Save our boats! Hythe Sea Scouts needs your help.

Aim

We are needing to build a boat shelter to protect our boats from the weather and becoming unusable.

Who are we?

Hythe Sea Scouts is a long-established and thriving Scout Group located on the edge of Southampton Water. We proudly hold Admiralty Recognition, a distinction awarded to Sea Scout Groups that demonstrate excellence in seamanship, training, and safety standards. This recognition reflects our commitment to delivering high-quality maritime experiences to young people.

We currently support around 120 youth members, from Squirrels to Explorers, offering a wide range of adventurous activities including sailing, rowing, kayaking, and paddleboarding. Our programme is designed to build confidence, resilience, and leadership through hands-on learning and teamwork on the water.  

Why are we crowdfunding?

Our objective is simple, protect our boats! We currently have a fleet of 23 boats stored in the open in our yard. Boats are exposed to the weather and despite a regular maintenance routine are perishing to the elements.  In recent years we have removed 5 boats from from use for this reason. 

Our maintenance costs are also increasing as we have to spend more to keep them on the water. 

In July 2025, Sport England pledged £7,500, which is conditional on our fundraising the remaining £7,500. This will allow us to construct a boat shelter that protects our boats and provides a permanent solution to the problem.

PICTURE OF CURRENT BOAT STORAGE

How we’ll spend the money raised

The budget cost to build the boat shelter (based on recent builders quotes) is £15,000 which will provide approximately 30sqm of covered boat storage. As part of the project will be to provide boat racking to enable boats to be stored off the ground, further protecting them from the weather. 

The structure will be open sided timber structure with a box profile clad roof. 

EXAMPLE IMAGE OF HOW THE BOAT SHELTER COULD LOOK ONCE COMPLETED

NB: Image is computer generated and indicative. 

Community impact

The community impact will continue to provide watersports on a regular basis for 120 children in the local community as well as providing adult volunteering opportunities through the scouting movement.  

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success! We need to secure 24 separate donations as well as meeting our fundraising target. 

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters or help with the build i.e. materials. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made