Class 2 type cardboard boats 2005
Article By Shorty
Class 2 boat are propelled by some mechanical means, and hand propelled paddles are not allowed.
ITT was a major sponsor of the event and this was their major entry.
What a fancy looking boat !!
A class 2 boat is allowed to have other materials used for the mechanism, but not for hull struture.
This one had a frame that supported their chain drive system.
The chain ran out the stern and drove this paddle wheel.
At the media race, they had a small girl in the cockpit pedaling while it was on the ground and the wheel spun quickly.
Looked great, but they never tested it in the water.
In the one and only class 2 race, they launched it and when the person started to pedal, the tension on the chain torqued the support frame which pulled it out of alignment and off popped the chain.
A couple of ITT guys tossed down their sunglasses and hats, dove into the water with box cutters and tried to get it working on the water, but after a few minutes gave up. The boat made it a total of 15 feet away from the launching chute before being retrieved.
This is another cool looking class 2 boat.
It had a crew of 6 guys, they would kneel on the top of the boat and reach down with one hand to turn the crank.
They had lots of photos on a poster board showing their construction process.
When the starting horn was blown, every single one of the PVC cranks broke, and the guys frantically started to paddle with their bare hands. I don't think they made it to the first bouy before being towed back.
[Don't Have Picture]
There was another class 2 boat that also malfunctioned at the starting line, I didn't get a picture of it. Like the ITT boat, it didn't even make it to the starting line.
Randy Smith's boat "Moby Brick" is the only boat that actually ran and won the Class 2 race, this is the 3rd year in a row he has won with it.
It was a very simple setup with a foot driven crank shaft, and 2 paddle wheels.
In the photo the wheels are being carried on the inside, but when launched they were on the outsides of the boat.
The paddles were cut from milk jugs or other bottles.
The horn blew, he started paddling and flew around the course alone!
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