The 48th Annual Wooden Boat Show will be held May 4, 2024!
Whether you’re a boating enthusiast or prefer to keep your feet on dry land, the Annual Wooden Boat Show has activities for all ages. The show takes place annually at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort on the first Saturday in May. It is the longest ongoing wooden boat show in the Southeast.
This free event celebrates the art of North Carolina boat building and the sport of boat racing. Dozens of handcrafted wooden boats will be on display and activities are available for all ages.
The show has something to offer everyone, even those who are not wooden boat enthusiasts. There are activities for children and opportunities for families to do things together, such as taking a boat ride.
Youngsters can take part in maritime games and crafts in the Wooden Boat Kids area. Kids can also make their own model sailboats. Enjoy traditional skills demonstrations and displays, educational activities, historic vessels, boat models, traditional sailboat races, and sailboat rides.
America’s Boating Club of the Crystal Coast has partnered with the North Carolina Maritime Museum to bring a Boating Skills Virtual Trainer for demonstration in the museum library. Attendees will have an opportunity to “virtually” maneuver on a lake where you approach other boats in meeting, crossing, and overtaking situations.
Don Van Hoy became fascinated with rope while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. That was over 15 years ago and his fascination still continues. He is keeping alive a tradition of working with ropes and knots for practical purposes. Known as Marlinspike seamanship, the practice goes back as long as there have been ships going to sea. Van Hoy will be demonstrating the art of knotwork.
One of the main attractions at the Annual Wooden Boat Show is the many traditional wooden boats. But, there’s another show that takes place on a smaller scale: the Carolina Maritime Model Exposition with model boats ranging from 25 to 40 inches in length.
“These handcrafted vessels are indeed a labor of love, sometimes taking 12 to 14 months to complete,” according to Grant Caraway, Manager of the Museum’s Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center.
Attendees to the show will have the opportunity to vote for “People’s Choice” award. The award goes to the “most popular” model at the show and is voted on solely by those visitors. The exposition is held in the auditorium of the North Carolina Maritime Museum.
Free boat rides are offered outside the Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center (a $5 per person donation is suggested, which will go to the sailing program).
North Carolina Maritime Museum is located at 315 Front Street, Beaufort, NC 28516.