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Design Principles
Thefirstandmostimportantrulewhenmakingaboatisthatitmustbeaslightaspossible. Thispointcannotbeoveremphasised.Availablepowertopropeltheboatislimitedsoitis notpossibletocompensateforaheavyboatbygivingitmorepower.Theaccelerationofa boatfromthestartlinedirectlyrelatestotheweightoftheboat,thatis,lighterboats acceleratefaster.Thetopspeedoftheboatregardlessofthehullshapewillbehigherifitis lighterbecausetheboatwilldrawlesswaterandhavelessdrag.Allthesepointscombineto makethisthemostimportantfactordeterminingafastboat.However,otherboatdesign factorsmustalsobecorrecttohaveafastboat. Thenextmostimportantfactorishullshape.Theshapeofthehulldeterminesthatdrag createdastheboatmovesthroughthewaterandofcourselowdragisgood.Adesign problemarisesinselectionofthebesthullshapeasmodelsolarboatsmayberacedin overcastofbrightsunconditions.Thisisveryimportantbecauseahulldesignedforlowest draginbrightsunconditionswillbeaclassicplaninghulllikeatypicalspeedboat.Aboat hulldesignedforlowestdraginovercastconditionswillbeaclassicdisplacementhulllikea largeship.Theartofgooddesignistocreateahullthatwilloperatewellinbothconditions. Anotherveryimportantconsiderationwhendeterminingthehullshapeisstaticand dynamicstability.Thismeanstheboatmustsitinthewaterwithoutrollingoverandwhen racingdownthepoolitmustbeselfcorrectingwhenitdeviatesfromthelineofthestring. Studyingthelinesandcurvesofatypicalspeedboatwillgivemanycluestotheshapes requiredforgoodstability. Theboatmustbereliable.Allthecomponentandmaterialchoicesmustbemadewith reliabilityinmind.Theboatmustfinishtheracetowintherace.Also,afastboatmustbe abletosustainsomelargeimpactshittingtheendofthepoolandthisshouldbeconsidered inyourdesign.Withregardtoreliabilityitiswisetohaveaboatthatisofadesignthat allowsabackupmotororsolarpaneltobefittedbetweenraces.InonenationaleventI droppedabottleofmethsontothepanelofSquirtandsmashedoneofthecells.Becauseshe hadabackuppanelthatcouldbefittedquicklyshewasabletochangethepanelandstartin therace.Formanyotherboatsthatwouldhavebeentheendoftheevent.

Equipment
Becausetheweightofamodelsolarboatissocriticalitisessentialtoweighallboat componentstowithin1ganddesirabletomeasuretoahigheraccuracy.Weighingofparts canassistinchoosingsayanalligatorclipvs.adoublethrowswitchorchoosingonepaint coatingoveranother.Scalesareavailableforawiderangeofsuppliers.Theoneweusecost about$200fromJaycar(P/NQM7247)andhandlesupto500gmwith0.1gresolution.A cheapersolution,alsofromJaycar,isQM7238(about$40)thathandlesupto1kgwitha 0.5gresolution. CuttingoutcavitiesinpolystyreneiseasywithasmallhighspeedtoollikeaDremel.These areavailablefrommanygoodhardwarestoresandwhenfittedwithahighcarbonsteel (cylindricalshape)cuttercanremovethepolystyrenequicklyandaccurately.

Material Selection
ForthehullIhaveseenawiderangeofmaterialsused.Wedecidedonusinghighdensity polystyrenefoambecauseofthelightweightandtheeasewithwhichitcanbeshapedinto ahugevarietyofshapes.Ibelievethataverygoodhullcanalsobemadeinbalsawood,but theconstructionskillsrequiredtomakealighthullinthismaterialarebeyondmany students.Anyerrorsinmakinghullscanberepairedusingalightweightfillerwithglass microballoons(availablefromgoodmodelshops). Above photo shows a hull made from two layers of polystyrene bonded together with epoxy. The centre portion was cut out with a sharp modeling knife prior to gluing together. Use24hourAraldite(orothergoodepoxy)tobondthepolystyreneandotherparts together. Simplerubberbandsarefantasticforattachingsolarpanelsandmotorsbecausetheyabsorb shockandallowforeasyremovalofcomponents.Beawarethatrubberbandsdeteriorate withtime(andtension)andshouldbereplacedbeforeeverycompetition. Allshaftsandpolesshouldbecarbonfibre(preferred)orplasticwerepossible.Forexample, thepropshaftshouldbecarbonfibrerodandtheproptubeshouldbeaplastictube.The lastofDeanna'sboatsusedadrinkingstrawastheproptubewithplasticbushesactingas propshaftbearingsateachend. Avoidusingmetalunlessitisabsolutelyessentialbecauseitisheavy!Anymetalpartsmust becarefullyassessedforweightandalteratives.Forexample,wefoundthatwecouldsave weightusingasmallalligatorclipforaswitchinsteadofastdtoggleswitch. Selectyourpaintverycarefully.Thewrongpaint(oilbased)willmeltpolystyrene. Polystyrenecangenerallybesafelypaintedusingwaterbasedhousepaints.Becauseweight

iscriticalthepaintshouldbethinnedwithwatersothepaintdoesnotaddtomuchweight. Thisisabitofacatch22becausethepaintisneededtosealthehullfromgettingsaturated bywater(polystyrenesoaksupwaterlikeasponge),butexcessivepaintwillweighmore thanthewaterthatwouldbeabsorbed!

Testing
Testingcanmakethedifferencebetweenyourboatdoing6secondsor4seconds! Withouttestingyouwillnotbeabletoknowhowyourboatwillperformunderdifferent weatherconditionsorevenifitcanreliablytravelthe10mdownthestringwithouttipping over.Youmusttestyourboat! Becausewedidnothaveaswimmingpoolorlargepondwemadeaportablerigthat allowedtestingatMorrisonBayontheParramattariver.Therigcomprisedalargepieceof Polystyrene(packingfromacomputermonitor)ateachendofthe10mnylonline.A300mm highpostwasattachedtoeachpieceofpolystyrenesothatthenylonlinewas300mmabove thewater.Thelinewastensionedwithelasticisedcordsattachedtothepolystyreneblocks andalsoattachedtopegsthatwerepushedintothesandabout2mawayfromthe polystyreneblocks.Wehadtogetourfeetwettodotestingandwaitforacalmdaywithout wind,butgainedvaluabletestdata.SomethingthatwefoundwasthatDeanna'sboatswent muchfasterinPerththanthetestindicatedinSydney.Isuspectthatthiswasbecause SydneydoesnogetthesameintensityofsunasPerthbecauseofSydney'sgreateramount ofsmog. Please note the foam used to protect the boat from hitting the test rig. Anessentialdevicefortestingisastopwatch,butalmostasimportantissomethingto measuretheintensityofthesun.Especiallyiftheconditionsareovercastitisveryusefulto knowhowmuchsunisavailabletocompareboattimesonpreviousoccasions.Weusedan singleoldbrokensolarcellwireddirectlytoanampmeter.Ourparticularcellwouldput out440mAinbrightsun,80to150mAwithmildovercast,and15to40mAwithlotsofdark clouds. Someinitialtestingcanbedonewithasmallbatterypackifanindoorlocationisavailable.

Hyperblast

Made:2002
Results
6thplacein2002NSWModelSolarBoatChallenge.Runinthe2002Australian International Model Solar Boat Challenge, but unplaced.

Specifications

Panel:Jaycar6Vgeneralpurposesolarpanel Motor:4.5VhobbymotorfromJaycarElectronicsP/N_YM2707 Hull:1.25litresoftdrinkbottles Prop:FanfromJaycarsolarkit. Weight:approx900g TypicalBestTime:20to25sec

Red Rush

Made:2003
Results
Winner of the 2003 Australian International Model Solar Boat Challenge (senior division)

Specifications

Panel:modifiedScorpioTechnologysolarboatpanel. Motor:variousmotorsabletobefitted.MaxonRE16motor(P/N_118682)usedtowin2003 challenge. Hull:highdensitypolystyrenefoam. Prop:modifiedScorpioTechnologyprop. Weight:approx190g TypicalBestTime:5.0to5.5sec

Hoverboat

Made:2004
Results
Winner of the 2004 Australian International Model Solar Boat Challenge (junior division)

Specifications

Panel:customsolarpanelusingcellsfromScorpioTechnology. Motor:hobbymotorfromJaycarElectronics,4.5V,12,500rpm,(P/N_YM2707). Hull:highdensitypolystyrenefoam. Prop:indoormodelaircraftpropeller. Weight:approx130g TypicalBestTime:6.5to7.0sec

Squirt

Made:2004
Results
Winner of the 2004 Australian International Model Solar Boat Challenge (senior division)

Specifications

Panel:customsolarpanelusingcellsfromScorpioTechnology. Motor:MaxonRE16motor(P/N_118682). Hull:highdensitypolystyrenefoam. Prop:OcturaBerylliumCoppermodelboatpropeller. Weight:approx150g TypicalBestTime:4.1to4.5sec

Red and White

Made:2005
Results
Winner of the 2005 Australian International Model Solar Boat Challenge (senior division)

Specifications

Panel:customsolarpanelusingbarecellsfromScorpioTechnology. Motor:MaxonRE16motor(P/N_118682). Hull:highdensitypolystyrenefoam. Prop:OcturaBerylliumCoppermodelboatpropellerforbrightsunandmodifiedScorpio propforovercastconditions. Weight:approx130g TypicalBestTime:3.6to3.9sec