All Hands Boatworks, Inc.

In the mid-1800s, Milwaukee was a hub of wooden boatbuilding, from rowing skiffs to cargo schooners. Statewide, Wisconsin also had its share of boat builders, beginning with indigenous first peoples, explorers, and then European settlers, who created canoes and other small crafts used on rivers and lakes. Now, in the 21st Century, All Hands Boatworks is helping to continue that heritage and pass on the importance of craftsmanship through its youth and community boatbuilding projects at the Boatworks Shop, located in Walker’s Point.

Now in its 11th year, All Hands Boatworks, Inc. is a nonprofit youth development organization based here in Milwaukee. Over the past decade, All Hands Boatworks (AHB) has inspired and taught more than 6,000 Milwaukee-area youths in more than 152 wooden boatbuilding projects and on-the-water rowing, canoeing, and sailing activities. For many youths, their projects and activities have not only been their first introduction to boating but also connected them with their urban rivers and our lakefront for the first time – with boats built with their own hands!