Join the 2027 Quick & Dirty Boat Building Challenge

Credit: AWBF/Francois Fourie

The Quick & Dirty Boat Building Challenge

Where chaotic fun meets creative craftsmanship

For 30 years, the Quick & Dirty Boat Building Challenge has been the legendary finale of the Australian Wooden Boat Festival. What began in 1994 as a madcap race for adults has evolved into Tasmania’s most beloved celebration of creativity, ingenuity, and pure, unadulterated fun for kids on the water.

What is the Challenge?

Build. Decorate. Race.

The Quick & Dirty Challenge invites teams of students (typically aged 9–12) to take over Constitution Dock. The mission is to construct, decorate and race a vessel from basic materials over the long weekend, culminating in the highly anticipated race day on the final day of the Festival.

Why Everyone Loves It

The Quick & Dirty gets to the heart of what wooden boat culture is all about.

As Nathan O’Neill from Tasmanian Shipwrights & Co., proud sponsors of the 2025 and 2027 events, puts it, “It’s the industriousness to take some basic materials and turn them into a container for fun and adventure. You can’t beat that simplicity”.

While there are prizes for the fastest boat, best design, and best decoration, the true reward is in the experience.

It’s a chance for kids to work as a team, problem-solve under pressure, learn hands-on skills from expert mentors, and most importantly, create memories that last a lifetime.

“Having them present the story of their boats to us was really special,” O’Neill recalls, noting that if even one child catches the “boat building bug,” it’s a success.

Tasmanian Shipwrights & Co. are passionate builders and restorers of wooden boats based at Oyster Cove Marina in Kettering. Their commitment to craftsmanship, creativity, and passing maritime skills to the next generation makes them a perfect fit for the spirit of Quick & Dirty.

From Former Competitors to Organisers

Matt Morris, a previous competitor as a kid and the organiser of the 2023 and 2025 Q&D alongside his partner Iefke Van Gogh said of the challenge, “Kids living in a complicated digital world, only need limited guidance, tools and materials to make the creations of their minds come to life.”

Matt and Iefke have embodied and continued that spirit with their current project building a wooden boat, Tarkine, in the Huon Valley.

“Childlike enthusiasm should be celebrated and cheered on in a race like no other!”

Want to Get Involved?

Expressions of Interest open June 2026

No prior boat-building experience is necessary, just enthusiasm, teamwork, and a willingness to get a little dirty (and possibly wet).

Completing the Expression of Interest form below isn't a sign-up or a commitment, just a heads up that you're interested and would like to hear more. We'll be in touch with more information, and you can decide then if you'd like to join the fun.

Questions?

Please reach out to Matt Tucker at quickndirty@awbf.org.au

Who's Matt Tucker?

AWBF is excited to welcome Matt Tucker as the 2027 Quick & Dirty Coordinator. Matt spent his childhood years living aboard a 48ft Herreshoff ketch built by his parents, sailing many thousands of miles around New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Highlights included protesting nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll as a 10-year-old and later sailing to Antarctica with his dad and eldest brother.

Today, Matt experiments with alternative boat design and construction, including building classically styled sailing dinghies using sustainable materials such as flax and cork and building modernised Proas (sailing outriggers).

As organiser of the Quick and Dirty Boat Building Challenge, Matt brings a love for the creative and experimental and the belief that you don't need a fancy boat to have a real adventure on the water.