For creators and fabricators, downtime between major jobs usually means catching up on shop maintenance or taking a well-deserved break. But for Shawn and his talented crew, a temporary lull in their regular production schedule opened the door to a unique community effort.

Here is what our talented customer, Shawn, had to say about his project-

"My crew and I normally make props, costumes, and set pieces for film and television.  

During a lull in production, we also took on the task of making a series of monomoy  whaleboats for the local Sea Scout units.

We've laid up five so far, but they've all been plain, white boats.  The fifth one will be a lovely shade of blue courtesy of y'all.

The sixth one will be International Orange.

These boats are being pulled from a set of old molds that have been sitting stored in a backyard for about 20 years.  The kids from the Petaluma Sea Scout ship put in the elbow grease to restore the molds, replacing some wood stiffeners and polishing the crazed, old gelcoat back to a serviceable state before PVA, gelcoat, and layup.  

Once the kids had pulled the first boat, the second one was made to compensate the Sea Scout Ship Mariner of Dana Point for the molds.  After that, my crew and I took over the production so we could keep making boats for other scout units.  The plan is for us to do all of the work that requires industrial workspace, dangerous chemicals, and specialized skills.  Then we hand off a bare hull to the scout units who can then do the woodworking and final outfitting themselves.  At that point it's a very achievable project for a handful of high school kids and adult volunteers.

When they're done, the boats are going to be used for a handful of events that the kids compete in annually.  There are races in which the crews go head to head to see who is fastest and there are precision rowing events where the crews are judged on seamanship, coordination, and synchronization.  All of this is just part of a much larger program that uses nautical training and maritime excursions as a platform to teach the kids leadership, teamwork, and other life skills."

Check out the impressive photos below-

To see some of their costumes, props and other projects, visit their website HERE 

Supporting the Next Generation of Mariners

Shawn’s impressive Monomoy whaleboat project highlights the incredible things that can happen when professional craftsmen share their time and knowledge with eager youth. By transforming a lull in Hollywood production into a maritime manufacturing operation, Shawn and his team have provided local Sea Scouts with top-tier vessels that will serve them for years to come.

If you are working on your own fiberglass restoration project or need custom colors for your next marine build, reach out to our team today to explore our full range of gelcoats and composite materials.

sales@fiberglasswarehouse.com