Artist and mycologist Sam Shoemaker has completed a 26-mile open-ocean crossing in a vessel or kayak made entirely from mushrooms, a journey supporters say highlights the potential of fungi as an alternative to plastic.
Shoemaker launched from Catalina Island in early August and paddled to San Pedro, just south of Los Angeles. The trip lasted 12 hours. He carried a phone, a camera, a walkie-talkie, and a compass strapped to his vest.
The vessel, grown from mycelium, weighed 107 pounds and included a keel for stability. Unlike conventional kayaks, its surface was rough and uneven in texture, a natural mark of the fungi that produced it.
Whale encounter on the journey
Three hours into the crossing, Shoemaker said he grew seasick while pushing through his ninth mile with no land in sight. Then a fin whale surfaced nearby. The 50-foot creature trailed the kayak for three miles.
“It was just like a psychedelic experience,” Shoemaker said after reaching shore.
Backed by advocates of fungi
Family and friends welcomed him on land, celebrating both the personal milestone and what they called a demonstration of fungi’s potential in replacing plastics in boats and other aquatic gear.
Phil Ross, Shoemaker’s mentor and co-founder of MycoWorks, coined the term “AquaFung” for mushroom-based materials used in water. Ross said the material carries the same lightweight and buoyant properties as plastic but is biodegradable.
An American man crossed dozens of kilometers in a mushroom boat
U.S. artist and mycologist Sam Shoemaker paddled 42 kilometers in a kayak grown entirely from mushroom mycelium. The trip took 12 hours, and the boat held together without falling apart.
The kayak wasn’t assembled… pic.twitter.com/uAVkBdUr15
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 9, 2025
“People hate Styrofoam plastics in the water washing onto shore,” Ross said. “[AquaFung] is biodegradable. It acts a lot like the material that everyone seems to hate.”
Ross, who also co-founded the nonprofit Open Fung, helped bring mycelium materials into mainstream use, including mushroom “leather” used in handbags, furniture, and medical devices.
A growing field
Shoemaker is only the second person to water-test a mushroom boat. In 2019, Nebraska resident Katy Ayers set a Guinness World Record by growing and paddling the world’s longest fungal canoe.
“A lot of people really didn’t think it was possible,” Ayers said. “I had reached out to companies who actually make the biomaterials, and their spokespeople weren’t confident in it working, but I was confident and naive enough to give it a shot and figure out what the shortcomings were.”
Shoemaker began sculpting with fungi during his MFA studies at Yale in 2020 before turning to functional design. His first mushroom boat, built in 2024, took nearly a year to cultivate and dry. The second, larger, and sturdier vessel that carried him across the open ocean was finished in June.
Progress but limitations remain
Ross called the California crossing “remarkable.” Shoemaker said the project shows promise but urged caution.
“People talk about mushrooms being this utopian future where plastic problems go away, [but] this is not the silver bullet where boats are easier to make,” he said. “I’m pleased with how far this project has gone, but there’s a long way to go.”
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