Man powered boat

[Rungeg]

This may be a little funny but a few of my friends and I are having a man powered boat crash derby on his lake. The rules are as follows:

6' x 10' total size
No metal except for screws or nails holding the boat together.
you must have a 30' rope tied to a bumper so we can get the sank boats out of the lake.
3 people per boat

The two ideas that I have are
1. get a few sealed plastic barrels, and put a wooden frame on them, have two people row, and have the third person carry a sharpened dowl to poke holes (in other vessels).

2. Go get an old man powered lake paddle boat, and have the third person with the dowl.

I am looking for ideas, and suggestions.
By the way I dont want to spend any money. Or very little

[Jeffrey Porter]

i don't think i can help much, but here in bermuda we have the non-mariners race once a year. basically several groups of people enter. they put together a non-boat. it's supposed to float (although it doesn't have to but it must get off the beach) they go out and around a bouy and return to the beach. along the way most of the craft fall apart, sink and have water ballons thrown at them from the other participants. all of the non-craft usually have a political theme (got plenty of those here). then the entry that makes it back first recieves the non-trophy. they use anything to make them. but the barrels with either plywood or pallets on top is a good start. also all entries are man powered. although i don't think they would allow a sharpened piece of dowel here.

[Wilafur]

dunno about the shaprened dowel part cause if he gets overzealous he may end up stabbing some folks.

[Fat Man]

You'll put your eye out kid!

[TheBimbo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7518208#post7518208 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fat Man
You'll put your eye out kid!


:lol: Nina's comment earlier made you think of that one huh??? I thought of it as soon as that was read...


Christy...:rollface:

[Rungeg]

On a funny note, my avatar at cincyreef is Ralphie with a bar of soap in his mouth. But seriously, does anyone have any ideas. I am thinking of putting three barrels in an I formation, then putting a piece of plywood over them, drilling holes in the plywood so I can use a rope to secure the barrels, and tehn put a rail on it as well as skirting.

[TheBimbo]

Wouldn't plywood make it tooo heavy??? Would particle board be any lighter??? And railings on it also??? how about rigging some pvc piping for that... are you going to tie the barrels together really tight??? I've see this where as soon as the craft was in the water, the first thing to go were the barrels... You have to take photos of this and the event, you do know this, right???


Christy...

[Rungeg]

There will definately be photos, as there are 8 teams, and plenty of people to watch us and laugh.

[Jeffrey Porter]

particle board might fall apart too quickly. plywood probably wouldn't be too heavy for 3 barrels full of air. take some pictures and send them to me. the non-mariners race i think is in end of july or beginning of august here. by then i should have long had my new camera and i'll send some pictures. sometimes the simpler your boat the longer it may last in your race and the less damage that can be inflicted on it. give me the afternoon to see if i can think of any ideas.

[Rungeg]

Here are the official rules:

First Annual Lake Boner
Demolition Derby

June 17, 2006

Rules and Regulations:
1) The boat must be made of wood and plastic.
2) The only metal allowed is minor pieces such as screws, nails, bolts, etc.
3) Powering the boat will be team members with oars/paddles.
4) The maximum size of the core of the boat is eight foot by twelve foot.
5) Teams are made of three people and all three will be in the boat at time of battle.
6) There must be side walls so that the boat can hold water and sink.
7) The boat must theoretically be sinkable i.e. no Styrofoam or barrels to support and keep the boat floating is allowed.
8) All boats must have a rope with floatation device attached so that sunken vessels can be retrieved from Lake Boner.
9) If there are more than four teams there will be two heats and then a championship match between the two winners.
10) Each team will start in their own corner and then converge in the middle to do battle.
11) Any team caught out of battle for an extended period of time will be disqualified.
Ex) You can not wait for the others to damage each other and then come in at the end like a little girl for the kill.
12) All boats will have to pass an inspection before the event starts.

[Jeffrey Porter]

that kinda lets the air out of your tires so to speak. pick your wood carefully you don't want to fall through it it 10 minutes. they didn't mention anything in the rules about a manual powered bilge did they. when you make your topless coffin you may want to put a few pieces of wood across to make some baffles that way if water is coming in more on one side you can all jump onto the dryer side till you get the water out. don't trip. also instead of buckets to bail out get some flat sided scoops. you can get water out faster. as for attacking the others maybe if your boat can take it get a 4x4 tie a rope to it and throw it at the sides of the others then put it in and do it again. also try some water ballons full of shaving cream or something to blind the others while you destroy their boats.

[Rungeg]

Nice ideas. I was thinking of incorporating the tank building with plywood method, and build a box with a wooden ring around the top for support, and water proof epoxy on the wood so that it is water proof. I would run 2x4s throughout for suppport. There is supposedly a pump that you can get at HD that hooks to a power drill that way I can pump water out of the lake into other veseels, also was thinking of getting a fence post and drilling holes in it for handles to use as a ram. Also if you had a manual water cannon you can extend the hose into the lake, and just keep pumping it for pressure. I was also going to put a top on it with just three holes cut out about chest level so that very little water can come in. I am trying to think of something that I can put around the upper portion, so that the boat is harder to break.

[Rungeg]

By the way I have a design for a nice raceing raft if you want them.

[NewMariner]

Heres my thought...

Get a bicycle type setup with gears to hook up to a propeller, then you can have 1 or 2 men paddling the boat. Then you create a wood arrow if you will underneath the water surface to pierce the hull of the other boats. It would use the same concept the CSS Merrimac used during the Civil War to sink ships....

That would be fun!

[Jeffrey Porter]

i think you should get a liability waiver before you begin. you don't want to be charged for manslaughter or attempted murder. supposed to be a fun afternoon right.

[Rungeg]

We are all friends, there shouldn't be a problem with the liability. We all know that we will propably get hurt.

[Jeffrey Porter]

well i guess when you finish you all get drunk then ask yourself the next morning why am i wrapped like a mummy and missing a couple of fingers. hope the person taking the pics stays on shore. can't think of any more ideas.

[Rungeg]

I appreciate everyones help, and I will try and post pics later.

[O'Man]

Protecting the barrels with wood is a good idea. If you can make the waterline high enough you could hide a drain, just open it up & let the water flow. Like a scupper or "self bailing" boat :D