Week 22

This week my group and I have been working on our cardboard boat. We've started so far by a simple 8 foot box in which we have cut, taped, and shaped into a (hopefully) workable boat. We're trying to make it as big as possible, due to our fear of us just getting into the boat and sinking it if its too small. We have been using the skills we learned from the aluminum foil experiment that we conducted in class to find out how much surface area we needed for our weight. With 8 feet of boat, we have enough surface area. What I learned from the testes we did in class was that a certain amount of surface area carried only a certain amount of weight, so we were better better off with the larger boat than trying to risk making a smaller one. At this point, the boat is still in its less developed stage. It's ready to row, sure, but it has no form of decorations and no form of any hydrodynamic setup, so this week need we are going to have to work on it and really get it to where it is presentable. I believe Daniel and I are going to be the rowers, or it may Mary, but we will see. Something I learned for sure is it was kind of easy to find the water line on the boat. Judging by the surface area and the amount of weight being used on the boat (rowers), I can't imagine it to be too difficult to find out where to put the line of tape to judge the water line. Overall, building this boat has been a fun job and I'm excited for the races!