Hull Design
Underside of Boat Hull
The hull design consists of a top platform (1/2" low density foam), a main center pontoon (2" low density foam), and two smaller side pontoons (2" low density foam). We started off in our prototypes making the top platform and pontoons out of one piece of 2" material. After some buoyancy tests, the paddle wheels looked to be about 1/2" too deep in water. This guided our decision to make the platform and pontoons separate pieces, along with the fact that it would be much easier to shape each individual component. To hold all the hull pieces together, our trusty waterproof aluminum foil tape was used.
The overall size of the platform was dictated by the width that we needed. The minimal width (16") was used, as we left very space between the two paddle wheels, two motors, and four bearing blocks. Once the width was decided, the length was made slightly longer (16") for better streamlining.
The overall size of the platform was dictated by the width that we needed. The minimal width (16") was used, as we left very space between the two paddle wheels, two motors, and four bearing blocks. Once the width was decided, the length was made slightly longer (16") for better streamlining.
SolidWorks Drawings
To cut out the top platform and the pontoons we used the following drawings as a template to cut around (of course the pontoons are just 2D projections that are subsequently shaped by hand). This is the case where full SolidWorks models would not be helpful, as much of the fabrication was shaped by hand (advanced surfacing techniques would be needed to shape our pontoons anyways).
