Carnegie Mellon Solar Splash

June 14, 2007

We're Here! (Solar Splash 2007: Day

Well, 11 CMSS members are here in partly sunny fayetteville, arkansas ready to show our stuff at the world champion ship of solar boating. Everyone had safe travels and stories about truck stop, long airport layovers, and other shenanigans.
This morning we drove the truck from our hotel to the competition site a few miles down the road. Everyone did their part to get everything safely unpacked. Having such a large team here at competition will certainly be fantastic both in getting work done and having a great time.
As the morning wore one, we finished unpacking/organizing all of our equipment and began preparing for the mechanical and electrical safety inspections. With only a few minor fixes (sanding some 'sharp' edges and adding wire ties), we were given the green light to continue with the water testing tomorrow.
After a long day we were shuttled to the University of Arkansas campus for a lecture by one of Wal-mart's Energy Sustainability executives. It gave us a different perspective of how/why Wal-mart choses to make it's business as 'green' or reduce it's carbon footprint. Even the companies harsh critics remained relatively silent after all was said and done.
The big news of the day is that Carnegie Mellon University's entrant in the 2007 World Championship of Solar/Electric Boating received incredibly high marks in the technical report, submitted approximately one (1) month prior to the competition's beginning. Well done to everyone who worked on this 80 page dossier!!
Day 2 begins at 8am tomorrow with a Skipper's meeting followed by the on water qualifiying events. Stay tuned to read how it goes!

And now, pictures!

The cockpit, cabin, galley (minus stove) of Nessie lying outside PA for the first time since it's birth.

Our paddock/home for the next week.

We are boat 14, no questions

Josh and Mike answering questions for the electrical inspection.

Our second place award for the technical report! Ain't it perty?

Mark accepting the award. Thank goodness there were no required speeches...

June 7, 2007

Long Overdue UPDATE

It has been quite some time since we at CMSS have updated this blog. Like always, the last month has been very exciting and consequently, very busy. We have completed the hull, propulsion, and electrical systems. We have field tested the boat at Lake Arthur where those who went got to drive the wild beast. We also were able to show off our research to the entire university at Meeting of the Minds, an event displaying various topics students have researched throughout the semester/year. After a long (but successful) day of presenting our work, we held a BBQ for both the team members, but more importantly to the sponsors, moral supporters, friends, and family of CMSS. It was a great time had by all and the food hit the spot. Hat's off to Bernie and his Business/Marketing team.

After finals, those who were still around campus took the boat north for a second round of testing. We crossed our fingers for a dry day... and later realized some extra fingers would have been nice. It was a sometimes wet, but always brisk day, but nothing short of a hurricane was going to stop Nessie nor her team! We spent the whole day on the lake testing how the boat performed as well as giving people the chance to drive. It was a good day and we were able to find some bugs in the system that needed to be worked out.

Next week, we will be headed to the competition. We are VERY excited to see how we stack up against the other competitors. Also exciting is the percentage of the team able to travel to Arkansas. It's going to be a great week of solar boating excitement!

And now for some pictures!

Meeting of the Minds

A panoramic shot of the boat, the many posters, and a tired team after an intense day of presenting.

CMSS members in action - spreading the good word of Nessie and her potential to rule the world!

Lluis explaining to two Ford ambassadors what the hull group researched before deciding on the final hull design.

A group photo of most everyone during the first annual CMSS post MoM BBQ. (FACMSSPMoMBBQ for short)

Some fine looking gentlemen all anxious to taste what they smell cooking on the grill

Lake Testing

Will looks over the propulsion system before the boat is put in the water.

Nessie's front end glistening in the water

Lluis heading off to do some official testing.

When the rain came, we just worked under this tarp. It was a good team building experience!

A bird's eye view of the boat's power system.

A closer look at some of the electrical components that powers the propulsion system.

The gearing, complete with belt tensioner in the propulsion system.

Autopilot...

Yours truly in the boat!! If this isn't shameless self indulgence, i don't know what is!

-Andrew

Writer's Note: There will be frequent updates while we are in Arkansas. We will be keeping our supporters up to speed on the happenings in the deep south.

May 6, 2007

More Float Test Pictures + Propulsion Update

Propulsion Update:

(Reduces risk of heart attacks: 9/10 Doctors agree)

In the closing week before Meeting of the Minds, the propulsion group has been working at a frenetic pace to both implement a new tensioning system, as well as replace the parts which failed during testing at Lake Arthur.

Mark and Will adding some final touches to the newly fiberglassed Lower Unit before mounting it.

Holes have been drilled into the transom and the system has been successfully mounted on the boat.

The new beefy 1/4" thick parts should provide the much needed support where the previous parts failed. Plus, we have some delicious looking new FEA pics detailing some concentration areas for the future:

In addition to our work on the mount, I was also able to get a few fleeting pictures (~200) of this weekend's float test. The following are the better of the bunch:

Taking the boat up Forbes to the utter amazement of all onlookers

My own "Abby Road" rendition

Our motor mount awaits mounting on the boat

"Gently" placing Nessie in the water

Fixing the propulsion system to the boat

Lluis: a man who needs no introduction, but often requires an explanation

No where else in the world do bag piping and solar boating mesh so well together

Chunks of Aluminum + Motors + 8 months of work = Absolutely Beautiful

I believe this picture is best described by a quote from Frederick Nietzsche:
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into the boat, the boat gazes also into you."

Attaching and inspecting the solar panels

Lluis is enjoying a bit of R&R in the assembled boat

Mark and Brian taking a turn in the boat

Kaufman washing down Nessie after a successful float test

Squeaky clean and ready for action during MoM and during next week's lake testing

That's all for now, and check back for Meeting of the Minds coverage later this week.
- Mark

Nessie Finally Spotted!

Today we put the new boat (officially named Nessie) in the water!!

Before we put the boat in the water, we met, and had a short meeting about travel to competition in Arkansas and what needs to be done to tie up any loose ends with the boat's completion. After a quick bite to eat, we all headed to the boat yard and began working on various items so the boat could be put in the water by the days end with all the components installed. Once we finished all of this work, we packed the solar panels, motor mount, batteries, tools, etc into Josh and Lluis's cars and headed to the lake. Nessie took an alternate route via the Carnivore's retrofitted hand trailer. Not only did it catch looks from people walking, but everyone passing by on Forbes Ave sure was interested in what we were up to.

Upon reaching the pond, we began to unload the gear. First was the boat, it went in smoothly and sat in the water just as we had hoped/designed. Lluis was the first to jump in the boat and move around to test the boat without any of the components inside. "This feels better than that time I went to Miami and went swimming with the dolphins!” were the words uttered from his mouth as he sat in the boat.

We then put the batteries, solar panels, and motor mount onto the boat. We recorded how the boat sat in the water for each additional piece of weight. Everything went as planned. The only change that needs to be made is the depth of our lower unit and propeller. As is, it sits too low in the water, which is not advantageous for efficient boat performance.

Of course, we still have the dashboard, steering, and other cockpit related items to install and this will be done at Lake Arthur when we can test the boat in a dynamic setting. Due to how the boat will plane and sit in the water when she moves, the position of the driver is key to an optimal performance.

We have a little over a month until Fayetteville, and there is much to do between now and then. However, after today we all can take a deep breath of relief and know that we have one sexy floating boat.

Lake testing will take place in about a week, so stay tuned to see how that went.

And now for pictures!