Innovative competition for boating enthusiasts to be launched at Beale Park Boat Show

Thursday 17th March 2011

Organisers of the annual Beale Park Boat Show, at Lower Basildon in Berkshire, have announced that they have joined forces with Makita, the leading power tools manufacturer and the Electric Boat Association to stage a new competition at this year’s show, (10-12^th June), Water Craft magazines‘s “Cordless Canoe Challenge”.

The competition is designed to challenge amateur boating enthusiasts and newcomers alike by putting their creative talents and skills to the test. Entrants are asked to build or adapt a canoe or small boat which is to be powered by cordless electric power tools, before participating in a series of heats on the lake which will run throughout the Show, ending with an award ceremony on the Sunday.

Pete Greenfield, editor of Water Craft explains, “This is the first competition of its kind and we are delighted to have the support and backing of Makita who are sponsoring the competition and the Electric Boat Association who will be officiating. This challenge will call for a considerable amount of creativity, as the rules state that the boat must be propelled solely by one or more cordless electric power tools”.

“The challenge is more about invention than buying power, so the cordless tools must use the batteries that they were supplied with and their total equivalent new value should not be more than £400”.

Kevin Brannigan, Marketing Manager, Makita UK, says, “The plan is to encourage amateur and professional hobbyist boat builders to gather together all those discarded old cordless tools and, with a bit of ingenuity, if not persuasion, invent a craft that is capable of completing the course on the lake at the three-day event, in record time”.

He continued, “The winning crew will receive a selection of high performance Makita power tools worth over £1000!”

Boat Show Organiser, Gillie Jackson, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be hosting such an innovative and exciting competition and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners for bringing such an unusual challenge to the show.”

She added, “The Beale Park Boat Show has earned its place as one of the UK’s leading regional shows, having created a showcase for the boating community in, I believe, the perfect setting for such an event.We wish all entrants the very best of luck for what promises to be an interesting and rather entertaining competition.”

To enter the competition:

To enter the competition, simply take some photographs of your boat and send them with your contact details to: ccc@watercraft-magazine.com no later than 1 May.Boats will be invited to enter the Challenge and will be checked for safety by stewards from the Electric Boat Association before they are allowed to compete.

The crew, complete with safety gear, can be as many or as few as you think necessary, though at least one member must be 18 years of age or over. Entries from clubs, colleges, families, associations and boating businesses attending the Show are all welcome.

The boats can be modified in any way or built from scratch, using any material but the length must not exceed 16’3” (5m), including steering and stern gear. The design is entirely down to you. Make it as colourful as you like and make sure that your group or company’s name is highlighted on your entry.

For further information visit: http://www.watercraft-magazine.com/    http://www.makitauk.com/