Wyandotte Power Squadron

Cardboard Boats Float?

Not only do they float, they float with real people in them paddling to win races.  Each year the Wyandotte Power Squadron hosts a Corn Roast and Cardboard Boat Race for all ages held at the Ford Yacht club on Grosse Ile.  Although everyone likes winning races the real object of the Wyandotte Power Squadron Cardboard Boat event is:

Having Fun with fellow boat builders.

Ok, now that you are ready to get your cardboard and start building there are a few simple rules:

Rules

• Your boat can take on any shape.  It’s up to your imagination.
• You can create a boat for 1, 2 or more people.  Most races consist of 1 or 2 persons on a single boat.
• ALL PERSONS ON YOUR BOAT MUST WEAR A COAST GUARD APPROVED FLOTAIONAL DEVICE. YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EVENT WITHOUT A LIFE JACKET.
• The final course will be reveled the day of the event.
• Wyandotte Power Squadron coordinates all races and decides who gets to race against who.  We do this to keep things fair.  Remember it’s all about participating and having FUN.

•  Supplies:
  • Regular, non treated cardboard.  The type you might get when buying a refrigerator or other home appliance.
  • Cardboard construction tubes are allowed.
  • Liquid Nails.
  • Duct Tape.
  • Water Base Paint only.  The kind you use on your walls at home.  NO OIL BASE PAINT IS ALLOWED.
  • Paddles to propel your boat.
• Tools:
  • Straight edge.
  • Box Cutter – Razor blade type works best.
  • Tape measure.
  • Clamps to hold cardboard together while drying.
  • Paint Brushes.
  • Rags for clean up.

There are many web sites available that you can use as examples on how to build your boat, but it’s really up to you to decide how your construction will proceed.  We have had races where people do nothing more than cut off the bottom of a refrigerator box, slap on a little paint and presto it floats!   Others design are more elaborate and of course take longer to build.  No matter what design you choose, remember the FUN is in building your boat and racing with other cardboard boat builders.  Typical construct times tend to be one or two days.  So lets see some examples of boats from past Cardboard races: