Ants Versus Boat (by AntsVersusBoat)

Discussion in 'All Things Boats & Boating' started by AntsVersusBoat, Nov 14, 2012.

  1. AntsVersusBoat
    Joined: Nov 2012
    Posts: 0
    Likes: 1, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 22
    Location: Canada

    AntsVersusBoat New Member

    Recently my friends and I (all boating enthusiasts) have been questioning the stability of our recent 2010 Hacker-Craft Triple cockpit Runabout purchase. we have a lot of ants in our area, too many. How many,we ask ourselves, would it take to sink this boat? We researched that ants weigh 0.0003 grams which means that roughly there are 1.5 million ants per pound.

    I need to know how many ants it would take to sink this boat.
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
    Posts: 19,126
    Likes: 498, Points: 93, Legacy Rep: 3967
    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    The math is simple enough, now that you have an garage ant's weight. Your boat is in the 4,800 pound range and I'm assuming it's the 30' triple. To directly answer, your question, a lot, an awful lot of ants, unless they they're carrying 20 times their own weight in beer coolers and the like (they are little beasties after all), which they're known to do.

    Welcome to the forum.
     
  3. gonzo
    Joined: Aug 2002
    Posts: 16,790
    Likes: 1,714, Points: 123, Legacy Rep: 2031
    Location: Milwaukee, WI

    gonzo Senior Member

    Are you inviting svelte or chubby ants onboard?
     
  4. michael pierzga
    Joined: Dec 2008
    Posts: 4,862
    Likes: 116, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 1180
    Location: spain

    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Are these ants shy and retiring ?

    Or will they be break dancing on the rail ? Showboating on the stern ?

    Makes a big difference
     
  5. hoytedow
    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 5,857
    Likes: 400, Points: 93, Legacy Rep: 2489
    Location: Control Group

    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

  6. latestarter
    Joined: Jul 2010
    Posts: 402
    Likes: 51, Points: 28, Legacy Rep: 233
    Location: N.W. England

    latestarter Senior Member

    You need to take into account the overall density of the ants as they occupy the boat. If it is less than water it might not sink it at all, unless they pile up above the deck.
     
  7. Petros
    Joined: Oct 2007
    Posts: 2,934
    Likes: 148, Points: 63, Legacy Rep: 1593
    Location: Arlington, WA-USA

    Petros Senior Member

    don't ants float? if so, with that large a mass of ants, you would not need a boat, you would float on a raft of ants.

    consider foam packing peanuts, could you put enough in a boat to make it sink? That would be an impossible task, the packing peanuts would float away, if packaged they would act as flotation.

    Besides, what would you feed that many ants? That alone would sink your boat.
     
  8. philSweet
    Joined: May 2008
    Posts: 2,682
    Likes: 451, Points: 83, Legacy Rep: 1082
    Location: Beaufort, SC and H'ville, NC

    philSweet Senior Member

    If they are carpenter ants, they will eat the boat, which makes it a time dependent calculation. Harvester ants will fill it with moldy mulch. If they are bullet ants, you will sink it yourself to get away from them. If they are Jack Jumpers, you might not live long enough to find out. Keep 'em all away. The formic acid in ants is one of the few common environmental chemicals that can destroy epoxy.
     
  9. hoytedow
    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 5,857
    Likes: 400, Points: 93, Legacy Rep: 2489
    Location: Control Group

    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    If they are crazy ants, more will be required, as they are a smaller species.
     
  10. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    An ant can lift 7 times its own weight therefore if you give them an oar a calculation of thrust can be calculated .

    Even accounting for weak or non co operative ants a serious thrust can be obtained with just a single oar.

    Fuel is a non issue as a sickly sugary solution is all thats required.

    at 100 million x 0,0003 grams this would be sufficient for a good days skiing.

    Mind you there is nothing worse than an under power so I would go for say a 500m ant power.
     
  11. daiquiri
    Joined: May 2004
    Posts: 5,371
    Likes: 258, Points: 93, Legacy Rep: 3380
    Location: Italy (Garda Lake) and Croatia (Istria)

    daiquiri Engineering and Design

    Gentlemen, your calculations are flawed because they do not take into account the transverse stability of the boat. :p
    AntsVersusBoat, picture a situation where they spot a bikini-clad blond antess sunbathing on a nearby beach. Yeah, I know - sunbathing on a beach is not a very common ant behavior, but it's a crazy world we live in.
    Now, if they all move to one side of the boat to see her better, they might capsize and sink your vessel even if it is not fully loaded with... ants.
    Isn't science such a wonderful thing? ;)
     
  12. hoytedow
    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 5,857
    Likes: 400, Points: 93, Legacy Rep: 2489
    Location: Control Group

    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    However, if the walking surface within the boat is in the shape of a cylinder connected to a drive shaft, all those ants running to one side of the boat can transfer the lateral motion through the use of a spiral piece of some material connected somehow at one end of the shaft, preferably immersed within the same medium upon which the boat floats. One might even refer to said spiral-ish contraption as a "propeller", which being on the shaft would rotate laterally instead of the hull, thereby preserving the lives of said miniature souls.
     
  13. gonzo
    Joined: Aug 2002
    Posts: 16,790
    Likes: 1,714, Points: 123, Legacy Rep: 2031
    Location: Milwaukee, WI

    gonzo Senior Member

    However, can the ants provide a scientific definition of whether they are planing or not?
     
  14. daiquiri
    Joined: May 2004
    Posts: 5,371
    Likes: 258, Points: 93, Legacy Rep: 3380
    Location: Italy (Garda Lake) and Croatia (Istria)

    daiquiri Engineering and Design

    Yes they can. You need to observe them carefully. If they're on left side of the hump, they're in displacement mode. If they're on the right side, they are planing. So simple... ;)
    (ok, this one was really cheap...)
     

  15. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    Having a bit of trouble getting a manufacturer for 500 million 2 mm long oars
     
Loading...
Forum posts represent the experience, opinion, and view of individual users. Boat Design Net does not necessarily endorse nor share the view of each individual post.
When making potentially dangerous or financial decisions, always employ and consult appropriate professionals. Your circumstances or experience may be different.