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Thursday, July 29, 2010

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Royalton students build solar boat

ROYALTON - The Royalton High School Design Engineering students built a solar boat for the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society annual solar regatta at Lake Phalen in St. Paul.

Area residents got a firsthand look at the boat as it was part of the Fourth of July Parade in Brainerd. The boat was named Tropheus, which means sunset in Latin.

The boat received the first place trophy for innovative design and took a second place trophy in the experimental performance category. The boat was designed in a Design Engineering class and built in an alternative Energies class by Tech Club members. Students spent countless hours before and after school constructing the boat, said Marty Bratsch, design engineering instructor and team adviser.

"The classes inspire an emphasis for the use of alternative and green energies," Bratsch said. "The boat allowed students to get a great understanding of solar power and its applications in their futures.

The solar boat built by Royalton High School Design Engineering students is named Tropheus, meaning sunset in Latin. The boat is 12 feet long and 77 inches wide and operates with batteries charged by a Sharp photovoltaic solar cell in the spoiler.
Submitted Photo

"Our goal was to build the best boat that we could by creating our own design that would reflect us as a group. We wanted to build an icon, something that was cool and everyone would appreciate, something we could be proud of. Hopefully when students are involved with a project of this magnitude they get a real understanding of what is possible and what they are capable of."

Bratsch said he believes teaching students to succeed goes well beyond doing low level projects the easy way.

"It's about doing things the right way," he said. "To often we say 'good enough' but in doing so we destroy all kinds of great possibilities. People and students will not forget the boat the design team made because they put their hearts in it."

The boat was designed by students in the Design Engineering class. Sketches were turned into technical drawings with the help of designers at Newman's Manufacturing. The body was built by using a fiberglass mold that was designed by students and built by the Larson boat company. The body has one layer of gel coat and two layers of fiberglass.

The body was then base coated with DuPont black paint. The green fire graphics were then painted by a local professional Rick Edgell followed by two coats of clear coat.

The Royalton High School Design Engineering students built a solar boat for the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society annual solar regatta at Lake Phalen in St. Paul and took first place. Students included Derek Fussy (left), Brittany Martinez, Tara Gottwalt and Anthony Griffin.
Submitted Photo

Students built and tested scale models before constructing the boat. Pontoons were sculpted from polystyrene foam with seven pieces of foam - two inches thick by 16 inches wide by 144 inches long - used to form a rectangle. Students used rasps and files to form the pontoon shapes from the rectangles.

All work was done by hand, remarkably creating an almost identical shape. The pontoons were then encapsulated in fiberglass and finished with a catalyzed water proof finish. Pontoons have a 2.5 inch by three inch C channel base for support and protection.

The deck, 100 inches long by 70 inches in width, was made of aluminum tubing, foam and fiberglass.

The frame then received a layer of .25 inch marine plywood followed by four inches of extruded polystyrene foam. The middle section of the deck was then covered by brushed aluminum and finished in steel blue. Both the front and back of the deck were layered with fiberglass and finished with a catalyzed waterproof finish. The body was made from a previous mold designed by technology education students. The uprights and spoiler fin were designed, formed and built by the tech club students.

The boat is powered by two 101 pounds thrust electric motors that are remote controlled. Batteries are charged by a Sharp photovoltaic solar cell in the spoiler.

Tropheus is 12 feet long and 77 inches wide. It has digital gauges, GPS, rear and front view cameras and an updraft ventilation system that pulls in cool air from the water's surface. Wiring for boat was done by students under the direction of Todd Griffin.

Bratsch reported the students have varied interests and are going into several different directions, but said "the research, design and the importance of working with alternative energies will stay with them the rest of their lives."

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