Team Barrus Takes on the Seawork Cardboard Boat World Cup Regatta!
Team Barrus is swapping precision engineering for cardboard creativity as we prepare to take part in the Seawork Cardboard Boat Regatta, where the only thing more important than speed is the ability to stay afloat!
Known for our work in advanced marine engineering and power solutions, we’re usually focused on performance, reliability, and cutting-edge technology. But for one evening at Seawork, we’re trading CAD drawings and torque specs for duct tape, corrugated cardboard, and a healthy dose of optimism.
"Yes, that’s right. Our vessel will be made almost entirely of cardboard.
What could possibly go wrong?"
The Cardboard Boat Regatta is a highlight of the Seawork event calendar, this year, with a World Cup theme. Bringing together teams from across the marine industry to design, build, and race homemade boats made from nothing more than cardboard and tape. It’s part engineering challenge, part team-building exercise, and part-controlled chaos on the water.
For Team Barrus, the appeal was obvious. It’s a chance to step away from the day job and test a different kind of engineering thinking—one where “lightweight design” takes on a very literal meaning.
Expect bold design choices, enthusiastic teamwork, and at least one person confidently saying, “I’m pretty sure this will float.”
There will be planning. There will be building. There will almost certainly be a moment of silence right before launch as everyone collectively wonders whether we’ve misunderstood buoyancy.
But win or sink (hopefully gracefully), the goal is simple: get stuck in, have fun, and celebrate the creativity and camaraderie that make the marine industry what it is.
We’ll be taking two creative boats to the water alongside other teams from across the sector, all bringing their own inventive designs and questionable hydrodynamic theories.