2017 Team 10: Wind-Wave Basin Boat Launcher
View our final design in action here!
The Project
The wave basin at the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composite Center is a 30 x 9-meter wide pool equipped with a 16-paddle wave generator, beach system, moving wind wall and adjustable floor for depths up to 5 meters. The facility allows for 1:50 scale model testing in variable wind and wav
e conditions. Members of the offshore model testing team who work with the wave basin have contacted our team and presented us with this project. Our team’s aim is to provide the faculty of the wind wave basin at the University of Maine with an efficient method of launching and removing their testing vessel from the basin. This project is to replace the current method in a manner that is integrated seamlessly with existing structures and does not interfere with regular processes. The ideal system is to be operable by one person, versatile for the possibility of use with different vessels and deemed safe by the safety manager of the Advanced Structures and Composite Center as well as in reference to applicable codes. It is also the aim of this team to work with the members of the offshore model testing team and provide the facility a proper work platform.
Drawings can be seen here.
Final Project Photos can be seen here.
Project Timeline
Final Note – Presentation of our project to the public was completed and the client is extremely happy with our final product!
4/22/17-4/30/17 – Final design is ready for paint, which will be accomplished before May 3rd.
4/10/17-4/21/17 – Prototype was made ad tested. Slight improvements are in progress.
3/4/17-4/10/17 – Construction of the cart has been under way for a little over a month now. Great progress is being made and a final prototype should be accomplished by the end of next week.
2/16/17-3/3/17 – Cart has arrived and we are awaiting supplies ad other materials to begin the build.
2/10/17-2/14/17 – Cart was purchased, awaiting its arrival while contemplating with the team on getting other materials.
2/6/17-2/10/17 – Meeting with the client to arrange the ordering of our cart, which serves as the base of our design was discussed and clarified.
1/29/17-2/3/17 – A meeting was held with the client to discuss design criteria. The design was simplified and the process for ordering the cart was clarified.
1/23/17-1/27/17 – The final semester has begun and the team has started collaborating to get parts and materials ordered for our boat-launcher in order to organize an effective prototype.
12/5/2016-12/9/2016 – Budget analysis and design specifics were discussed and researched between the team members and the second revision to the interim report to finish out the semester was turned in.
11/28/2016-12/2/2016 – A final concept was decided upon through team discussion and client correspondence.
11/21/2016-11/25/2016 – A team meeting was held before Fall Break to ensure we each thought about our secondary design while we were all back home.
11/14/2016-11/18/2016 – Work on finalizing the second revision of the interim report was done in preparation for the end of the semester, as well as the start to the next semester.
11/7/2016-11/11/2016 – Initial secondary sketches were made of the current desired design.
10/31/2016-11/4/2016 – Another meeting was held with the client. We narrowed down design criteria to a lift-style system and platform on a moveable cart.
10/24/2016-10/28/2016 – Work was done on the first draft of the interim report for the project. Team meetings were help to discuss further designs and budgets for the initial concepts. Another meeting was held with the client to narrow down concepts. The idea of a crane style was eliminated.
10/17/2016-10/21/2016 – Literature reviews were conducted by the team. Topics such as safety, other wind/wave basins, boat design, and lifting platforms were researched.
10/10/2016-10/14/2016 – First concepts were sketched and formulated for review by the client. These drawings can be seen here.
10/3/2016-10/7/2016 – More concepts were formed by the group. These concepts included jet-ski launch platforms, winch and lifting mechanisms, size, materials, corrosion resistance, and crane designs.
9/26/2016-9/30/2016 – Safety training was accomplished by the team for access to the Wind/Wave Basin. First meeting with the client was conducted. Design criteria such as bolt-on configurations, rollers, budget, and operating personnel was discussed and considered.
9/19/2016-9/23/2016 – Details regarding what the client was looking for was considered. We narrowed the decision down to three possible ideas that included: designing a new boat-launch platform, or designing a new boat along with a new launch platform.
9/12/2016-9/17/2016 – First team meeting was held this week. The team contract was made and the responsibilities that each team member must have was reviewed.
Sponsors
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Matthew Fowler of the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center for input on the design, as well as other guidance along the way and a special show of appreciation toward Aubuchon Hardware for providing us with our paint.
Team Biographies
Ben is a senior at the University of Maine’s Mechanical Engineering Technology program. He is a proud member of the Maine Air National Guard as a KC-135(R) Crew Chief with ambitions of becoming a pilot for those aircraft after graduation. He carries the rank of Staff Sergeant and embraces his leadership roles in the military. Ben truly enjoys flying and is working toward his private pilots license. He also enjoys the outdoors and working on his truck.
Nick is a senior in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program at the University of Maine who will graduate in May of 2017. He grew up in the town of Prospect Harbor Maine. Nick has been in the Air National Guard for 6 years as a Heavy Equipment Operator, he will continue his military career for a full 20 years. After he graduates college he would like to pursue a career in the automotive industry. Skiing and riding four wheelers have been his hobbies since the age of 9, and working on cars and trucks is his true passion.
Kai is a senior in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program at the University of Maine, expecting to graduate in May of 2017. He was born and raised in Marshfield, Massachusetts and is interested in pursuing an engineering career focused on medical products manufacturing. His hobbies include electronic music production and drumming.
Jake is a senior in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program at the University of Maine
who will graduate in May of 2017. He grew up and went to high school in the town of Searsport Maine.
Jake would like to enter into fields that involve manufacturing, fabrication, and project management
after he graduates college. Target shooting and archery are a couple of his hobbies, having started when
he was 9 years of age.
Point of Contact
Benjamin Crowley – Wind/Wave Basin Boat Launch Team Member
cben76@gmail.com