How do you build a makeshift canoe out of unconventional materials that can hold 4 people and go really fast?
There is a contest at our university for students to build and race a boat out of non-traditional boat materials (no pre made-parts, oars, etc.). The prize is $800! We only have 2 days, but are more than willing to get down to business. We are thinking that some sort of canoe design would be the most effective. We also have to build paddles. Should we have 4 paddles to each use individually or a set of 2 oars each? Please help.
While there are reasons for the boat to be light, they aren’t overwhelming reasons. You’ll have 600 pounds of humans on board, so if the boat is 150 pounds versus 50 pounds, it is not a huge percentage.
Who wins Olympic races? Really long skinny rowing boats. Like 10 or 11 inches wide. With 4 very highly trained, muscular rowers each pulling on one or two oars (sweep versus skull). With the oars in outriggers about 2 feet off the sides of the boat and the rowers on sliding seats.
BUT unless you’re going to get the sliding seats, the outriggers, the four hunky, well trained guys together in two days, you’re looking at something more like a regular canoe.
A canoe at 36″ wide is pretty dang stable. At 30″ wide, is it still easy enough to paddle with a little practice. Touring/ocean kayak are 20 to 24″ wide, but the center of gravity is MUCH lower in a kayak (your butt is below the water line) and at that width, they are VERY sensitive to raising the COG.
Length helps speed. A lot. Generally boat speed is the square root of its water line. A 10 foot canoe goes about 3 mph cruising (but I can crank it up to 5 mph). A 16 foot kayak goes 4 mph easily (but 7 mph in a sprint). A 36 foot sail boat goes 6 mph. All of that holds with modest muscle or wind input. A very light sailboat with a planing hull and a big spinnaker can skim faster over the water. A ski boat with 200 hp can do whatever it wants. But with muscles – length helps.
Construction: I’d allot 30 inches for each rower, unless they’re over 6’3″. Maybe a strongback form (see URL below) with 3/4″ plywood every 30″ to create 4 rower compartments. Add another 4 feet to each end to make it pointy. 48+30+30+30+30+48 = 216 inches = 18 feet. But, again, longer is better.
Skin it with 1/8″ plywood (about $25/sheet at Home Depot). Dry fit it, trim it (big shop shears work), test fit with sheet rock screws. When it all looks good, re-assemble with 2-part 5-minute epoxy between the 1/8″ and 3/4″ forms and put screws in every 3″.
The bow and stern will be the trickest geometry and you’ll need to play with it a bit. “tortured plywood” is the concept here. Probably put an additional 3/4″ plywood form in there to keep the curvature smooth.
If it had to be more nontraditional, use aluminum metal house siding to skin the boat. You can get it in 16′ lengths by 3 and 4 feet wide.
Defintely use 4 paddles. Bigger than average blade area so you can put more power through them.
Leave yourself time to get some practice and some rest before the race.
Have fun.
How to Steer and Paddle a Canoe : How to Paddle Efficiently in Canoeing
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