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Boat project tests student's mettle Mail Tribune / Jim Craven TJ Penner created a 16-foot, flat-bottom aluminum boat as his senior project for South Medford High School. South Medford senior builds fishing boat out of aluminum By DAMIAN MANN Noah might have built a bigger boat, but it probably wouldn't have lasted as long as TJ Penner's. This South Medford High School senior undertook the ambitious project of creating an almost indestructible 16-foot, flat-bottom boat made entirely out of aluminum. Penner won't be filling up his boat with pairs of animals, but he is hoping for a load of fish from the Rogue River. The boat made its maiden voyage on Sunday. His father, Richard Penner, was amazed at how well the boat handled. "I was blown away by it," he said. "And we actually caught some salmon." Penner's boat is one of hundreds of senior projects that have been created in Jackson County schools this spring as a requirement of graduation. Students have built greenhouses, learned how to blow glass or even delved into esoteric subjects like existentialism. Many of the projects have been done for practical reasons. Penner needed a boat for fishing, but the cost runs about $15,000 new, or possibly $6,000 used. "I always wanted one," said the Ruch teenager. "But I just couldn't afford one." Penner built his for a mere $3,500. He even found a used 85-horsepower motor and another smaller one for trolling. But he still needed a trailer to haul his rig around, so Penner found one at the coast, cleaned it up and painted it. Working out of the high school metal shop and at his home, Penner started the project before Christmas, but had no idea he would complete it by the end of the school year. "I did all the work myself," said Penner. "The only real problem I had was financial." His teacher, Tyler McHugh, said Penner originally got the idea to build the craft when six boats were rescued from Howard Prairie Resort two years ago after a tree fell, crushing them. The resort told the school that they would like two of the boats fixed, but would leave the rest for the students. Penner repaired one of them, but eventually sold it to help pay to build his new boat. "That's what got him started," said McHugh. But Penner at first thought he didn't have the skills to complete the project before the end of the school year. His teacher, who will be retiring after more than 30 years with the district, told him, "You bet you can do that." Penner spent about two weeks on the design, looking at other boats, but wanting something that could traverse the river. "The design changed a lot as I went along," he said. Although Penner doesn't plan to make a living from boat building, he hopes to one day make an even bigger fishing vessel, possibly 18 or 20 feet in length. In the meantime, he will be working at Lithia Motors this summer as a lube technician, eventually hoping to begin the apprentice mechanic program. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.