This term has been quite a success. In our technology unit we learnt how to make blogs and how to use our knowledge of that to help other people, and also how to make Marine vessels, and their efficiency. My name is
Research and Results.
During our research stage in DT, I learnt about many different types of boats, and their uses. I learnt which the best to use was, and which were used for certain purposes, for example Dhows which were used for trading purposes. I will name a few which I found interesting and elaborate on them. These are:-
· Rafts
· Reed boats
· Sailing ships
· Cruise ships.
Basically, I was looking at how these modes of transport have changed over time.
Rafts are a type of vessel, actually a marine vessel that is designed with the purpose of transportation. It has a flat bottom and was made with the objective of a boat in mind, with the absence of a hull. It is quite unique considering that it moves without an engine or propeller. Though you do the work manually, with the objective of creating a boat, this was quite thoughtful.
Reed boats and rafts as well as some other canoes are known as the oldest types of boats. These boats originate from the Egyptians who created them with reeds, hence the name reed boat. This was among the first boats that could streamline the water properly. Looking at the bible, this fascinated me because there is a famous example, the ark of bulrushes which baby Moses was set afloat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_boat
Reed boats and rafts as well as some other canoes are known as the oldest types of boats. These boats originate from the Egyptians who created them with reeds, hence the name reed boat. This was among the first boats that could streamline the water properly. Looking at the bible, this fascinated me because there is a famous example, the ark of bulrushes which baby Moses was set afloat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_boa
Sailing ships were designed fro trade, war and exploration. These were made out of wood. The concept of ‘ship’ came from any boat with a specific rig, meaning any boat with at least three masts, square rigged most of them. This made the sailing adjective redundant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_ship
Lastly, Cruise ships. These were designed much later. They were big because they were designed to carry hundreds of passengers. It is used for pleasure or voyage. These are also known as cruise liners. At the hull of this boat they used many materials to ensure that it would float such as Iron, and they streamlined the front.
While looking at hull designs in our DT project, what influenced us was the proper shape. Our group question was, does the shape of the hull affect the way the model will float? We decided to go for the V-shaped hull. There were advantages and disadvantages of this shape. We found out that because of the shape, it cuts into the water sharply and provides a smooth ride. Then again, at times it needs more power to run at the same speed. Most runabout boats use this shaped hull. Since our objective was to see if it will float in the swimming pool we decided to use it and see how it will turn out.
Evaluation
Our focus was Human Ingenuity, and as I mentioned we wanted to see how effective it is to use the V-shaped hull other than the rest. We started with our plot and all the materials we would need. I think we did rather well in that stage, except for the fact that we still do not have a motor. Our speed while making it could have been better, I mean if we all put a bit more effort and sacrificed time, we would have been done by now. After the materials, we went on to our Investigation, this I must say was a fail. As a group we did not work together to create a proper investigation. There was very little effort put into it. After this now we all lost track of it, but as a group we decided that we should be serious. If it were not for the co-operation of each of us we would not have been anywhere at the moment. We set on to the create stage, this I must say was the best. All of us participated very well. I personally did not think that I could ever have committed that much. Though I was messing about I found it challenging but managed to gt somewhere, and all of us know that the beauty of something lies in the finished product and how well you dedicated to it. We have not yet finished our boat but I am seeing us doing very well. This was a great opportunity for me to learn something new, and I will apply my knowledge of it wherever necessary.
