ABOUT
CONTACT
MON
THUR
-
10 AM - 12 PM
-
ASCE Lounge
-
4-6 PM
-
ASCE Lounge
-
3:30 PM - 5 PM
-
ASCE Lounge
FRI
Workdays occur 2-3 days per week in the ASCE Boelter lounge and Life Science Lounge. This Fall, workdays will be split into two separate teams: Mold Construction and Mix Design. Mold Construction will take place in the club lounge where we will be measuring, cutting, and shaping the cross sections of our foam mold. Mix Design will be held in the Life Science Lounge where we will be mixing, casting, and testing concrete plates to develop our final concrete mix. Casting the canoe is an all-day event that will take place at the end of Fall quarter. Winter quarter, after the canoe has finished curing, work days will be spent sanding and staining the canoe, as well as building final displays for conference. Throughout the year, paddling practices will be held every Sunday at Marina Del Rey.
RESOURCES
The Concrete Canoe competition is broken down into four, equally weighted sections: Design Report, Oral Presentation, Final Product, and Races. For the project, students must design, build, and race their very own concrete canoe. Our project challenges students to apply engineering principles learned in the classroom as well as their own creative and collaborative skills.
UCLA started competing in Concrete Canoe in 1990 with our first canoe, P.D.S. (Please Don’t Sink). Since then, UCLA has qualified for nationals five times. UCLA has placed third at PSWC for the past four years.
Concrete Canoe competes regionally at the ASCE PSWC. The winning teams from PSWC advance to nationals to compete with universities from all over the country
FROM CONCRETE TO CANOE
The concrete mix design is one of the most crucial aspects of the project as it affects every scored category in the competition. Our project engineers must utilize their engineering skills to design a mix that is lightweight and workable as well as strong and durable. At the beginning of each concrete canoe season, the mix team undergoes continual process of designing and plate testing that lasts until casting day to optimize our mix. Our goal for this year is to perfect a lighter mix in order to decrease the weight of our canoe and thereby create an incredibly competitive canoe for races.
PROJECT WORKDAYS/EVENTS
MIX DESIGN
FINAL PRODUCT
At start of each season, a theme is chosen by our team which is incorporated into the canoe artwork, design paper, canoe cutaway, stands, and final display. Artwork on the UCLA canoe is typically done using stains and stencils. However, this year we will give our canoe a more vibrant, bold appearance by integrating concrete pigments and dyes into our design. Our team must design and build stands, and a cutaway section of the canoe for our display at conference.
Unlike most teams, we at UCLA cut our own mold in order to save money. Our mold begins as 34 separate ½’ blocks which are then measured, wire cut, hand shaped, glued together, and hand sanded by our project engineers. To prepare the mold for casting, the foam is then painted with latex paint, covered by a coat of epoxy, and finally finished with a layer of contact paper. This process is the most labor intensive portion of our project and requires an incredible amount of man power!
MOLD CONSTRUCTION
WORKDAYS
THE STAGES
The concrete mix design is one of the most crucial aspects of the project as it affects every scored category in the competition. Our project engineers must utilize their engineering skills to design a mix that is lightweight and workable as well as strong and durable. At the beginning of each concrete canoe season, the mix team undergoes continual process of designing and plate testing that lasts until casting day to optimize our mix. Our goal for this year is to perfect a lighter mix in order to decrease the weight of our canoe and thereby create an incredibly competitive canoe for races.
CASTING
Arguably one of the more exciting aspects of our project, races happen over the course of an entire day at the PSWC. The team trains throughout the year by going to the UCLA Marina Aquatic Center on Sundays and training in the John Wooden Center Gym on campus to be in peak shape when races come. The UCLA Concrete Canoe team prides themselves in their ability to control the canoe which is aided by our hull design.
RACES
SPONSORSHIP
MATERIALS NEEDED
Concrete Canoe has a very large budget due to the many steps and hours that are involved in making the canoe. Students spend hours of their time in the hope of making a prize winning canoe. However, in any student-run organization, raising money is a major issue. The following materials are few of the costly items Concrete Canoe needs every year. It would be an understatement to say how grateful and appreciative the members will be if you could donate the following. Contact Project Managers Abby Gunning or Maxwell Armenta if you would like to sponsor the team.
HOW TO JOIN
Feel free to show up to our workdays anytime throughout the year in Boelter 2745! There is no prior knowledge or experience required to participate. Work days will be posted on our website, or you may contact our project managers more directly:
Cement Materials
It will be used to make the mix. The following types are used by Concrete Canoe: Portland Cement Type 1 and Type III, VCAS.
Wood
It will be used for the tensioning system and final display.
Stains
Used for final product.
CONCRETE CANOE
Where are they now?
The Concrete Canoe team worked hard Fall Quarter developing a mix design and constructing the mold in order to prepare for casting day on December 7th. On casting day, 35 engineers volunteered and the event took a full 7 hours. Next quarter, we will begin sanding and patching the canoe before we start applying the final stains. Meanwhile, we will be working on Design Report, Display, and Presentation.
