Student ProjectsConcrete Canoe 2026-2027
Project Manager
Sofia Bartos
Concrete Canoe
Amount Requested
$5,000
Summary
The Concrete Canoe team builds a canoe out of concrete using a student-built form, concrete mix, and a unique design each year. The project is hands-on, requires technical work, and an understanding of engineering principles. The outcome is a concrete canoe that can float in water and sustain the weight of 4 people or about 165 lbs, a 30-page project proposal and report containing all mix design and form design information, a presentation poster board describing the canoe building process, and a cornhole board made of concrete, all based on a cohesive final design accompanied by props. Throughout the year, subteams work on several facets of the project. Fall quarter focuses on designing the concrete mix, form for the canoe, overall theme design, and casting chamber for the concrete following the stipulations released by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Concrete Canoe competition. In winter quarter, all plans are executed, leading to the form being finished, the casting chamber being built, and props finalized. The concrete is then cast on the canoe form and set for 28 days over break. In early spring quarter, the canoe is demolded, and the ASCE Western Great Lakes (WGL) regional competition takes place in mid-April. The competition typically requires travel to another state. For the 2026-2027 year, the team will be traveling to North Dakota for the competition. As one of the only Civil Engineering organizations on Northwestern’s campus, we bring together several majors within and outside of the McCormick Engineering School. Our organization also brings together a range of students from all different backgrounds and years of experience to contribute to this unique club on campus.
Planned Activities/Investments
To create the canoe, we meet once a week for two hours throughout the year. During these work days, we split off into four different teams: form design, mix design, conference preparation, and aesthetics. The form design team works with 3D modeling software to design the shape of the canoe and the form we will cast it in. The mix design team creates and tests different concrete mixes to ensure the strength and lightness of the canoe. The conference preparation team works to build presentation materials, such as the canoe stand, as well as the humidification chamber we use to cure the canoe after casting day. The aesthetics team is more active leading up to the competition and decorates and prepares presentation materials to be shown at the WGL Student Symposium as required by the competition rules.
Once the form has been completed and the mix design has been finalized, we have Casting Day. Casting Day is a special 8-hour event in which the mix design team continually creates batches of concrete and the form team places the concrete into the form. We provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner for participants, which facilitates community building as well as teamwork throughout the day. As with all work days, we welcome students from all majors and backgrounds to help cast the canoe. Historically, we have had upwards of 50 people attend throughout the day.
After a month, we host Demolding Day. This is when we invite team members and visitors to assist us in removing the canoe from the form. This is an exciting event in which we get to see how the final product came out. We offer food and refreshments at the beginning of the day since lifting the canoe can be physically strenuous.
In spring quarter, we travel to the ASCE Western Great Lakes Student Symposium to present our report and to race the canoe. We have to transport the canoe and other presentation materials such as the tri-fold board and sample mix materials. We do this by renting a U-Haul truck for the entire duration of travel and competition, since we do not have a dedicated club trailer. In preparation for the event, we like to design and procure wearable merchandise, such as T-shirts or sweatshirts, to serve as mementos and to encourage team unity at the competition. During the 3-day symposium, we host at least one Concrete Canoe bonding activity for our team members.
Since the canoe racing was cancelled due to inclement weather the previous year, we hosted a rowing event at the Northwestern Sailing Center at the end of the year. We plan on redoing this event in the coming spring. It is a great opportunity for more people to get excited about rowing the canoe and joining the team the following year.
Impact
We proudly represent many diverse aspects of identity within our club. From gender, ethnicity, grade, and major, our Concrete Canoe fully represents the multi-faceted Northwestern Community as a whole. Due to this environment, we have been able to foster a welcoming workplace that supports all its members. Each Saturday, we have 20 members who consistently contribute to the year-long construction process, and see an increase to over 50 during our special event days of Casting Day(where we create the concrete part of the canoe) and Demolding Day(where we take the canoe off its mold). While it is true for all our meetings, during these special events we see an influx of students who are interested in our club. We find this is a great opportunity to showcase and grow our club. We will evaluate the impact of our club by measuring the number of members that consistently attend our weekly meetings, as well as the special event days, through attendance records. We hope that our impact can continue to reach far and wide with the aid of the Murphy Grant to keep expanding and providing this place of welcome.
Deliverables
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A 19’x3’x3’ Concrete Canoe
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A Standard Cornhole Board made of Concrete
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A 30 page report/project proposal
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A standard decorated poster board
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Props correlating with the theme
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Concrete Cylinder samples
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A to-scale cross section of the canoe
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Merch for our members
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Stands for the Canoe to rest on during presentation
Sustainability
In previous years, to obtain funding, Concrete Canoe has depended on the generosity of the Undergraduate Civil and Environmental Department funds and MSAB grants. However, each year this process is difficult: the funds we request are not guaranteed as both department and MSAB funds become overstrained as the year progresses. In particular, for this upcoming year the department is expecting to provide for at least three additional clubs, all of which are going to be competing in our annual Spring symposium. The symposium for 2026-27 will be taking place in North Dakota, which will necessitate more funds than normal due to the distance and an increased number of team/student application fees. Additionally, MSAB grants are limited per quarter and are especially low in the springtime, which is when we participate in the symposium. Overall, the process to build a canoe out of concrete is not an inexpensive endeavor, and without proper funding we will not be able to have a final product to compete with at our symposium. We wish that as many teams as possible will be able to have the opportunity to compete, and therefore believe that the department should be able to provide for these clubs while Concrete Canoe obtains funding through the Murphy Grant.
Budget Overview
- Concrete Mix Materials: $1,000
- The Mix Design Teams requires this money to buy cementitious materials, admixtures, concrete dyes, and aggregates to test new mixes and to create the 300lbs final product.
- Form Design Materials: $2,000
- The Form Design Team requires this budget to purchase construction materials and tools for the wooden form we create. This encompasses materials from wooden pieces to reinforce the form to form release oil to ensure ease of demolding.
- Casting Day Food: $1,200
- This will be used to pay for the catered breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the attendants of casting day.
- Demolding Day Food: $300
- This will be used to pay for the food given to students before we lift the canoe out of the form.
- Conference Prep Materials: $1,500
- This will be used to pay for miscellaneous materials required for the final presentation at the WGL Student Symposium. For example, we are required to build stands that will hold up the canoe before we race. Other aesthetic materials are required by the competition rules. This includes concrete stains to decorate the canoe and themed decorations for the stands.
- Merchandise: $1,000
- This will be used to pay for T-Shirts or sweatshirts for our team members to wear during the competition.
- PPE: $500
- This will be used to pay for personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, and goggles as required by activities such as mixing concrete and sanding the canoe.
We are requesting $5000 from the Murphy Grant to cover the majority of our expenses.
Total Budget Amount: $7,500
Faculty Adviser/Department
Eric Garcia/Civil and Environmental Engineering