Strengthen the Mind
Extraordinary effort
13-17
13-year-old Gulf Coast teen sets sail in hand-crafted sailboat
Photo and reporting by
WLOX
Court Salloum drew a sailboat, then spent five months turning it into one out of plywood and two-by-fours, zip-tied, stitched, glued, and fiberglassed along the sides. At 13, he sailed it out for the first time at the Gulfport Yacht Club's flag-raising.
The parent pitched in
When Teal found the hull held together with nothing but zip ties, he told Court that was going to be a problem. Court said it was called stitch and glue and it would work. Teal helped him build it, but the method stayed Court's call.
Why we picked this one
Nobody in this story stopped to ask if a 13-year-old should be fiberglassing a boat in the driveway. His dad just kept driving the plywood home.
Court's build took five months and a truckload of plywood. The version anyone can start Saturday is smaller: hand your kid the drill, pick one real thing worth building, and make them measure twice before you let them pull the trigger.
Read the full story at
WLOX
Where it happened:
Gulfport, Mississippi
Court's whole boat started as a drawing. Somewhere in your house there's one too, taped to a wall, waiting on a truckload of plywood nobody's bought yet.