Carol Feingold/Correspondent| Wicked Local
Looking for a family activity that is fun, eco-friendly and doesn’t involve traveling? Try entering the Milk Jug Derby.
Not only does the event encourage recycling, it takes place right in our own back yard on Lake Gardner. In these days of high fuel costs, not having to travel to this summer is a benefit not to be overlooked.
Sponsored by the Lake Gardner Improvement Association, the eighth annual Milk Jug Derby will take place on Saturday, June 28 at Lake Gardner Beach as part of the Amesbury Days celebration.
“The whole idea is to get people to enjoy Lake Gardner and its surroundings,” Milk Jug Derby organizer Bruce McBrien said. “Lake Gardner is a great asset and we want to call attention to it.”
A group of area residents, the Lake Gardner Improvement Association was organized in 1997, to preserve Lake Gardner and to promote passive recreational use of its beach and its surrounding conservation area, approximately 100 acres on the eastern shore of the lake, including Battis Farm, Camp Kent and the back of Po Hill.
The rules of the Milk Jug Derby are simple, McBrien said. “Just show up with a boat. Over the years we hoped to cultivate an interest in the homemade boat component, but that never really took off, so this year we’re including canoes and kayaks. We’re hoping to build new interest in a new direction.”
Since the event began, it has enjoyed a wonderful core of enthusiastic participants who loyally, year after year, have built fun, fanciful and creative craft that made for a very interesting armada on the lake, McBrien said. “It has been for them that we have kept this going, despite the fact that involvement has not grown to the extent that we had hoped.
“It is in hopes of growing the event that we are encouraging canoes and kayaks to come out and have some fun this year. This really is an important year. It will determine the future of our event and our participation in Amesbury Days. We're hoping for a great turnout on the 28th.”
People with canoes and kayaks are welcome to paddle in this year’s Milk Jug Derby, but the emphasis still is on homemade watercraft, stressing the fun of putting together a boat out of old milk containers and recycled items. Building a homemade boat can be accomplished in a couple of hours, he said, and is a great family activity.
“All you need to build a ‘milk jug’ boat is your imagination, creative spirit and some elbow grease,” McBrien said. “Almost any design you can think of would make a great boat. In the past, people have built catamarans and small rafts, a boat shaped like a banana split, a hydroplane, a bus, a sea monster, the Titanic, a train, and even the bat-moo-bile. So put your creativity to work and get ready to take to the water.”
Participants can build and enter any kind of passive powered home-built watercraft, or come with a manufactured canoe or kayak. No motorized craft are allowed.
“We only require that it be able to be carried into the water by hand,” McBrien said, “and carried back out when the race is over.”
“Once you've got a concept, get the exact dimensions of your craft on paper. Many entrants in the past have used milk jugs as their primary source of flotation. For every 100 pounds of weight on your vessel, you will need 13 one-gallon milk cartons. A one-gallon jug will float about eight pounds of weight. You should consider a minimum of 25 milk jugs for each boat. Any means of flotation is allowed, the more creative, the better. All it must do is simply float.
“Now it's time for you to decide how you will power your boat. You have a number of choices: oars, paddle wheels or even legs with fins are acceptable. No motorized crafts are allowed.”
To build a watercraft, McBrien suggested a simple design starting with a 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch plywood deck. If using milk jugs, the easiest way is to build a frame on the outside edge and fill it in with milk jugs then attach the design on top of the plywood decking using any wood, metal, or plastic devices to the wood for strength.
“You can use waterproof glue, silicone, contact cement, glue gun, staples, duct tape, plastic netting, chicken wire or anything else to seal or connect your milk cartons,” McBrien said. “Paraffin wax reinforced with staples has proven to be a good way to keep cartons air tight. Other design ideas might involve creating a pontoon design or a traditional boat design. You decide and design.”
Based on his many years of experience organizing the Milk Jug Derby, McBrien stressed strength in construction, not weight.
“Two by twos and 3/8-inch plywood will handle most needs,” he said. “You want as little drag as possible on the bottom. Check the balance and weight distribution of the craft with the people who will be riding on it.
“Tape or silicone the jugs together in units before putting them under the boat. Give your craft a trial run on the water before the day of the event. Trust me on this one. Our boat had to go into dry dock for re-engineering after a test run.”
Once the watercraft is completed and tested, just bring it to Lake Gardner Beach on Saturday, June 28, at 9 a.m. to register for the Derby. Races will begin at 11 a.m. with prizes donated by area businesses awarded to the winners. For registration forms, complete rules and regulations, go to www.lgia.org.
“We’re just trying to provide a venue for fun,” McBrien said. “We hope to bring people together to have fun at Lake Gardner.”
