When the students from Stevens Institute of Technology reached out to ask if TotalBoat would sponsor their 2nd Solar Boat entry in the Solar Boat competition, we knew this was a great opportunity to help this motivated group of students. We can see this talented group making it to the finals with their lighter hull and of course with all that TotalBoat on board, it’s sure to be a winning build. Here is their report as they await the next phase of the competition.
Stevens Institute of Technology will be competing in this year’s Solar Splash competition for the second year in a row. The Solar Splash competition is a World Championship regatta of solar/electric boats. There are three main on water events, the Sprint, Slalom and Endurance races. The sprint and slalom races are focused on speed, while the endurance is focused on distance. The major challenge of this competition is designing and implementing a hull, propulsion system and electrical system that is successful in all three races.
Last year’s rookie team placed fourth overall in the competition. This year’s team will be making improvements to the 2017 hull and systems with the goal of placing first overall. The team consists of two naval and four mechanical engineering students, Andrew Hanke, James Lassi, Nicholas Hohorst, Ellysa Lamperti, Jason Pastuyzen and Sara Poor. One major aspect of the 2018 team’s improvements included a hull rebuild, in order to decrease the weight of the hull significantly. With the help of Henry Elliot, Frank Poor, TotalBoat & Jamestown Distributors, Resolute Racing Shells, Bravolab and Viking Yachts, the team was able to successfully rebuild the hull. The final weight of the new hull came in at 55.3 lbs, which is 17% of the previous year’s team’s hull!
The team has created a Go-Fund-Me page to raise donations to assist the team in reaching their goals for the competition in June 2018. With the hull rebuild completed, the team will be focusing on updating the propulsion system and creating a power management system for the boat. Any and all donations help the team significantly!
Feel free to contact the team directly at stevenssolarsplace18@gmail.com or check out our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/StevensSolarSplash/
