Whaling may be offensive to the sensibilities of most modern New Englanders, but at one point, it was a thriving industry that drove the economy and gave New Bedford the nickname of the "Whaling City."

Beetle, Inc., the Wareham-based builder of Beetle Cat sailboats, has been commissioned by the New Bedford Whaling Museum to build a replica of one of seven whaleboats that will hang upon the Charles W. Morgan whaleship when it sets sail from Mystic Seaport, Connecticut, later this year.

"The Morgan is the last remaining whaling ship in existence," and made its last voyage in 1921, according to Bill Womack, president of Beetle, Inc.

The Morgan was built in New Bedford in 1841 at the boatyard of Jethro and Zachariah Hillman. She was pulled from the water in 2008 to be restored.

"In doing this restoration, Mystic Seaport reached out to nonprofits to make a whaleboat," Womack explained. "The New Bedford Whaling Museum approached us because we have a relationship with them."

And what's a whaleship without whaleboats?

When the Morgan was at sea, she usually had about five whaleboats ready to drop in the water when a whale was spotted. The boats were manned by teams of six, who would lodge a harpoon with a line on it in the whale, and then drag the whale behind the ship.

When the great beast grew tired, either a lance or a firearm was used to deliver the death blow.

Whales were hunted for their oil, which was used for oil lamps and lubricating machinery, as well as baleen, a plastic-like substance, and spermaceti, which was used to make candles.

At 163 years old, the Charles W. Morgan is the last surviving wooden whaleship in existence. She's been in Mystic, Connecticut since 1941, and has seen many ports over her lifetime, but New Bedford is the city she calls home.

"This is the same company that was building boats for the Morgan back in her day," Womack noted. "It's come full-circle."

With whaling long outlawed, Beetle, Inc. now focuses on its sailboats, which are often used in sailing races.

The company is named for named for the Beetle family, and has a long and illustrious history on the South Coast. It has been building its plank-on-frame wooden boats at its Thatcher Lane location in Wareham since 2004.

"We build boats the way they were built 100 years ago," said Womack. "They become a work of art rather than a run-of-the-mill."