make a boat from cardboard

Students put physics to work in 'Rowe Your Boat' competition

McALLEN — Steven Zavala, 17, lifted his arms in triumph.

His five-member team had just won the Rowe Your Boat competition Monday with a boat it had designed and built.

The boat had two flags in front, one for Mexico and the other for the Philippines.

Zavala, saying the vessel was built with “parts you find in Mexico” and a “Filipino design,” pointed to its builders — Alexandra Gonzalez and Freddy Silva — and its designers — Ivan Rizal and Juan Amutan.

“I just rowed it,” Zavala said.

The team participated in the 12th annual Rowe Your Boat contest, organized by physics teacher Curt Liljedahl.

All junior and senior physics classes at Rowe High school divide up into five-person teams and build a boat with cardboard, 2-liter soda bottles and duct tape. One of the team members boards the boat and races for 50 yards in the swimming pool.

“It makes physics fun,” Liljedahl said.

The subject can be difficult to many, but with activities like this one, the students learn about buoyancy, water displacement and hydrodynamics. Plus, aesthetics — like eye-catching design and artwork — come into play.

“Our class motto is ‘physics baby,’” said Liljedahl, who teaches his kids that “physics is everywhere.”

The students take physics concepts from the books and put them to practical use. They also learn problem solving.

“A lot of times our employers tell us that the students don’t have problem solving skills,” Liljedahl said, “and with this (project) they have to think.

“We don’t give them instructions.”

Some of the boats sank immediately, others took a little bit longer and sank in the middle of the pool, and others stayed afloat but were difficult to control.

“It’s not easy,” one student said as she tried to paddle and make her boat face forward.

make a boat from cardboard - News


Students put physics to work in 'Rowe Your Boat' competition

The team participated in the 12th annual Rowe Your Boat contest, organized by physics teacher Curt Liljedahl. All junior and senior physics classes at Rowe High school divide up into five-person teams and build a boat with cardboard, 2-liter soda



Cardboard Boat Float

The fourth annual Prairie South Cardboard Boat Challenge saw the kids construct boats out of cardboard and duct tape to make it across the pool. Prairie South Education Consultant Jeff Boulton says "It's very interesting watching the work together as a



Cardboard boat racers struggle to stay afloat

So did the other teams of young adults and children who stuck cardboard boxes together with duct tape to create entries for the second annual Cardboard Boat Race at the Massillon Recreation Center on Friday night. The event has proven to be popular,



Make a splash at the Cardboard Boat Regatta

If you did not get around to building a boat for Saturday's Cardboard Boat Regatta at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, don't despair. You can build a boat on-site in two hours using the supplies provided at the event. Even if you aren't ready to compete in



Battle of the paddle: St. Clair High students race cardboard boats

The team's super-engineered cardboard boat survived two laps of the pool and an ensuing water fight during a cardboard regatta put on by Karen Cedar's advanced physics classes. Students had four class periods to build a boat from corrugated cardboard,




The New Cardboard Boat Craze

Cardboard boats are one of the exciting toys you can build and, they occasionally bring a lot of laughs! Fabricating your own cardboard boat from plans will absolutely bring you a lot of smiles and great fun for peanuts. Big Fun on the cheap! And You know what’s even more exciting? You can be on the lake in one day!

The first thing you might want to decide upon, is the type of cardboard craft you want to make. Is it a quickie for just messing around in the pool? Or it could be that your cardboard boat building plans are more geared toward a pirate ship? 

When you create your cardboard boat, it’s best take into account,  the weight of the crew, for you need to be able to determine if the size of your boat will hold everyone without capsizing.

For example, making a cardboard boat for 2 kids would differ from your cardboard boat plans for say, 6 adults. Also, take into consideration in your design, and make sure the size of the boat is reasonable for building and transporting. You can’t drive one down town!

When selecting cardboard boat plans you should select plans that match your skill level.

First, determine the shape feature of the boat it could be a simple square or box type, a slanted style with one side slightly inclined, a V-shape boat or a that design of a raft boat, a flat bottom. Flat bottoms are simple!

Simple is easier to build, period. But you can create a boat with better performance, if you like. The square type boat is the easiest among all shapes. A barge shape adds to the floating capacity, but it limits the speed of your boat. 

I also should say the most stable position, is one is sitting in the bottom of the boat although the kneeling position would be a great pose for racing with paddles.

Putting physics to your cardboard boat plans would just be perfect for smooth sailing, knowing that the volume is equal to Length times Width times Height and remember that the weight of water is equal to a constant figure of 62.4 pounds per cubic foot, so the question now is at what level or depth the boat sinks?


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