Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta
BUILD a boat from recycled drink cans/cartons/bottles and race it.
Your way in
Register boat + crew (can register up to day before).
Build a boat from drink cans and race it
Register your boat and crew (forms by 5pm the day before). The boat must float, be made from recycled drink containers and pass a safety check.
- You build or use
- BUILD a boat from recycled drink cans/cartons/bottles and race it
- Participation
- Build-compete (open)
- Entry and deadlines
- Boat must float, be made from recycled drink containers and pass safety check; forms by 5pm day before
- Where
- Mindil Beach, Darwin, NT, Australia
Dates and deadlines, Oct 2026 to Dec 2027
Usual timing: June/July. Dates are only shown where a source publishes them; everything else is marked TBC.
Skills you'll need
What to learn and practise before you go. Each resource is marked Official or Community-accepted and names its publisher. Difficulty and prep time are our estimate.
Building a boat whose flotation comes from sealed drink cans, cartons or bottles
Also useful:
- Structure: can 'strings', chicken-wire bundling, deck and chine; catamaran layouts for big crews
- Water safety and race-day rules (flotation jackets, tow rope)
Difficulty and prep time are Curiosta editorial estimates for a first-timer, not organiser figures.
Refresher
- Seal every container: tape cans in pairs open end to open end, and seal with tape or glue, because each sealed can is a little float.
- Tape cans into straight 'strings' 1–2 m long (laying them in a length of angle iron keeps them straight), then bundle the strings together with chicken wire.
- Add a deck to sit or stand on and a chine (a sharp bend along the hull) for shape; big rowing crews use a catamaran layout.
- The craft should look as if it's made from recycled drink containers; any design is allowed if the committee judges it safe.
- Fit a tow rope no longer than the craft to the bow, and every crew member wears a flotation jacket.
- Register every person aboard by 5 pm the day before; assemble 15 minutes before your event; remove your boat afterwards (littering is penalised).
Practise before you go
- Collect and seal cans weeks ahead; test a 1 m can string's buoyancy in a bucket or pool.
- Build a small test raft and load it with a person in a pool or calm water with supervision.
- Practise paddling in sync as a crew.
Safety notes
- Every crew member wears a flotation jacket.
- Tow rope on the bow; boat must be judged safe by the committee.
- Sun and heat at Mindil Beach; follow water-safety officials and local beach signage.
Resources
Rules – Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta
Official craft, safety and conduct rules.
Publisher: Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta (organiser)
Boat Construction
The organiser's step-by-step can-boat construction method.
Publisher: Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta
Registration
Boat-registration requirements (all people aboard listed; deadline the day before). Note: page text still references 2024.
Publisher: Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta
Note
The registration page still carries 2024 wording: confirm the 2027 details when they're published.
See also the skills guide: Human-powered craft → · All skills guides
What we could and couldn't confirm
Before you book
- 2027 date not published (2026: 28 Jun).
- Costs are not listed on buildwith. Check them, and the latest dates, on the official site.
Official and source links
All links open in a new tab. Every fact on this page is logged in sources.md.
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