Build a Boat.
Build a Dream.
Brooklyn Boatworks empowers New York City youth through hands-on boatbuilding, STEM learning, sailing, and career exploration - building the confidence and skills to chart their own futures.
Three sheets of plywood. A set of plans. Hand tools. And a challenge that seems almost impossible.
Build a seaworthy boat.
Each year, Brooklyn Boatworks students work together to transform raw materials into an 8-foot Optimist sailboat they ultimately launch and sail in New York Harbor.
From measuring and cutting to assembling, painting, and rigging, students learn by doing - solving real problems, working together, and seeing a complex project through from beginning to end.
But hands-on learning doesn’t end there
Students build more than boats.
At Brooklyn Boatworks, students build confidence, curiosity, and careers. Through hands-on boatbuilding, sailing, and STEM exploration, New York City youth discover what they're capable of and learn to navigate their own futures.
Learn about Brooklyn Boatworks
Boat Building Program
Explorers Program
Career Exploration Initiative
Help build what's possible.
Your support keeps these transformative programs free for families and helps chart the course for the next generation of innovators and leaders.
Together, we can turn potential into purpose, one boat at a time.
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Learn about our programs