The Raingutter Regatta is the sailboats equivalent of the Pinewood Derby car. The sailboat kit consists of a seven-inch long balsa wood hull, a 6-1/2 inch mast, plastic sail, plastic rudder, and metal keel. Within the basic design rules, Scouts are free to paint and decorate their sailboats as they choose. Modifications for speed include the placement of the keel and rudder and the size, shape and location of the sail.

This project is much easier to build than is the Pinewood Derby project and should require much less labor intensive work. As such each boy should be able to build his own boat with minimal supervision from parents and/or other family members. The hulls can be sanded and shaped, and colorfully painted. Some scouts might wish to decorate their sailboats with ready-made decal kits.

Sailboats will be raced in standard rain gutter ten feet in length. The gutter is normally placed on a table or on saw horses and is filled to the top with water. It is customary for the scouts to propel the boats by blowing. but not touching.  The first boat to reach the end of the gutter will be declared the winner. The overall winner will be determined by an elimination system.