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. Today, 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.

In 2024, All Hands Boatworks was recognized as Milwaukee’s Small Nonprofit Organization of the Year. Over the past 12 years, All Hands Boatworks (AHB) has inspired and taught more than 8,000 Milwaukee-area youths in more than 170 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!