Using Technology to Teach Technology

Sail Boat Construction
Wind power is the key here, or should I say surface area! Given a fixed pressure blast of air, the larger the sail area, the greater the amount of pressure exerted to move this sailboat down its designated track. Drag is also a factor, or resistance to the movement of the sailboat through the water. To cut down on this, a double pontoon system has been utilized. Likewise, the underside hull has been shaped in a deep V to facilitate its glidepath.
Notice the back of the pontoons have been weighted down with mass (coins tapped to pontoons) to cause the front of the pontoons to protrude out of the water at a greater angle. This causes the boat forward hull not to submerge underwater from the moment arm created with the mast and sail force. A systematic process of quantitative data was gathered to determine the optimum amount of mass at a given sail pressure. Finally, one might observe the mast support structure, and the shape of the mast itself, as geometric triangles were employed.

Crash 'Em/ Rocketteers/ Shake it up Baby