By JOSHUA THOMAS

C-S-E Editor

CANAJOHARIE — Last Wednesday evening, the pouring rain began to taper, the sun finally glimmering across the surface of Pangaea Pond, just minutes before local students set sail on recyclable crafts they created.

Canajoharie Middle and High School, and Oppenheim Ephratah High School  technology classes have been preparing for the 21st annual Recyclable Regatta for months, constructing recyclable-based floating crafts. Each hand-powered boat uses between 50-100 soda and detergent bottles to float teams of 1-4 students.

The main boat created by the 42 Canajoharie Middle School students, under the direction of Middle School Technology Teacher Dr. Gregory Pitonza, was a 8’ x 32’ craft constructed of eight 4’ x 8’ individual boat sections tied together and painted to mimic the appearance of the Lynx Sub-orbital space vehicle — a craft currently taking reservations from civilians interested in venturing outside the earth’s atmosphere.

High School students designed and constructed the boats as part of Applied Physics and Engineering courses, which applies math and science concepts based on engineering design projects in the technology laboratory. Students study the concepts of volume displacement, buoyancy, mechanical systems, and management of material resources.

High School Technology Teacher Dwayne Heroth noted that his 17 high school students created five floating crafts this year. He said that the material used to build the boats — bottles and wooden framework — have been recycled many times over, used for up to 15 years as part of the regatta. “Some of these bottles on my boats are so old they’re beginning to fade, and we keep them down in the cellar in the dark,” he said. A bystander commented that even after some of the middle school bottles were too old to use in the regatta, they were recycled again as part of a dock at her in-laws’ house. “It just goes on and on,” she commented.

Following the regatta, which saw the students sailing down the pond, turning and making a trip back to the starting point, the middle school boats breaking apart as they travelled, the crafts were judged by two Central Mohawk Valley Lions members, and prizes were awarded to the teams that had the fastest boat and best design.