degree project research help

[altitude2k]

I'm currently studying my final year at Bournemouth University in Design Engineering. As part of my project I am required to design a product from start to finish. As I worked for a full year at Sunseeker, and am still there part time, I chose a marine-related project.

The product I will design will be an inflatable cushion (e.g. pontoons) that can be carried onboard, quickly fitted and will lift the stern end of a motorboat to a point where work can be carried out on the propellers and prop shafts. This would be for use both at sea or in dock.

As part of my research I need to look at the market, and as such I have created an online questionnaire to find out some answers to help me through the conceptual process. I would be very much abliged if there were any boat owners that would take just a couple of minutes to fill in the questionnaire, which is at the following link:

http://www.studentenonderzoek.com/?qid=6405&ln=eng

Any help would be very much appreciated as this is an important part of my project.

Thanks in advance.

[gonzo]

Good job. Some students posts requests to have their homework done.

[Grant Nelson]

Hi Altitude... I suggest you can better start with some basic engineering analysis to see of the idea is even practical. Lifting the stearn of a boat, the part offering the most bouyancy, will push the bow down, and I would think to get the prop out of the water, you will end up putting the bow underwater! Maybe you can talk to your colleagues at Sunseeker and ask them to do some quick hydrostatic studies that will check this out. Also, consider that you will need a cubic meter (or what ever) of 'pontoon' below water level to lift each ton of boat weight. And it will have to be strong- which means thick skin, which means heavy and bulky, so storage of this pontoon will also be an issue to address... so you have a challenge, but don't be discouraged... the best ideas come from strong challenges that you believe in...

[Tim B]

off the top of my head a decent number for a motor cruiser is 40 tonnes mass Displ for a 60 footer. so say you're lifting 1/2 of it (being pessimistic) you'll need 20 cubic meters of air. So, say that you can inflate it all under the aft quarter of the length (ie. 5 meters long) then it will need to be 2 meters wide and 2 meters deep to support the hull on the water's surface.

So here's an idea, keep that idea as an emegency bouancy-aid. and for working on the bottom of the boat, use a couple of hydraulic legs off the bottom of the marina.

Tim B.