Two and a half months in, three weeks until the Christmas break, and we have been working in both the classroom and the shop to learn how to effectively use composite materials.  The work has centered on a process of learning in the classroom followed by instructor demonstrations before we are set loose to try on our own.

Hello again! I’m Abby Shenker, student in Digital Modeling and Fabrication. In my first blog post here, I wrote about how varied the students at IYRS are. This month, I want to talk a bit about what many of us have in common. 

Over the last month of Marine Systems, we’ve been super busy both in the classroom and out on the shop floor. We’ve been learning how to read plans, layout the different systems, create wiring diagrams to plan our wiring, price out simulated plumbing jobs, and install both electrical and plumbing on our simulator

As far back as I recall, I’ve always been fascinated by sailboats, observing their magnificent silhouettes crossing Narragansett Bay or escaping toward the Atlantic horizon. Coming to IYRS has not only returned me to my home state, but it has also brought me that much closer to one day building my own boat with which to explore the intricate coast of Rhode Island and beyond.

I first learned about IYRS as a high school aged kid who visited Rhode Island in the summers with his family. Back then, I thought to myself, wouldn’t that be a cool life: working on boats, living out my days near the water, using nautical terms. I could see myself forty years down the road, smoking a pipe with a salty, grey beard, saying things like, “hold fast” and, “jib sheet.” But I was young, scared, and I didn’t know anyone who did things like that. It didn’t seem possible.

Fair warning that this post is a little different than most on the IYRS Blog – typically these blogs are written by students and alumni; while I am neither of these things, I am a member of the IYRS staff and this is about how I found myself working in this crazy, almost magical place.

I would guess that this blog post could be best titled as “First impressions”, as we are about a month into the Fall semester. I’ll try to share what I have experienced so far as an IYRS student in the Composites Technology Program.

My name is Abby Shenker, and I have a confession to make: I don’t really care about boats. Even in the Digital Modeling & Fabrication program at IYRS, it’s the sort of phrase I say in hushed tones on our campus, where boats and those who are passionate them are around literally every corner.