WKU News

 Since the early 1970s, American Society of Civil Engineers student chapters have constructed and raced concrete canoes. Over the years, canoe mixes and designs have varied, but the long-established tradition of teamwork, camaraderie, and spirited competition has been consistent.

 The 2019 ASCE Regional Concrete Canoe Competition will be held in April 2019. The WKU School of Engineering and Applied Sciences ASCE chapter will be attending. Last year the ASCE placed 2nd in regionals and based on the results of the practice pour held on Saturday, November 3rd, they are looking to give the competition a run for their money!

 The practice pour was a record for the chapter, with an eleven and a half hour pour vs. sixteen hours the year before. The Concrete Canoe Team consists of ten senior captains overseeing different components of the canoe. There are five categories the canoe will be judged on: The Race, Display/Cutout, Final Product, Design Paper, and Oral Presentation. 

 With each category, there are specific rules and regulations. Some are so specific, in fact, that it becomes a matter of inches and significant figures. The mixture must be a certain percentage of each material specification, the paddlers have certain equipment they cannot use, and there are pre-tests that the canoe must pass in order for it to be considered for competition. It is tedious and stressful, but the team handles it well with smooth collaboration, participation, and hard work!

 Here is a glimpse of this year’s Concrete Canoe Team Captains.

 Katy Bridges and Morgan Hertlendy are the Co-Project Managers, overseeing the entire canoe build. They make sure all components are on track and comply with the detailed rules and regulations sent by the Regional Committee.

 Colby Nicholson and Mallory Hadley, the Mix-Design co-captains focus entirely on what the canoe is made of. The team makes sure that the mixture produces a strong, flexible, and buoyant canoe. The team looked to last year’s model and picked apart everything that could be improved. Their main job is to make sure the canoe will float, hold a team of paddlers, and fit the specific measurements provided.

 Matt Lawrence and Austin Loney are the Construction co-captains. Their team focuses on the display the canoe will be placed o, meaning it needs to be aesthetically pleasing and strong enough to hold a concrete canoe. They are also in charge of the Design Paper which includes all information related to the design and construction of the concrete canoe such as concrete and composite development and testing, the project management, innovations, and sustainable aspects.

 Luke Edmunds is the Administrative Secretary, collects time logs and provides any secretarial work needed for the oral presentation and design paper. The time logs are essential to know how much time is being distributed to which component of the canoe.

 Stacey Beutjer is the Materials captain, providing and ordering any materials the canoe team needs for any component. “Without the materials for the canoe, there would be no canoe,” Luke Edmunds stated at a Captains’ meeting. There are certain materials that the canoe cannot include, and part of her job is making sure those materials are in accordance with the rules and regulations.

 Kaitlin Berry, the Structural Analysis captain, locates the maximum stress points on the canoe design and uses reinforcements to create a relief. This keeps the canoe strong and prevents it from breaking at any point. Making sure the entire time that the reinforcements are covered for the paddle team’s safety.

 Bethany Vogt, the Paddling and Aesthetics captain, handpicks the team used to race the canoe. The best fits are placed in a separate team which focuses on the best techniques the race. She also handles the way the canoe looks, not only are strength and buoyancy important, but the canoe must be aesthetically pleasing to the judges.

 Good luck to our Seniors and ASCE chapter as they proceed through the spring semester!