North Star Alliance
THE BOAT SCHOOL - HUSSON IN EASTPORT AND NORTH STAR ALLIANCE INITIATIVE TEAM-UP TO PROVIDE NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAINE STUDENTS, FACULTY, INDUSTRY AND A NEW GENERATION OF BOATBUILDERS
The Boat School-Husson in Eastport has teamed up with Maine's North Star Alliance Initiative (NSAI) to expand opportunities for students, faculty and industry.
Over the past two years North Star Alliance Initiative funding has provided Education Awards for over 80% of the Maine students enrolled in the one and two year programs at The Boat School-Husson. Unfortunately, the funds that provided the NSAI Education Awards for Maine Students have been exhausted and are no longer available.
"This has made a big difference for our Maine students and their ability to pursue a great education in marine trades training without the worry of financial burden," says Boat School administrator John Miller. "This is a great benefit to the students and to industry."
North Star Alliance Initiative funding has also provided funding for professional development of The Boat School-Husson faculty. Lead instructor Bret Blanchard and senior instructor Dean Pike have both received grants to participate in American Boat and Yacht Council certification in their areas of expertise. Both Pike and Blanchard are close to having their Master Chevrons from ABYC.
"We are teaching all of our students the ABYC established standards which will allow them to sit for the ABYC certification tests at the completion of their related courses" says Pike. "The Council's mission to develop quality technical practices and engineering standards for the design, construction, maintenance and repair of boats is now recognized throughout the boating industry and provides our students with additional skill sets that will make the marine trades industry here in Maine stronger and more competitive in the world market."
The Boat School - Husson has also been delivering one, two and three day seminars for professional development of the employees of Maine's marine trades industry. Over the past six months The Boat School - Husson has welcomed industry workers from all over Maine to participate in programs that have included Straddle Lift Operations, Marine Painting and the ACMA Certified Composite Technician (CCT) training and testing.
"These seminars have been a great success," says Miller. "The 3-day CCT program that we offered in January was a very intense training session. I am delighted to report that every member of industry that participated passed the test with flying colors. This program was fully funded by North Star Alliance.
In April and May the school will offer two seminars on Marine Finishing. The two and three day seminars are designed for members of the Maine Marine Trades Industry. The seminars will be taught by Daniel MacNaughton. Dan has many years of experience painting and varnishing boats. As manager of Rockport Marine he has been running a crew of 45-50 and making decisions about yard work on a daily basis. He has an extensive knowledge relating to the use, maintenance and repair of boats, especially wooden boats. He co-authored the Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers.
"There is more to painting and varnishing boats than opening a can and dipping your brush, especially if you want the job to look professional... and last more than a season," says Boat School administrator John Miller. "Marine finishing requires careful prep, good technique, the correct tools and an understanding of an often confusing number of available products. The Boat School - Husson is delighted to have Dan MacNaughton leading these two seminars. He will provide invaluable insight and expertise that only comes from many years of doing it right on some of the world's most beautiful boats, yachts and ships. These seminars will be great training, offering product and process understanding, and provide valuable skill-set development for both the professional and Do-it-your-selfer.
The first seminar will run April 24-25 and cover Bright Work. Topics will include everything from safety conditions and estimating time and materials, to stripping and refinishing, masking, brush application, roll and tip, clean-up and problem solving. The cost is $685.00
The second seminar is scheduled for May 1-3 and will cover Topside and Bottom. MacNaughton will cover safety, assessing conditions of surface, selecting and maintaining tools and products, fairing, surface prep, stripping and refinishing, seam maintenance, masking, scribed lines, stripes & lettering, and carpentry considerations. The cost for the 3-day seminar is $835.00 the price for both seminars is $1420.00
These Seminars Have Been Approved by North Star Alliance for Funding Assistance for those that qualify.
The Boat School-Husson, America's oldest boat building school, will hold an open house at their Eastport, Maine campus on April 17 for prospective students from Maine.
"We are delighted that Christina Sklarz-Libby, program manager for Maine's North Star Alliance Initiative will be here for that event," says Miller. "She will be able to share first hand information with a new generation of Maine boat builders, highlighting the opportunities available to them through North Star Alliance. Christina is a motivating speaker who will share 400 years of boat building history and capture the imaginations and dreams of our young visitors, while providing each of them with a view and opportunity to continue our heritage into the future."
Here is the application for NSAI Education Awards for Industry.