> Competitions like this are not worth noting. They tend to attract people
> who bend the rules, and then the rules are changed. (One way to bend the
> rules: build a lightweight wood strip canoe (35-40#) add Portland cement
> as balast)

If you browsed the rules that Shawn provided a link to, you would see that they are quite specific. Your strip-built-cement-ballasted entry would never be allowed on to the water. Sure, there are some who bend the rules, but competitions like this are meant to stimulate innovation. Some people think that NASCAR and other auto racing is a waste, but you'd be surprised how many technologies have trickled down from the race vehicles to your own daily driver.

And lighten up a bit -- the competition is meant more as a fun and semi-rediculous endeavor to promote teamwork among engineers-in-training. Go rain on your own one-man parade...

Dean