Cardboard Boat Project

Hey guys, for my physics class I have to make a cardboard boat that is able to support 2 people. The rules are i can only use cardboard from boxes, and regular clear packing tape. I and my teammate must navigate the boat from one end of the pool back to the start.... Any tips or suggestions, or heck, even designs to help me out?

 

are you allowed to paint it? if so, get some outdoor type paint, that could help..

 

use the shiny cardboard that have the pictures and stuff on it so that it repels the water a little more than the normal brown cardboard thats just gonna soak it up like a sponge, and lots of tape like chris said

 

ya tape up the whole bottom of the hull, inside and out. then layer another "sheet" of it on top and use more tape

also for the bottom try to use a pretty generous surface area

oh and lose weight haha jk

 

This...and go to your local grocery store and head to the produce dept. ask them if they have any cardboard boxes with wax on them like the apple boxes. pineapple, etc.

 

x2!

 

id say look into designs of birch bark canoes. use rolled cardboard for thwarts and to reinforce the keel. the stronger your boat is torsionally the faster you will be able to paddle it, and you should be able to make it down and back before it starts getting too waterlogged (and sinks)

i would also recommend adding some kind of skeg/rudder to aid in stability. something like what you would see on a surfboard

 

X2
I think they are hard to find, but piano boxes are super think and float when wet.

 

or you could go the tom sawyer/ huck finn route and roll up a shit ton of cardboard and make yourselves a raft.

is this event being timed as part of the competition?

 

http://blog.macsales.com/tag/cardboard-boat
http://www.ehow.com/how_4844388_cardboard-boat.html

 

Pickup a used yamaha 90hp 2 stroke for power. Make the hull so thick that if you sink you'll hit the bottom before you really sink.

In all seriousness though I think the tape in alternating directions is a good idea.

 

http://www.westportmarina.com/Cardboard/default.htm

 

treat it like a composite with using fibers as cardboard and resin the tape

 

This is actually a popular project. Many have been done before...one was even made to carry a trolling motor. you can find a lot of information on line.

I would build it row boat like. Make the bottom into a series of tubes (square is fine) and cover with tape. Link them together and build the sides. This way, you're relying more on the air pockets than the cardboard itself. The key is a good seal with tape. Recommend at least 2 layers.

 

I recommend you use an refridgerator shipping box, 5 ply and plenty of strength for the outer shell. Fold the corners in like origami instead of cutting out the excess material.

Then create solid formers or bulkheads to give it shape. Flat bottom for stability, like a "jon boat". You don't need speed, pointy front or rounded sides for waves.

For the bulkheads, do what they say and make plywood by using multiple sheets with varying directions to the "grain" of the cardboard.

 

bigger the better. objects float due to water displacement. so go big. and lots of tape.

 

Myth busters did something like this iirc, look for the episode.