By the end of July, the teens in this year's class should be paddling around the lakes at FDR Park on one of the sailboats stored at the warehouse. Brenner said that the teens are a little shaky when they first take the boats out on the water. While down at The Lakes, McKonly said, he and Brenner plan to teach the teens about the ecosystem at the park. Plus, they'll learn how to maneuver canoes and sailboats. To raise money for the free boat making classes, the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory is offering adult classes in boat making this fall and winter for the first time.
Adults can learn to make a canoe in six hours, restore a canoe and make a boat model.