View full sizeUniversity of Alabama engineering students pour concrete onto a mold for their concrete canoe that they will use in a competition this weekend at the ASCE Southeast Student Conference in Tallahassee, Fla. (Photos submitted by Chandler Watkins)-- A group of University of Alabama engineering students are putting the finishing touches on their boat for a regional concrete canoe competition this weekend.
The event, which is part of the 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers Southeast Student Conference at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, challenges students to design and race canoes made from concrete, aggregates and foam. The winning team will move on to 25th annual ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition in Reno, Nev. in June.
The 16-student Alabama team began designing the boat in August 2011, choosing to call it "April's Fury" to recognize tornado recovery and rebuilding efforts in Tuscaloosa.
Chandler Watkins, a senior civil engineering major, said floating concrete could stand as a metaphor for the recovery process in the city.
"Concrete is such a big part of rebuilding and the structure, yet it's kind of ironic that it floats on water," Watkins said. "You wouldn't think it would, but it can. You wouldn't expect the people to come back, but everyone came together and started rebuilding instantly."
View full sizeApril's Fury, the University of Alabama's concrete canoe, during the staining process. (Photo submitted by Chandler Watkins)April's Fury has been stained to look like a top layer is being ripped off the surface of the canoe, revealing a houndstooth pattern below it.
The teams will be judged in four areas. Earlier this month, the team submitted a technical paper. Judges will also take into account the canoe's design and an oral presentation. Then comes the paddling in the men's sprint, women's sprint, men's endurance, women's endurance and co-ed endurance races.
Watkins said members have been practicing rowing in a fiberglass vessel that matches the dimensions of the canoe they will debut this weekend.
The UA team will take on universities from around the Southeast and the state, including
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