What floats these boats? Concrete

HOMER, Ill. (AP) ? Does concrete float? For the hundreds of civil engineering students at the annual National Concrete Canoe Competition, the answer is "yes."

Teams representing 23 schools vied last week to design, build and race canoes made of concrete. Some vessels were as long as 22 feet and weighed as much as 180 pounds. A wooden canoe of the same size weighs about 40 pounds.

Alicia Welling, manager of the California Polytechnic State University team, says the trick to making concrete float is to mix it with glass bubbles and other lightweight objects.

Welling says the three-day American Society of Civil Engineers event gives students practical experience in finding creative engineering solutions and working as part of a team.

L'?cole de Technologie Sup?rieure, of Montreal, took the title Saturday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-06-24-US-Concrete-Canoes/id-58e8e7fcb03647c1a76087284173277c

NIT Bracket March Madness 2013 bracket March Madness 2013 selection sunday NIT Tournament clay matthews Ncaa Tournament 2013