As ASCE prepares to celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2027, Civil Engineering Source is looking at how various Society and civil engineering subjects have ebbed and flowed Through the Years.
For generations of ASCE members, one activity stands out as a rite of passage: the sheer audacity of trying to make a boat made of concrete float in water.
Yes, that’s right – concrete canoe.
And it’s not enough to make the canoe float. You have to design it for speed. You have to race it through lakes. You have to construct it for beauty and thematic concept.
Creating concrete canoes is a massive undertaking and one that has brought civil engineering students for fun and education for more than four decades.
Here is a quick look at concrete canoe through the years.
How it all began
John A. Gilbert's "A Brief History of Concrete Canoeing."
Concrete canoe history in photos
"Styles may come and go. Concrete canoe design is forever."
The first all-female canoe finalist team
“This experience can show young girls that they are capable of doing anything they want."
A University of Florida dynasty
“Everyone really buys into the program, and every day everyone shows up and gives everything they have to really come together and build the best product that we can every year.”
A Cal Poly SLO dynasty
“There’s so much passion and love for what we do and this project, that no matter what happens over the weekend, it creates lasting memories and lasting friendships that honestly do change your life."
That time concrete canoes had cupholders
"Civil engineering history is a story of innovation – from the first roads and the genius of the arch bridge to the modern skyscraper and smart city."
That time an adviser promised to get concrete canoe tattoos
"Longtime faculty adviser for the South Alabama ASCE student chapter Eric Steward, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, made a promise to his students a decade ago. If a South Alabama student team ever advanced to a Society-wide competition, he said, he’d commemorate the accomplishment with … a tattoo."
Owen Main 