Cardboard Boat Regatta returns to Cedar Rapids after 14-year absence

CEDAR RAPIDS — Whether they were the result of weeks of engineering, or held together with “a stick of gum and some cardboard,” every boat in the Freedom Festival’s Cardboard Boat Regatta faced the same challenge on Saturday: travel out and around a buoy in Manhattan Park’s Robbins Lake without sinking.

Some were more successful than others.

The regatta, part of the Ellis Family Fun Fest, drew hundreds of people to the park. It was the first time the event has been held since 2010, and it’s been one of the most-requested additions to the festival since it was discontinued.

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"Every year, we asked people what they'd like to see as part of our festival, and we got so many people who were passionate about the regatta and wanted to bring it back," said Karol Shepherd, Freedom Festival executive director. "We were able to solidify some funding for it, so we're excited to have it back."

The race featured head-to-head heats of two boats, each timed from start to finish or until one sank in the lake. They competed in a navigated out-and-back circuit from the marked starting bank, circling a designated buoy before returning.

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All boats were constructed from cardboard, with no other materials allowed, although duct tape and varnish could be used to reinforce the vessel. Shepherd said 30 teams signed up to compete in the race, including local organizations like the Cedar Rapids Daybreak Rotary, Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, and Hills Bank.

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Awards were presented to the top three fastest boats, as well as for the most creative, most patriotic, and most spectacular sinking.

Boats of all shapes, sizes, and colors were featured in the race. Some, like Cedar Rapids Daybreak Rotary, took the vessel's construction more seriously than others.

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"We had 22 people working on this sucker for the last nine weeks," said Martin Wissenberg, a member of the rotary. "We had a design team that spent two weeks designing the boat, and the rest was spent on building it."

The finished product — named "Motherducker" — consisted of nearly a hundred pieces of cardboard, weighed more than 200 pounds, and stood 10 feet tall. The exterior was painted entirely yellow and featured several rubbery duck heads on the sides.

Wissenberg said the duck theme of the boat was to promote the rotary's annual duck race.

"I hope we finish the race, but I'd be just as happy if we sunk too so that we could spread awareness on our organization," he said.

Others, like the boat built by Studio 32 Dental Laboratory in Hiawatha, weren’t so sophisticated.

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"We built ours in just two weeks, so it was a quick turnaround," said Zack Hofmann, a dental technician at Studio 32. "You can say a stick of gum and some cardboard is pretty much holding ours together."

Studio 32's boat, named "Snaggletooth," was more of your standard row boat. The vessel was painted black and blue to match the business’ color scheme.

"When you look at a bunch of empty cardboard boxes, it's hard to even know where to begin on how to turn it into a boat," Hofmann said. "The beginning stages were pretty difficult, but we found an outline online, and that helped things."

Kevin Barta, winner of the fastest boat in the 1994 cardboard boat regatta, offered simple advice.

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"Don't overthink it," Barta, 65, said. "You don't want it too big or small.“

This year's regatta was the sixth Barta has attended. He said the first couple of regattas he attended in the 1990s drew thousands of spectators.

"I couldn't believe they stopped doing it because it attracted so many visitors and was very popular in the community," Barta said. "I think many people are glad now that it's back."

"I absolutely hope that this is something that we can bring back and keep for many years to come," Shepherd said. "We hope people have a great time and keep showing up."

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