World Record Attempt to be launched at GRD!

Huge cardboard boat to sail the Mississippi

 OK…it may sound crazy, but that is what Great River Days and World Records are made of. Menasha Packaging of Muscatine, Iowa has constructed what many believe, is the “world’s largest cardboard boat” and plans to set sail on it’s maiden voyage Saturday, July 30 as part of the 53rd Annual Great River Days Festival on the Muscatine Riverfront.

According to Will Gomez, a structural designer of Menasha Packaging Corporation, the cardboard ship weighs 1200 pounds, and measures 30 feet long with a 9 foot beam. They will attempt to set sail on the river, with passengers on board in the effort to set a “world record” for the largest cardboard boat excursion.

“As you can tell by the picture, this boat is not a canoe or refrigerator box with duct tape” commented GRD Co-Chairman Kerry Keller. “It is a full-blown ship, comparable in size to a large yacht sometimes seen cruising the Mississippi River.”  Menasha has had this unique project in the works for some time now, and had planned to debut it at the “That was then, This is now” Boat show that was cancelled in May 2011 due to river flooding. Now that the flood has receded, Gomez and the engineers at Menasha are anxious to put their cardboard packaging (i.e, boat) construction theories to the ultimate test, and attempt to set a world record for their company, who manufactures cardboard packaging materials right here in Muscatine.

A Guinness/Google search for cardboard boat record results found no boat the size and weight of the Menasha entry, nor of the unique presentation as a Pirate Ship. “This is just too wild” said JJ Koehler, GRD Co-Chairman. “What the Menasha Crew has done in building this ship is hard to believe, let alone put it out on the river with people in it. We are pleased to be a part of this World Record attempt as part of Great River Days”, he concluded.

The Menasha Pirate Ship will set sail on Saturday, July 30 at 4PM from the upper boat landing in Muscatine’s Riverfront Park. General admission to watch is free, with many other family activities on hand for festival goers. For a complete listing of all GRD 2011 activities, visit www.GreatRiverDays.com