The Engineering, Design, and Innovation Fellows 2020 cohort stayed at Kiptopeke State Park (VA) to design and construct a concrete boat to hold two of them at a time.  On the third day, the Fellows mixed the concrete and let it cure for 24 hours.  On the fourth day, they tested the concrete canoe at Kiptopeke State Park.  Here is Sarah Haugh ’20 to provide insight into how the BIG test went.

On our final day, we were faced with the challenge of finding a way to get our concrete boat down to the beach. It was loaded onto Mr. Barton’s truck and taken down to the parking area by the beach where it was then put onto an ATV that could drive on the sand. We were ready to get into the water at this point because it was a very hot day. The boat was walked into the water upside down and we then flipped it, took out the foam, and began taking rides! Nik and Maguire were our official testers and were able to row around until we realized there was a small hole in the back of the boat. This caused no major issues as we just bailed it out with a bucket after each ride. When all 5 of were in it, the weight was too much for it to handle and it quickly filled with water. Overall it was a great experience to see something we spent time on, work as we wanted it to.