Students, Bloomington residents race cardboard boats

Junior Zach Jones and sophomore Johnathon Lowery lowered their cardboard and duct tape boat into the pool.

They had calculated the boat’s buoyancy, but only time would tell whether the S.S. Schrödinger would float or sink.

The School of Public Health Engage program sponsored the 13th Cardboard Boat Regatta Friday at the IU Outdoor Pool.

SPH Engage Director Deb Getz said this annual event aims to raise money for an SPH Engage scholarship, available to any student.

Students and any Bloomington resident could enter a boat for a $25 entry fee, and 12 teams participated in the event.

Competitors created boats using only cardboard and duct tape. The boats were then judged for creativity and speed.

Along with this requirement, each boat was required to have a two-person crew and be less than 8 feet long and 4 feet wide, Getz said.

Competitors raced the length of the pool in five-boat heats. The top five fastest teams competed in a final race.

“It really is an event intended to bring folks from the community and school together,” Getz said. “That’s what makes it so special. We work hard to make it a community event.”

Two of the day’s competitors were Jones and Lowery, who were racing for the IU Physics Club.

Jones said the Physics Club has been competing for five or six years.

“One year we got first,” Jones said. “Last year we got fourth because our boat sank right at the end of the last heat.”

The Physics Club not only placed in the speed category this year, but Jones said he was surprised to also place for creativity.

Their boat, the S.S. Schrödinger, was named after the famous physicist Erwin Schrödinger, Lowery said.

“It has a couple equations on the back and the opposite side,” Lowery said. “The one on the back is the buoyancy equation because we, hopefully, want it to (float). The one on the opposite side is Schrödinger’s wave equation.”

Along with the S.S. Schrödinger, boat themes included a pirate ship, a Viking ship, a stingray and a log.

“We’ve had a toilet before,” Getz said. “It wasn’t particularly sea-worthy, but it was entertaining.”

Graduate students Yun Chang and Ryan Hines won first place for speed, competing for the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies with their boat, the Silver Hawk.

First place for creativity was awarded to 8-year-olds Jacob Knapp and Vincent Kreft for their pirate-themed boat, the Sea Badgers.

The S.S. Schrödinger placed third in speed and third in creativity for the day. Jones said they are already working on plans for next year’s regatta and will continue to race in upcoming years.

“This is a cool thing we can do as the Physics Club,” Jones said. “We do some calculations and say we know what’s going to happen, but at the end of the day, we slap some duct tape on cardboard and hope for the best.”

Follow reporter Elisa Gross on Twitter @elisa_gross.