2nd Grade Boat designs

I have made a seach of this site and of the net, but I have not seen many ideas of boat design or pictures.

Rules boats must be homemade. The boat will be put in a pool and go from one side to the other with the fastest boat winning... pool length unspecified.

The students are graded on:
What the boat is made of
How the boat was made.

So I can get somewhat tricky...

Ideas I was looking to build from:

2L soda bottle cut in half with a low weight stabelizer and a balloon for propulsion. How do I ensure a balloon pushes it straight.

Other design ideas welcomed. Milk carton? styrofoam?

Little fan attached migh be considered to violate home made idea... your thoughts there as well ( like the kind that is AA operated )

Thanks for your advice

 

We used to have parties with a keg of beer and all makings for model boats with really interesting prizes for the fastest boat. You had to build the boat out of the materials made available. Soda Straws, cardboard(like old file folders), fast drying acrylic sealer, paint stir sticks, hot melt glue guns, Tyvek,etc... you get the idea...It was good fun.

 

To keep the boat going straight without external guidance, you need a fixed keel/rudder set well aft, plus ballast and/or flotation to keep the boat upright.

Threads:
Help, School Project
Need Help

 

If those are the only rules? Anything can be used. Build the boat out of a piece of 2 X 4 by about 12" long. Curve the front up. Rear, straight cut across. Put it in the pool and hit the back HARD with a long hardwood mallet that is used in lawn games. Should cover 15' fast. Longer race, give us the distance and motor types allowed AND not allowed. Hopefully money will not wing the race. ( a class D rocket motor ). I use model airplane rubberband to power all 90 boats I give away each year.

 

My youngest son was in such a contest many years ago. We made a catamaran out of styrafoam. Put two big aluminum rudders aft and rigged a square sail. If the race is down wind, nothing else can stay with it.

 

The boat will be small in size... no cargo required. Looking into more race details from teacher... I dont want to take the project from my daughter, but the idea is tempting... Still, what kind of father would I be to let her go it ALL alone?

 

Hi Chesspupil,
You are a man after my own heart. I do not know how many times my daughter who is 11 has got mad at me for doing most of her project for her. God love our children they have no idea how tough it is for us parants. hehehe Good Luck