Ledyard - Twice a week, inside a storage shed on Wendell Comrie Road, five men gather to saw, glue, chisel, file and plane.

They're building a 16-foot, two-seater dory to use later this year in the Ledyard Community Rowing program.

Even though the Parks and Recreation boat-building class, which is taught by Russell Smith, began in November and has officially ended, Ed Berryman, Warren Dolphin, Frank Lavigueur, JP Gouzie and Smith refuse to put their woodworking tools down until the boat is finished.

A wood stove keeps the shed at a comfortable temperature despite the swirling winds outside. The walls of the wood shop are decorated with Smith's rowing and sailing mementos; oars rest on the ceiling's exposed wooden beams.

Using handsaws, jigsaws, planes, chisels and every woodworking tool in between, the boat has come together.

There are no straight edges.

"That's the beauty of boat building. No boat turns out the same, it's pretty neat," Smith said. "We take time to stand back and look at it because we want to make sure it looks good."

The boat, which is made primarily out of 1/4-inch plywood, costs about $400 to build. A model 25-foot dory outside of the shed serves as a template for the men as they build the boat.

Berryman said that he received the class as a birthday present from his wife.

"I work with wood a fair amount and I'm not that familiar with boats or building boats, but so far, I'm having a great time," he said.

Starting from scratch, Berryman said he feels a strong sense of accomplishment when he sees how far the boat has come.

"At first I didn't see the whole shape (of the boat) until we glued everything together. The sides were all floppy and it wasn't coming together for me but looking at it now I would definitely say that we've come a long way," he said.

"My wife told me to get a hobby," Gouzie, of Noank, said bluntly. "I came into it not knowing anything in terms of woodworking and Russ is very patient. I'm not really handy around the shop so I was intimidated at first, but I still got all my fingers so I guess I'm doing pretty well. It has been fun."

Halfway through the two-hour work session Smith leaves briefly only to return with a steaming crock pot of beef soup, bread and butter. The soup was a welcome addition to the cold evening and the men used the break to make small talk.

Dolphin used the opportunity to take out a pipe and smoke it.

Earlier that evening, Dolphin arrived with a freshly sharpened plane and chisel.

Sliding the plane against the edge of wood, he showed off his ability to produce paper-thin shavings - "thin enough to read a newspaper through it" - he said.

The group has met twice weekly since November and even though Smith expected to be teaching a group of students how to build a boat, he said the experience has been just as great.

With a passion for rowing and being on the water, Smith has taught rowing to middle and high school students for four years as part of the Ledyard Community Rowing program.

He said his next goal is to expand in the form of a boathouse on the Poquetanuck Cove or the Thames River.

The program is getting too big, he said.

"We're at the point where we have to stay small or get big, and I'm getting frustrated staying small," he said. "The cove is unutilized space and is the perfect place for a boat house."

The students in the program row year round with the exception of the busy summer months, but only because the bigger boats on the river serve as a threat against the smaller rowboats, Smith said.

For more information on Ledyard Community Rowing, call Russell Smith at (860) 536-1113 or e-mail fruzzy@hotmail.com.

J.HANCKEL@THEDAY.COM