Hull Design - Alternative Designs

The hull design team began expanding on their design process by designing three canoes of varying properties. The parameters of these designs were determined using a design matrix; the team's goal here was to balance speed, stability, and maneuverability by adjusting the canoe's length to width ratio, as well as the hull cross-section and side profile.

Design 1 features a shallow-v cross section, with a moderate length to width ratio. These properties make for a versatile canoe. It has decent capabilities with respect to speed and turning, given its length to width ratio. Additionally, the shallow-v cross section allows for stability and good traking.

Design 2 has a similar length to width ratio as Design 1, however, features a round-bottom cross-section. A round bottom cross section is more aggressive relative to a shallow-v, as the shape allows the canoe to travel through the water at higher speeds, while lacking in stability.

Design 3, as seen in the image above, is the most aggressive canoe design. Its long length and narrow width allows it to cut through the water quickly. A long/narrow canoe has worse turning/stability capabilities, so to compensate for this, the team designed a hybrid shallow-v/flat cross-section, to maximize canoe stability.

Using a boat design software known as Free!Ship, the hull design team obtained results for the resistance in each of the alternative canoe designs. The resistance force is measured in pounds and increases exponentially as more speed is generated. Design 1 performed the worst in this category because its keel does not allow the canoe to cut through the water. With so much resistance being gathered, Free!Ship does not estimate Design 1 to reach a top speed greater than 4.2 knots. While Designs 2 and 3 were more similar, Design 3 performed better with this parameter as it generates a lower resistance relative to its speed. Up next, the hull design team plans to finish the structural analysis. Stay tuned!