Fan Information

A standard household fan should be used.

Track Information

A "track" can be any open space but ideally is a flat, hard surface indoors or in a covered space. The floor could be wood, lino or concrete. The longest distance covered so far is about 14 metres!

Materials

The following materials are allowed: * Recyclable materials such as cardboard boxes, plastic containers, jar lids and cartons. * Stationery items such as paper clips, rubber bands, pencils, rulers and erasers. * Common household items such as sponges, CDs, cotton buds, material off-cuts, aluminium foil, plastic wrap and plastic. * Hardware items such as timber off-cuts, screws, nails and sandpaper. racer The following materials are NOT allowed: * Construction materials such as Lego * Pre-made materials such as pre-made wheels, yacht bodies or sails * Toys such as toy cars, boats or trains

Design

All designs must be original - not copied from an existing design. When designing, team members must not receive input or advice from anyone other than their team members. Team members may discuss their design with a teacher. During discussions, teachers must not offer direct advice. In order to challenge students to think carefully about their design, teachers may, however, ask questions such as: * Why did you design the wheels like that? * Did you have any other ideas for the shape of the sail? Design Plans are to be presented on A3 paper and must show: * measurements * materials to be used * connectives (how the materials will be connected together * uop view, side view and front view Accompanying their Design Plans, teams are to include paragraphs that describe: * Why particular design elements were included * Prediction of how far the yacht will travel on Race Day

Construction

All construction is to take place at school and be supervised by a teacher. Team members are responsible for the construction of their yachts and must not receive help from anyone outside of their team. All cutting of materials, including timber off-cuts, is the responsibility of the team members and must be supervised by a teacher. If any constructions processes are deemed to be unsafe, the teacher must instruct team members to choose other methods of construction. During construction, teams may decide that the design of their yacht needs to be altered. If this is the case, the alterations must be recorded on the Design Plan with an explanation as to why the changes were made.

Testing Rules

Teams will be given time to test their yachts multiple times before Race Day. A space has been provided to record results to encourage students to understand systematic and/or "fair" testing. During testing, the teams will have access to the fan and race track. Teams members are to record how far their yacht travels during testing. This information is to be posted on the website. Teams may need to make adjustments to the yacht and the original Design Plan. If this is the case, the adjustments must be recorded on the Design Plan with an explanation as to why the changes were made.

Racing Rules

The yachts are to be raced one at a time. The project is not designed to be competitive but students should aim for the optimum performance from their yacht. When called, teams are to place their yacht on the race track on the start line. Teams are not to adjust the fan. The teacher will signal the start of the race. At this time, all team members are to stand back. One team member is to start the fan. The yacht is not to be touched by any person while in motion. When the yacht has stopped moving, the teacher is to measure how far the yacht travelled. This data is to be posted on the website. The teacher is to signal when the team can remove their yacht from the race track. Each race is to be filmed and posted on the website.