Win surfaces for concrete canoe team
University of Nevada, Reno concrete canoe team members are beside their canoe, Argentum. To qualify for the races, the canoe must be pushed beneath the water’s surface and then float back to the surface under its own buoyancy. The mix of most concrete canoes is lighter than water, but canoes heavier than water are built using blocks of Styrofoam to help them float back to the surface.
How do you keep a concrete canoe afloat? Keep it under 62.4 pounds.
At least that’s the strategy of the University of Nevada, Reno concrete canoe team as they prepare for the 2008 national concrete canoe competition in Montreal.
“It’s just something that we try our best to achieve,” said Robert Coomes, a team member and president of the UNR student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter. “By doing that, you end up with a more streamline boat.”
For the third consecutive year, the UNR team will compete in the national collegiate finals. Their canoe, “Argentum,” took first place April 27 at the Mid-Pacific Regional Competition at Lake Natoma near the University of California, Davis.
“I’m very excited,” said Corbin McFarlane, a team member and UNR civil engineering graduate student. “Basically, we worked on the canoe as if it were a hot rod. We put a lot of attention into making it.”
At the June 19-21 nationals, canoes will be judged for appearance, technical design paper, oral presentation and paddling. The top three teams win scholarships worth $5,000, $2,500 and $1,500.
The student-built canoes vary in shape and design but Coomes said his team tried to keep their boat under 62.4 pounds because that is the weight of one cubic foot of water.
“So, basically in order for us to achieve a concrete canoe that would float, we need to make a boat that is lighter than that,” said Coomes, a UNR senior in civil engineering.
One of the best experiences building the canoe was practicing their engineering skills with friends, Coomes said.
“It’s an experience that gets you away from the homework and is a little more fun and exciting,” Coomes said. “It’s almost the same as going out and playing video games with your friends.”
This article appeared originally in Reno Gazette-Journal.
