Engineering students compete in concrete canoe race

 Olympic canoe rowers have it easy - all they do is paddle.

Want a real Olympian challenge? Before racing a canoe, build it first.

At Lake Cochituate yesterday, custom-built concrete canoes from about a dozen engineering schools in the northeast U.S. and Quebec started racing just as the gray skies broke into bright sunshine over the water.

"It's a pretty good feeling" to row a custom craft, said Eric Thornley, a Wentworth Institute of Technology student. "It pushes the boundaries."

The event, part of the New England conference of the Concrete Canoe Championship, was one of close to 20 regional competitions across the country, sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

won the day, according to Wentworth professor Henderson Pritchard, whose school hosted this year's event.

Pritchard, a Natick resident who is head of Wentworth's civil construction and environment department, said the New England competition is about 30 years old and is held at a different location every year.

This year's New England champions will compete for a national title in June at the University of Maine in Seattle.

The contest is not won by being first in a race, he said, but by students working together as the best team.

"It has to do with how organized and motivated the students are," said Pritchard.

He said the competition gives engineering students a practical application of the skills they learned in the classroom, plus experience working in a team to build and row their canoes.

Judging is based on the race, plus design reports, oral presentations and aesthetics of their creation.

Making rock-hard concrete glide gracefully - or close to it - across a lake isn't easy. Two teams - including Northeastern University - couldn't keep their canoes afloat and had to be bailed out of the lake by a nearby Natick Fire rescue boat.

According to Wentworth student and Connecticut native Mike Gawendo, who helped build the school's canoe with a 20-member team, eight months of work went into their project.

Not only is the canoe designed from scratch, but the concrete is no simple mix bought at Home Depot. He said it took research and testing to find just the right mix of concrete that could float well and serve as a canoe's hull.

After building a custom mold, it took 28 days for the canoe to harden and cure before it could take to the water.

Since it takes nearly a month to create the canoe itself, he said builders have to be careful their project works the first time.

"Concrete is final," he said. "You can't fix concrete."

Then the engineering students spent about three weeks learning to row a boat - admittedly, a challenge for them.

"For us, the hardest part is paddling," said Gawendo.

Wentworth student and Sherborn native Bobby Mannes said the experience is a real good time.

"It's definitely worth it in the end," he said.

Family members and friends of the participants crowded among hundreds of spectators along the Cochituate beach yesterday.

"Every year is a blast watching them," said Cathy Drinan, whose son is Eric Thornley.

Framingham State College student Mara Gould, whose boyfriend was in the event, said the competition was a good example of teamwork.

"It's nice to see everyone get together" for the competition, said Gould.

Tyngsboro resident Cindy Creed was on the beach, cheering on her son, William, who was part of the Roger Williams University team.

"It's been a great day," she said.

(John Hilliard can be reached at 508-626-4449 or jhilliar@cnc.com.)