Boat builder: Union Grove graduate spent her last year and a half in high school constructing a canoe

By Brent Killackey

Tuesday, June 27, 2006 2:11 AM CDT

UNION GROVE - Amanda Clark didn't mind being the only girl in her woodworking classes at Union Grove High School.

"It was intimidating at first, but it was really fun because it was a whole new experience," she said.

The 18-year-old Kansasville resident, who graduated earlier this month, also didn't mind showing the boys in the class how to get things done.

Clark tackled the most challenging project that teacher Randy Wegener has overseen during his 11 years of teaching.

"Mr. Wegener asked if I wanted to make a canoe, and I agreed," Clark said.

Clark had shown previous woodworking aptitude making a bedside cabinet and a small coffee table with a checkerboard top. She also helped construct classroom cabinets for students to store in-progress works.

But the canoe project headed down uncharted waters for both Clark and Wegener.

"It was even a learning experience for me," Wegener said.

It also was much more time-consuming than past projects. Clark began the canoe project mid-way through her junior year and finished the project just as the final days of her high school career came to a close.

Because Union Grove uses block scheduling, Clark had a good chunk of time each day to work on the canoe: 9:10 to 10:45 a.m. She occasionally spent time after school or during breaks to continue making progress.

She worked off book plans for the 16-foot-long Chestnut Prospector, a leisure river canoe built for balance and enjoyment.

The first nine weeks were spent building wooden forms, which needed to be precise, she said. After the forms were made, Clark began putting approximately 160 strips of California Red Cedar into place, along with other components, such as the seat supports. Everything was sealed with special epoxy glues.

At 50 or 60 pounds, it's quite light for its size. It's also strong, capable of supporting up to 500 pounds.

The cedar cost about $400 and other wood and materials added another $300 to Clark's materials cost. But that's much less expensive than if she had gone to a store to buy a wood canoe of similar design: They cost $8,000 to $10,000.

Clark says she has no plans to sell this canoe and expects she will be able to enjoy her handiwork for many years into the future. Similar wooden canoes have lasted more than 100 years, she said.

Wegener said that Clark showed a lot of determination and stuck with a project that he wouldn't suggest for just any student.

"I give her a lot of credit," Wegener said.

"My grandfather used to be a woodworker," Clark said. Although he's no longer alive to pass along his skills, a woodshop remains on her grandmother's property.

It will only be an hour's drive from where she will be attending college this fall: Northland College in Ashland.

She plans to study meteorology, but pursue woodworking in her free time.

"It's definitely a hobby I'm going to stay into," she said.

She anticipates making some oars for the canoe to replace store-bought ones that will be used at first.

Clark said she encourages more girls to try woodworking classes.

"It's an art form and it's a different form of art," she said.

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