The Worthington Times

Cub Scout Pack 409 of Worthington, Indiana, had their first Raingutter Regatta and combination campout on May 19, 2007 at Woodland Bible Camp, just outside of Linton, Indiana.

The Raingutter Regatta is a race of small wooden boats, made from official Boy Scouts of America kits, down “rain gutters” constructed of a 10-foot PVC pipe cut in half.

Eleven excited scouts showed up with boats in hand, along with several “Little Scout Buddies,” not exactly sure what was going to happen, only sure they were in for lots of fun. They only knew they were required to make boats from the official kits and that their boats would only be powered by their lungs.

Each boy lined up his boat on the official table at the end of the two parallel rain gutters and darted off to first prepare their foil pack lunches. “We wanted our boys to get a taste of real camping out, and cooking over a campfire is a big part of that,” explained Rhoda Davis, den leader and committee chair. “We thought we’d get the boys to come out for the big race, get exposed to the campgrounds and enjoy cooking outdoors, too.” Each boy gathered with their families and wrapped up meat, potatoes, vegetables and spices in a big pocket of foil and set them on preheated coals near the campfire. Kevin Benham provided custom designed iron trays full of hot coals and led the pack in cooking their foil packs. The boys rushed back to the racing area as their foil packs sizzled.

All scouts lined up alongside the rain gutters as Andy Davis, leader of the Tiger Cubs, held preliminary races and prepared the competition bracket. Finally, two boys were called to line up their boats in the rain gutters.

Shouts went up as the race began, two boys leaning over their boats blowing with all their might, soaking their shirttails and uprighting their tipping boats. Cheering voices filled the air until the boats hit the end of the gutters and a winner was determined for that round.

Using a double elimination process, each boy raced their boat at least three times including the preliminaries. The races brought out the best in the boys, some stepping up to coach the less experienced, and all practicing good sportsmanship.

The final winners were Buddy Davis in first place, Cade Eaton in second and Sosh McHenry in third. All of the participants received a whistle and flint fire starter on a lanyard.

“This is harder work than the Pinewood Derby,” said Scout Aden Benham, referring to the necessity to blow so much to get his boat down the gutter. Aden was the first place winner of the Pinewood Derby in 2006 and 2007. Both of Aden’s parents, Kevin and Jana Benham, help lead the Bear Cub Den this year.

A majority of the boys camped overnight with their families, but some just came out for the day. The scout leaders are trying to encourage families to camp with their young scouts, but they also feel if the boys can’t overnight, they can still join in on the fun during the day. Bill Dove, the scoutmaster, includes in the campouts a mixture of fun, work and learning the scout way. Dove explains that responsibility develops character and fun keeps them coming back.

Curt Wilhoite designed and created the “fancier” PVC version of rain gutters and placed the two half pipes in wooden bases for extra sturdiness to avoid having a big spill in the middle of a race. Wilhoite, along with Joe Hickman, led the Wolf Cub Den this year. Mike Miller, leader of the WeBeLos, also helped with the race and campout.

The Cub Scouts meet during the school year twice a month at WRV Worthington Elementary School and have an activity once a month during the summer. The Pack has had two Lock-Ins, four campouts, the Pinewood Derby and the Raingutter Regatta since September 2006.

Raingutter Regatta Story by Cub Scout parents

All Raingutter Regatta Photos provided by Cub Scout parents