Pedal Boat Design

Read most of the context for this thread; what is the end of the design and build?

 

I think BG got busy with other things.

Is your interest in the boats or the drive system he was working on?

If boats then there is a lot on this thread that might be of interest:
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-design/pedal-powered-boats-23345.html

Rick W

 

Sad but true. Rick makes a comment about Americans and their big cars and fuel prices...and next thing you know the bottom drops out of the economy lol.

I had JUST moved into a new shop and added some new machines too. So I have been scrambling to keep everyone busy to avoid lay offs.

I DID luck into a nice source of exotic cloths though.

Another Spring and summer with no boat =(

 

Geno
I think the economic situation was predictable with the way fuel prices were soaring.

Anyhow I was really looking forward to seeing that little prop working.

I have been busy with a new hull. This was a simple to build carbon fibre over foam hull. Took 38 hours of effort. It weighed 11.5kg when painted. Some details at the bottom of linked page:
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-design/pedal-powered-boats-23345-20.html

I am busy doing a little electric drive right now. It will serve a couple of purposes. The little Turnigy motor is rated at 600W and weighs 149g:
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/...=TGY_AerodriveXp_SK_Series_42-40_750Kv_/_600W
It is a beautiful thing. It idles with 2W and at 12W I cannot stop the 8mm shaft with my fingers. In the attached clip it is running on 12V but can go to 22V supply. It is amazingly efficient at the low end.

Rick W

 

Is the noise in the movie from the belt drive?

I wonder how well it might work as a direct drive, whether it would run too hot at only 600-700 rpm. Otherwise, a speed reducer would be needed, which introduces losses, noise and weight.

 

So, what sorts of things do you make in your shop? I'm considering finding a different place to get my boats built.

Michael Lampi

 

The belt is reinforced rubber so very quiet. Most of the noise is the motor. The controller can actually make music with the motor by the way it excites the windings. It does this when it is first energised. These are just beautiful pieces of engineering. The value for money is even more amazing.

My first test of the motor will be on a pedal boat. I have a larger toothed belt drive that I intend to try instead of a chain on V14 but before that I will use on an electric drive with what I already have. It is 4:1 and the little belt is 3:1. The motor is rated at 750rpm/V so on 12 volt system with a 12:1 reduction it will turn the prop at 750rpm. I have props that will suit this so an easy job to set up just to see what can be done with a little motor. It should get up to about 7 knots on 12V and maybe around 10kts if I get a new 22V battery.

A motor of this size would not suit direct drive. You can get much bigger ones that would do the job with direct drive but they would not work in their most efficient range.

Rick W

 

We do product design, prototyping, testing, and light/small run manufacturing.

Generally I sell a design or take on a product design, we prototype where possible, oversee rapids when needed. Then test and rework as needed. then depending on what it is we will either manufacture in house, or I work with Chinese or Mexican companies for primary production. Again, depending on the product, we will then do post production (tapping holes, bonding sub assemblies, plating, polishing etc) then quality assurance (leak testing, fit finish etc.) and packaging and shipping.

We also basically shop products for materials and manufacturing. Said another way, you find your best price for materials like high tech plastics, fabrics...everything to the boxes and shipping supplies...then we beat the pants off of your best effort. We also shop for production for lower volume products. If needed we build specialized jigs, fixtures, curing tanks, automation bots for everything from soldering, paint, adhesives etc.

It doesn't matter if you need 50 boat hulls in CF, the molds only, or 1,000 twenty station LED printed circuit board with resistors. Reservoir with built in pump to cool high end PC's...

Right now I am building machines for metering and spooling poly wire sleeve...Little companies that have great ideas but no clue on how to build value line manufacturing on a small scale or how to move their line/s to China or Mexico. Lots of pitfalls etc.

Bet your glad I gave you the SHORT answer =)

 

Wait...electric drive? Say it aint so Rick lol. Ummm...lemme guess. Redundant get home power?

 

waiting for the outcome

Just when BG started this project, my little project took a back seat due to economy and faulty design. Hence, I am anxious to see how the paddle & peddle wheel concept turns out.

 

I figure it did not break any water speed records.

You would need more than an efficient shallow water prop to make that solid unit move well.

Rick W

 

I am working on a solar powered boat and want to make a 1/5th scale model using the little Turnigy motor. It is way more power than I need for the model but not very heavy so is the one I chose.

Rick W

 

I Like it =)

 

Yes it did beat a record, how quick the miss's can yell at me for going over budget of $300.

Original concept, some parts of the bird sanctuary has a water depth of 8 inches with logs. The sanctuary only allows HPB's. My neighbor that is wheelchair bound loves those birds; hence we tried for something very stable, holds 800 pounds, wheel chair accessable and inexpensive.

Speed was not the intention, but I should have thought of what energy it will take to move. Where as, the chain kept slipping off the sprocket of the paddle wheel due to water saturation. Hereby, I was told by my wife, "You will not put one more second or dollar into that thing, unless you know it will work, like you promised!".

All in all, Skeeter is resting in dry dock, until the propulsion can be corrected. Oddly, the dry weight of raft alone is 80 pounds and it holds the 800 pounds with more to add before it sinks bellow (8 inches) 1/2 inner tube.

Please keep in mind, this project is more like "Huck Finn" hands on working, as compared to the scientific Da Vinci method. Truly, if I can see it, it can be built, but I can not tell you how it works with any level of intelligence.

 

You might have done better making a barge-like craft from 4x8 sheets of 1/2" or 3/8" marine plywood. One end could have had a ramp on hinges and both bow and stern could have angled upward to reduce the drag from what a square wooden box would exhibit.

Such a boat would have had a very shallow draft and be very stable.

Paddle wheel drive with wheels on either side could be the propulsion, or oars, or poles. No, it still wouldn't win any speed records, but it would be cheap and effective.

Michael Lampi