{"id":15086,"date":"2019-05-12T16:08:15","date_gmt":"2019-05-12T22:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=57892"},"modified":"2019-05-12T16:08:15","modified_gmt":"2019-05-12T22:08:15","slug":"crew-on-deck-grand-crew-restores-historic-sailboat-with-wooden-boat-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/crew-on-deck-grand-crew-restores-historic-sailboat-with-wooden-boat-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Crew on deck: Grand Crew restores historic sailboat with Wooden Boat School"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ken Fucik (left) of the Grand Lake Wooden Boat School works on a sailboat restoration project with several students from Middle Park High School\u2019s Grand Crew program.<\/strong>
Courtesy photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is something about the work of a craftsman that is almost alchemy; how knowledge and sweat combine with simple tools and raw materials to produce something that is so much more than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n

It is exactly that lesson students from Middle Park High School\u2019s Grand Crew program are learning this spring as they tackle a full-scale sailboat restoration project with the assistance of Ken Fucik and the Grand Lake Wooden Boat School.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is so much fun,\u201d explained sophomore James Craig while he took a brief break from the painting and sanding work he was doing last week. \u201cI really enjoy working with the boats. I like to work with my hands, build things and be creative. Working with the boats lets me do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week Craig and his fellow sophomore Alden Wilson were hard at work inside the rustic confines of the old Sombrero Stables in Grand Lake, where the Grand Lake Wooden Boat School, a certified nonprofit, is currently housed. Craig and Wilson were busy putting the finishing touches on a months long sailboat restoration project that they expect to wrap up in mid-May, perhaps as early as this week.<\/p>\n

Grand Crew students Alden Wilson (left) and James Craig (right) work on the final touches to the interior of the 14-foot long Glen L sloop sailboat.<\/strong>
Lance Maggart \/ lmaggart@skyhinews.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI really enjoy getting to do the physical restoration work,\u201d Wilson said, with a slight grin. \u201cWe have learned a lot about wood working, how to put fairing on, how to scarf. It (the boat) looked a little sketchy at first. But just looking at it now as it is coming together, especially with the new paint, it looks really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their work on the project is part of their curriculum as members of Middle Park High School\u2019s Grand Crew, a unique program that offers students an alternative choice for an educational path. Grand Crew students participate in a host of unique projects and internships throughout the year and Craig and Wilson\u2019s work in Grand Lake has been part of that process.<\/p>\n

Grand Crew students initially began working with Fucik\u2019s Wood Boat School last school year, tackling some simple restoration projects on smaller vessels. This year however a donated 14-foot Glen L sloop sailboat has allowed a few students who are particularly interested in boat restoration to dig even deeper into the trade.<\/p>\n

The project began last fall when the Wooden Boat School received a donation from a Granby citizen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boat was donated by a gentleman in Granby,\u201d Fucik explained. \u201cIt had been used very heavily but had sat for many years and was in bad shape when we got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Fucik received the donated boat he offered it as a project to the Grand Crew but he still needed additional funding to cover costs that would be incurred by the work. That is when Grand Lake\u2019s Rotary Club stepped up. The Club had previously offered to partner with Fucik\u2019s nonprofit organization and the Grand Crew boat restoration project became a perfect fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason it is getting restored is because of the money they gave us,\u201d Fucik said.<\/p>\n

According to Fucik the club provided over $2,000 to help cover materials costs for the project. He noted that other local organizations, including the Grand Foundation and Grand Lake Fire Protection District, also provided funding that went towards materials costs for the project.<\/p>\n

Grand Crew students work on their sailboat restoration project in Grand Lake.<\/strong>
Courtesy photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe started by dismantling bad decking and bad wood,\u201d Fucik said. \u201cWe have repaired and replaced wood; repainted, sanded, we did some fiberglassing. I taught the students scarfing, which is joining panels for the decking. We will soon be putting on the deck and remounting hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fucik said he hopes to have the boat restoration project completed in the next few weeks to then begin sailing classes for the kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will be sailing before school is out,\u201d he said emphatically.           <\/p>\n

Maggie Michalowski, program coordinator for Grand Crew, said the program is humming along nicely during its second year in existence and that her students are excited and engaged in their myriad internships and final projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a good year,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a lot more ongoing projects this year. We are working with the historical society. We are on river watch collecting data. We also have this long-term project restoring the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Michalowski all of the Crew students have participated in the boat restoration project though Craig, Wilson and junior student Gabe Gonzalez have formed a core group that has really spearheaded the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are really interested and want to learn this stuff,\u201d Michalowski said. \u201cThey are learning how to replaced wooden pieces, repair fiberglass, mix and apply epoxy, they have scarfed wood. They are learning the process of making it look brand new.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ken Fucik (left) of the Grand Lake Wooden Boat School works on a sailboat restoration project with several students from Middle Park High School\u2019s Grand Crew program.Courtesy photo There is something about the work of a craftsman that is almost alchemy; how knowledge and sweat combine with simple tools and raw materials to produce something […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-11 18:29:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15086\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}