Student Boats Leave Testers in the Drink

The idea is to apply principles of physics to a practical exercise. But the real appeal for 70 student participants in Los Amigos High School’s boat competition Friday was a chance to watch their teachers and civic leaders sink in the campus swimming pool.

“That’s the most fun part,” said Chris Tran, a 17-year-old senior whose bright blue craft, shaped roughly like a rowboat, carried journalism teacher Laura Weissert to safety.

The annual event is a project for students from physics teacher Bill Brunner, who gives a bit of extra credit to those whose boats stay afloat for five seconds and more to those whose vessels successfully make a round trip up and down the length of the outdoor pool at the Fountain Valley campus.

“I can guarantee that they learn the principles of flotation, but I can’t guarantee that their boats will float,” Brunner said. “It’s always more difficult when you have to apply what you’ve learned.”

The boats have pine frames covered with colored paper. This year’s 70 watercraft were a spectrum of yellows, blues, greens and purples. Designs are varied, with some craft resembling leaves and others triangles or rectangles. The final step is to apply varnish, which makes the boats more or less waterproof.

The real challenge, Brunner said, is to use those materials to build a boat strong enough to carry an adult the size of Fountain Valley Mayor John Collins or Police Chief Elvin G. Miali, who volunteered to be passengers.

City and school officials are regular participants in the event, Collins said. “It’s good for the relationship between kids and civil leaders. They see we’re normal people and are not afraid to make fools of ourselves.”

Indeed, both mayor and police chief sank less than five seconds after boarding their boats. Students who sailed their own vessels had somewhat better luck, their lighter weights being a buoyancy advantage. Still, only about half of the boats completed the trip successfully.

Seeing two weeks of classwork sink in seconds didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. “It was really fun to see everybody working on their boats,” said senior Cookie Nguyen, 17, whose boat foundered just a few yards before the finish line while carrying Peggy Mahfood, director of secondary administration for Garden Grove Unified School District. “I loved all the commotion.”