Concrete Canoe Competition 2010

by Derrick Bean
COE Public Affairs Writer

A team of 15 undergraduate engineering students is hoping that a little more preparation and experience will go a long way at the 2010 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Regional Concrete Canoe Competition. Western Michigan University will host the competition Friday through Sunday, March 26-28.

Wayne State’s team placed 5th overall last year. It was the first time a WSU team had competed in a concrete canoe competition in nearly a decade. This year, there will be nine schools competing from Michigan and Ohio, including the University of Michigan and Ohio Northern University.

The team is down in numbers from 21 last year, but spirits are high as half of this year’s team participated last year, says Luke Mackewich, a civil and environmental engineering senior, and returning member. He is the paddling captain in charge of organizing practices as well as helping out with general fabrication.

“We had no idea as far as what we were doing and how we’re supposed to do it last year,” he says. “Now, we have more experience because we have returning team members. And we were able to talk to other schools and learn what kinds of techniques they used.”

There are plenty of differences in this year’s canoe. The Warrior One is now called “Heidtke’s Last Stand” in honor of Thomas Heidtke, associate professor of civil engineering, who is retiring in May. Mackewich says the professor is very well-liked by students.

In preparing Heidtke’s Last Stand, students decided to use a female mold instead of a male mold in order to control thickness for dimension requirements. The female mold allows the canoe to be formed within a set of foam as opposed to outside of it. “We managed to cut the weight of the canoe by reducing thickness from one-and-a-half inches to three-quarters of an inch,” says Mackewich. “This should make us more competitive.”

Some of the major concrete canoe requirements include: four people must be able to fit in the canoe; the canoe must be able to float even when full of water; 50 percent of the mix must contain recycled materials, and more detailed restrictions on dimensions and materials.

The competition’s rules and requirements were sent at the beginning of the school year, and after a few months of planning, fabrication began in January. Some of the major concrete canoe requirements include: four people must be able to fit in the canoe; the canoe must be able to float even when full of water; 50 percent of the mix must contain recycled materials, and more detailed restrictions on dimensions and materials.

The Last Stand is about 20 feet long and 2.5 feet wide. Small recycled glass beads help meet the recycled material requirement while keeping the canoe lightweight and strong, much like last year’s model.

“We had difficulty meeting the requirements of having two different recycled aggregates with each composing of 25 percent of the mix by weight,” Mackewich says. “We also encountered some problems in the curing process. We ended up getting some cracking along the sides due to the walls not being completely saturated for the full 28 days of the curing process.”

Another issue was raising money, which Mackewich says was “more challenging because of the recession.” Companies that donated before weren’t able to do as much this year. Some were only able to give discounts. But the team was persistent as they asked for donations from faculty and sent out mailers to alumni members who graduated in the last 10 years or so.

There will be five races at this year’s competition designed to test speed (during sprint events), and strength (during endurance events). Races will be held at Ramona Park in Portage, Mich. Wayne State’s concrete canoe team has been practicing by racing regular canoes at Ford Field Park in Dearborn.