STEAM BOAT RACE CHALLENEGE (23rd of January, 2025)
The STEAM Boat Race was very fun and exciting challenge to go to. My group consisted of Dylan, Suchan, Alvin and I. Unfortunately, Alvin was unavailable as he was ill.
We had a boat design in mind that we were going to make but we later went for a simpler design to save time and materials needed. Our boat was a regular pentagonal shape. We completely wrapped it with water proof tape and connected pieces of the boat together using a different kind of tape.
We named our boat the ‘HMCS Fish‘ as HMCS stands for His/ Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship and Fish is a really nice name for ship. As we put down the ship into the water, Dylan and I helped Suchan (who would be racing in it) get on. Suddenly disaster struck, one of the corners gave way shortly after Suchan had gotten in. Our boat was taking in water. After a few more seconds and attempts to propel the boat, the boat sank. It was not successful and did not manage to float on its own.
One major thing I would change about our boat is increase the length. It was very short in length compared to the other boats that had floated for a long time. Secondly, I would add bulkheads to separate parts of the boat from each other in case it takes in water. Furthermore, I would reinforce the corners of the boat and the joints in general.
I personally believe that Dylan should have been the paddler and not Suchan because Dylan is the lightest one of our group. We also did not make paddles as we forgot to and paddling with hands only is less efficient. The boat itself could float just fine but its structure could not support the stress that Suchan added into its corner.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the boat race although our boat did not last very long and I look forward to more races and building challenges. (PS: plane race when?)