Crick Boat Show

Your guide to exhibiting at Britain’s premier canal boat event

Celebrating its 25th year, the Crick Boat Show sponsored by Haven Knox Johnston is the focal point of the year for the inland waterways. It brings together around 250 exhibitors with thousands of boat owners and aspiring boat owners in the biggest single gathering of the British inland waterways industry. As an exhibitor at Crick you can showcase your company to an audience of boating enthusiasts, boating industry professionals and meet existing and future customers. 

With the 2025 Show over the late May Bank Holiday weekend now just a few weeks away, you will need to act soon to secure one of the remaining exhibition spaces. 

The Show is open to the public from Saturday 24 to Monday 26 May and some 27,000 vistors attend the Show over these three days. There is also a Trade & Preview Day on Friday, 23 May that provides a perfect opportunity for suppliers and trade customers to meet and build their business relationships. On this day, a limited number of Preview ticket holders – who are predominantly serious boat-owners or aspiring boat-owners – get easier access to boats and boating industry stands to talk in greater depth than might be possible on busier days. 

As well as presenting your own products or services, the Show is always a good way to learn about new ideas in inland boating that are being developed by other companies. With inland boating trade press and media professionals attending, the Show can be especially valuable to smaller businesses looking to raise their profile and increase brand awareness. 

Being an exhibitor is a big commitment of your time and resources – but being part of the inland waterways’ busiest marketplace opens the biggest and best possible window to your potential customers. Many exhibitors return year after year. 

To find out about becoming an exhibitor at Crick Boat Show 2025, phone Ian Sharpe on 01283 742 977 or email ian.sharpe@wwonline.co.uk. 

There are exhibition spaces priced to suit all budgets and also opportunities to enhance your impact at the Show.

 

Trade & Preview Day - Friday 23rd May

Haven Knox-Johnston Commercial (HKJC) are pleased to be back as sponsor of the Trade Day at The Crick Boat Show 2025 and will be on hand to assist inland businesses of all shapes and sizes with commercial insurance enquiries across the show weekend. The team of business insurance experts have lots going on and it’s well worth dropping by to have a conversation with them.

Haven Knox-Johnston Commercial will be launching a brand-new risk management tool at The Crick Boat Show and are looking forward to demonstrating it to all of the exhibitors. The new Benchmark Review Report provides business with a great starting point when it comes to managing their business risks. The corner stone of insurance. It’s an independent ‘health check’ for your business which looks to help you not only spot areas of risk that need to be addressed, but also gives you reassurance on the areas that don’t. An annual review of risk can help provide a solid story to take to your insurers and can provide the tangible evidence needed to confirm you are a better risk when it comes to setting premiums and conditions.

On Trade and Preview Day, the team will once again be sponsoring the trade breakfasts, where show exhibitors can sign up to receive bacon rolls and coffee delivered directly by the HKJC team to show stands, providing the energy to help with those last-minute stand building tasks and the busy day ahead. Details on how to do this will be emailed in the coming weeks.

Throughout the show, any inland businesses are welcome to drop in to the Commercial Corner of the Haven Knox-Johnston Pavillion to discuss their insurance needs, find out more about risk management or just have a chat and swap contact details for future reference.

As Marine Trade insurance experts they fully understand the challenges and complexities businesses on the inland waterways face across day-to-day activities and in the process of attending shows. As an advice-based insurance broker, they have the experience to discover all the risks your business faces and provide truly tailored advice on ways to protect your business, ensuring continuity, whatever challenges come your way.

“Our job is to take the stress out of Marine Trade insurance so you can focus on running your business. The inland waterways are a thriving sector of the marine industry and to be able to support the business community coming together prior to the public opening of the show is a great opportunity. We look forward to meeting new contacts, sharing experiences and catching up with friends. We hope you will join us there.” Malcolm Stewart, Head of Haven KJ Commercial” A friendly face, useful advice and a few treats can always be found on the Haven Knox-Johnston stand. If you need anything in the meantime, call the team on 01905 930 760.

 

Awards evening to celebrate the 25th Crick Boat Show

This year’s Crick Boat Show sponsored by Haven Knox-Johnston promises to be particularly special, as the event celebrates its 25th anniversary. First held in 2000, the show has taken place every year since, apart from during the Covid pandemic in 2020.

To mark this milestone, an exclusive grand awards event will take place on the evening of Friday 23rd May, the Trade & Preview Day. 

This all-ticket ceremony, held in the VIP marquee and limited to just 120 people, will bring together exhibitors, visitors, volunteers, VIPs, the Crick team and the inland waterways industry as a whole.

Eight categories will be honoured in the world of waterways:  

Favourite Boat In Show – sponsored by Haven Knox-Johnston

Favourite Vlogger or Social Media Coverage of Crick – sponsored by Water Freedom

Best Marketing Campaign Promoting the Inland Waterways – sponsored by The Canal & River Trust

Longest-standing Exhibitor – sponsored by The Knot Agency

Crick’s Biggest Fan – sponsored by Midland Chandlers

Longest Serving Volunteer – sponsored by Fischer Panda

Crick Lifetime Achievement Award – sponsored by Vetus Global

The evening will end with a parade of innovations as we honour the Best New Product for the Inland Waterways 2025 – a grand prize sponsored by Waterways World. 

The 11 nominations for this category are:  

■ Ashton Marine Services Molabo Aries i30 Electric Inboard Drive System

■ Boat Beds Vapairtext Condensation Barrier 

■ Cruise Moor Independent Marina Roving Mooring Scheme

■ Fischer Panda Clayton LPS II Combined Battery System 

■ Formation Plastics World’s First HDPE Narrowboat 

■ LeeSan Cinderella Diesel-Powered Incinerating Toilet  

■ Lynch Red Snapper Hybrid Drop-In Electric Drive System 

■ Midland Chandlers Schiedel Twin-Wall Arada Insulated Solid Fuel Stove Flue

■ King’s Lock MG Duff Alloy Prop Shaft Anodes 

■ Vetus and Kingslock Marine Distribution E-line 220S Electric Powerful Inboard Drive System

■ Water Freedom Smart Filtration System 

Tickets are £25 for a standard seat and £35 for a premium seat (guaranteeing a place on the first four rows). With just 120 seats available, you’re advised to book now to mark the occasion. Each ticket includes a glass of Prosecco or juice. 

To find out more visit crickboatshow.com/whatson/awards/

 

Present your own masterclass

Exhibitors at Crick have the opportunity to give presentations to Boat Show visitors in the dedicated Masterclass Theatre (capacity 100 people). 

Presentations can be up to 15 minutes - with an opportunity for an extra 10 minutes for questions and answers at the end. The choice of topic is open to the exhibitor, but as masterclasses are aimed at an audience of both existing and potential boat-owners they are pitched at a low level of ownership experience. 

Exhibitors who are interested can discuss their ideas with the Crick Boat Show team to ensure their presentations enhance their brand and appeal to the public.

Other Masterclass benefits include promotion across various show marketing channels - including the Show Guide presented to all Crick Boat Show visitors - and the opportunity to discuss your brand, service and products directly to the Masterclass audience.

Companies interested in presenting a Masterclass should get in touch with Rachael Grignon - r.grignon@wwonline.co.uk.

Show Information

Opening Times 

Trade & Preview Day 

Friday 23rd May: 10am-6pm 

Public Days 

Saturday 24th May: 10am-6pm

Sunday 25th May: 10am-6pm

Monday 26th May: 10am-5pm

 

Location

Crick Marina, nr Rugby, NN6 7SQ 

Grand Union Canal Leicester Line

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