Week 13: Completion of our Project

After all these weeks of work we have reached a design we are satisfied with. We tested the boat using the full 24 volt battery system and cruised on low power down Tyler's canal. We had an average speed of approximately 2.1 mph though the distance. However, we have a conformable cruising speed of approximately 5  mph and have gotten it as fast as 7 mph as of now. The boat runs amazingly straight and needs only slight correction as we travel forward. We are now only modifying the rod to make the ride a bit smoother. We are also going to add a heat shield (photo below) to the coil to keep heat off of our back.

This project was pretty fun to do! We'd like to once again thank Mr. Martin for a great four years. 




Image of the canal we were testing in

Week 13: Finishing the Boogaloo

It has taken some time, but we're finally just about done with our project. The motor and shaft has been connected and secured by a coupling and beams, since it was shaking too much without them. We brought the boat over to my (Tyler's) house to test everything and it worked very well. Overall we're pleased with the result and we'll make some minor adjustments and improvements to finish off our project. We'll also start working on the Instructables power-point. 

Week 12: AP Exams are Fun

We've been a little distracted by AP exams this week, but we've managed to find a way to secure the motor and the rest of the electrical system. The motor mount is similar to what I described in the last post. It will be bolted to the frame and supported by vertical beams. Juan has started working on the shaft that will connect to the motor and the propeller so we can complete the boogaloo by the end of next week. 

Week 12: Installing the Electrical System

Today it's just me (Tyler) working on the boat since Juan is taking AP Psych's exam. I'll focus on finding a way to mount the motor and the variable switch and resistor to the boat. For the motor, we need to have it angled downward and suspended in the air, so I'm thinking of adding vertical supports while having the motor bolted to the frame of the boat. I also added some more flooring to the boat. 

Week 11: Adding the Electrical Components

After successful testing of the boat's body, we've started working on the electrical part of the boat. Before we put it in the boat, we'll be testing the circuit in engineering. Once we've ensured the system works, we'll start finding a way to mount everything within the boat. 

Week 11: A Smashing Success

We took the boat out to the canal today and found that the boat doesn't sink (to the disappointment of some of our peers). There was barely any sinking, actually, so we're pretty much done with the body of the boat. This thing was in water for awhile too, so it wasn't a short lived success (like some wood glue being dissolved or something silly). When we get back to school after super testing (again) we'll begin to integrate the electrical system. Here are some super fancy photos of the boat in water (ignore the tape, that was completely unnecessary). 

Week 10: Body Done, Testing Time

Not a whole lot going on today, just adding some more wood glue and patching up some spots.We're awfully low on wood glue (partially thanks to Parker), so good thing we're done. We took the boat to my house after school (around 3, while it was still raining). Hopefully the boat won't sink and we'll be able to start adding the electrical components next week.