Hovercraft Designer

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Admin
Hovercraft Designer

Hovercraft Designer

Boat race day at the University of Waikato has been held annually for nine years and marks the completion of the first-year engineering paper. As part of the course, students work in teams to design, build and race seaworthy model boats; thereby putting into practice that which has been learned in theory.

Talking with engineering technician, Brett Nichol said in earlier years the students designed sailing yachts or hovercraft. More recently, they have designed radio-controlled power boats.

Boat Race 2010

This year, students had 15 hours of practical work time in which to complete their boats. Teams of six to eight students built two boats each, making a total of 44 boats. The boats were up to 700mm long and weighed between 2 and 3 kilograms. Of the 44 boats built, 31 were deemed seaworthy and ready to race on the day.