Plywood Boat Races
So Demaris and Jay head up to Vancouver for a holiday, more on that later, the highlight of their trip was stumbling on the Vancouver Plywood Cup!
The Plywood Cup is held annually by the Vancouver chapter of
the Progress Club as a charity event
for Big Brothers, Big Sisters & Special Olympics. This year over a dozen
teams entered the "Plywood Cup".
The Plywood Cup as you might imagine is a boat race with a
twist. The twist is you're required to build your boat! To make it even worse
you're only allowed to use the materials they provide you, specifically: 2
sheets of plywood, a couple of 6 foot wooden rods, 22 nails, 12 yards of duct
tape and a can of paint. The teams are each given 1 hour to construct their
boats.
Now, the Plywood Cup isn't just a simple boat building test.
The boats also need to be fast. The goal isn't just the construction but also
to build the "best" boat. "Best" is defined as the first boat to carry its
captain across the inland waterway seen above to the dock (top center) and
back. It's about 100 yards each way with a strong (est. 5-10mph) current.
Competitors hard at work!
More competitors.
Something approaching a hull being tested for buoyancy.
A very brave Canadian tests the hull under load.
At the end of the pier the Canadian Cost Guard team is hard at
work. Off the end of the pier is the Coast Guard rescue team ready to provide
assistance to teams that aren't able to finish the race under their own
power.
Seen above are 3 designs: Top left are pontoons being
prepared. Left of center a traditional curved hull. Center and right of center
are the simpler box style hulls.