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June 23, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amy Hewes
805-756-6402; ahewes@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly ‘Flush With Victory’ After
Second Consecutive National Concrete Canoe Championship

-- Winning Boat Made with Recycled Toilets --

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly claimed the “America’s Cup of Civil Engineering” for the second consecutive year at the American Society of Civil Engineers National Concrete Canoe Competition on June 18. The school edged out 22 other universities from the U.S. and Cal Poly's women's conrete canoe teamCanada with a 208-pound, ocean-themed canoe made from concrete and recycled toilets – the Cetacea.

The 24th annual regatta, sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), was hosted by the University of Evansville in Evansville, Ind. The four-part competition included an oral presentation, written report, judgment of a canoe's aesthetics and sprint and endurance races held at Audubon State Park in nearby Henderson, Ky.

The event is designed to challenge students' knowledge, creativity and stamina, while showcasing the versatility and durability of concrete as a building material. Competition rules this year required the use of a second aggregate and included a strong focus on sustainability. Cal Poly’s innovative response was to include recycled porcelain from crushed white toilets.

entire team and boat in water“The toilet aggregate surprised a lot of people,” said Project Caption Chad Inlow. “We wanted to do something unique. We brainstormed possible solutions for more than two weeks and then the idea of using recycled toilets occurred to me.”

The white porcelain was a good match for the boat’s white concrete and it produced a smooth finish that helped the team score well in design and aesthetics. In addition, it kept 600 pounds of porcelain from going into a landfill.

“Another ‘wow’ factor was the 3-D detailing on the canoe,” said Mix Captain Danielle Steinmetz. “We had a beautiful boat last year, and wanted to produce a design that would combine a winning look with winning in the water and all the other categories.”

Inlow credits this year’s repeat success to an abundance of hard work by team members, and Cal Poly’s practice of sharing hard-earned lessons, knowledge and extensive documentation with the next team.  “We are willing to work harder than anyone else – but our dedication to passing down information from year to year is a really big part of it, too.

“We couldn’t have done it by ourselves – the ‘brain trust’ of past teams and captains, as well the support of our advisors, sponsors, parents, clubs and others made this achievement possible.”

The final competition rankings were:

Overall Results:

  1. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)
  2. University of Wisconsin, Madison
  3. Université Laval (Québec City)

 

Design Paper

  1. University of Nevada, Reno
  2. University of California, Berkeley
  3. University of Wisconsin, Madison
  4. Cal Poly

 

Oral Presentation

  1. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
  2. Cal Poly
  3. University of California, Berkeley

 

Final Product

  1. Cal Poly
  2. University of Wisconsin, Madison
  3. Université Laval

 

Women’s Sprint Races

  1. Université Laval
  2. Cal Poly
  3. University of Wisconsin, Madison

 

Men’s Sprint Races

  1. Université Laval
  2. Florida Institute of Technology
  3. Michigan Technological University
  4. Cal Poly

 

Women’s Slalom

  1. Université Laval
  2. Cal Poly
  3. University of Nevada, Reno

 

Men’s Slalom

  1. Université Laval
  2. Cal Poly
  3. Florida Institute of Technology

 

Coed Sprints

  1. UniversitéLaval
  2. Cal Poly
  3. Michigan Technological University

 

For more information, go to: http://www.asce.org

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