The boat that competed at the 2013 Solar Splash World Championship was orginally a Senior Project, whose members were, Manthan Kothari, Kyle Orr, Thomas Burns, Brian Graham, & Tyler Wardlow. The following TCNJ students, Brian Graham, Kyle Orr, Manthan Kothari, TJ Burns, and Michael Bauer, competed at this year’s Solar Splash. Upon arriving at George Wyth State Park, the team proceeded to compete with a multitude of colleges over a period of five days in various events. This year’s goal for the team was to improve the endurance of their Solar Electric Boat, which was successful. The team won two awards, which included the Outstanding Hull Design and Outstanding System Design awards.
This year’s Solar Splash World Championship of Intercollegiate Solar/Electric boating, was held at George Wyth State Park in Waterloo, Iowa. Its official name is “an international intercollegiate solar/electric boat regatta,” and it takes place over five days. Technical inspections are done on the first day, and the remainder of the time is occupied by five on-the-water competitive events. Points are earned in 7 categories starting with technical reports that are submitted before teams arrive at the competition. On-site competitions include Visual Displays and Workmanship. On-the-water events begin with a Sprint and a Maneuverability qualifier. This is followed by an event called the Solar Slalom, which is a combination of speed and maneuverability. The final days are spent in the Sprint and Endurance events.
As Brian Graham stated, “I’m sure that many members of the public and even members of other teams who viewed this boat in the paddock area, or watched it perform on the water, did not realize that these five students completely designed and manufactured this entire boat in one year. Everything was designed and manufactured by these students ‘in house,’ a phenomenal feat. I’m looking forward to the chance to do it again for 2014.”
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