The third annual National Boatbuilding Challenge will be staged on May 1, 2010 under the big tent in downtown Beaufort. This is on the same day as the Maritime Museum’s wooden boat show. The first two competitions were well attended and well received by our community and by visitors. Last year we expanded the participation to include local high school woodworking class teams competing against each other.
For those not familiar with this, it’s a two-man team competition (and in the first year two all-girl teams entered the fray). Each team builds an identical 12 foot skiff (and a handsome one at that) within a four hour time limit. We expect to have at least ten teams competing in addition to the three high school teams. When the teams sign up with an entry fee of $100, they are given a set of building plans so that they can hatch their game plans way ahead of time. They bring their own tools. At the command, “Competitors start you Skil-Saws”, a whistle is sounded, and the teams go at it for up to four hours to complete the boat. Speed of construction and quality of workmanship are both considered in determining the winners. There is a new boat design for 2010 and Beaufort will be the first competition of the year. Winning teams invariably practice building the skiff more than once so that each team member knows what to do and when at game time. The winners are then eligible to compete for the national championship, held last year in Georgetown, SC.
The local Beaufort champion will be crowned by adding a third element to the competition. This element is rowing speed. The teams build their own oars and compete against each other in a rowing relay race on Taylors Creek, each member of the two-man team rowing one leg of the relay.
This event has proven to be entertaining and engrossing for spectators to watch as these woodworkers display their skill and strength in building and rowing the skiff. There are cash awards for the winning teams, and all teams keep the boats they build.
To present this event properly, the Challenge Committee (headed by Susan Sanders of Harbor Specialties) will need the financial support of sponsors. A strong effort will be made to recruit sponsors and in return sponsors will receive the benefits shown on the sponsor level sheet. Sponsors will also have the opportunity to have a booth at the competition tent as long as the display is in keeping with the maritime flavor of the event and is approved by the Challenge jury.
Beaufort and boat building is a match, and this event serves to promote and preserve the boat building bloodlines of the Beaufort area and eastern North Carolina.