A Civil Engineering Team Develops a Floating Concrete Canoe

Wood floats. Concrete does not - or does it? While it is not usually recommended, this time a team from the University of Maine at Orono did try to rock the boat. Their engineering group successfully built a concrete canoe.

It was more than concrete though, supposedly, the canoe was practically a planetarium.

Mathew Kinney, a team member and Valley citizen, noted the boat was colored in blue and glazed with stars. Inside, the constellation Libra was designed to circle around a balance. Outside, there were more stars, the University of Maine's name, and the symbol of the constellation, Libra.

Three of the team members, who will each be juniors in the Fall, are from the Valley: Mathew Kinney, Adam Jandreau, and Drake Voisine. All three are studying civil engineering. There nineteen other members of the team who are from various parts of the country.

According to Kinney, since the three of them arrived at the college two years ago, the team has had more success than usual, making it to the national competition twice, following a fifteen year gap. He does not give all the credit to any one team member though, acknowledging that everyone on the team has contributed.

The competition was based on four parts, according to Kinney: Oral presentation, written report, aesthetics, and racing. The team was split up to work on different sections of the boat and competition.

Jandreau explained, "Our boat will actually float if it's full of water, because the aggregate is less dense than water, and that makes the concrete less dense than water so it will float."

Kinney said the regional competition, which was in Boston, came down to the wire.

"This year we hoped to repeat, but we knew it was going to be difficult. It was a very close competition. It came down to the top three places [being] separated by 6/10 of a point. We ended up winning."

Due to their success at the regional competition, the team received the opportunity to attend the national competition, which was in Seattle, Washington this year from June 14 - 16.

Jandreau said, "It was a really great experience to go out to Seattle
It was not without a struggle, however. The team had to raise enough money in a short amount of time to cover the travel expenses.

"It took a tremendous effort to raise funds very quickly," said Kinney.

All in all, some members flew, while others drove. According to Kinney, "One of our captains and his uncle drove [the boat] out in the Penski truck." The boat was twenty-four feet long and weighed over two-hundred pounds.

Kinney noted that all members who were competing in the national competition were immediately reimbursed for travel expenses; however, the team decided they wanted all members present, and those members not competing had to cover their own expenses for the time being.

"We wanted to bring them, but we didn't want anyone to have the burden of paying for the cost themselves." Fortunately, their team spirit did not go without notice, as the entire team is sticking together. "We're in the process right now of trying to get our funds in order, and trying to get everyone reimbursed."

Kinney went on to state the obvious, "Financially it took a lot. It takes a great deal and effort. We're not going to have very much of a budget to start off next year."

Anyone willing to financially help this team can contact Kinney (207.316.6323). He thankfully said, "Any support for the team would be greatly appreciated."

Fortunately, the team has had great support in the past, according to Jandreau, which gives them reason to believe it will be the same in the future.

The team finished 16^th in Seattle, which was an improvement from last year.

"We actually did a lot better this year...Our boat was much, much better," noted Jandreau.

The members of this team, however, received more important things out of the project than the results of the competition.

Kinney said, "Overall, first and foremost, I've made some great friends...That is the single greatest benefit [to me]."

The story of this team's growth is a continual process as the team will have another chance next year - this time under new leadership.

"For me maybe one of the better things was being passed the throne...Next year, Adam Jandreau
Jandreau's response?

"I'm real excited to lead the team with Matt [next] year, and we're hopefully going to improve enough to make it back to nationals."

To view more see the slideshow: http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/928/students_rock_the_boat.html

Also see: http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=402799566075613257&hl=en