The Battle Was On in This Year's JCC Cardboard Boat Competition

The physics class at Johnson County Central Schools held its fourth annual cardboard boat floating competition at the Tecumseh Aquatic Center on Wednesday, May 6.
The Juniors and seniors in Maggie Rother's Physics class were split into teams of three. Each team had a combined body weight of 535 pounds.
The team of Brayden Beethe, William Rademacher and Charlyn Bobadilla constructed the Soggy Bottom Boat. Cameron Werner, Ashley Beethe and Anthony Campos were the masters of the S.S. Happens. Levi Othmer, Harrison Bacon, and Aiden Strecker made the B.O.S. BOAT.
This project was the culmination of a Pressure and Buoyancy unit. Students calculated how much water they needed to move in order to carry the 535 pounds of passengers, plus the weight of the boat. “It was also a great opportunity for these students to put engineering principles into practice,” said Maggie Rother, Physics instructor. They built and tested models to identify weaknesses, they came up with solutions and rebuilt the boats full size.
The only supplies allowed are cardboard and duct tape. Duct tape is only allowed at the seams, never to laminate the cardboard.
The class tried something a little different with the competition this year. Mrs. Rother explained that in previous years of the competition, the goal was to be the boat that lasted the longest, to be able to paddle down and back in the pool. The boats were getting so good that everyone could complete the challenge. Last year, one of the boats could still float with seven students inside.
With this in mind, the class decided to make this year's cardboard boat competition a battle. Students were allowed to throw buckets of water at opposing teams' boats to attempt to sink them. The last boat standing wins.
The S.S. Happens, Cameron Werner, Ashley Beethe and Anthony Campos, won the battle.