What parameters should be made for making a good boat for class project?

Question

my teacher gave a class project for making a boat. it should be made from unused things and if you want to buy some of the parts it should be less than $5 of total. every boat made wil be entered into school contest. so, what parameters should I make to build a perfect boat for the class project?

Answer 1

Obviously, for less than $5 it won't be a very big boat.  Probably not even a working boat.  I would say go with popsicle sticks.  If not that, then you can probably find a block of styrofoam and carve a hull from it.  If you make it a sailboat you can add some cool detail work with string and pencils or something like that for mast and lines (ropes).  I'm not really sure what you mean "made from unused things".  It sounds like a cool project.  When you decide, please add it to your comments and let us know what you're doing!

I used to carve little styrofoam boats with paper sails on toothpicks when I was a kid and "sail" them down the gutters on rainy days!

Answer 2

I have built a couple of on the cheap boats, for a university raft race.  One of mostly plywood, and the other using 2 liter pop bottles and a lot of packing tape.

Wood was more successful and easier to work with.  Free wood is pretty easy to come by.  Use the 5 bucks for buying tape and fasteners (screws work nicely and do not pull out like reg/ nails).

I made a catamarran with triangle shaped hulls. This will result in a strong hull.  I used an equalateral triangle which resulted in a wide and boy=ant hull, with room for your feet.  The hulls I built had totally flat ends, then I added bows made of plastic cardboard tacked and taped in place, and then wraped the hull in cheap plastic to make it water tight.   I used the boat in the annual University of Manitoba raft race for 4 years.  Monohulls that work well are much more difficult to build.  If you glue in lots of lightwgt ribs/bulkheads of foam or chloroplast (plastic cardboard used in signs)  you will have less worries in regard to leaks.

Make sure your hull joining cross pieces are strong and well fastened to the hulls.  If they fail you will be going for a swim.  In the race we placed 5th, 4th, 3rd 2nd, and with the pop bottle thing 5th again.  Use a saw guide for your circular saw, as nice straight cuts will make it easier to seal the bottom and end of your hulls.  If you use nails, get the coated kind that resist pulling out, as your boat will likely flex a bit.

Good luck.  Phil, aka adventureboyseven

Answer 3

When a boat designer draws plans for a boat, the first thing that is done is to build a "Model Boat" from the plans. So, any boat plans can be made into a small model.

One answer mentions Popsicle Sticks. This would make for good frames and use a Shoebox (Not corrugated cardboard, but, the thin shoebox type) or maybe a flat plastic. This material will bend easy. Use the Popsicle Sticks for supports across the boat and for seats. In the link you will find a simple Row Boat, scroll down;

http://www.svensons.com/boat/

Row Boats the Jolly Roger 8'

You can almost look at the picture and build this. Just use a ruler and make 1 inch equal to 1 foot. This an 8' boat so your model will be 8". If you can lay Popsicle sticks side by side and glue with Elmer's Glue or what ever then this give you the bottom. After the glue dry make your curves for the shape. You may need help to cut this, or maybe get the Wood Shop teacher to cut it out for you on a Band-saw. Depends on your time frame. Then you clue your cardboard, cut to size to the bottom and make seats across to help hold the shape. Cut small pieces of your sticks to glue to the side just high enough to lay the seat board across. Hope you understand and good luck. Heck, you make even use a drinking straw and some cloth/cardboard and put a little sail on  your boat. Other pictures on the web-site help you get the idea.

Answer 4

Parameters for a boat:

Stability

Buoyancy

righting movement (if it get knocked over, will it flip back up)

speed

cost

construction material

efficiency(fuel use)

interior room or cargo capability

looks (ugly boats don't sell as well)

is this a model boat, or life size boat?