Raingutter Regatta

The Raingutter Regatta is a fun event where scouts turn two pieces of balsa wood, a mast and sail and a few screws into works of floating artwork!

Then we show them off and see how they float!

Scouts are encouraged to make their boats fun, interesting and delightful. We give out design awards -- see the list below.

More information on our history with the Raingutter Regatta:

Design Awards

The Raingutter Regatta is fun activity. It's a chance for scouts to show off their artistic skills by building and decorating a boat. The 'racing' aspect is less emphasized than the design element.

We give a number of design awards each year (scouts get to vote on these):

Boat that looks least like a boat
Scoutiest Boat
Most colorful boat
Funniest boat
Boat with the most winter holiday (Hanukkah, Christmas, Winter Solstice or Kwanzaa) pizazz
Dreamiest / Most Magical Boat
Most historic boat
Most futuristic boat
Most animal-like boat
Boat that looks like it weathered the storm
Stealthiest Boat
Most edible boat
Most friendly boat
Scout's Choice (the boat that gets the most scout votes total)

And a few awards that are chosen by the Adult leaders:

Cubmaster Favorite (no Scout voting on this one)
Wayward Boat (boat that gets stuck the most, as chosen by the race organizer)

Family Division Awards (chosen by the Cubmaster):

Most Holiday Pizazz
Family League Design Choice
Most Colorful

Last, one special award chosen by our hosts at the Sea Scout Base:

Sea Scout Favorite (as chosen by the Sea Scouts)

Scouts may want to choose a design award that interests them the most and then decorate their boat to win that award.

Get inspired!

See some past boats here:

2020 Boats (44 boats): https://bit.ly/2020raingutter-boatphotos

2021 Boats (73 boats): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ePnd-oWyMreeNF1STecqOx3glGEE1ygo?usp=sharing

To get some inspiration about how you might decorate your boat to go extra fast, and win a design award!

How does it work?

The event takes place in three steps:

1) Boat drop off / check in

Boats are dropped off at the Check In table, where they are assigned a Boat Number. All references on the website will be only to the Boat Number (we never put scout names on our website, in order to protect their privacy and security). Remember your boat number!

2) Scout voting

During the day, scouts will receive a ballot and they can cast their vote for the various design awards. All of the boats will be on the display table so the scouts can scope out their favorites.

3) Boat floating

Each group will have an assigned time to use our boat float lanes. This is informal, and the group leader will pair up boats to run at the same time in the two parallel water tracks. We have electric fans that the scouts will use to propel the boats down the race lane. Scouts will get a chance to do multiple runs with their boats against their friends!

Can non-scout family members participate too?

Absolutely yes! We have a separate league for non-scout family members (adults, siblings, etc.). While they won't race with the scout groups, these boats are eligble for the special Family League Design Award, as selected by the Cubmaster. We love seeing what adults and siblings come up with!

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