The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Concrete Canoe Competition challenged students to design and fabricate a canoe out of concrete which was raced at the 2025 Metropolitan Regional Competition at White Meadow Lake in Rockaway, NJ on April 27th. The design of the canoe had to follow the material restrictions presented by the Committee on Concrete Canoe Competitions. The material restrictions were a minimum of 35% aggregates by volume, maximum cement by mass of 50%, and maximum hydrated lime by mass of 15%. The 2025 TCNJ team sought to focus on three aspects: materials design, constructability, and quality of the final product. The hull was designed using Freeship software accounting for a flat bottom profile with a length of 16 feet, beam of 2.5 feet, and depth of 1.75 feet. A structural analysis was completed to find the minimum required compressive and tensile strengths as 13 psi and 14 psi, respectively. The designed mix achieved a 28-day compressive strength of 1600 psi and a unit weight of 59 pcf. A male mold was constructed using ¾” plywood ribs and 1/5” underlayment cut into 1” and 2” strips. The engineering cost and service for the fall semester was $25,600, and the engineering cost and service for the spring semester was $35,000 for a total engineering cost of $60,600. The construction cost for the project was $2,950. Races were not held due to inclement weather, but the team made it to the competition, passed the swamp test, and placed 5th overall.
During the spring semester our team fabricated the canoe according to our design from the fall. The spring semester started with creating a base table to place the mold on and then the mold was created.
After the mold was ready for casting, the canoe was placed using two layers of our designed mix, with a layer of fiberglass mesh reinforcement in the middle. With the assistance of our fellow classmates, the canoe was constructed and the curing process began.
Burlap, bi-daily watering cycles, and humidifiers were used to ensure that the canoe had proper hydration. Plastic tarps were also utilized to ensure the moisture stayed within the canoe. Curing lasted 21 days until the canoe was removed from the mold, and then continued for 7 more days after to complete the full 28-day curing cycle.
Transportation planning begun on how the canoe was going to arrive at White Meadow Lake. A cradle was made out of wood and bungee cords to absorb any shock during the trip, and was reinforced with bubble wrap and pool noodles to protect the canoe.
During the competition, our canoe performed exceptionally well in the swamp test, but unfortunately no races were held due to inclement weather. Our team plans to reuse the canoe for next years competition.
A link to our presentation can be found below.