Beautiful Routered Pinewood Derby Trophies, Wolf 5, Bear 21, Webelos Craftsman

In "This Old House"-style, our own Grove Rasmusson (a Cubmaster) teaches us and shows us exactly how he makes 30 impressive Pinewood Derby trophies, each costing just over $1.50, depending on your available resources. In his own words:

     "Each year I make the awards for the Pinewood derby. The top piece is 5"x 1-1/4". The Middle piece is 5-3/4" high and the Bottom piece is 8" long. The whole thing costs about $50 depending on what you have around the house. 15 minutes long? I know, but I was pretty thorough! :)" Yes, the video is 15 minutes long, and it certainly is thorough. It makes it easy to craft a trophy worthy of displaying the cubs hard work for a lifetime. Click on the Cubmaster's name in the first paragraph to watch this video. If you live within the Saratoga Springs/Eagle Mountain area, Grove has generously offered the use of his tools to you of you would like to borrow them to make these trophies. If so, contact him at garasmusson@yahoo.com

If you involve your den in making these, it can pass off:
Wolf 5 TOOLS FOR FIXING AND BUILDING
Bear 21 BUILD A MODEL  b. build a display for one of your models.
Webelos CRAFTSMAN  (technology) 1. Safe handling of tools. 2. Construct 2 different wooden objects. 3. Make a display stand to be used to display a model.

Humpty Dumpty Derby

Titled on THIS BLOG by a mom named Heidi (click here to learn more) as The most fun ever at a Pinewood Derby! 

"The entire goal of the evening was to break as many eggs as possible, and over the course of the runs down the track, bumpers were removed and track sections dropped to encourage just that.  There were no weight requirements for the cars, and the kids were able to be as creative as they wanted with the egg conveyance device."


Expense:      No need to hire or rent an expensive track.  Total budget
                    cutter for a total blast!
Time:            It's about fun and creativity, rather than speed.  No         
                    weigh-in time.  No rule regulation check.  Only one run
                    per car means a quicker derby.
Fun Factor:  No hurt feelings.  No "unfair".  No super-competitive.
                   No one cares if the boy did it or the dad.  All that's left
                   is fun, ooh's, and laughter as the raw eggs free fall to the
                   tarp at ground level!!

Low Budget Raingutter Regatta

First you need to secure 2 aluminum raingutters with end caps. This will cost you around $10 per raingutter, and when you add the end caps the set of complete raingutters will cost about $25. Do NOT get vinyl raingutters, because they bow out terribly when filled with water if they're not being secured to a house, and you could lose all your water to the ground, which is especially sad if you are doing this inside due to inclement weather.

Our BSA Scout Shop sells inflatable raingutters.  Both raingutter lanes in one unit and much easier to store all for the same price - $25!  (Invest in your choice of raingutter with another Pack or two.)

Boats:  There are now two BSA kits:  The traditional one for $3.99 (soon to be discontinued) and the new Trimaran kit for $4.99.

BUDGET IDEAS: 
1. foam meat trays for the bottom, bamboo kabob skewers for the poles, and copy paper for the sails
2. Have you tried a Vegetable Regatta? Slice the top off of a bell pepper, gourd, zucchini, or other vegetable. Hollow the middle with a spoon. Add a shishkabob skewer or two and a piece of paper for a mast. Test the floatability and mobility in a sink or tub of water.
3. Pool Noodles cut in sections, add bamboo kabob skewers and paper sails

You can keep the spread of germs down by having the boys blow their boats through a straw.

You might like to know that blowing the bottom of the sail (fashion the sails like the original kit's and have the bottom edge of the sail touching the boat) will make the boat more stable.  Ultimate Racer will show what the original kit and sail dimentions look like.  (Don't worry about putting holes in the sails ahead of time.  Just have the boys poke the skewers through the paper they decorate.)

These budget boats are so inexpensive, you could use this at the local Scout Expo (or Scout-A-Rama)! It would be a hit!

*If you use a traditional kit, the instructions at Ultimate Racer (from BSA's Boy's Life Magazine) really does make the fastest boats. Particularly take note of the placement of the rutters!

Raingutter Regatta Flair

Many packs enjoy a summertime Raingutter Regatta. You can download this certificate at this link. A great song to sing at your Raingutter Regatta is sung to the tune When Johnny Comes Marching Home, and the lyrics are found on the 2nd page of the June 2008 Program Helps (right column. Heading: "Song: Regatta Day). Just click here: lyrics.

Have you tried a Vegetable Regatta? Slice the top off of a bell pepper, gourd, zucchini, or other vegetable. Hollow the middle with a spoon. Add a shishkabob skewer or two and a piece of paper for a mast. Test the floatability and mobility in a sink or tub of water.

Cubanapolis 400

A Cubanapolis is such a fun pack activity for the whole family. It can be done any time of the year, because it can be done indoors or outdoors. (For instructions, click the highlighted "Cubanapolis" above.) The boys create a vehicle from a box, paint it, then race wearing it, while their families act as their pit crews and their cheerleaders. Watching the race is, itself, a hoot!