Construction and Competiton

ISWS Conference Final Product/sealing construction process preconstruction

Intermountain Southwest Symposium (ISWS)

The conferece was hosted at Utah State University (USU) in Logan, Utah. We competed in the Intermountain Southwest Symposium. The photos below are from the event.

Figure 1: NAU team photo. Credit: Krista Riester

Figure 2: USS Pinecone display. Credit: Kylie Hanson

Figure 3: Team in front of display. Credit: Kylie Hanson

Figure 4: Swamp test in Hyrum Lake. Credit: Kevin Tautimer

Figure 5: Declan and Dylan presenting to the judges.
 Credit: Kylie Hanson

Figure 6: USS Pinecone floating on water. 
Credit: Kevin Tautimer

Final Product and Sealing

Before our competition, we had some final preparations and repairs to make on the canoe. In the photos, the patching, sealing, and sanding of the canoe can be seen.

Figure 7: Canoe out of mold. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 8: Canoe sealing. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 9: Canoe patchwork. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 10: Canoe patchwork. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 12: Vasoline removal. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 11: Canoe tip with "honeycomb" void. 
Credit: Dylan Condra

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Construction Process

After the assembly of the canoe mold, the release agent was applied to the inside of the mold and then the first 1/4" of concrete was layered in the mold. The reinforcement was placed on top of the concrete and then layered with an additional 1/4" of concrete. The bulkheads were added and then the canoe began curing for 28 days.

Figure 12: Troweling concrete. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 13: Reinforcement fitting. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 14: Bulkhead construction. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 15: Assembly of the holding table. 
Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 16:  Prepared mold for the concrete. 
Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 17: Applying concrete over the reinforcement. 
Credit: Derek Vecchia

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Preconstruction Process

Before the canoe was created, there were many steps for the preparation process. By picking up our mold from Palm Springs, CA, we began sanding and forming the styrofoam mold.

Figure 18: Sanding canoe mold. Credit: Kevin Tautimer

Figure 19: Mold pick up in Palm Springs. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 20: Glued mold setting up. Credit: Derek Vecchia

Figure 21: Sanding canoe mold. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 22: Curing chamber assembly. Credit: Dylan Condra

Figure 23: Gluing sections together. Credit: Derek Vecchia

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