Crick Boat Show 2025 Round Up

Crick 2025 was as brilliant as ever, with stunning boats on display, and fantastic entertainment enjoyed in great company. ABBA tribute band ‘Revival’ brought the ‘disco fever’ to the crowds on Saturday night with some great outfits on display, including Liza’s funky trousers! 

On Sunday, Stuart teamed up with Paul from Lockgate Stoves in the Kings Lock Chandlery Cup kayak race, taking line honours in the final, but coming in runners-up after a technical disqualification. 

Stuart canoeing at crick boat show 2025

Later on, Dan Budd performing as Robbie Williams proved to be a fantastic showman, and was even compared favourably to the real thing by our own Take That and Robbie mega-fan, Kathryn Price. 

We had an amazing time catching up with customers and trade friends. Thank you for the warm hospitality – we always love being part of the Crick buzz!

This year saw some interesting developments in the world of inland waterways boating. Electric propulsion (inc hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cells) looks to be growing in popularity, and lots of people were talking about Water Freedom’s on-demand water filtration, and the Cinderella incinerating toilets! 

A definite first for us was seeing Adrift Boats HDPE narrowboat, and we will be watching with interest to see how this develops within such a traditional marketplace.

A key focus for us is letting buyers know that finance is available for those looking to start a new life on the inland waterways, as many still aren’t aware, and Crick provides us with the perfect opportunity to do just that.

This year, we had QR code displays on a wide number of boats and stands, and handed out the Haven Knox Johnston, ‘Guide to buying a narrowboat’ featuring our advice on finance. Both proved very popular and really helped to get the message out there that finance is available for inland waterways, including for liveaboard use.

Favourite Boat in Show is always hotly contested, and this year the competition was very strong. In the end, the fantastic Gothic ‘Vampirate’ from Norton Canes took top place, but runner-up ‘Daisy’ from Braidbar Boats was also very popular, with lots of visitors to our stand saying she was their dream narrowboat and perfect in every way! 

Third place was well deserved by Ovation Boats with ‘Breaking Bad’, a high spec build with lots of clever features.

Inland waterways lending remains in demand, including in the liveaboard sector, with an increasing number of buyers exploring finance to stretch up to the next level, rather than settle for a boat that isn’t quite right for them. 

We also saw growing interest from new boat buyers seeking finance for both full build stage payments and smaller top-ups for upgrades.

Many boats docked at Crick Boat show 2025

As always, we want to thank every single person who came to visit us at our stand – we love attending shows like this as it gives us a rare opportunity to meet as many of you as possible face to face, and share our passion for boating with like-minded people.

If you did speak to us at our stand, and are keen to get started, make sure to contact us today.

Crick boat show 2024 wrap up

What a show – we say this every year. 

Setting up at Crick was manageable, but it was hard to ignore the signs of water-logging in the show field…if only we knew what was to come.

Friday was Trade and VIP day which commenced with a welcome breakfast courtesy of Haven Knox-Johnston, followed by British Marine members drinks and exhibitor drinks thanks to Leesan. 

It’s safe to say that our newest member of the team, Marc Griffin was thrown in at the deep end. 

Saturday was a standout day for us, enjoying not just gorgeous weather, but also a record number of visitors to our stand. It was great to see so many new and existing customers flowing through our stand, and we were very grateful for Pauline’s presence over the weekend which allowed us to keep on top of everything. 

And then came Sunday…

What started off as a damp morning gave way to heaven’s opening, and washing us away. Water came from everywhere, leaving the base of each item of furniture submerged.

Amazingly visitors were still splashing around and spirits were not dampened. 

Whilst the weather may have been a disappointment, the exhibitor’s Kayak race was not, with Stuart and Marc reaching the semi-finals losing to Waterways World who in the final tied in a dead heat with Kingsround. 

We were slightly quieter on Monday than we were over the weekend, however, we still managed to meet plenty of boating enthusiasts, as well as visiting a number of boats. 

Our visitor numbers were up 37% over last year, and we managed to issue six finance offers, with the hopes of seeing several more over the coming weeks.

Thank you again to Crick Boat Show for keeping things moving in the face of challenging conditions, to the Promarine Team for giving it their all over the weekend, and to the customers and visitors who helped to make the show a truly memorable event.

Promarine Finance to attend Crick Boat Show 2023

The Promarine Finance team is thrilled to announce its attendance at this year’s Crick Boat Show, taking place from 27-29 May 2023 at Crick Marina, Northampton. 

Britain’s largest inland waterways festival is set to return with a bang, featuring a number of exciting exhibitors, seminars and boat handling sessions, and entertainment for everyone.

For three days, the exhibition transforms into Britain’s largest chandlery as over 260 exhibitors bring together the full range of inland boating supplies and equipment. 

If you’re visiting the show, come and speak to the Promarine Finance team, where they will be offering advice and finance for inland boats, liveaboards and ocean going boats. 

Stuart Austin, Director of Promarine Finance, says: “The team and I are excited for another year exhibiting a Crick Boat Show. It’s a great show to be attending with lots of variety going on, and a good opportunity to meet with new and familiar faces. 

“We’re passionate about helping more people get out on the water with our marine finance services and connecting them with the boat of their dreams in the most affordable way.”

Whether a previous boat owner, a current boat owner, or a novice, we’re here to help. Come and say hello! 

Promarine Finance is a leading provider of marine finance. To find out if you’re eligible, get a quote today.

This year’s Crick Boat Show will take place from 24-28 March

Britain’s biggest inland waterways festival, which will be completely online, will include a mixture of pre-recorded static and live content, including Q&A sessions, live chat and live radio. 

With video boat tours, product demonstrations, seminars and 1-2-1 chats with show exhibitors, it’s the perfect place to come along and experience what it’s like to own and run your own boat.

Our team of trusted boat finance experts will be on hand throughout the virtual show to offer advice and provide guidance. With many finance decisions taking less than an hour, the dream of owning your own canal boat could become a reality before the show is over. 

We’ve been financing all types of coastal and inland waterway vessels for over 10 years and welcome any questions that you may have. 

CRICK BOAT SHOW SPECIAL OFFER:

We have teamed up with the Narrowboat Skills Centre to offer an exclusive Crick Boat Show deal for this year’s upcoming event. We will be offering free professional boat handling training to all those who complete a finance application during the show and go on to become finance customers. Find out more about this special offer here.  

We hope to see you there!

Visitors can book their free tickets here: https://www.crickboatshow.com

Get in touch with us during the show via the 1-2-1 chat function.

If you can’t make the show, please get in touch with any questions, or you can get quote online now.