The Gleason Family YMCA indoor pool was briefly turned into a naval warzone Sunday night as the members of Boy Scout Troop 48 took to the waters in a number of homemade paper boats.

The scouts were earning their pulp and paper merit badges by building boats out of cardboard and tape and seeing how they fared on the water.

Troop 48 Scoutmaster Rick Butts said the scouts gathered in small groups and constructed five different boats to be tested on the water. He said it was the first time the troop has made paper boats.

Assistant Scoutmaster Bryan Archer said the boats were judged on float-worthiness, pool-worthiness, style, costumes and the all-important "pirateyness" which contributed to boat names like "The Black Pearl."

"It gives them a chance to work with different materials and get a snapshot of what a job is like," said Archer.

The project was a hit with the scouts, who all ended up in the water before long, as well as the parents who looked on from the bleachers.

Butts said that while it gives the scoutmasters and parents an opportunity to laugh and have some fun, "It's all about the boys."