"U.S. Military Academy (West Point)"
(5th place overall; 4th in paper; 3rd in presentation; 18th in product)

Presentation:

West Point started the afternoon session in dress uniform, stressing their Army black and gold theme.  The team began their briefing by explaining the differences between this and prior stints.  Their design goals and the required specifications for the stint were outlined before the team explained how they met the structural requirements.

The team elaborated on their mix design and pointed out their unique contribution and secret weapon: expanded polystyrene.  They explained how they heated the latter to obtain different size particles to meet the C-33 requirement.

After stating that MAXSURF was used to obtain the hull cross sections, the team explained how they constructed their boat.  They outlined their methods for placement and quality control.  

Hard wire was used to reinforce the boat and a compressive-controlled design resulted from pre-stressing.  After explaining how they finished the boat, the team ended up by saying that they had accomplished all of their goals and were very pleased with their final product.  Very impressive!  Way to go Army.

Judges Comments/Questions:

The projectionist joined the team on stage as the question session began:

• How did your water-to-cement ratio of 0.9 affect your placement?
• Did you perform yield calculations during your mix design?
• What is your permissible construction tolerance with regard to thickness?
• How did you discover that your aggregates could be expanded to meet the gradation requirements?
• What were the physical properties of the aggregate?
• Why did you use the same weight for all paddlers in the canoe?
• Would changing this have affected your moment diagram?
• How did you determine the optimal slag-to-fly ash and fly ash-to-cement ratios?
• There is no mention of quality control in the project description.  How did you do accomplish this?
• What were the dimensions of the templates used during the construction of your canoe?

Commentary:

West Point handled themselves very well despite some difficult and pressing questions.  Their approach to meeting the C-33 requirement was one of the most, if not the most, innovative in this year’s competition and the method promises to revolutionize how things are done in the future.  It’s good to know that our country is in such good hands!

Product:

Canoe Name: Team America
Length: 19.4 ft
Weight: 264 lb
Color: Black

West Point used two layers of steel hard wire held in place with fiberglass cloth.  The canoe needed no flotation and the team heated polystyrene to meet the C-33 requirement.  With one of the most innovative approaches in recent years, it was apparent that the Army was right on track and well placed in the hunt for a top spot.

Vital Statistics