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Bobby Ives grabs some basic hand tools, a square and an edge, to show his junior class how to place ribs on a small wooden canoe.
And he makes sure they know to do it right. The pieces of wood must fit together nicely.
"The bottom line is you have to keep the water out of the boat and the boat and boat people out, and that's a good guide to follow," Ives said.
He then added some serious information.
"These little boats have saved six lives [over the years] from various emergencies, people falling overboard, so you have to build them right because the boat you build might save a life."
In the carpenter's boat shop, some lessons go beyond carpentry skills. It has been that way since Ives and his late wife Ruth founded the school 43 years ago.
Eves was a young shepherd. The couple taught school on Monhegan Island, where the Ives Island church was located, as well as on the New Harbor mainland. He also learned how to build wooden boats and said he wanted to find a way to help others learn these skills while learning to care for them, helping them find direction and purpose in life.
The carpenter's boat shop was that tool. They brought in small classes of apprentices who lived together, worked to learn boat building techniques, and did community service.
He said he was following Jesus' advice and preaching on the mountain.
"We try to live by these simple precepts: goodness, peace, joy, love and such simple life. We try to engage not so much with words, but with these simple symbols: peace, joy, love and forgiveness on a daily basis in our lives. "
It's not a religious organization and it's not exactly a school, explained Boat Shop CEO Alicia Witham.
"I call the boat building program more than the school," Witham said.
People can come to boat shops and learn to build boats, he said, but the program is more than that.
"Community living, adventure sailing and opportunities for personal growth, we provide a tremendous service to our community," he said.
Students come for free. Students stay in the boat shop for months, sharing responsibilities but paying nothing.
Weekly classes for adults, like those taught by Ives, help pay the bills, as well as scholarships, grants and sales of boats and other wooden items, run by a team of volunteers.
Ives left the school in 2012 to work at Bowdoin College, but returned as a volunteer. Witham and a small team and board manage the program.
However, Ives' personality, knowledge and experience remain a draw for those who visit Carpenter's boat shop.
"We strive to help them live without fear, unconditional love and volunteering for the greater good of all".
Asked if it could be a guide to how to live your life, Bobby Ives smiled: "I try to improve it when I can."
