The Concrete Canoe Club will compete in regional action in Fargo, N.D. on April 29. Iowa State will be competing against eight schools including North Dakota State University, Minnesota University and South Dakota University.

The canoe team has high goals, aiming for nationals, which are held during the summer. They placed third last year and hope to perform even better during this year’s competition.

Twelve participants have contributed to the construction of the canoe, eight of which will compete. The competition consists of two-man and four-man, endurance and sprint races.

The theme of this year’s vessel is the Spangler. Named after the building that it was created in, Mr. M.G. Spangler was a research professor at Iowa State. He received the Marston Medal and was an honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Mr. Spangler originally studied under Anson Marston at Iowa State, and both were recognized as international authorities on the design of buried conduits.

The process of creating the canoe is year-long, and over a thousand hours of hard work have been donated. Members start planning in the fall, then set and cast the canoe over winter break for 28 days. The canoe then had to be watered every four hours to help it cure properly.

“I used to come and water [the canoe] every four hours, come out here at 4 a.m. to get the hose out. I just got hooked on being here,” said Kevin Welsh, one of the co-captains.

Within the last year, a watering system was adopted so constant supervision was no longer needed, although they did have a slight setback when the snow removal crew accidentally cut the hose this winter, leaving them with a skating rink instead of a hydrated canoe.

There is a 75-page set of rules that regulate how the canoe is developed, what materials are allowed, and how the outer part can look.

The Concrete Canoe Club is using a new substance in the concrete mix called K1, a puffed glass mix that is basically like dust to the touch but forms smoothly with water.

This year the team used past years’ models as recycled material to create an 80-percent recycled boat. They finish the boat off by painting it and giving it a more aesthetically pleasing look, as aesthetics is one portion of the judging. The other three portions of the competition are the race, presentation and display.

The concrete, which people think would not float, is actually very light. The club has to flood the canoe with water, and it has to float so that both ends come up within five minutes.

The Concrete Canoe Club has done some new reconstructing to the middle of the canoe. One boat breaks every year at regionals because it is made too thin.

The club created a tension system, finding the weakest point. It consists of a network of rods stretched out after pouring the concrete, and, having it set, they release the rods creating tension in the middle to make it stronger, making this canoe one of the strongest that has been built in a while.

They received all their materials through fundraising and donated materials. 

The Concrete Canoe team takes what they have learned in class and applies it to the process of creating the canoe. They use and apply skills that will help them in the future, such as electric, fluid concrete, static tensions systems and element analysis. There are many senior members this year. To compete you have to be a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, but anyone is welcome to help create and build.