The 2023 Making and Marketing class at Boothbay Region High School is taking orders at https://sites.google.com/aos98schools.org/offshoreboards/home-shop?authuser=1 for its handmade coatboards, in two styles: a wall-mounted rack ($24.99), and a wall-mounted rack with shelf ($39.99). Buyers have options for an engraved anchor, lobster, or without engraving. The boards are made of cherry wood with a Danish oil finish, steel hooks, and laser-engraved emblems filled with dark blue epoxy.

The class, co-taught by Chip Schwehm and Nick Scott, puts students (sophomores through seniors) in charge of a manufacturing company containing departments and jobs modeling real world businesses. The company, Offshore Boards, is divided into departments, design and engineering, production, marketing, and finance, with four to five students in each.

First, students decide on the product. Junior Robert Shaw, project lead, said they started with 50-60 ideas and continued to narrow down the list until arriving at coatboards. From there, sophomore Thomas Babineau collaborated with others in the design and engineering department to create CAD (computer-assisted designed) 3D schema which are then cut out on the school’s laser cutter.

The finance department was responsible for pitching the concept and securing a $500 loan for start-up capital. “The first $500 of sales revenue will go to repay the school,” said Shaw. Production and finance will also re-supply at midpoint and perform a second round of manufacturing, for larger-scale production, before the end of the school year.

The team created several iterations of the board, including a foam prototype, before settling on the design. The original plan used old railroad ties as hooks, but with input from the marketing department, that changed to handmade steel hooks, each one unique and forged onsite by junior Luke Morley.

As project lead, Shaw also assigned fellow students their production jobs. “Each student is trained on their specific machines and tools,” he said. Computerized machines are especially rewarding to work with, he added. He and sophomore Nick Giles, production manager, are responsible for finishing the shelves with biscuits, wood glue and screws. They also serve as QC (quality control) for production.

Junior Maya Pangburn from the marketing department explained, the team began with “structured bullet points” which became the foundation for the marketing strategy. Channels include Facebook, email marketing, and local news sources to drive traffic to the website they made for order-taking, product specifications and the manufacturing process. “Consumers over 20 years of age, homeowners and local businesses” are their targeted demographic, she said.

“The finance department issues fake paychecks. We wanted them to get an idea of what the term payroll meant. Students in that department also put together packets for the 'new' employees which featured W4s and health insurance and 401k enrollment forms,” said Scott.

“This class is offered every other year, giving everyone an opportunity to take it,” said Schwehm. The goals for this class are both demanding and rewarding – communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, and community-focused – while mirroring aspects of real world business.