Innovative Boat Design

Introduction You have been hired as a mechanical

engineer to work as team member for a company called Matercraft Watersports Design, MWD. This company manufactures a variety of different boat designs. In a recent partnership with the town of Blacksburg, MWD has acquired an abundance of recycled materials. They are starting a new project in which these recycled materials will be used for an innovative boat design.

ChallengeYour task is to use the technological design

process to invent a scale model of a self-propelled boat that can transport materials back and forth from Conrad Brother’s Marina to Rockhouse Marina.

Rock House Marina

Conrad Brother’s Marina

MaterialsRecycled Soda bottles (a variety of sizes and

shapes)Recycled StyrofoamRecycled Plastic Containers Old CDsRubber bandsPing-pong ball (to transport only)Hot GlueScissors

LimitationsThe boat must transport a ping-pong ball a

distance of five feet in at least 30 seconds.Your boat cannot be any longer than 10 inches.The boat can only have one propeller.Your boat can only be created from the

materials listed. Not all of the materials have to be used.

The ping pong ball cannot get wet.Only one large rubber band can be used to

spin the propeller.

5 feet

Start Finish

Related CTE Competencies: 8464Applying the Design Process

• 038 Demonstrate safe use of tools and equipment.• 039 Use measuring tools.

• 040 Evaluate a product in relation to the goal of design and potential improvement.

• 041 Design an improvement for an existing product.

• 042 Produce a model or prototype of an innovation design.

  Designing Potential Products• 043 Research technological systems and their related inventions.

• 044 Gather information about a potential invention or innovation.

• 045 Illustrate best ideas for developing an invention or an innovation.

• 047 Develop a plan to create a model of an invention or an innovation.

• 048 Prepare drawings to support the production of the invention or innovation model.

• 049 Evaluate progress of the invention or innovation model.

• 050 Construct a model or a prototype.

• 051 Evaluate the model through assessment or the prototype through testing.

STEMScience: Matter, gravity, buoyancy, and

density

Technology: Choice of materials to solve a problem

“Technology is how humans modify the world around them to meet their needs and wants or to solve practical problems”

ITEA’s Standards for Technology Literacy

Engineering: Design of boat

Math: Calculate speed (distance/time)

Self-Propelled Boat Examples

Self-Propelled Boat Exampleshttp://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVVtWFG8IIs&feature=player_detailpage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQLm6JY0pt0&feature=player_detailpage