Concrete Canoe Design Team

The Concrete Canoe Design Team provides students with the opportunity to design, construct and compete with a canoe made of concrete. This unconventional challenge motivates the team to come up with creative solutions to a seemingly impossible task – making a boat of concrete float. Through the spirit of intercollegiate competition, this project hopes to foster leadership, teamwork and project management.

Innovate

The Mix Subteam starts early in the semester. They begin with a base mix using the materials from the previous year. Gradually throughout the semester, the Mix Lead changes different factors within the mix design to further optimize the density, strength, and workability of the concrete. We mix up to four different concrete mixes each week, and make cylinders which are then tested for compressive strength with a Tinius Olsen machine. By the end of the fall semester, we will have created a mix that is light, strong, and yet still workable enough to mold a canoe out of.

Manufacture

The Hull Subteam then begins working on designing the canoe using a 3D modeling software called Siemens NX. They convert the 3D model into roughly 130 slices that can be projected onto foam and then cut out with a water jet to form the mold. This method of cutting saves countless hours of cutting by hand. After the slices are cut out, they are compressed together with PVC pipes inside to help them stay in line. The foam is sanded, covered in drywall putty, sanded again, and then lined with silver HVAC tape to provide a smooth surface to place concrete on.

Compete

The Concrete Canoe Competition is set up as if teams are a business promoting their canoe as a prototype. The rules document is sent as a Request for Proposals (RFP). This RFP gives specifications on the physical shape of the canoe as well as for the mix design. The hull length must be at most 22 feet with the floatation in the bulkheads shorter than three feet. Industry standards for material testing, ASTMs, must be complied with when designing and testing mixes. All processes are outlined in a project proposal and presented at competition.