Raingutter Regatta--Looking for Ideas on How to Do One

[Cubby's Cubmaster]

Our pack is holding a raingutter regatta in November. We haven't held one before. We are borrowing raingutters from another pack. I'd like your ideas/hints/suggestions/links for holding a raingutter regatta.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Yours,

Cubby's Cubmaster

[Pack212Scouter]

This was our second year running one. It works well as a year opening event because it is still warm and the boats can be built in a relatively short period of time. Year one went well, but because of our large pack size traditional double elimination brackets became a nightmare. This year we let them race until they had lost twice (then they could race others that had lost on another track so that they could keep having fun). This went better, but we ran into one other hiccup. In year two, parents started taking this serious! We had all maner of specially built boats. I would recommend well laid out rules on how the boat can be modified...or just go all holds barred open.

 

On a side note, we made durable tracks fairly cheaply. We had a dad that had a little shop. He got schedule 40 drain pipe (6" or 8"), capped them and sawed them down the middle, making two tracks each. If you make them 7' long they will store upright in a closet. Simple 2x6 boards had U's sawed out of them to hold the tracks. HE also put a hose bib in the end of each one which made draining very simple.

[AnneinMpls]

Even easier...

We bought two lengths of plastic raingutters with snap-on end pieces - the end pieces have built-in rubber gaskets so nothing leaks. Super cheap, and super easy. To drain, just pour into a bucket. The raingutters dont really hold that much water. Also, they sit flat on a banquet table just fine because they have flat bottoms.

Anne in Mpls

[shortridge]

We ran one at the summer camp I worked as part of our rotating "Pirates" theme. We had old metal raingutters, and keeping those suckers from leaking was a huge pain. We set them up on sawhorses with C-clamps and blocks. The Cubs made and decorated their ships during Handicraft sessions during their week, so there wasn't much of a chance for parents to soup them up.

 

If you're doing it outside - which I heartily recommend - you can turn the raingutters into a great treat. After the regatta is over, take the Cubs away out of sight of the site for a couple of minutes - maybe for a quick game or ceremony or something. Have some adults quickly drain the raingutters, line them with heavy-duty aluminum foil, and create a gigantic ice-cream sundae - vanilla is best, with chocolate and caramel sauce and a liberal smattering of cherries. Issue the kids plastic spoons and set 'em loose (with proper adult supervision to make sure no one gets left out or elbowed).

[raisinemright]

I agree with Pack212. Set the rules out front. There are a couple tricked out designs online that guarantee a win, so the others are at a complete disadvantage. Ours will say that the sail muas be a standard sail, although it may be trimmed and set at any angle desired. The mast must be used and the sail must be attached to teh mast in the designated hole. Rudder and keel must be used.

 

One year, a kid forgot to install his keel and rudder. We used a car key and one of those key ring frequent shopper cards from some store. (hat tip to our Tiger leader for that one)

 

Go to McDonalds and ask for a bunch of drinking straws. They are wide and strong to provide great directional windpower.

 

I like the Sundae idea.

[Scoutmaster Ron]

Another addition you could do is a sibling race

[DenZero]

I did the RGR single handedly for the last two years (If we had a bigger pack I would try to get someone else to cook the hotdogs). Be sure to check out where you are holding it well in advance, figure out how you will support the gutters. Don't try to hold it indoors unless you want a big mess. Be sure to bring blocks of wood to use to level out the gutters. Make sure that there is a source of water. Be prepared for rain and wind (My first one it poured, the second it was sunny, but we nearly blew away). I used the 2 lane version of the partial perfect n charts similar to what I used for Pinewood Derby. Using these charts keep all the boys in the race until the end, and keeps the interest level up. Pre-print the charts for various numbers of participants. The scout shops have participation ribbons you can give to everyone. I think that plastic gutters work better than metal, and the sawed-in-half drain pipe works best of all.

[infoscouter]

We don't actually do the race in rain gutters. We put the boats in an actual stream and let the current carry them. Adults downstream with fish nets snag the boats and return them. Scouts can use the kits, or can make meat tray boats or anything else they want.

 

We also have a "veggie" class - cucumbers, zucchini, etc. sliced in 1/2 with sails added.

[Cubby's Cubmaster]

Thanks for the suggestions! Especially for the ice cream idaea. Keep'em coming!

 

Unfortunately, we are going to have the Raingutter Regatta indoors as it gets dark early in November. I guess we'll have a shop vac and mop handy!

 

I'd like more suggestions on the rules. Can you send me links or ideas for the rules? I like to keep the rules close to the "official" rules in the box. I don't want our parents to create catamarans, tri-marans, luxury liners which race against my tigers' simple wooden boats!

 

Regards,

Cubby's Cubmaster

[dsf025]

We did this as an October activity in a covered park pavilion with water source available. Worked out well, kids loved it. The biggest issue was keeping the scouts hands off the boats. Frequently the boats would tip and get hung up on the side of the gutter, kids would reach in to free the boat and "sorta" push it forward. Had to redo a number of races. Can you tie a scouts hand behind his back?

[TigerLisa]

Doing the RR indoors was a real problem for us. Think about how you are going to drain those raingutters without making a flood -- we had parents with mops cleaning up a huge mess last year. This year we scheduled the meeting to start 30 mins. earlier and did it outdoors in Sept. instead of Oct.

 

We have also agreed to keep this as a fun, non-competitive event. The kids don't care, they just want to race their boats. Everyone (including siblings) gets a participation ribbon.

 

That being said, we run two raingutters side by side, one den at a time. The boys are paired up and each gets three races. Siblings don't race until all of the dens are done, and then an "open" race period allows anyone to race whoever they'd like. The kids have a great time. To keep the boys occupied who are not having their turn racing, we set up a volleyball net where the kids worked toward their volleyball belt loop. In the past when we had it in October, we set up game stations with fun Halloween-themed games.

[shortridge]

A few links to rules:

 

http://www.pack39.org/Events/raingutter_regatta.htm

 

http://pack152.net/AllDens/RainGutterRegatta/CheckList.htm

 

http://www.pack948.org/RGR/2004/RGRUnlimited2004.htm

[mrwoolery]

Our pack does it with each den having a winner. This means that Tigers are not trying to compete with Webs. The winners from each pack can compete against one-another, though.

 

Suggestions:

1 - decide ahead of time if non-standard designs will be allowed. There's actually a lot of good to be said about those designs, as kids will learn a bit about boat design from them. If you have big enough dens, you can run a separate race for non-standard boats.

 

2 - tell the parents and kids whether they will be blowing through a straw or just mouth. My son wanted to practice this year and we practiced just like last year, which was just mouth. At the regatta, the kid whose parents provided the track had also clearly practiced blowing. With a straw. If people are told early which method will be used, it gives everyone an equal chance.

 

3 - State the width and length of the track in the rules. My son made a boat that was too wide for the track, this year, since it was a new track (different size of raingutter).

 

4 - Offer prizes for best looking boats, not just the winners. Some boys put hours into their boats and should be recognized for it.

 

Do your best to keep it from becoming too competitive. There is a book on making super-fast regatta boats (I'm pretty sure the winner used that book) and it just takes the fun out of it. My son's boat is fast because he and I spent hours working on the design. He did all the work (except a little bit of bandsawing I did for safety reasons) and he tried several versions of the sail before deciding on the one he liked best. This other kid's boat really didn't look like he'd had much input in the design or making of it. My boy was not the only one who was disappointed at this race. Kids put in time and effort to design their boats, practice with them, then someone gets tips from a book and wipes the field. Try to inspire a feeling of cooperative fun with this.

[Pack212Scouter]

Good suggestions. Our pack is still discussing rules changes for our third race in 2009. I'm kind of torn between keeping the designs basic so all the boys are more or less competative, or allowing a variation of designs.

[IM_Kathy]

when my son was in cub scouts we did our raingutter regatta a little different than many that have mentioned.

 

we had the boys register their boats based on level and had judges vote for 1,2,3 place. those boys got ribbons stating such. every boy got a participation patch or ribbon. Then the boys were free to race who ever and as often as they wanted. we didn't do brackets or winners/losers for race. they did sometimes have to wait in line to get a chance to race, but it went very well.

 

make sure you have the gutters well supported because the boys will bump into what ever you have them set on and if not on securely could make a very big mess.