Georgetown Wooden Boat Show

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About Georgetown Wooden Boat Show

Visit Historic Georgetown this fall for the 34th annual Wooden Boat Show!

The Wooden Boat Show is a fun, energetic festival full of fascinating boats, challenges, entertainment, and shopping. Events include a Wooden Boat Show Exhibit, Boatbuilding, a Rowing Race, Knot Tying, Kid’s Model Boat Building, and more.

This festival is held each year right on the third weekend in October in the heart of downtown Georgetown at Front and Broad Street.

Weekend Festivities include:

Goat Island Yacht Club Regatta

The festivities kick off Oct. 20 with the Goat Island Yacht Club Regatta, which raises money for the S.C. Maritime Museum through live and silent auctions. Enjoy food and drinks with fellow seafarers from 6:30-9 p.m.

To purchase tickets for the Goat Island Yacht Club Regatta, visit their website.

The Wooden Boat Show Exhibit

More than 100 classic wooden boats will be displayed in the water and on Front street from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Boats range in size from kayaks to yachts, and visitors will be able to meet and talk to wooden boat owners and craftsman. An awards ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Wooden Boat Challenge

Boatbuilding 12 noon- 4 p.m. Saturday  |  Rowing Race 5 p.m. Saturday

Teams of two will compete to build a rowing skiff within a 4-hour time limit and then test their boats for seaworthiness in a rowing relay on the Sampit River. The teams will be judged on construction speed, quality of work, and rowing speed. Cash prizes will be awarded to first, second, and third place winners.

Opri Pram Regatta

Sailors ages 8-12 who have participated in the SC Maritime Museum’s Youth Sailing Program will show off skills they learned at camp this summer on Sunday at 11 a.m. Races will be held from the docks at Francis Marion Park. Volunteers will review the course with participants before each heat.

Nauti Dog Parade 

Join in a dog parade down Front Street. Dogs must dress in their finest nautical garb (extra points for owners who do the same!). Participants will gather at Constitution Park adjacent to Orange St. at noon. Parade will start at 12:30 from the park and end at the Main Stage near Broad St. Leashes are required, and you must register to participate. Registration is $5. Sign up here.

Corrugated Boat Regatta

Preview of Boats 11 am – 2  p.m. Sunday  | Regatta 2:30 p.m. Sunday

Regatta participants will stretch the limits of their ingenuity to design boats made entirely of corrugated cardboard. Construction materials are limited to corrugated cardboard, tape, waterproofing, and corrugated oars to propel the craft. No wood, no metal, no motors are allowed.  Boats can range from simple rafts to stunning ships, and they must be able to float on the Sampit River.

Throughout the weekend, there will also be Knot-tying demonstrations and challenges with Dan “the Knot Man,” posters and t-shirts for sale with signing by the event’s artist, and a beer garden and food tent.