support educational programs, including summer camps and adult classes.
Go to http://hudsonsloopclub.org/how-to-get-involved/ to help fund this program and others planned for this year and learn more about the Hudson Sloop Club.
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To reach reporter John Mason, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2500, or e-mail jmason@registerstar.com.
A beautiful new rendering by our own Cara Turrett incorporating many of our ideas for a community oriented Hudson waterfront .
Some features to note are....
Kayak shack for secure public boat storage on Ricks point.
A gently graded pea gravel small boat launch for kayaks, canoes, paddle boards etc... in Slip #2
A river based educational center and boat shop with a restored public pier between slips #1 and #2
The Hudson Museum occupying the former Dunn building
The Vermont Freight Sail Project docked and unloading cargo
And much more...
Join us at the waterfront from 3-6pm on Monday October 14th for a potluck celebration! Bring a dish to share or a donation!
Come celebrate the Hudson Sloop Club and The Hudson Waterfront with free ice cream, music and public boating!
Order your Hudson Sloop Club T-shirts and Sweatshirts by emailing hudsonsloopclub@gmail.com with:
1. Name and Shipping Preference: Ship or Pick-up (shipping will be free for indiegogo donors who won their gear as a reward, and $5.00 for others.)
2. Your Address if we are shipping your gear to you.
3. The quantity, size (we have XS through XXL) and color of your Ts and Hoodies (colors listed below).
4. How you would like to pay: Check or Cash in person at a pick-up date, PayPal online, or Check or Cash by Mail.
We will set up a pick up date for local people at a class or upcoming potluck, at which you can pay for and pick up your gear.
If you are having your gear shipped you can pay by mail or online. We have set up a Hudson Sloop Club Pay-Pal account which will accept all major credit cards.
Checks can be made out to: Hudson Sloop Club and mailed to 113 Union St. Hudson, NY 12534.
T-shirt colors: Classic Navy, Royal Heather, Charcoal Heather, Army Heather, Black, Brick Red, Classic Navy Heather
Sweatshirt colors: Army, Black, Dark Green, Royal Blue, Charcoal Heather, Navy, Red
Join us this Friday to celebrate summer, the blooming berries and bringing our boats out onto the river! We will be down at Rick's Point from 5pm on. Please come join us!
We ate so many berries and enjoyed the cool weather and whipped cream. Thanks for coming down, and see you next time!
Come to the Hudson waterfront this Friday! Join us, from 5pm on, in making a parade float and getting out on the water. Bring your boats, food to grill and your creativity. See you there!
Tonight we will continue with the completion of the boat: building frames, thwarts, gunwales, inwales, breasthook and quarterknees...
Come by this TONIGHT from 6-9!
We had a wonderful event on Saturday at Kite's Nest to celebrate all of the amazing work that children have been doing this spring! The kids shared their carpentry and boat building skills with parents and friends, tested their small wooden boats in the water and helped Nick caulk the seams of the sailing skiff!
Please donate today!
Thanks so much for your contributions.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-hudson-sloop-club
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-hudson-sloop-club
