The Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) ran its annual Fabricator Olympics Thursday, Jan. 8 and Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Marine Fabricators Conference in Savannah, Ga. First place won 25 yards of Top Notch 7 in black from Marlen Textiles, second place won two sheets of Strataglass Crystal Clear or Panorama from Strataglass LLC^® and third place won a $400 gift certificate from Great Lakes Boat Top.

First-through fourth-place winners were:

• Mike Erickson, Canvas Designers Inc.
• Mike Charlton, Charlton’s Marine Canvas
• Rusty Hashemi, Boats ‘n Sews
• Lee Brayton, BC Marine Canvas

The first round of the Fabricator Olympics asked attendees to look at a mason jar full of snaps near the registration desk and guess how many were inside—589. The 16 people who were closest moved onto the second round, where they had to use a Pres-N-Snap^®, courtesy of JustWholesale by Sailrite, to add five snaps to a piece of fabric.

The four fastest fabricators advanced to the final round. Using a sewing machine provided by Keyston Bros., they had to sew together two pieces of fabric, threading the needle between two winding permanent marker lines. The fastest fabricator won, and tiebreakers analyzed how accurately the contestant stayed between the lines. Erickson won by finishing the challenge in just under 20 seconds.

Hashemi subbed in for Daymon Johnstone from Lakeside Marine Canvas, who had an injured arm and could not compete in rounds two and three. This is one example of the camaraderie and support MFA members offer one another at the conference.

The Fabricator Olympics launched at the Marine Fabricators Conference in 2020 and have been a source of friendly competition and entertainment every conference year since. MFA board member Mike Boatman from Boatman Marine Canvas and Marine Fabricator senior editor Brianna Liestman emceed the event.