For the ninth consecutive year, members of Paul Menneg’s sculpture classes tested their mettle in a boat-building competition, in which the last student floating wins. The interdisciplinary exercise embraces principles of sculpture and engineering, aiming for a vessel that—made with just four pieces of cardboard and one half of a roll of duct tape—can keep one student buoyant for the longest time.
In late September, the student-engineers assembled at the Milton Academy pool to test their projects. The record time set in past years is one hour and fifty-five minutes. This year, the longest sailing craft lasted 37 minutes, 15 seconds. “I think that at least one boat would have surpassed that time—but the sour grapes of one failed sailor led, I think, to another sailor sinking before his time,” Paul quipped.
