Kayak Building Workshop Students Prepare To Launch Their Crafts in the Hudson River

Students in SUNY Rockland’s Kayak Building Workshop Prepare
To Launch Their Crafts in the Hudson River on June 17

Suffern, NY - Students in the evening Kayak Building Workshop offered by SUNY Rockland’s Center for Personnel & Professional Development (CPPD) are finishing their projects in preparation for a Nyack State Beach launch in the Hudson River.

Michael Lipkin, RCC’s Director for Institutional Research and certified instructor through the American Canoe Association, has been teaching students the art of building kayaks.  The boats are a traditional Greenland Sea kayak design from Pygmy Boats Inc. The students will be putting their 17-foot long wooden kayaks in the water at the end of the 10th class on Wednesday, June 17, at approximately 7 p.m.

Student Tom Vanloan, a retired police officer from Massapequa, Long Island, said, “I’ve tried building a rowboat before but a kayak sounded much more involved so I wanted to work with an instructor on this. When I saw the ad for the class, it really caught my attention.”

Lipkin said, “Courses like this at the established boat building schools in Connecticut and Maine typically cost in excess of $2,000, but RCC was able to offer the course for $750.”

Lipkin takes his own homemade sea kayak out two to three times a week, crossing the Hudson from Nyack to Ossining and back. He also enjoys fishing from his kayak. “Last week I caught a 30-pound striped bass—it was very exciting.”

Lipkin plans to offer the Kayak Building Workshop again through the CPPD in the future. To learn more about the workshop, contact Michael Lipkin at 845-574-4466 or mlipkin@sunyrockland.edu

The CPPD offers professional training and life enrichment opportunities for children, adults and seniors. To see the continuously updated list of available courses, visit www.sunyrockland.edu/go/cppd.  If you would like a catalog delivered to your home, or need more information, contact the CPPD at (845)574-4151, toll free at (888) 807-4525, ext. 4151, or conted@sunyrockland.edu.

The CPPD also partners with business and industry in providing customized training programs. Registration for customized training services and corporate educational programs is available by contacting Dean Richard Syrek at 845-574-4465.

Course registration may be completed at www.sunyrockland.edu/go/cppd, by fax at 845-574-4163 or toll free by phone at (888) 807-4525, ext. 4151. Registrations may also be completed by mail or in person at Rockland Community College Center for Personal & Professional Development, Brucker Hall, Room 6102,145 College Road, Suffern, New York 10901.

Stay informed: sign up for RCC's free monthly e-newsletter of events by visiting www.sunyrockland.edu and clicking into the "Sign up for events newsletter" button on the lower right. Suffern campus map: http://www.sunyrockland.edu/about/campus-guide/map

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Rockland Community College, a unit of the State University of New York, is located 25 miles northwest of NYC. The majority of its students transfer to four-year colleges, and many find immediate employment upon earning their associate's degree or certificate. The College also offers others, from preschoolers to senior citizens, the opportunity to simply learn something new. Quality education...at a price you can afford.