Ever dreamed of owning your own boat to go fishing or to go up the rivers to your special hunting area? The Delta High School metals program is once again building another boat that will be raffled off on the last school day of the year. Mark your calendars for May 22, 2025.

 

Raffle tickets are available from the Delta High School office and from some of the students as well.

 

This is not the first time that the metals program has built a boat. The visionary behind this project is Delta resident Gary Hall who had an idea of being able to provide the students in his metals class with a project that they could work on through the course of a year or possibly two. The project would be something tangible that would foster the students ability to learn new skills and practice and perfect their abilities.

 

Hall and his students completed the previous boat in the spring of 2023, and it was raffled off to one very lucky individual. Hall and his students found the entire experience so fulfilling that in the fall of 2023 the decision was made to build another boat.

 

Hall said, “This boat will be a little bit shorter than the one that was raffled off two years ago. The new one will be 18’ and the first one was 21’.”

 

Hall continued on saying, “Both boats are the same width. The first one had a pointed bow. The new one will have a square bow so it will be easier to load a four-wheeler or load over the bow.”

 

Taking the learning from the first boat, Hall planned to make this boat a little simpler by having no center console and the motor is tiller steering.

 

The previous boat was patterned after the watercrafts that Wooldridge Boat company from Seattle manufactures.

 

In preparation for this project, Hall paid a visit to Boulton Powerboats in Central Point, Oregon. They specialize in the construction of boats suitable for lakes, rivers, bays, and oceans.

 

The features of this boat include the ability to have six people on board, can operate in a mere six inches of water and has a full flotation feature. This means that even if the boat gets swamped, it will not sink. Also included in this special project is a new Honda outboard jet motor and a new trailer.

 

Hall treats this special class just like it would be in a manufacturing facility and goes over with his students the project timeline and dates where certain milestones must be achieved. As of the writing of this article, there are merely three months remaining until the raffle date.

 

Hall’s students realize that they are working on something that will be around for a very long time and it gives them a sense of pride in their efforts.

 

Part of this construction journey is learning how to weld aluminum, the main material used for constructing this boat.

 

One of the main skills that the students are able to become proficient at is welding aluminum. Some people have an easier time understanding this process and also have a better feel for operating the equipment.

 

When asking the students in the class if someone was a really good welder, all of the students in unison pointed at and said “Wyatt Holembeck”.

 

With many different students being able to work on the welding of the boat, and learning the process of working with aluminum, one of the steps in the production process is inspecting the welds.

 

Recently, with all of the welding being completed on the bottom of the boat, Hall announced that it was time check the welds and see if there were any leaks.

 

The students connected a garden hose to the utility sink and then started to fill the boat with five inches of water.

 

As the boat was filling with water, all of the students were watching to see if there were any apparent leaks.

 

Hall explained that if there were any leaks, it would be caused by the short welds that were performed on the boat.

 

“You cannot weld too long a stretch because it can warp the aluminum,” said Hall. Looking at the welds, it was clear that there were many short welds.

 

As the students were carefully inspecting the exterior of the bottom of the boat, several small leaks became apparent by the water that was leaking out.

 

“We will have to grind the leaking welds down and re-weld those places,” said Hall. He went on to explain that when one weld ends and the new weld begins, it is easy to have a cold spot that has not gotten up to temperature so as to continue the weld.

 

Hall continues to provide guidance and another skill that is rarely taught, pride in workmanship.

 

Tickets are on sale and the raffle drawing will be held on May 22, the last day of school.