Events > April tools
APRIL TOOLS WOODEN BOAT CHALLENGE 2023
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Join us April 29, 2023 for the
20th (almost) annual April Tools Wooden Boat Challenge! 2023 will be the 20th year the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society presents the April Tools Wooden Boat Challenge at Millennium Park in Madeira Park!
This family-friendly spring event draws teams from the Sunshine Coast, the Vancouver area, the Lower Mainland and beyond. Teams of four must create a boat in 3 hours from the materials provided, with only 1 hour to figure out how to do it. The type of craft and the constraints of the race change each year, and therein lies the fun! Plus, all must be accomplished using only hand tools and battery-powered screw guns. The boatbuilding is followed by races that may or may not end with all participants still afloat!! But it’s worth the risk since the prizes are significant:
Not to mention it’s a lot of fun! The entry fee for this mayhem is $200 for your team of 4. Register your team before April 1, 2023 and pay only $180! Local high school students also build boats and race at April Tools. Getting their names on the revolving trophy and the chance to dunk their friends’ boats is a big draw for the youth teams, and spectators! Kids activities include min boatbuilding and floating them in our little pool. Various other craft activities also keep kids entertained. All kids’ activities are free and the high school boatbuilding materials are donated so they can participate at no cost. Sign up an adult team for a chance to win the big bucks! Mark your calendar and come up to Pender Harbour for a great day! Fun memories from 2022
View the full 2022 recap and photo gallery
Thank you to our many sponsors!
To sponsor April Tools 2023, please contact Jackie at
604-883-0539 or jackieordronneau@gmail.com 
Additional support provided by
Sunshine Coast Resort, IGA Madeira Park, Marina Pharmacy, and Oak Tree Market 
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Register your team You can either A. Register online and send your entry fee via etransfer -or- B. Download an entry form and follow the instructions provided to mail your form and fee. You can also pay by etransfer this way too. See details here See you on
April 29, 2023! 
What is April Tools?In this fun annual event, teams of up to 4 people build a boat from the materials provided, but nobody knows what the materials will be until the day of the race! Then they race around the harbour for cash prizes. There are also youth races with boats built by local high school students, and activities for kids, including face painting, crafts, and mini boat building. Spectators are welcome! LocationApril Tools is held at the Madeira Park government dock (12967 Madeira Park Rd) in Pender Harbour. Situated on the shores of spectacular Pender Harbour, Madeira Park is a jewel of the Sunshine Coast. Only a ferry ride and scenic one-hour drive north, it's easily accessible from the lower mainland. On Event Day:10 am: the twist and building materials are revealed to the teams. They have one hour to plan out their boat. Hand tools only! 11 am - 2 pm: Boatbuilding action, plus lots of activities for kids, museum displays, snacks, and more. 2 pm: Youth Races: the teams run 2 races: the trophy race and the free-for-all 2:45-3 pm (approx.): Adult races start. It's float, sink, or swim. Will they even get all the way around the course? Upsets of all kinds can happen, and usually do! Family Fun
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Past April Tools Highlights
2022 Adult Races
View the full 2022 recap and photo gallery
View the full 2022 recap and photo gallery
2019 Adult Races
View the 2019 Recap & Gallery