The Hull Design team kickstarted the project by conducting research in hull design aspects and software for the canoe. All of the shapes of the canoe used in the past competitions were outlined including straight or flared tumblehome, flat, shallow-arch, or round rocker, and stern or shallow v-hull.

Another aspect of research included which software to use in order to design and analyze the stability and resistance of the canoe. The software will allow us to test different designs and see which would have the most beneficial properties. A total of ten software programs have been analyzed by comparing their positives and negatives. We have narrowed the list down to three software programs of BearBoat, MaxSurf, and FreeSurf.

The research found on past winners of the ASCE National Canoe Competition in the past few years will serve as testing grounds for us to see which is the most ideal software to use. Bobby and Jack plan to analyze several hull designs in order to provide variety and see which has the most beneficial aspects.

The Mix Design team went to the lab on Friday to become familiar with mixing concrete for practicality purposes. The team made a progression of three separate mixes in 3 cubes each. We based all three of our mixes using the standard 3 part stone, 2 part sand, 1 part portland cement, and water formula. Mix 1 consisted of stone aggregates with a wide range of sizes taken from the soils lab. For Mix 2, we used smaller aggregates by pouring the stone through a 3/8″ sieve. For Mix 3, we crushed more stone and then run it through the 3/8″ sieve. During this mix, we used a blender to mix all 3 materials into a consistent mix and added enough water in an attempt to balance the strength and workability. All three mixes were poured into the cube forms in a few rodded layers. Finally, we covered the forms with wet burlap to contain the moisture in the concrete. We will wait 2 weeks for the concrete to cure and follow up with testing its strength and comparing the properties of the three different mixes.