Glue, duct tape, cardboard… “Whatever floats your boat” took on new meaning at an annual competition this weekend in Saratoga County.
Boaters of all ages and hundreds of spectators are gathering in Fort Hardy Park in Schuylerville — eager to put their best engineering and construction skills to the test.
The 17th annual Cardboard Boat Races is a fundraiser for the non-profit Hudson Crossing Park.
It’s a cloudless August day and anticipation is high. It’s also the 200th year of the Champlain Canal, a 60-mile stretch connecting part of the Hudson River to the south end of Lake Champlain.
New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian Stratton addresses the boaters pre-race.
“Boaters you can remember, even if your boat does not fare well, you can win if you have bribed judges properly,” Stratton said.
Bribery at the races refers to a donation made to the park, which could lead to an award in the “Judges Bribe” category.
The three judges are dressed for the occasion- wearing boat hats and even fairy wings.
Participants can use wooden brooms, cardboard, caulk or glue, duct or paper tape, latex based paints, and flat canoe paddles — homemade or not.
But sharp objects, foam, oil-based paints, and laminated, waxed, or oiled surfaces are verboten due to the risk of pollution.
The Good family comes away with “Best in Show,” the bribe and the speed category thanks to two boats, one pre-made and one made on-site.
For the pre-made boat, 11-year-old Isaac Good used carboard tubes from his grandfather’s high-end fishing poles to create a sturdy skeleton for his shark themed boat.
The Goods have competed for a several years now, culminating in their strongest showing yet.
“We’re going to destroy everybody. We’re going to win by a lot,” Good said.
And race after race they do, barely taking on water.
In years past, the loop positioned racers on the shore of Fort Hardy Park to paddle to the wall opposite and return back to shore. Due to strong water currents this year, a minor change to the course has boaters paddling slightly north just off the shore, around a buoy, and returning.
Most boats hold up for all six races, but the bumpy bilge takes a toll. By the end of the day, the boats are soggy and long past shipshape.
Participants come from near and far hoping to win prizes like lock tours for up to six people. Several out of staters built boats on-site while others spent hours preparing in recent weeks.
Stan Thompson of Buffalo found the “cardboard regatta” on YouTube. Thompson says between designing and building, he spent nearly 150 hours in drydock.
“The trouble with carboard, you know, if you work with steel or wood all the time, you’re used to it,” Thompson said. “Carboard is a whole new material. It bends the way it wants. You gotta change your plans the whole way. You wanna make things fit. I wanted to put bolts on here but I can’t so I rolled up cardboard and stuck it through a hole. And that’s my bolt, cardboard.”
Kate Morse is the Executive Director for Hudson Crossing Park. She says planning requires year-round work for racers and organizers alike.
“When I say they take it seriously, they take it seriously,” Morse said.
Congressman Paul Tonko, a Democrat representing the 20th District, looked to inspire participants.
“We’re counting on you, sink that boat,” he said.
The “Titanic Award” is given to the first boater to sink in each race and is the day’s most coveted honor.
12-year-old Delia Rhodes of Pennsylvania, in town visiting family, is happy to end up the Molly Brown of this short course.
“The boat is called whatever floats your boat, but I don’t think it’s going to float to be honest,” Rhodes said. “I don’t have faith. No offense.”
Rhodes has competed three times with her family. She took a different approach to building this year.
“First I was thinking I wanted it to be as small as possible, because then it will like, maybe be less likely to sink that way, but then I was thinking about what shape I wanted it to be and I was like, I kind of want it to be like a canoe shape,” Rhodes said. “And we started like folding the sides up on the piece of cardboard and then we took a bunch of different boxes and we folded them on the front. And we decided it would be a good shape like, because a lot of times we do it with the pointed front and then the flat back on it. I think this might work better.”
Rhodes’ 11-year-old brother Woody has his own boat, christening it the SS Baked Potato.
“We were kind of obsessed with potatoes this week,” Rhodes said.
“Just this week?”
“Yeah, just this week,” Rhodes said.
“Why were you obsessed with potatoes this week?”
“Because potatoes are yummy,” Rhodes said.
First-timer Scarlet Connelly, who raced with her mom, chose number one for her boat because she was prepared to sink. Her mother clinches “Most Enthusiastic” by simultaneously saluting and sinking.
Competitive on the course, boaters are eager to lend a helping hand to paper pirates who need a push.
Rescue crews and kayaking volunteers are nearby in real watercraft to help.
The final race is “Most Sailors Left Afloat” where boaters pile in as many people as possible to sail around the buoy and back without sinking. Most don’t make it.
