Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Michigan
Photos by LANCER: Mike Kiefer; PARTEE: Hanns Heil
Hanns Heil and his students at Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Michigan, built a Shellback dinghy, LANCER (top), in the school woodshop during the 2022–23 academic year, and another in the second-semester Woods and Technology Explorations class in 2024. The new boat is named PARTEE for the school district administrator, Curtis Partee, who retires this year. Both Shellbacks were, Hanns says, built on a “shoestring budget using exterior plywood, PL Premium construction adhesive, and water-based paints.” Hanns uses Eric Dow’s book How to Build the Shellback Dinghy and full-sized plans to instruct the students, with advice from a local boatbuilder, Mike Kiefer, who also donated hardware and a miter saw to the program. LANCER won first place at the Michigan Industrial and Technology Education Society Student Project competition in May 2023. She was launched the following month near the school at North Lake. PARTEE was scheduled to be launched at the end of the school year 2024.