Design Project

[jcauburn]

Hi all,
I am having a bit of trouble with a design project. I bought a
boat (http://cm.ebay.com/cm/ck/1065-29392-2357-0?uid=4515279&site=0&ver=EOIBSA080805&lk=URL&Item=290002020395) off ebay to use as the motor. I was looking for ideas on what type of hull to use since it has to be from scratch and what type of materials you all think are the best for hulls. It has to be pretty sturdy to hold the six-pack. I would love to win this project if I could but I'm looking for new ideas.
Thanks for you help!

Design Project: Six-Pack Ships.

The need to move beverages over water to thirsty people participating in warm weather activities has become pressing, so you are asked to create a powered vehicle to carry a six-pack from the cold storage center to the beverage recipients.

Your ships will meet the following criteria:

1. The ship is to carry six (6) twelve ounce drink cans.

2. The ship will travel a minimum a fifty (50) meters on one fueling. Twenty five (25) meters loaded on the outbound leg, twenty five(25) meters empty on the return leg.

3. The ship will be loaded and unloaded manually. The cans are to be secured to the ship so they will not fall off during transit, sinking, or capsizing.

4. The ship is to make two complete trips, for a total distance of 100 meters.

5. The ship must complete two full trips in a maximum elapsed time of ten minutes.

6. The ship is to float in fresh water.

7. The water will have a minimum depth of 25cm.

8. The channel the ship will travel through will have a minimum width of 1 meter.

9. The ship will be guided by an overhead guide line 15 to 25 cm above the water’s surface. The ship will contact the line in at least two places to keep it on course. The line will be monofilament fishing line. The line will be held by team members.

10. The ship’s power plant must be zero-emission. The zero-emission parameter
must be upheld even in the worst-case of the ship sinking.

11. The ship will have a salvaging line to allow the ship to be recovered from a depth of 5 meters if it sinks. The line is to be attached to a float that will bring it to the surface if the ship sinks.


12. The hull must be zero-emission as well. The paint, if any, must not come off in
water.

13. The budget for the project is $75. Scrap material is to be included in your
budget, estimate its cost as best you can. Labor costs for your work are not part
of the budget.

Project Rules:

1. You may not use existing toy or model boats for your hull.

2. You may use propellers and other power train hardware made for models.

Prototype Grading:

Each completed trip is worth 50 points. The team that completes the 2 trips in the least time will receive 25 bonus points.

Design Project Report:

The creation and construction of the Six-Pack Ship is to be documented. The report will explain the choices your group made in designing your ship, detailed specifications of the ship, design drawings, detailed budget, list of parts, and problems experienced in producing the ship. The report is to be concise and complete. A report format will be provided.

Design Project Presentation:

Each group will make a presentation to the class covering the information in the Project Report. Each member of the group will give a part of the presentation. The presentation will be made with the aid of PowerPoint slides.

Due Dates:

The Prototype is due the last regular week of classes, the day will vary as to when the pool is free. The Report and Presentation are due at your last lab meeting.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Tug boat!!

Use those motors, or something from Graupner, or Mack and build an overpowered springer and a barge.
OR just build a "double ended powered barge" since this doesn't have to be controlled other than follow the "guide line".

Search Barge, or Springer on this bulletin board and you will find some great ideas.

I'd give you more ideas, but I think that's what you are supposed to be designing

;)

[towboatjoe]

The hull of the Wm. Market would work great.

[towboatjoe]

I have another design that can be modified.

[keith S]

Agree with Umi--Tug &/or barge. A power scow ( really a barge) with a well deck with high sides to keep water out (or for filling the area with ice) for the "cargo" to sit in will help with keeping load on board. The beam and depth of a barge will help with the stability issue(s). Either power this up or use a tug to move it around. Good luck and show us what you end up doing. Sounds like this would make for a fun event!

[Shaun Hendricks]

The object appears to be speed. The tugs are nice, but not very fast. Catamaran with the cans laying flat, 3 to a hull. Planing hulls, dual sp700 brushed motors. The center spars can have the rigging going up to contact the guide lines. On-Off switch, full speed ahead- no speed control. 1 7 cell pack for each hull, any sub C pack can run all 4 trips without a sweat and no recharge. Your first trip will be the fastest, but the second will be almost as fast. Put cut to form styrofoam around the cans and motors, you can use it as an insulator for the cans (gotta be delievered COLD you know) and will keep the boat from sinking under any circumstances, even if it capsizes.

Just how I'd approach it.l

[65535]

cheap radioshack boat. Mesh bag. SOme string. THrow the cans inthe mesh bag. Send the baot on its way.

[green-boat]

[QUOTE=jcauburn] Project Rules:

1. You may not use existing toy or model boats for your hull.

65535,

rules are rules.

[65535]

FIne you want to play ruff. Large piece of industrial pre fabricated sandwiche foam plywood. Aboue 4'x4' 2 large bowch drill motors. Straight shafts to universals. To prop and steerable outdrives. contour the wood to a round shape. A few 3 maybe 12V gell cells. and drill some 3" holes to the bottom layer of ply and put cans in. Or cut on large hole to ply and place 6 pack.

[empirebuilder]

I love these engineering type projects in school.

For style points, be sure to include a bottle opener on the stern of the boat. Also, somehow pipe the water around the beer to keep it cool during transit. Dragging it in the water may cause too much drag, perhaps following the same methodology as water cooled motors to water cool the beer.

Need to consider how rough the water will be. It seems this will be in a pool, so waves won't be an issue. I think go catamaran, tug boat is super sturdy but not as fast as a cat.

I think JC is pulling a Donald Trump Apprentice move and outsourcing the design. Destined for engineering management :censored:

[jcauburn]

Just trying to get some ideas. Speed is the object but my biggest question right now is that, since it will be weighted for a trip then unweighted for a trip, how much will that affect the buoyancy? a 6-pack of cans weighs approx. 4.5lbs. Does anyone know where I can buy a block of styrofoam?

[65535]

Go find some plywood sanwiched with foam. You could use a standard cooler probably.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Home depot typically stocks pink or blue rigid house insulation foam.

[green-boat]

Does anyone know where I can buy a block of styrofoam?

Home Depot or Lowes will have pink/blue sheets of foam that art 2" thick or check around construction sites for scraps. Yuor can use Polyurethane glue in a caulk tube to glue things together, also found at the hardware store. I have glued foam to luan door skins with no problem. The foam can be sanded/carved to shape easily.

I would go with the catamaran idea, very stable. As for the trip back she will be lighter and will go faster. Since this will be guided by a string down the course, I would do some preliminary tests to make sure that she tracks straight and true.

You could get fancy and use Peltier junction modules, that would keep things cool. You could cool the opposite side with the pool water.

[65535]

Anyone tried using a pielter system to cool their model highspeed boats down?>

[green-boat]

I have yet to see a Peltier module that was flexible or even curved. I have only seen them as flat modules. I'm sure that they could be made curved. You would have to provide some kind of cooling on the hot side of the junction. A heat sink is one thing but if you water cool it then you need a water pump, more power used from the battery. The modules do use a fair amount of power though by themselves. Heck, stick with the foam.