George sands alongside Akeem(left) and MJ (right)

Many hands make for smooth painting.

On Saturday, April 18th, Group #2 took their canoe outside to do the final sanding in preparation for priming the boat. It was a beautiful day and by the end of the session the canoe was glistening as well. As the kids arrived you could see the pride they had in the work they had done thus far. Following the work segments the following participants had these things to say:

Perry: Today was fun, because we got to sand the boat and we are getting ready to paint the boat. It's hard to believe we are so close to finishing our canoe for launch day.
Tammy: We worked outside and it is hot. We are almost finished with the canoe, which is great. Now people can say, "Wow! What a great job they did on the boat," and that will make us feel special.
Tryna: We got the boat sanded and then we primed the boat. I liked painting better, because it was easier.
Keyshawn: It was a good day, because we got to paint, sand, and do it all outside. We finally put our paint on the canoe, so it is almost finished.
Mauricus: I helped srape the boat to make it smooth. The sanding part was hard and then the painting part was easy.

Next, stop for the canoes....
One of the canoes will be on display at the KidWalk 5K to benefit Box of Rain and 5 other Annapolis Charities on May 2nd from 7:30am-11am at the Naval Academy Stadium. To register for the walk visit: www.FriendsLHS.org
Following the walk both canoes will be down at City Dock for the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival the afternoons of May 2nd and 3rd. While at City Dock they will get their design coat of paint in anticipation for launch day on May 17th at 1pm from the Annapolis Maritime Museum.
The Annapolis Maritime Museum, Box of Rain, and Eastport Yacht Club Foundation will host a special celebration for the participants, sponsors, and community.

Group #1 Completes Finishing Touches Before Paint Design Begins

Today Group #1 met to complete the sanding process before putting on the 3 coats of primer, so that painting can take place when they meet back up the first weekend of May.
The group started by creating sanding blocks that would help to smooth the canoe. The participants used a rasp to sculpt the stem point, they were planing the edges, and then sanded down the canoe to have a smooth finish.
The participants had a few brief comments about what happened:
Michael - I was shaving the canoe with a spoke sander.
Tykiara - I planed the center pieces on the bottom of the boat.
Jaquan - I had fun sanding!
Tariq - I learned how to shave wood, used a planer, and did some sanding. I am very excited about getting to paint our canoe next time.
Lamont - I did lots of sanding with the sandpaper.
Crystal - I was able to help by brushing down the wood with the sandpaper.
David - My job was to saw some stuff and then sand parts of the canoe with the sanding blocks we made.