Beer Can Boat

Maker Lutz Frankenfeld

Date2000

Object numberV00030935

NameBoat

MediumBeer cans, aliminium, wire netting mesh, bamboo, calico, plastic straps, tape

DimensionsOverall: 4400 x 3000 x 1200 mm
Display Dimensions: 3300 x 1420 x 3710 mm

ClassificationsVessels and fittings

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionEvery year vessels of all shapes and sizes are created from empty beer cans for the annual Darwin Beer Can Regatta. Despite their builders' best efforts, not all of them float. This four-oared boat was designed by Lutz Frankenfeld, founder of the first Beer Can Regatta in Darwin in 1974. It is built from more than 2000 beer cans donated by the local yacht club. The cans are taped together end-to-end to keep water out of the pop-top holes. Frankenfeld used a combination of Victoria Bitter and XXXX Bitter cans to pattern the boat in the Australian colours of green and gold. The Viking-style bow, Greek galley stern and Southeast Asian lateen sail reflect the multiculturalism of the Australian community, while the figurehead acknowledges the regatta's sponsor, the Lions Club. In regatta competition, decoration earns as many points as buoyancy and speed.HistoryDarwin's Beer Can Regatta is a major tourist attraction in the Northern Territory. Each year crowds gather to cheer as the most outrageous and ingenious boats made from aluminium cans sink or swim in Darwin Harbour. Lutz Frankenfeld started the Beer Can Regatta in 1974. The regatta was first held on the June Queens Birthday weekend and its aim was 'to put Darwin on the tourist map' and to help clean up the litter of cans through the city. To Darwin's surprise the novelty event attracted worldwide attention in the 1970s and '80s. But in the sober 1990s civic leaders, keen to reinvent Darwin's image from a hard-drinking tourist haven, renamed the regatta 'On the Beach'. All vessels are made and raced according to strict rules. The event is promoted and sponsored by local business and community groups, from Apex to the armed forces, and from schools to supermarkets.SignificanceThis beer can boat is important in representing the unique character of the Darwin population as a frontier town, and in celebrating the authentic Australian character - the larrikin.