In the winter of 1994-95 a pilot boatbuilding program
was started with the help of Willis Wharf boatbuilder Bill Young. It was
proposed as a means of giving the students a closer connection with the
water. The students solicited money for the boatbuilding expenses, helped
by a startup grant from the Virginia Coast Institute, and that spring raised
enough money to build 12 boats. In June of 1995 a 3 mile shakedown cruise
was taken on Parting Creek in Willis Wharf, Va.
