2026 Tasmanian Solar Car and Boat Regulations
2026 Tasmanian Model Solar Car Regulations
2026 Tasmanian Model Solar Boat Regulations
Please download a copy of the new state regulations for 2026. The Tasmanian competition will be run in accordance with these. There are a few changes from 2025 so be sure to read through things carefully.
For those that participated last year, cars are no longer required to carry 20x ping pong balls but now need to carry a 2000 cm^3 box. There’s also no more weight penalty for cars using an electronics controller. Teams at the Tasmanian event will again be given the choice of racing with either their own solar panel or with one provided by the organisers on race day.
The major change in the boat competition is that everyone must now race with our new standard TMSC solar boat panel. Some more details on this panel can be found at the bottom of the following post:
www.tassolarchallenge.org/key-competition-rules-for-2026/
You won’t find these at Scorpio technology but our new free starter boat kits include one. If you’re using a kit from a previous year or using your own parts then please get in touch so we can organise some for you or your school.
The boat specifications themselves are otherwise largely unchanged. The motor cost limit in the primary division has been increased slightly from $10 to $12 to include the price rise of Scorpio Technology’s SM403 motor and please remember that the guide wire heights at the Tas event are 200mm above the water surface, not 300mm like in some other states.
Teams selected to represent Tasmania at the national car finals will also need to submit a video presentation to be in the running for the overall points competition (details can be found in the AIMSC car regulations here). This presentation is not required at state level and may be put together once the Tasmanian event has been held. Thinking ahead and documenting or collecting photos, video footage and other material during the car build process may be useful for this purpose. A couple of examples of previous submissions from winning interstate teams can be seen below.6