California Baptist

University
ASCE Concrete Canoe 2016

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary.....................................................................................................ii
Project Management....................................................................................................1
Project Management Resource Allocation...................................................................2
Organization Chart.......................................................................................................3
Hull Design and Structural Analysis............................................................................4
Development and Testing............................................................................................6
Testing..........................................................................................................................7
Construction.................................................................................................................8
Construction Continued...........................................................................................9
Project Schedule .......................................................................................................11
Construction Drawing................................................................................................12
Apendix A - References...........................................................................................A-1
Appendix B Mixture Proportions.........................................................................A-2

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make the rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This
is how you are to build it; The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high Genesis 6:14-15. Noahs ark
can be dated back to one of the first and greatest engineering accomplishments in the worlds history. It has been
estimated that Noahs Ark could have carried at least 70,000 animals without sinking. Also, The ark stood one-and-a
half football fields long, half a football field wide, and several stories high.
If the size and the capability of the ark are not amazing enough, God put this whole project onto one man,
Noah, and his three sons. With that in mind, this project was done without power tools or any advanced computer
design programs. The only help that Noah had rather than his three sons was his great faith in God and that He
would guide him through this enormous project. With The Ark, the 2016 California Baptist University concrete
canoe team kept this Biblical story in mind while once again taking on another great task of building a concrete
canoe.
California Baptist University, which can be found in the great city of Riverside, CA, started in 1950 with
just 120 students. Since then the University has grown to over 8,000 students and is constantly being recognized has
one of Southern Californias best Christian Universities.
Last year, the concrete canoe team took on the amazing task of being the first to build a canoe. The team
was able to successfully build the concrete canoe, named The Freelancer, and attend the competition. However, even
with great innovation and hard work, unfortunately The Freelancer was not able to place in the competition due to
the fact that it did not pass the float test.
Table 1: Specifications
Name
Length
Maximum Width
Maximum Depth
Average Thickness
Color

The Ark
20ft
24 inches
15 7/8 in
0.5 inches
Gold and Ash

With The Freelancer in mind the 2016 team was able to build upon and improve the mix and hull design of
this years canoe, The Ark. For The Ark, the students went with a similar mix design but changed the portions of the
materials to improve workability of the mix. Along with changing the mix portions, the team put in Styrofoam
bulkheads to improve floating.
With only it being the second year in California Baptist University history to compete in the concrete canoe
competition, this years team is excited to show how much they have improved over the year and are proud to
present this years canoe, The Ark

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
To begin our process we started with figuring out the tasks we would need to complete for the scope of
work. These tasks determined what our schedule was to look like and from that we delegated work to our team
members who felt comfortable performing the certain aspects. Once everyone had their roles, we were able to
estimate how long it would take for the each portion of the work and filled in the critical path to completion. Our
team members delegated to the design of the canoe created a few designs and then as a team, we met again to choose
the best design, as well as whether we were to do a male or female mold. After much discussion on the issue, we
decided to go with a female mold and took the risk of making the walls thick in order to create a 20ft long,
lightweight but strong structure. The female mold also allowed us to get the smooth and uniform outer finish. In
order to secure all the necessary materials to create the design as intended, we then determined our over-all budget
to be greater than the previous year, $1,500 compared to $1,000. We spent 22 hours on materials procurement and
we were able to get donated materials from both Diversified Mineral Inc. and Kelecrete. Due to the nature of
materials procurement we fell behind on our original schedule, but were able to have a cost savings of $892.30,
which is where most of our budget would have gone to. The breakdown for the budget is diagramed below, but in
general the mold components cost us $233.88 because much of those resources were out of pocket. Our mix
components were surprisingly low at $163.15 due to the helpful donations that kept us under budget. We spent about
the same amount, $166.97, on reinforcement materials for the canoe, and our tools in order to mix and apply cost
$53.70.
Below are some of our milestones we completed a bit behind schedule but we were able to save on the
budget and that was one of the huge factors of the project. On February 12th we secured all the materials and
delivered them to the lab to begin work. On February 17th two of the mix designs were poured into cylinders and
the 4x8 in. slabs were added to the canoe for reinforcement. On March 1st the mold was completed and our 14 day
compressive and tensile strength tests were successful. We poured our canoe on March 2nd and the completion of
the project is ongoing.
In order to remain safe while working while in the shop, each member went through shop training that is
administered by our shop director Wes Blasjo. While working, there is always a shop director or student work
monitoring the work going on in the lab. Personal Protective Equipment used while handling the materials were
standard safety glasses, gloves, and dust masks in order to protect from the smaller particles.
Our total hours worked was 298 with work still ongoing. The breakdown for the individual processes took
31 hours for Project Management, 10 for Hull Design, 12 for Structural, 36 for Mix Design & Development, 81 for
Mold Construction, 83 for Canoe Construction, 11 for Finishing, 29 for Academics, and an added 5 for Row
Practice.
The Poraver aggregate that we used in our concrete mix was made with recycled glass content which added
a sustainable aspect to our design.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT RESOURCE ALLOCATION

Hours with Paddling

Academics; 10% Row Practice; 2% Project Management; 10%

Finishing; 4% Hull Design; 3%
Structural Analysis; 4%
Mix Design Development; 12%
Canoe Construction; 28%
Mold Construction; 27%

Mechanical Shop
Training

Setting up all Materials

before work begins

1. Mesure out and mix

design components

2. Properly clean shop

when completed daily

3. Store materials and

project in a safe place

Safety Flow Chart

Wearing Proper Personal
Protective Equiptment

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Hours

Academics; 10% Project Management; 11%

Finishing; 4%

Hull Design; 3%

Structural Analysis; 4%
Mix Design Development; 12%
Canoe Construction; 28%
Mold Construction; 28%

Budget Allocation
2015 Final

Dollars

2016 Budget

2016 Actual

$600
$500
$400
$300
$200
$100
$0

M aterials
Figure 1-Some are estimates for ongoing work. Without Row
Practice.

Figure 2-Some are estimates for ongoing work. With Row Practice.

Figure 3-Our Safety Plan while working in the shop.

Budget Comparison
Estimated
Dollars

$0

2015

Figure 4-Previous years budget is estimated. Our budget this year

had cost savings due to donations of materials.

Actual
Years

2016

Figure 5-Our Budget Breakdown by category. Previous year's

breakdown is an estimate.

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ORGANIZATION CHART

HULL DESIGN AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

The 2016 hull design for The Ark was based off of one key motto, keep it simple. This was due to the fact that the
2015-16 academic year was only the second year CBU had ever competed in the concrete canoe competition at
PSWC. Every single design consideration and all of the decisions made were done with a mindset of completing the
task as fast as possible, and with the least amount of work required. With that perspective in mind, the final design
was a straight body hull with a soft chine, flat bottom, and vertical sides with slight rocker.
In the beginning, The Ark was to be built in a female mold. The Freelancer (2015) was built using a male
mold, so in hopes of getting some assistance and guidance from last years team; The Ark design was altered to be a
male mold as well. However, as time went on and more deliberation ensued, it was ultimately concluded that the
mold design would a female mold.
As mentioned previously, this being CBUs second time attempting to build a concrete canoe, there was
very little to model and build off of from last year. So, this years design was created completely from scratch. After
some research on basic canoe designs, it was decided that the hull design would be a three-chine V-bottom with
vertical sides. At the time, this was the most viable option because with essentially zero complex shapes or curves, a
V-shape consists of purely sharp edges and flat portions that are easy to dimension and construct. Unfortunately,
with a female mold, it would make it more difficult to replicate a V-shaped bottom with all crisp edges on the inside
of the canoe, as well as keep a uniform thickness throughout. Therefore, in the end the design was settled to be a
simple rounded bottom. Round bottom boats in general have much more stability than most others, as well as travel
quite smoothly through the water.
The top profile of the canoe was designed to be a straight body, with the exact same cross sections for 14 of
the 20 ft. The idea behind this was that if something went wrong, or if there was a shortage of materials then a
section of the body could be cut and the entire boat shortened without completely rebuilding a new boat. Also, once
again, it was easier and more convenient to design and cut 14 of the exact same cross-section rather than making
tapering compound curves from the center to either ends.
Lastly were the bulkheads, which proved to be the most challenging. The top and side profiles both tapered
down from 3 ft. out to the tip of the canoe. Add in the 2 in. rocker, and all three components combined created a
rather complex compound curve. For the top profile taper, a 14-degree arc, from the centerline of the canoe, was
used starting from the tip of the boat to 3 ft. out. For the side profile, a circle tangent to the sides and bottom of the
canoe was placed on each side. The radius of the circle tapered to scale, according to the tapering of the top profile.
The 2 in. rocker was included to lift the ends of the canoe out of the water and reduce the deadlift of the bulkheads.
This would improve agility and maneuverability of the canoe in addition to compensating for the long rigid 14 ft.
body of the boat.
In the end, The Ark measured 20 ft. (240 in.) in length, 24 in. at its widest, and 14 5/8 in. tall. The overall
thickness throughout the canoe came out to be in
One of the main purposes of the design team was to ensure that The Ark would be able to maintain its
structural integrity when loading is applied. Since The Ark will undergo much stress, it was important for the design
team to determine if it will be able to hold against said stress. The design team made three different cases for the
three different races in the competition: male, female, co-ed. With these cases in mind the design team made each
male paddler weigh 190lbs, and each female paddler weigh 120lbs. With these assumptions made the design team

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determined the maximum moment and shear forces. With these numbers the maximum tensile and compressive
stress could be calculated using the critical loading condition from the three cases.
No testing was done after the casting day but the design team is confident in the amount of loading and stress that
will occur on The Ark will not be enough to cause any structural failures in any way and The Ark will be able to
function in its full capacity.

DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING

In order to develop a concrete mixture that is both lightweight and strong, the design parameters from the
2014 CBU concrete canoe were used as a basis for developing a more effective mixture containing lightweight
aggregates and cement materials. The ultimate goal for the design of the concrete canoe was to have compressive
and tensile strengths greater than the critical stresses of the canoe.
The concrete mixture was tested with different variations of aggregate types and admixtures by means of
compression testing of cylindrical samples as determined by the specific ASTM C39 testing procedure.
The testing process included the following materials: Portland cement type II and type V, Fly Ash, PVA
fibers, poraver and admixtures. In order to ensure high early strength development, Portland cement type III was
implemented to give the canoe the maximum amount of strength. The testing processes determined that the concrete
mix design satisfied the necessary density, flexural strength and compressive needs for success while maintaining
the workability necessary for pouring and molding the canoe.
The process of preparing the concrete mixture for pouring was thoroughly mixed by hand in a mortar tub in
order to ensure a uniform mixture. Each item apart of the overall mixture was hand measured. The slump testing
produced the desired results of a one-inch slump in order to create a mixture that could be applied to form the
sidewalls of the canoe without it moving out of place. The concrete was applied by hand and smoothed to an even
finish by the use of trowels. The first step of construction required a inch thick layer to be initially applied to the
mold. The next layer included the addition of a secondary reinforcement mesh designed to aid in the tensile strength
of the concrete. Lastly, another layer of inch concrete was applied on top of the reinforcement layer that resulted
in an averaged in total thickness of the overall canoe.
RECS PVA fibers were implemented to increase the compressive strength of the design. While strength was
a factor, the weight of the design mixture had to be lessened by the use of three different sizes of poraver: 01-3mm,
0.5-1.0mm and 0.25-0.5mm. The use of poraver aggregates successfully made the canoe design much more
lightweight. Due to the decided method of canoe construction, workability was of most importance during the
designing process. In order to achieve maximum workability, Kel-Crete liquid admixture along with WRDA 64
water reducer was implemented. The construction process was successful due to the increased workability of the
mixture. The use of each material included aided in the completion of a concrete canoe that by all means satisfied
the requirements for a high strength in tension, lightweight and durable product.

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TESTING

CONSTRUCTION
The California Baptist concrete canoe team is competing for the second year in PSWC, and we wanted to
progress from where we started last year. In 2016 we decided to build a female mold of the canoe instead of the male
mold used last year. The main frame was built out of construction grade dimensional lumber, fastened with nails,
while the interior frame of the canoe used many materials. A skeletal frame of the canoes shape was made using 1/2
inch construction grade plywood. The main hull of the canoe is a fourteen foot complex u shape, where we flattened
out the bottom.
The build and assembly of this section was proved to be the easiest part of the build. The next step was
building the bulk heads on either end of the canoe. The shape is much more complex and required additional
designing. Using AutoCAD program we were able to dimension out the curve of the front and back of the canoe.
The edges are rounded and come to a point, and the bottom is rounded in two directions. The ribs for the bulk heads
were made out of the same 1/2 inch plywood, but a different technique would needed to be implemented in a later
step to finish the form. Once the skeletal shape of the canoe was finished we placed 1/8 inch plywood, door skin,
veneer. The material is extremely flexible and very easy to install. A single sheet is 4x8, and fit perfectly on the
canoe frame. The door skin holds the weight of the concrete while it sets.
The bulk heads posed a problem as mentioned earlier because the veneer would not be able to form
complex curve, but a solution was found. We filled in the gaps between the ribs of the bulk head with Styrofoam,
and carved it to the design curve, and then a fiber glass cloth and fiber resin were set over the form and wood form
in the bulk heads. The provided us a fiber glass surface to pour the concrete onto that would seamlessly connect with
the wood veneer in the body of the canoe.
Along the way different parts of the design needed to be adjusted in order to make the form more rigid, and
shapely. When the ribs were originally installed, they lacked the ability to withstand much shear force. As a
modification we installed 1/2 inch plywood along the perimeter of the entire form, fastened with screws. 2x4
blocks were added incrementally in between the ribs to attach them to the plywood perimeter. This design gave the
form plenty of shear force capacity.
Another problem that we encountered was laying out the fiber glass cloth and setting with the Bondo resin.
We originally used one large rectangular piece to cover the area of the bulk head, but it was extremely different o
smooth out. We one end would be fitted to the shape you like, the other end would be shifted and out of alignment.
We then decided to cut the cloth in long strips and layer them to make it much easier to spread the resin.
Our plan for pouring the concrete revolved around having a low slump mix with a dry feel. We needed the
mix to be drier because it needed to be spread up the side of the form and not fall down due to gravity while it sets.
Our target thickness was to 1/2 inch, so in order to put our reinforcing mesh into the canoe we had to be very precise
on depth of concrete. We poured 1/4 inch of concrete spread along the mold, and laid down the mesh, then set it in
place by adding another 1/4 inch layer of lightweight concrete.

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CONSTRUCTION CONTINUED

Once the canoe set for 28 days we were able to remove it from the mold be laying down a visqueen sheet of
plastic across the entire mold. By removing the perimeter of plywood, we were able to get on either end of the canoe
and lift it out of the mold. Unfortunately the mold was no longer reusable.

PROJECT SCHEDULE
Proposed Schedule

Actual Schedule

CONSTRUCTION DRAWING

APENDIX A - REFERENCES
ASTM C-39C/C-39M:

Standard Testing For Concrete Cylinders

ASTM C 150:

Standard Specification for Portland Cement

ASTM C 1116:

Standard Specification for Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

ASTM C 1240:

Standard Specification for Silica Fume in Cementitious

ASTM C 494

Standard Specification for Chemical Admixtures for Concrete

Shotcrete
Mixtures

2016 ASCE NCCC Rules and Regulations

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APPENDIX B MIXTURE PROPORTIONS

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