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COOKIES & SAWDUST ?
By Dana Willis, Waterfront Operations Manager
It may seem an odd combination,
but cookies and sawdust came together at Maine Maritime
Academy. 2/C Kathryn Haenn, a Marine Systems Engineering
major, approached the MMA Waterfront Staff for some help.
Kathryn is a counselor at Camp Natarswi, the Girl Scout camp
located in Baxter State Park in northern Maine. The camp
operates a fleet of Sunfish sailboats on their waterfront, and the
boats were in need of some repairs to rudders, daggerboards
and sails.
The Waterfront staff decided that this project could serve an
academic purpose as well as a community service opportunity.
Chris Grindle, Cullen Teel, and Craig Desmond, instructors in
the Small Craft Construction lab, took on the task of building
a complete set of oak daggerboards, tillers and rudders for
the Camp Natarswi fleet. Joseph Koch, Daniel O'Malley, Wes
Hollingshead, Rob Bernard and Andrew Harrison, students
that the students executed to turn out a great product for the
Scouts to use this summer.
Phase 2 of the process was repair or replacement of the sails.
Capt. Eric Jergenson, instructor in the Modern Sail Vessel
Technology class, inspected the sails brought to him by 2/C
Haenn, and decided replacement was in order. Junior Hadley
Neal undertook the task of building the new sails as her project
for the semester. This project provided the perfect opportunity
for Neale to synthesize all of the sailmaking skills she had
learned over the semester. After interpreting the sail plan
and lofting the sail on the floor, she used the industrial sewing
machines that she had learned how to run and clean, to seam
the sail, install corner reinforcements and tapes, batten pockets
and reefpoints. Later, on the sailmaker's bench, she installed
grommets, seized on hanks, and whipped and spliced the lines.
To show appreciation for the students' efforts, representatives
from local Girl Scout Troop 570 brought boxes of Girl Scout
in the lab, applied the concepts learned in the classroom from
Cookies in to share with the students. The initiative shown by
Capt. Rick Miller, and with the guidance of Grindle and Teel
Kathryn Haenn, along with the enthusiasm of the Waterfront
crafted the new equipment from red oak stock. Compound
staff and participation by the MMA students combined to
curves, wood selection and hardware mounting were all skills
provide a perfect learning experience.
Penobscot Marine Museum Honors MMA
Dr. William Brennan, President of Maine Maritime Academy, and Capt. Robert Peacock '71, Chairman of the MMA Board of Trustees,
attended the Penobscot Marine Museum's Gala & Auction 2012 on July 28th as guests of honor on behalf of MMA. MMA trustees, Earle
Cianchette `77 and Ward Graffam also attended the function and Cianchette introduced President Brennan. Every year, the museum,
located in Searsport, Maine, chooses one marine-related person, business, or organization to honor during its premier celebration and
fund-raiser. MMA was chosen for its over 60 years of commitment to the sea and marine industries.
11 MARINER / FALL 2012

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