Students learn more than boatbuilding in class

While shop classes are common in schools across the country, not many offer students a chance to build their own boats. The marine fabrication class at Wrangell High School had decades of history, according to teacher Winston Davies, who said it teaches students important lessons for their lives and careers.

"This marine fab program, I think got started back in the '80s with Dave Brown," Davies said. "He was my shop teacher, and it's been going ever since. ... It's kind of a hallmark of the district."

This is Davies' first year of teaching the shop class, he said. He stepped in because he didn...