A preview of the 2026 festival program
Only three things are available for purchase at the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival: that is delicious food, a fresh coffee and select marine books. The ability to look, learn and talk with people creates a truly special event and it’s thanks to the collaboration between more than thirty different organisations who come together to make it a reality.
Stunning heritage motorboats lined up at the 2024 Auckland Wooden Boat Festival. Photo / Live Sail Die.
While the boats on water are a major drawcard, the onshore program is much loved.
Here is just some of what you will see during your time at the Festival.
INSIDE - VIADUCT EVENTS CENTRE
Antique engines – steam engines and outboard engines from collectors and enthusiasts
Boat Books – New Zealand’s favourite marine book seller with must-reads, shelf fillers and author signings
Sail making and bag making with Calibre Sails and AP Covers’ Andy Pilcher
Knot tying demonstrations by the experts in all things knotty at Chains Ropes & Anchors
Learn about what goes on in the New Zealand classic world and the latest news from the Classic Yacht Association
Marine chandlery of today and tomorrow with Fosters Harken
Kauri Museum, Matakohe – discover the history of this magnificent timber
The Logan family collection of tools from one of our most famous boatbuilding families
Model makers – one of our favourites – models from Matakana Model Makers, the late Bruce Tantrum, Darcy Whiting, The Daring Trust, Nathan Herbert, the Brooke family, the Kauri Museum, the New Zealand Maritime Museum, Stuart Junge and others from across New Zealand
Kids Zone and Tāngata Moana Mātauranga exhibition – exploring our oceanic connections with thanks to the New Zealand Maritime Museum
INSIDE - PERCY VOS BOAT YARD
Photo / Percy Vos Trust
Discover Auckland’s oldest surviving wooden boat yard where you can see Māori and Pacific waka building as a living tradition, and view the final stages of a waka hourua in creation by master carvers and artists.
The New Zealand Traditional Boatbuilding School will build a kauri clinker Frostbite dinghy live and in real time - a rare chance to see the wooden boatbuilding skills up close.
OUT ON THE WATER
Scout Cutters capture the imagination of times past thanks to some of Auckland’s Sea Scouts groups
Try sailing with the Hobsonville Yacht Club’s fleet of RS dinghies
Take a steam boat ride between the New Zealand Maritime Museum and the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival
NEXT TO THE WATER - JELLICOE WHARF
Watch small boats being built from start to finish by boat builders Alan Moore, and Float & Form
The art of steam bending and roving is not lost – as you’ll see in demonstrations by traditional boat builders, it’s still very much alive
See steam engines and machinery from generations past, and talk with the people who love them from the Auckland Steam Engine Society
Inspired? Learn about careers that will take you forward in the marine industry, both traditional and modern
Engine demonstrations by General Marine Services and Nanni Engines
View the Toroa steam ferry’s wheelhouse – its restoration is just the start of getting the Toroa back on the water
An exhibition of photography from Southern Wooden Boat Sailing’s Mark Chew and others
Go sailing without getting wet! Pt Chevalier Yacht Club will show you how.
SEMINARS AND FILMS
In partnership with the New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui Te Ananui a Tangaroa, the festival will also feature a programme of short films, talks and seminars, offering insight into the stories, skills and innovation behind wooden boats.
4pm-8pm Friday 13 March and 10am-5pm Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March 2026
Viaduct Events Centre, Jellicoe Harbour, New Zealand Maritime Museum & Percy Vos Boat Shed - Free entry
