A group of students from Wescott Junior High School launched a boat Friday at the East End Beach in Portland that they had built as a part of an alternative learning program.

The students are part of a program for at-risk kids, and the 181?2-foot dory is the product of their participation in The Compass Project, an organization founded by a group of boat enthusiasts five years ago. Since its foundation, The Compass Project has worked with schools throughout the Greater Portland area.

Compass Project Executive Director Pat Ryan said the project uses boats to teach kids team-building and social skills. “It captures the students’ interest in a way that school doesn’t,” said Ryan.

Clint Chase, a boat builder and program manager, said a blessing as student Laure Young christened the boat before students piled in to take a short row in the water.

“They created something really beautiful today for everyone to admire, and they should be really proud of that,” said Chase.

The boat was christened “Eluria,” after a short story by Stephen King, “The Little Sisters of Eluria.” The name honors King and his wife, Tabitha, who funded the project with a grant of $50,000 two years.

Teacher Tyler Thompson, who has his captain’s license, loaded the “Eluria” up a few times to give each student a chance to test out the group’s handiwork. Thompson deemed the boat a success after testing it out.

“It seems like it flies,” said Thompson.

One student, eighth-grader Dylan Wilcox, summarized the process he and other students went through to build the boat.

“We built the strong back and after we built the strong back we had to start making the sheers,” said Wilcox, referring to the upward curve in the boat’s deck. After that, he said, the students built the body of the boat.

In addition to money from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, the Compass Project received a grant from the Phineas W. Sprague Foundation for $5,000, as well as a grant from the Lincoln Financial Group Foundation for $2,000. The organization received donations from several other foundations, businesses and private donors as well.

“We have some really nice support from both foundations and corporations from the Greater Portland area,” said Ryan.

The “Eluria” is the second boat Wescott Junior High School students have turned out. According to teach Bob Bolduc, the Eluria will now be available to students for future field trips around Casco Bay.

Bolduc said he enjoys teaching in the alternative program, because he has one-on-one contact with students.

“It gives us an opportunity to work with them in a smaller environment. It seems to work for them, and it’s a lot more fun to teach in a smaller environment,” said Bolduc.

Thompson agreed. “It’s the students that drive me,” he said.

But teachers are not the only people dedicated to these students. Several family members were also present at the boat launch.

“It’s something that the kids should be very proud of,” said Brenda Young, the aunt of Laure Young.