The Southampton International Boat Show is a highlight of the boating calendar. It embraces and showcases all aspects of the boating industry and ran from the 19th to the 28th of September. Now the dust has finally settled, it’s time to look back at those 10 days!

This year our stand included The Wooden Boat Stage, a collaboration with Women in Boat Building (WIBB) and The Boat Building Academy (BBA). It’s a new concept for us and was inspired by Belinda Joslin after her visit to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival in the US last year.

*The Wooden Boat Stage opened by Jazz Turner - inspirational British sailor*

The stage hosted multiple different speakers, demonstrations, talks and live music. Each with their own story or celebrating a craft, which they shared with the audience and crowds that gathered. Bringing The Wooden Boat Stage from an idea to reality included some of our Members and Affiliates such as Dan Lee who recently joined the WBTA and Sykes Timber who were the main sponsor of the stage. Other sponsors were Dolphin Sails and Covers and Marineware, a huge thank you to everyone who made the stage possible! Through the co-hosters, sponsors and volunteers there was a real emphasis on collaboration which was the key aspect and goal of our stand, The Wooden Boat Stage and the wooden boating industry at large.

The stage certainly made a good start to making its presence felt at the boat show (being close to the food court could have helped as well), and we only hope for it to get bigger and better in the coming years. We believe this platform will promote skills to the younger generation, as well as sustaining the awareness around EDI which are intertwined principles that promotes fair treatment, respect for differences and a sense of belonging to all individuals. These are so important as the wooden boating industry continues to expand and is why working with the BBA and WIBB is an integral part of our future.

Away for the stage, it was wonderful to see the many boat building yards on our stand - shout out to all of them below. They brought conversation and points of interest for visitors of the show, with new leads and contacts being made!

Despite the weather being up and down, when is it not, the boat show was a wonderful event, bringing people together and information being shared. The extension of our stand to include The Wooden Boat Stage is an exciting start of a collaborative journey, with everyone involved bringing more awareness and ideas to the table.

Again, thank you one and all, looking forward to 2026! Shout out to the boat builders, yards and charters for bringing their boats to the show.

Abbey Boat Builder

Andrew Oliver Shipwrights

BlueTree Boat Builders

Dan Lee boatbuilding

Demari Boat Co

Henley Sales and Charter

Lakeland Wooden Boats