Boat Race

Our assignment was to build a boat with the maximum dimensions being 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches and the fastest boat to cross the shallow pool using only a hair dryer will get an A, so Joe and I decided to use a styrofoam block as out building block.


Then, we needed a way to hold 20 marbles without having them roll
around, causing our boat to sink, so using a ruler, we divided the
block into 10 equal squares, and within each square, a hole to hold
two marbles each.


That was the easy part of the design. Next, we needed to decide on
where to attach a sail to our boat, so we decided that placing the
sail a little more forward than half would be effective.



After attaching the sail, we tested the boat, however, it proved
unsuccessful. Thinking about it, Joe and I realized that our boat kept
turning because the air, was trapped against the sail too much,
turning the boat into the wall, so we decided on a triangle sail
instead.



The new sail made the boat go in a straighter path, however, we still
needed a keel to stabilize our boat, so we used pop-sickle sticks.


However, this proved not to be as stable as we hoped to, so we
attached more pop-sickle sticks and we got the desired effect.
Hopefully, tomorrow when we race our boats Joe and I get an A! Wish us
luck!





-Victoria Mehlhaff-