i At Hodgdon Yachts, students learn about woodworking in apprenticeship program
At Hodgdon Yachts, students learn about woodworking in apprenticeship program
BY KEITH EDWARDS
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 03/02/2009

RICHMOND -- Kaitlyn Maguire, a senior at Richmond High School, admits she was a little scared, at first, to work amid the buzzing power tools used to craft wood into intricately detailed interior pieces for multi-million-dollar yachts.

Now, in the words of Ron Walton, a lead man at Hodgdon Yachts' Hodgdon Interiors, Maguire is a star.

"We're not just teaching her; she's become a real asset for the company," Walton, of Nobleboro, said of the young apprentice. "Everybody loves to work with her. She likes what she's doing and she does excellent work. She's a star."

Maguire is one of four Richmond High students in a new apprenticeship program at Hodgdon Yachts' interiors division.

The program began this school year -- Hodgdon's first since opening its interiors division last year in Richmond to create finely crafted interiors for both their own high-end pleasure yachts and other yacht-makers' watercraft.

Seniors Maguire, Matt Brown, and Gary Perry and junior Ryan Dearborn attend classes at the adjacent Richmond High School before coming over around noon to work at Hodgdon until 4:30 or so.

They receive school credit and draw paychecks for their work.

They work alongside, and under the guidance of, Hodgdon's cabinetmakers and joiners, a crew of about 30 woodworkers inside the Richmond Business and Manufacturing Center, a former Etonic shoe factory.

Chris Paine, safety officer, oversees the apprenticeship program. He said the facility's workers have embraced the program. The students have, too. He said the students could come work for Hodgdon after they graduate, but said even if they don't, he considers the program well worth it.

"It gives them an incentive to do well in school, which gives me goose bumps," Paine said. "That a company would take the opportunity to change a young person's life, I think, is great. It's exciting to have even a small part in a young person's life. It's the mentoring mindset. That's how I learned when I came in. An older person showed me."

Students' work will go into some high-end stuff. While Hodgdon officials generally won't disclose the prices of their vessels, citing customer confidentiality, the 154-foot yacht Scheherazade, built by Hodgdon in 2003, was listed online about a year ago at $29 million.

"It's exciting to know you took part in making something that goes into something so high-end," Perry said. "That you had a part in it."

John Williamson, assistant principal, said Hodgdon, ever since the East Boothbay-based yacht-maker came into the community, encouraged the high school to involve students in the company's work. He said the program provides a different way for students to learn.

"These students knew that they needed something different than the traditional school day," Williamson said. "And we knew it too. So this program has made a difference for the students. It is demonstrating the relevance of the things they have learned at school. We believe in the program."

Dearborn said his favorite job at Hodgdon is sanding, because it's a chance to fine-tune nearly complete work. He likes the hands-on aspect of work at Hodgdon compared to regular schoolwork.

"It's definitely more hands-on," Dearborn said. "Which I find more interesting. And it's fun, too."

Hodgdon is a fifth-generation Maine yacht-maker officials describe as the oldest continuously running shipyard in America.

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

Bookmark and share this story: digg del.icio.us Reddit

Reader comments

Click here to view or add reader comments