Solar Boat Kit

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Copyright ©2007

Kidwind Project
2093 Sargent Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55105
http://www.kidwind.org
This work may not be reproduced by mechanical or electronic means without
written permission from KidWind, except for educational uses by teachers in a
classroom situation or a teacher training workshop. For permission to copy
portions or all of this material for other purposes, such as for inclusion in other
documents please contact Michael Arquin at the KidWind Project at
michael@kidwind.org.

The production of the kits and other materials related to wind energy have been
generously supported by these agencies.

We would like to thank the Wright Center for Science Education at Tufts University
for giving us the time and space to develop a nugget of an idea into a useful
project for hundreds of teachers.

We would also like to thank Trudy Forsyth at National Wind Technology Center and
Richard Michaud at the Boston Office of the Department of Energy for having the
vision and foresight to help keep the KidWind Project going! Lastly we would like
to thank all the teachers for their keen insights and feedback on making these
wind turbine kits and materials first rate!

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 Advanced Solar Boat Kit
Kit Contents
◊ (2) Solar Panels (1.5 V 500mA)
◊ (2) DC Motors
◊ (2) Alligator Clips
◊ (2) 3’ Pieces of Wire
◊ (1) Pink Foam Hull (6”x12”)
◊ (2) Motor Clips
◊ (1) Drilled Plywood Deck (6”x8”)
◊ (2) Steel Driveshaft (4”)
◊ (4) Propellers (white, red, yellow, black)
◊ (1) Mounting Tape (18”)
◊ (2) 2” Screw
◊ (3) Pieces of balsa for rudder
◊ (1) Protractor
◊ (1) Low Voltage Water Pump
◊ (1) 2 Feet — 1/4” Tubing
◊ (1) 6” 1/8” diameter tubing
◊ (1) Power Output Board

Other Items Needed:

Scissors or Hobby Knife, Duct tape, Screwdriver. Wire stripper.

These instructions will help you build a solar powered boat and get you motoring
away exploring solar energy. As technology advances, solar energy is rapidly
becoming a viable energy source for many applications. This document will give
you ideas for lessons and experiments and help you learn more about solar
energy. Additionally, it offers some background information on solar panels and
how they work.

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 Part A: Building the Hull
1. There are many ways to design the hull for your
solar boat. To begin, use the pink foam flotation
included in your kit. Use a marker to draw a boat
design on the foam. Any design will work, but for
an optimal boat design, see the tips about drag
discussed later. Make sure it is large enough to
float the motor and solar panel! Be creative!
2. **ADULT HELP NEEDED!!** Using a hobby
knife or serrated blade, cut out your boat shape.

Part B: Preparing the Deck, Motor, and Driveshaft

1. Look at the plywood deck and the drilled
holes. The holes are used to secure the motor
clip to the deck. You may attach your motor
mount at any of these points except the slit at
the back end of the deck. Place your foam hull
under the plywood deck, securing it with one
or two strips of double-sided tape. Be sure
that the slit at the back of the deck is
holes
unobstructed because your driveshaft must
slide through this hole to get to the water!

2. Using the 2” screw, attach the motor clip to any of the 5 mounting holes. You
should drive the screw straight through the pink foam flotation so it sticks out
the bottom. This will serve as your rudder mount. As you screw down on the
motor clip, the clip will tighten and change shape. Test your motor in the clip
as you tighten to make sure it fits securely.
driveshaft 3. Chose one motor. Push a 1” piece of the
rubber tubing onto the driveshaft of the motor.
Do not push the rubber tubing all the way to the
bottom of the driveshaft, or it can drag on the
motor and slow down.

4. Choose either the red or white propeller to attach to

your 4” steel driveshaft. The RED propeller fits
very tightly and you may need to push hard and
twist it on, but it will fit securely. If you choose the
WHITE propeller, you will notice the hole seems too
large. Slide a small piece of 1” rubber tubing onto
the end of the driveshaft. Then slip the white
propeller over the rubber tube and it will fit snugly.

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4. Slide the other side of the driveshaft up
through the slit in the back of the deck
(make sure your propeller is facing down
into the water). Fit the driveshaft with the
propeller into the 1” rubber tube you have
attached to the motor. You will need to
push and twist a little bit, but it is important that this is a tight connection.

5. Clip the motor into the clip and double-

check that it fits tightly. If it is too loose,
you can turn the screw to tighten the clip. If
it is too tight and the motor does not fit,
loosen the screw.

Part C: Attaching the Solar Panel and Rudder

1. Position the solar panel where it will catch
the most sun. The top deck of your boat is a
perfect place. The solar panel can be
attached to the wooden deck using the two
sided mounting tape. One experiment you
can try is to change the angle of the solar
panel on the deck. You want the sun’s rays
to hit the solar panel at a 90 degree angle
(perpendicular), so before you tape the
panel on the deck, set your angle where you
want it.

2. You need to attach the wires from the motor to

the solar panel. The solar panel has two terminals
— positive and negative. Slide one of your
stripped wires from the motor through the
positive lead and the other through the negative
lead. Loop the wires over themselves, but DO
NOT ATTACH THEM PERMANENTLY! Depending on
which wire you attach the motor will spin
clockwise or counter-clockwise. If you want your
boat to go forward using the propellers included,
Polarity of they have to spin counter-clockwise. Test the
leads boat in the sunlight to get this right. If your
motor seems to be spinning the wrong way,
simply switch the wires at the solar panel.

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3. At this point, your boat is nearly complete! It
will have about 1” of a screw poked out of the
bottom. This is a perfect place to mount a
rudder. A rudder will keep your boat going
straight as an arrow. Without a rudder, you may
find your boat turning around willy-nilly through
the water. You can use whatever you want for a
rudder, as long as it is straight. The small pieces
of balsa wood included in your kit are perfect for
making a rudder. You can also design your own rudder using another material.

4. To attach the rudder, use a small strip of duct tape and wrap it around the
screw onto the rudder. You can also try using glue or the
included mounting tape, but make sure it is secure, even
when wet.

5. Now double check that everything on your boat is

ship-shape! If so, take it outside to some water (or
under a VERY bright light) and begin testing,
experimenting, and racing your solar sea-faring vessel!

Quick Tips
The Sun has WAY more power than a light bulb, so
experiment with your solar boat outside on a sunny
day whenever possible. On a clear, sunny day, the
average solar energy received by the earth is about
1,000 Watts per square meter. That means you would
have to fit ten 100 Watt light bulbs in a 3 foot x 3 foot
square to even come close to the power you can get
from the sun!

When outside, use a pool or trough to test

your boat. If you cannot find either of these, a
trough can easily be made using four lengths
of timber nailed or screwed in a rectangular
shape. Drape builder’s polythene or a pond
liner into your wooden frame, fill it with
water, and you’re ready to go!

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 Optimize your Solar Boat!
The most important aspect of a good boat is its ability to float in water! This ability is
known as the buoyancy of a boat. In the 3rd century B.C., Archimedes discovered the
law of buoyancy: An object that is floating or immersed in a fluid experiences a buoyant
force equal to the weight of the fluid the object displaces. Furthermore, it will displace a
weight of water equal to the weight of the object. So, if you want your boat to float,
more volume and less weight is best.

Drag
To create a fast and efficient boat, it is very important to minimize drag. Drag, (also
called resistance) is the force that slows the movement of a solid object through a liquid or
gas. Your boat will be moving through both a liquid (water) and a gas (air)!

Drag from water: The majority of the drag your boat experiences will come from the
water, simply because water is so much thicker than air. The drag your boat experiences
will vary depending on the speed of the boat.

To reduce drag, it is important to shape your hull very smoothly. A boat with a clean,
gently sloping hull will have considerably less drag than a boat with jagged edges that
produce turbulence in the water. A lighter boat will displace less water than a heavy boat.
The more water you displace, the more drag your boat will create. Don’t forget about the
rudder! Though it will help you go straight, a poorly designed rudder will add a lot of drag.

Drag from the Air: Air is much thinner than water, but it still has mass and density. If
you are testing boats inside, you may not experience any detectable drag from the air.
Outside, however, even slight winds can affect the speed and orientation of your boat.
Unless you are trying to harness the power of the wind (as in a sailboat), you will want to
design your boat to minimize wind resistance.

Propulsion
If you want your boat to move forward, you must overcome the force of drag from the
water and air. The spinning propeller will give the boat enough force to overcome this
drag.

When the sun’s rays activate the solar cell, an electric circuit is completed. The motor
spins, turning the driveshaft and propeller with it. The spinning propeller creates a force
that pushes water backwards. Newton’s 3rd law tells us, “to every action there is an equal
and opposite reaction.” Therefore, the reaction force created by the propeller pushes your
boat forward through the water!

Based on this knowledge, which would propel your boat more—a larger or smaller
propeller? How can you get your propeller to spin fastest?

Be Creative! We have given you basic instructions to build a boat that will work, but to
really learn you should get dirty and start experimenting. Using the materials in this kit,
and some “junk” you find around your house the sky is the limit with how you design your
boat!

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 Basic Experiments!
Remember to use the scientific method when testing your solar boat! Hold other variables constant
as you change and explore individual questions.

• Experiment with different propellers—Which propeller makes the boat go faster?

What do you think would be more effective—a small propeller at high rpm’s, or a larger
propeller at low rpm’s? Can you conclude anything about whether 2 blades or 3 blades
would be better for a boat propeller?
• Change the angle of the driveshaft—By adjusting the location of the motor clip, you
will change the angle of the driveshaft from the boat to the water. The closer your
motor is to the back of the boat, the more angled the driveshaft becomes. As you move
the motor towards the front, the driveshaft flattens out. Can you find the best location
for the motor? What angle is best for the driveshaft? Use the protractor to measure
your angle.
• Experiment with different motors—Your kit comes with 2 different types of motors.
Does one seem to work better than the other? Does one of the motors work better with
one propeller, but not the other? What makes one motor better than the other?
• Try your boat with and without a rudder—What happens to a boat with no rudder?
Does your boat go faster without the drag of the rudder? Can you make it go straight
without using a rudder? Can you make it spin around in a circle?
• Adjust the angle of the solar panel—Try to get your solar panel to catch the most
sunlight! Prop up the panel to change the angle. Use your protractor to measure this
angle. What angle works best for you? Of course, you should take into account what
direction your boat is facing, and what time of day
you are testing.

• Experiment with different boat hull designs—

How can you optimize your boat shape? Try different
hulls—you can make a great hull out of two plastic
drink bottles arranged next to each other. Use tape
to mount the deck, motor, and driveshaft on top of
your bottle boat. Also try cutting a 2-Liter bottle in
half (the long way) to make a classic boat shape. Be
creative, and try to come up with the best boat
http://original.solar-active.com/boat.htm
design you can. What factors make a better boat?

• Make an Airboat—An airboat uses a large propeller

in the air, rather than one in the water. You can see
them zooming through the Florida everglades! Use
the black propeller or the yellow propeller from your
kit. The yellow propeller has adjustable blades. You
will need to twist them all to the same angle. Then
attach the propeller directly to the motor (no need for
a driveshaft), but make sure your motor is high
enough so that the propeller will not strike the deck
or the water as it spins. Can you make an airboat as
fast as a regular boat? (Again, you will need to make
sure the propeller is spinning the right way, or your
boat will move backwards!)
http://www.engineeringinspirations.com/

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• *Advanced* Attach the motor to the bottom of the boat—A very interesting
experiment is to place the motor underwater! If you do this, you will not need the
long steel driveshaft. Simply attach your propeller directly to the motor shaft. You will
need to make sure that the spinning propeller will not strike the bottom of your hull.
To mount the motor on the bottom, you can flip your plywood deck to the bottom and
still use the motor clip, or simply tape the motor securely to the bottom of the hull. Of
course, the solar panel will still need to be on top of the boat facing the sun! Run the
wires around the boat down to the motor. How does this affect your boat speed?

• *Very Advanced* Run 2 motors on your boat at the same time—Can you think
of a way to get 2 motors with propellers moving your boat simultaneously? Try one
above and one underwater. Try one water-propeller and one air-propeller. Does one
solar panel have enough power for two motors? Now try 2 solar panels. Does your
boat go faster, or does the extra weight slow it down?

• **Most Advanced** Make a Pump-Jet Boat— A

pump-jet, or water-jet, is a marine system that
creates a jet of water for propulsion. It is the
propulsion system used by jet-skis and other
personal watercraft. The water pump included in
your kit is fully submersible, so try to design a boat
that employs the water pump as a propulsion
system! Remember, you will need to run the wires http://majetskis.com/
up to the solar panels which should still be above
water in the sunlight. *Hint—This works much better with 2 solar panels powering
your boat.

For more fun…

◊ Use the Solar Panel with the Output Board: To see more action from your
solar panel, hook it up to the Jointiff Output Board! Simply connect the wires
from the board to your panel. On the front of the board, where the wires go in,
you will see a (+) and a (-) below each wire. Do you know what that means?
Remember to connect the (+) wire to the (+) terminal of the solar panel, and
the (-) goes to the (-) terminal.

◊ Use the Solar Panel to pump water: Connect the wires of the mini water-
pump included in your kit to the solar panel. You may wish to use the extra
wires included to make this connection longer, since the wires on the water
pump are pretty short.

Submerse the water pump, and shine some light on your solar panel! How
much water can one panel pump? Can you attach 2 solar panels to the water
pump? Do 2 panels pump more water than one? Try this experiment at
different times of the day, and record the time of day and the amount of water
pumped to come to some conclusions about the power of the sun!

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 What is Solar energy? How does it work?
Every day, the sun sends out an
enormous amount of energy. It
radiates more energy in one second
than the world has used since time
began! This radiant energy, also
known as Solar energy, is vital to us
because it provides the world —
directly or indirectly — with almost
all of its energy. In addition to
providing the energy that sustains
the world, solar energy is stored in
fossil fuels and biomass, and is
responsible for powering the water
cycle and producing wind!

Solar energy comes from within the The Greenhouse Effect

sun itself. Like other stars, the sun
is a big ball of gases—mostly hydrogen and helium. The hydrogen atoms in the
sun’s core combine to form helium and radiant energy in a process called nuclear
fusion. This process creates a large amount of radiant energy, which is emitted
into space. Only a small portion of the energy radiated by the sun into space
strikes the earth, one part in two billion. Yet this amount of energy is enormous.
Every day, enough energy strikes the United States to supply the nation’s energy
needs for one and a half years!

Solar energy is considered a renewable

energy source. Renewable sources of
energy are resources that are continually
renewed by nature, and hence will never
run out. Solar power is considered
renewable because the nuclear (fusion)
reactions that power the sun are expected
to keep generating sunlight for many
billions of years to come.

Acknowledgement: Content and images on this page were developed by the NEED
Project—www.need.org—with assistance from Robi Robichaud of the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory

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 Solar Electricity and Photovoltaic Systems
This information comes from the NEED Project—www.need.org

Solar energy can also be used to make

electricity. This is done largely through the
use of photovoltaic (or PV) systems.
Photovoltaic comes from the words photo
meaning light and volt, a measurement of
electricity. Photovoltaic cells are often called
solar cells. They convert light directly into
electricity.

The photovoltaic effect is the basic

physical process through which a PV cell
converts sunlight directly into electricity. PV
technology works any time the sun is
shining, but more electricity is produced
when the light is more intense and when it
is striking the PV modules directly—when
the rays of sunlight are perpendicular to the Photo Credit: Robb Williamson
PV modules.

Sunlight is composed of photons, or bundles of radiant energy. When photons strike a PV

cell, they may be reflected or absorbed, or transmitted through the cell. Only the absorbed
photons generate electricity. When the photons are absorbed, the energy of the photons is
transferred to electrons in the atoms of the solar cell.

With their newfound energy, the electrons are able to escape from their normal positions
associated with their atoms to become part of the current in an electrical circuit. By
leaving their positions, the electrons cause holes to form in the atomic structure of the cell
into which other electrons
can move.

Excited electrons flow Nuclear

through the silicon Fusion!
semiconductor from
the N-Layer to the P-
Layer. They flow out
the negative termi-
Photons
nal, through the cir-
cuit, and back to the
positive terminal. Electrons moving from
When a load is at- N-Layer to P-Layer
tached, the electrons
are forced to do work P-Layer
(i.e. light a bulb).
N-Layer

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Solar cells are usually made of two thin pieces of silicon, the substance that makes up
sand and the second most common substance on earth.

Silicon is used because it is a semiconductor, or a

solid that is in between a conductor and an insulator of
electricity. One piece of silicon has a small amount of
boron added to it, which gives it a tendency to attract
electrons. It is called the p-layer because of its positive
tendency. The other piece of silicon has a small amount
of phosphorous added to it, giving it an excess of free
electrons. This is called the n-layer because it has a
tendency to give up negatively charged electrons. When
the two pieces of silicon are placed together, some
electrons from the n-layer flow to the p-layer and an
electric field forms between the layers. The p-layer now
has a negative charge and the n-layer has a positive
charge.

When the PV cell is placed in the sun, the radiant

energy energizes the free electrons. If a circuit is made http://www.norcalblogs.com/watts/2006/12/
connecting the layers, electrons flow from the n-layer
through the wire to the p-layer. The PV cell is producing electricity—the flow of electrons.
If a load such as a light bulb is placed along the wire, the electricity will do work as it
flows.

Compared to other ways of producing electricity, PV systems are expensive. This is mainly
because PV cells require silicon that is extremely pure. This level of purity makes the
silicon expensive. However, despite the high cost, PV systems have many useful
applications and their demand is growing rapidly.

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For More Information…
Check out these great resources on Solar Energy

The NEED Project: www.need.org

http://www.need.org/needpdf/PhotovoltaicsStudent.pdf
http://www.need.org/needpdf/ExploringSolarStudent.pdf

The United States DOE—Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/kids/roofus/
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/photovoltaics.html
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/animations.html

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter15.html

http://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-cell.htm

Solar Boats:
http://original.solar-active.com/boat.htm
http://www.members.iinet.net.au/~gveale/solar/

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