Meet The Team
Tim Albano – Steering Lead, Project Manager
As the team member tasked primarily with steering and ergonomics, Tim’s role is to design a lightweight, low profile, robust steering system. The outgoing design utilized a handlebar setup, which upon testing was found to be uncomfortable in the narrow hull, as it forced the skipper’s elbows too wide. Additionally, the orientation of the handlebars made for a somewhat awkward steering motion, which was further exacerbated by the twist-grip throttle.
To address this, a new steering system was designed that incorporates a more traditional butterfly steering wheel for better ergonomics, an integrated paddle-style hand throttle for safer power delivery, a new steering cable setup for better precision, and a radial drive wheel/quadrant for more consistent control.
Chris Anfuso – Hull Design Lead
Chris’s primary role is to take the existing hull, which was designed last year but never fully tested, and suitably modify it to accommodate all the changes to the remaining subsystems of the boat. The goal is to achieve a displacement hull for the Endurance event and a planing hull for the Sprint and Slalom events, which will require careful placement of the contents within the boat, including the location of the skipper, dashboard, electrical systems, and motor amongst other items.
Since taking on the project, the hull was refinished by cutting away the imperfections, re-fiberglassed for added structural integrity, sealed for better waterproofing, and painted for aesthetics. Additionally, a keel was added down the center for improved performance in the water, while the necessary modifications have all been made to accommodate the other subsystems of the boat.
Andrew Gutman – Drivetrain Lead, Webmaster
Andrew is responsible for design and fabrication of the drivetrain. The outgoing design utilized a single motor for both the Sprint/Slalom and Endurance events with a way to engage different drive ratios via a unique tensioner pulley, which was deemed insufficient and in need of a total redesign. In order to accomplish this, new in-house motors were used, and an all-new motor mount was designed and fabricated to accommodate them.
The new setup still features a unique motor configuration for each of the competition’s events, but it uses two motors instead of one. For the Sprint and Slalom events, both motors will be active to provide maximum power since efficiency is negligible, while for the Endurance event, one of the motors will be decoupled to preserve the system’s efficiency since outright speed is no longer a concern. To switch between the different drive ratios needed for the different events, a unique drive coupling system has been created that removes the need for disassembly.
An additional challenge came in the form of propeller and its location in relation to the hull. As it stood, the outgoing design placed the lower unit’s output shaft too close to the hull, and as such, it was rectified with a new standoff design in order to achieve the planing and displacement hull characteristics necessary to perform competitively. For that same reason, the lower unit for the Sprint/Slalom was remade to be shorter, while the one for the Endurance was remade to be longer.
Kyle Rosica – Electrical Systems Lead
Kyle’s primary responsibility is the design of the electrical system. Since the new drivetrain setup sees the use of new motors, the outgoing electrical system design was completely overhauled. The number of closed circuits, number of motor controllers, and overall circuit design were all dependent on these new motors, and the necessary changes were made to accommodate them.
The new circuit addresses the discrepancies of the previous circuit with a bypass system and separate configurations for Sprint/Slalom and Endurance. This shift in design, regardless of motor selection, was also something that necessitated an all-new electrical philosophy. The goal of the new circuit was to create a simple and competitive design that provides the boat with optimal performance in all aspects of the competition.
Dr. Karen Yan – Advisor
Dr. Norman Asper – Advisor
Regina Cadillac – Advisor