National Concrete Canoe Competition

Graphics by Surface Gel Tek

In the late 1970’s I worked a few summers as a mason tender in Harwichport Cape Cod. I guess that’s where I got the concrete bug. During that time there was a local businessman and avid sailor in Harwichport named Russ Morgan who was building a concrete sail boat. As a concrete guy at the time I was intrigued but so was everyone else.

Russ built a concrete sailboat which he named Stone Horse  about 50 feet long. Everyone would go up to the Stone Horse and knock on its hull.  For a few years Russ sailed the Sone Horse down to the Caribbean and back a few times.

Here it is about 30 years later and I’m introduced to another water born concrete vessel-The Concrete Canoe. I heard about these canoes a few years ago but finally had the opprtunity to see them at the World Of Concrete.  Turns out that this year is the 22nd annual National Concrete Canoe Competition being held at University of Alabama in June.

The concrete vessels actualy predate the competition by 10 or more years. The National Competition has expanded over the years to include somewhere in the vicinity of 200 undergraduate colleges around the country. There are 18 conference championships with the finalists participating in the National Concrete Canoe Competition.

The competition is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Collegiate eligablity is limted to schools with a civil engineering program for undergraduate students. The unlimed versatility of concrete enables the enginering students to design, craft and use something they created from scratch. It’s a unique training ground for students who have the opportunity to create with a team while testing their skills against other talented engineering students.

If you have an interest in more detailed information about the National Concrete Canoe Competition click this link.