In 1924 Angelo Siino, opened the Siino Boat Works next to the Monterey Boat Works and in 1937 acquired the Monterey Boat Works located adjacent to the current location of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the original Monterey Boat Works building has been restored and currently used as a lecture hall by the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. The Boat Works weathered the storms of the 1929 Wall Street crash, the 1930s Great Depression, the prejudice against American and immigrant Italians during WWII, the decline of the sardine industry in Monterey and the move away from wood as the preferred building material.
The General Pershing was the largest fishing boat ever built at the Monterey Boat Works. Originally built for Jolt'n Joe DiMaggio's first cousin Neno DiMaggio and fisherman partner Chracciolo by the Siino family (established boatbuilders from Isola Delle Feminine Sicily) Angelo Siino (known in high regard as "Maestro Angelo"), his brothers Gaetano and Francesco helped build the boat assisted by their father Erasmo, Angelo's brother-in-law Frank Marinello and Angelo's son Raymond.
The second generation of Siinos, Raymond and Frank were very well known in the area and very highly regarded boatwrights. Many news articles were written about them and the boat projects they worked on. The brothers ran the Monterey Boat Works until its closing in the early 1970s.
The third generation of Siinos Janet, Richard, Andy, Mark and Randy have preserved the legacy of the Monterey Boat Works through a series of Art Exhibits, media interviews and presentations: The movie "Master Boat Builders of Italy 2014 Exhibit" shows how an art exhibit can preserve history and compel an appreciation of Monterey's boat heritage; the movie is shown at group presentations. The third generation is heavily involved and invested in the restoration of the General Pershing and it very interested in the continued preservation and display of other important maritime heritage assets such as the felucca Liboria at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Swan Boat in Pacific Grove and the Monterey Boat Works Building at Hopkins Marine Station. The Liboria is the focus of the movie The Last Monterey Felucca and is ready to be shown to audiences at group presentations.
Janet Martinez has published the book, Master Boat Builders of Italy, The Siino Family. A Tribute to the Monterey Boat Works. A little known fact is brought up in the "Tidbits" section of the book that an episode of a 1970 television series Then Came Bronson was filmed at the Monterey Boat Works. The 43 page book is available at amazon.com and 100% of proceeds goes to Monterey Boat Heritage, Inc.
Classroom on the Bay is a curriculum that supports the education portion of the mission of Monterey Boat Heritage, Inc. The General Pershing has been rededicated to serve as a platform to deliver a portion of the curriculum.
Learn more about this project at Classroom on the Bay classroomonthebay.org
The second generation of Siinos, Raymond and Frank were very well known in the area and very highly regarded boatwrights. Many news articles were written about them and the boat projects they worked on. The brothers ran the Monterey Boat Works until its closing in the early 1970s.
The third generation of Siinos Janet, Richard, Andy, Mark and Randy have preserved the legacy of the Monterey Boat Works through a series of Art Exhibits, media interviews and presentations: The movie "Master Boat Builders of Italy 2014 Exhibit" shows how an art exhibit can preserve history and compel an appreciation of Monterey's boat heritage; the movie is shown at group presentations. The third generation is heavily involved and invested in the restoration of the General Pershing and it very interested in the continued preservation and display of other important maritime heritage assets such as the felucca Liboria at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Swan Boat in Pacific Grove and the Monterey Boat Works Building at Hopkins Marine Station. The Liboria is the focus of the movie The Last Monterey Felucca and is ready to be shown to audiences at group presentations.
Janet Martinez has published the book, Master Boat Builders of Italy, The Siino Family. A Tribute to the Monterey Boat Works. A little known fact is brought up in the "Tidbits" section of the book that an episode of a 1970 television series Then Came Bronson was filmed at the Monterey Boat Works. The 43 page book is available at amazon.com and 100% of proceeds goes to Monterey Boat Heritage, Inc.
Classroom on the Bay is a curriculum that supports the education portion of the mission of Monterey Boat Heritage, Inc. The General Pershing has been rededicated to serve as a platform to deliver a portion of the curriculum.
Learn more about this project at Classroom on the Bay classroomonthebay.org
After the closing of the Monterey Boat Works, Frank Siino was recruited for the Monterey Bay Boatworks as their boatwright.
Here Mark Siino (Frank's youngest son) is seen placing the placard on the wall as a tribute to Frank and to serve as a link to the
original Monterey Boat Works.
Here Mark Siino (Frank's youngest son) is seen placing the placard on the wall as a tribute to Frank and to serve as a link to the
original Monterey Boat Works.