Human Powered Boat

sharpii2: ... start sketching, maggot
Yuck. Is that a Marine Corps thing?

Okay, the sewer pipe argument is convincing. I don't know very many NA formulas. This is all I have:
2200 lb == 34 ft^3 disp. in seawater.
Taking hull draft == half the beam (circular section @ max beam 1/2 submerged),
block volume * block coef. == disp.
20 ft lwl * B * (B/2) * .4 == 34 ft^3
That gets you beam == 3 ft.

Should right itself quickly (w/ weight kept low) when it gets knocked over, although it might be a little tender.

 

ergo boat pics

Hi Solomon and others.

I'm going to try today something I have never tried before. I'm going to try to post a thumb nail. It will be a pic of my concept drawing of a hull for the human powered boat. Here goes.

Its numbers are:

L = 20ft
B = 4ft
Displ. = 2200lbs full load, 1000lbs min. load, and approx.450lbs empty wt.
PC =0.48
WA = 64sft full load and 47sft min. load.

I invite any and all comments.

Bob

 

Going to build it in my shop here in PT.

 

Hpv

Have you looked into an elliptical rider as another means of power instead of a stair stepper. I have entertained the idea myself but never acted or dreamed of anything that ambitious. I just find that the elliptical takes less effort to keep moving and you can use your arms and legs. Also the large wheel could be part of a ring and pinion set up. You could gear the wheel to a pinion and match your desired rpm. Don't know how much effort it would take to push a propeller though. Just my two cents hope it helps.

 

There really is a great deal of information on the web regarding Human Power. I have made a preliminary design that includes pedals on a crank turning a relatively large primary gear/flywheel on CL that is directly turning a smaller drive gear on a shaft that runs athwartship just aft of the main gear. This shaft would be able to slide a few inches port and starboard to allow for up to 3 different gear ratios by manually sliding the shaft to each gear.
Here's the fun part... Instead of having the shaft exit the hull at the back of the boat, the shaft terminates with a sprocket in a small well at the stern. A rudimentary outdrive conststing of shafts and bevel gears takes power from the main shaft sprocket via a chain. Viola no through holes and I can carry an extra outrdive just in case. The 22" 2 bladed carbon fiber prop. should be spinning about 60 to 90 rpm most of the time. I figured out I can make them in my shop and they would come out better than if I tried to make one out of aluminum. I'll probably wind up making a few before I get any "keepers", but there's not mich material in the prop. really.
As for the hull design, well that is still up in the air, I got a new job with an aluminum boat mfr. so maybe I could work out a deal for modeling and NC files from someone and maybe also get a good deal on stock the next time we get a boat cut. Who knows?
Solomon Grundy

 

Along long time ago, I had a grade school classmate that had an interesting contraption. It was pedal and backpowered. It had a bicycle crank with a rod connected to the drive axcel. the rod pinned to the bottom end of a lever. One would sit on this thing and pedal and "row" at the same time. It was faster than bikes, trikes and 'big wheels'. It had an agreable motion to it also. The mechanism was very simple. Often though a flywheel with this system would be a great sea going system.

Good luck with your project.

 

Just to bring the endurance part up...are you really feeling capable (physically) to endure such a voyage? Is it really safe whatsoever? Perhaps have a chaseboat (and liferaft, but obviously an EPIRB)? Consult your physician in any case.

 

Why are you doing this?

 

why

boby boy,
1) Because it has not been done before.
2) Because I can do it.
3) Because it warrants an attempt.

mackid,
A chaseboat is out of the question as far as finances go. I'm paying for all of the initial outlay myself. I don't expect much interest in sponsorship until after the shakedown cruise fm CA to HI. So basicaly I have to get that far at least, with help from only a few friends, machineists and designers mostly.
I'm an aluminum boatbuilder so I'll save some on labor...
Yes, full coms., gps, radar proximity alarm, desalinator, epirb etc. will be aboard. It should take 3 years and some change.

 

Hi Solomen

Math looks good. Mechanism looks complicated. So many different gears. And at least part of the drive shaft is going to have to be above the max load WL.
Also, the drive unit is going to have to have some kind of seal to keep the gears from coroding unless the gears and chains are made out of a non ferrus material. Aluminum perhaps.
I, myself, would go with a bicycle derailure for the gear ratios and a through hull shaft that would probably be made out of aluminum. That way, all the gearing could be kept in the boat where it is easiest to work on and the shaft as well as the bearing holder and stuffing box could be made out of the same material as the hull.
I estimate that the end of the prop shaft will have to be at least 12in below the hull at that point.

Best of luck

Bob

 

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=43717
Greatest Distance By Pedal Boat
Kenichi Horie of Kobe, Japan, set a pedal-boating distance record of 7,500 km (4,660 miles), leaving Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, on October 30, 1992 and arriving at Naha, Okinawa, Japan, on February 17, 1993.

looking up on this one (he did quit a few crossings) i could not find much...

 

Amazing guy

Amazing guy!
Here's a website about him: http://www.op97.k12.il.us/cyberteen/2000/summer/voyages.html

 

Best of luck with the building, and, obviously, with the journey. Make sure to keep us all updated!

 

We are just getting started, so look forward to more posts and updates
...

 

Will do.