Bathtub racing is a competition that involves the use of bathtub boats, small powered

watercraft Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sail, ...

designed around

bathtub A bathtub, also known simply as a bath or tub, is a container for holding water in which a person or animal may bathe. Most modern bathtubs are made of thermoformed acrylic, porcelain-enameled steel or cast iron, or fiberglass-reinforced ...

s or close facsimiles.

Boat design

Early boats were whimsical and crafted from a variety of materials. Today, most racing bathtub boats are

monohull right A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another. Fundamental concept Among the earliest hulls were simple logs, but these were generally unst ...

planer The term planer may refer to several types of carpentry tools, woodworking machines or metalworking machine tools. *Plane (tool), a hand tool used to produce flat surfaces by shaving the surface of the wood * Thickness planer (North America) or thi ...

types with

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

s. A form resembling a roll-top tub must be an integral part of the structure. Most tubbers make their "tub" by using a bathtub as the model to lay down a fiberglass mold. The rules restrict the engine to 9.9 hp (7.28144 kW), and the weight to a minimum of 350 lb (159 kg) including driver. There are three classes of bathtub boats: Stock, Modified, and Super-Modified. Stock motors must be an unmodified stock engine, but can be tuned by adjusting the timing. Modified motors can only modify the lower leg and propeller. Super Modified can modify the entire engine as long as factory parts are used.

History

Bathtub racing started in Nanaimo,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The idea was conceived to showcase Nanaimo to the world, with the first races beginning with the "Nanaimo to Vancouver Great International World Championship Bathtub Race" in 1967.

Frank Ney Frank James Ney (May 12, 1918 – November 24, 1992) was a mayor of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, serving for twenty-one years. Ney also served a term as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He was known for his ...

, Nanaimo's mayor at the time, was one of the largest supporters and promoters of the annual race from its establishment until his death in 1992, and was an avid participant. He would regularly dress as a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and tour the town and surrounding communities. Until the 1990s, the race was held as a part of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

's annual Sea Festival, aka Sea Fest, when tubbers raced from Nanaimo to Vancouver's

Kitsilano Beach Kitsilano Beach is one of the most popular beaches in Vancouver, especially in the warm summer months. Located at the north edge of the Kitsilano neighbourhood, the beach faces out onto English Bay. Description The beach is home to the longes ...

. With the demise of the Vancouver Marine Festival in the mid-1990s, the race now involves a course beginning and ending in

Nanaimo Harbour Nanaimo Harbour, also known as the ''Port of Nanaimo'', is a natural harbour on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The City of Nanaimo runs along the west side of the harbour. Three islands, Newcastle, Protection, ...

. The current course takes the tubbers into the open waters of

Georgia Strait The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

and is currently 58 kilometres in length. The race is held the last weekend of July every year. Other cities, like Auckland's North Shore with its Englefield Bathtub Derby, and

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

with the US-Canadian Friendship race now hold bathtub races, but the Nanaimo event continues to be the most widely known.

References

External links

The Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub SocietyBadewannen Einstiegshilfe TestEnglefield Bathtub DerbyWest Coast Tub Society
Motorboat racing Sport in Nanaimo Boat types {{race-sports-stub