 Six-Hour Canoe Building
Challenge
How long do you think it would take you to build a canoe? At Philadelphia's Six-Hour Canoe Challenge last September, various teams attempted to do so in under six hours by fitting, glueing, planing, screwing, sanding, sawing and sealing marine-grade fir into finished canoes. The exercise in boat building was the marquee event of a fundraiser benefiting the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory, a non-profit organization teaching sailing and boat-building to at-risk youths. The winner was the first to finish--and paddle--a 15-foot, flat-bottom canoe using only materials supplied: instructions, wood, glue, screws, power driver, handsaw, sawhorses, plane, tape measure, putty knife, sealant, sandpaper, bevel, drill bit and caulk gun. "The inspiration for the event was a book called Building the Six-Hour Canoe, written by Richard Butz," says Geoff McKonly, who co-founded the Wooden Boat Factory in 1996. "The kids in our program have to measure and cut the wood themselves, but to save time in the competition we decided to give competitors pre-cut wood." At the 11 a.m. start, the team to beat
appeared to be the one representing Burlington County,
N.J.'s 4-H Plane and Simple Boat Building Club, whose 28
members had already built 15 canoes. Consisting of four
teenagers and captained by Wendy Byar, the 4-H squad was
the event's youngest team, but clearly one of the most
experienced. By 1:50 p.m., however, the front-running
4-Hers had been passed by Philadelphia's PNC Private Bank
team, which finished its boat-building project in just
under three hours. What happened to the 4-Hers? Since
each team had already made a charitable contribution to
the Factory in order to participate, some of its members
scattered before their entry was finished in order to
help the shorthanded. But they didn't seem to mind coming
in second. The contest was more about a good cause than
serious rivalry, and having fun building was more
important than the results.
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