Now popularly known as ABBA, Water Craft magazine’s competition for backyard boatbuilders – not students at boatbuilding colleges, receiving professional advice, but amateurs building for pleasure in their spare time – has grown!

This year sees the introduction of a new category for Kit-Built Boats. These are craft built from pre-cut plywood parts, an increasingly popular choice for those who are not confident of their ability to sort the often peculiar shapes of the components of a wooden boat and a great way to build a boat for first-timers.

As in previous years, entrants may enter a boat in the Scratch Built category: boats which have been built from wood and/or plywood from the very beginning by planning and drawing out the components, before cutting them out and assembling them.  The boat can be any size or type, as long as it is able to make it by river or road to the Show. Pete Greenfield, editor of Water Craft says, “We want to encourage amateurs to test their own woodworking skills but they don’t have to be single-handed projects; entries can be built by two or more amateurs working together.”

As ever, every invited entrant receives £25 vouchers for products from the competition’s sponsors Marineware Ltd and Robbins Timber and every entrant also has a chance of a special prize awarded by Water Craft. The judging will take place during the show and the boats will be on display to the public, by the lake, throughout the event. The winners will be announced on Sunday afternoon.