Corrugated cardboard and 50 feet of duct tape. That’s all the materials that 15 Sweet Briar College engineering students have to build the fleetest and most buoyant boat on race day. Five teams will launch their absorbent watercraft at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 for the College’s second Cardboard Boat Regatta at the Lower Lake Boat House.

The students in SBC’s introductory engineering course, “Designing our World,” will compete to see which team’s boat negotiates a watery course the fastest, whose stays afloat the longest, and whose design is deemed best by judges. The regatta is the creation of Kurt Schulz, engineering program director and associate professor. He made this year’s course longer than the inaugural run in 2004, when some people arrived too late to catch the action.

Even with the lengthened course, it will go fast and, of course, these boats aren’t made for longevity. “That’s what makes it so fun,” Schulz said.

“Speed is the one thing they really want from their designs,” he said, although there also will be prizes for flotation time and for an overall score that combines those factors plus construction and design.

The boats must hold two people. The students will navigate around buoys to the finish line, so maneuverability counts. Including the cardboard-and-duct tape paddles, the vessels can’t exceed 20 pounds when dry. The size and shape is up to the designers.

“If they want to build cardboard shoes, that’s fine by me,” Schulz said.

The regatta will be held during Sweet Briar’s inaugural homecoming weekend. All members of the Sweet Briar community and the general public are welcomed to attend. In case of rain, the race will be held in the pool at Williams Gymnasium. For more information, please visit the
engineering program web site.