News of SOLAR SPLASH® 2008
Volume 16 - Number 2 - January 2008

Sponsored by ASME, Johnson Controls Inc., IEEE PELS, and others

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‘Early’ Entry Forms Due by Monday, January 21

You will find the Entry Form for the competition at the website. The fee has not changed from last year -- the ‘early fee’ is $400 if you get your entry form in by January 21, but the entry fee increases to $500 if you enter after that date. Again, the entry form is critical for meeting the dates, not when your check arrives! However, the entry form is your ‘promise’ that you will pay the fee, even if you withdraw or cannot attend the competition.

 

Rule Changes for the 2008 Competition

As in the past, we won’t be sending out the hard-copy 2008 Rule Booklet until sometime in March. Until then, use the 2008 rules as found in the 2008 Rule Booklet as listed on the website. Although the Rules do appear on the web site, the "Official Rules" are in the booklets we send you later. The difference is that there may be diagrams or other graphics in the rules that may not appear on the Web Site Rules. Typically, we try to be sure the text is on the site for general information and use.

There are several rule areas that are going to change:

1) Rule 2.8. Insurance. Proof of insurance must be supplied with the Technical Report. There will be a 10 point penalty if it’s not included with your Report!

2) Rule 7.13 Radios. A team member must be in the Scorekeeper area with a radio any time their boat is on the water.

3) Rule 7.16.2 Buoyancy of Craft. Sufficient flotation must be provided on board so that the craft cannot sink, even when filled with water.

4) Rule 8.10 Overall Scoring.
Qualifying – 100 points. Your Time will be the sum of your Maneuverability time plus five times your Sprint Qualifying time.
Sprint – 250 points. … If a competitor fails to complete both of their two heats, they will receive zero points in the Sprint.

5) Rule 8.12 Technical Report. Report is due at 5pm EST, May 19, 2008.

6) Rule 14.9 Teams are expected to be able to change configurations in one hour or less.

Note: Currently there are two changes that were implemented for the 2006 & 2007 Competitions which will continue for the 2008 competition:

The Visual Display: The Visual Display in the past has been a poster(s)/display oriented to the general public on any topic (solar or boat related). This was changed to a poster(s)/display whose topic is directly related to significant and/or new features of that team’s boat. The poster/display should be oriented to include both the general public and the Solar Splash judges who will evaluate your boat for the various awards.

The Technical Report: In the past, the Technical Report has been a ‘self-contained’ document which was to have covered all systems of the boat. This was changed to a document which covers only those systems which have been changed or modified from your previous boat. A brief (less than 2 page) section ‘up front’ will allow description of the previous design and systems history, but the remainder of the Report is to be devoted to description of changes and modifications for the current competition. Obviously, if your team is building a completely new boat, then ‘everything’ must be described.

 

International Teams - Boat Shipping to USA

It may be possible for SOLAR SPLASH to arrange for logistical support for qualifying international teams which will potentially provide assistance in shipping a team's boat and other hardware to the competition in June 2008. In order to determine if such assistance will be possible, Solar Splash must be notified as soon as possible of all international teams that are seriously considering entry in the 2008 event. Notification of intent to enter must be received from any international team wishing to be considered for shipping support on or before January 31, 2008 to allow adequate time to determine if such arrangements can be secured.

 

Boat Ramp Entry in Arkansas

For those of you new to the Arkansas location, the park in Fayetteville where Solar Splash 2008 will be held has a conventional concrete boat launching ramp. Thus, teams will be able to walk their trailers/trolleys directly into the water and float their boats off – and then on again to get their boats out -- and the water does feel good in June in Arkansas!

 

Technical Reports for Sale

We have reprints of the 2007 Technical Reports available for sale. The price for a set of the top 5 technical reports from last year is $35, which includes Priority Mailing anywhere in the U.S. If you want other specific school reports, they can be purchased at $8 each. Even if you feel you have your plans in place, the reports represent an invaluable source of format and content from past years. When you start outlining and writing your report, which is scored and points given, good examples may be very valuable.

Send a check made out to “ASME-Solar Splash” for the top five for $35 (or $8 for each other) to:

Dr. Jeffrey Morehouse
Mechanical Engineering Department
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208

 

Materials and Parts Sponsor Page

You may have noticed the “Materials and Parts Sponsor Page” which is on the menu of the webpage. This is to be an on-going, growing site where companies can list their products with application to solar-electric boats. I am soliciting both team members and companies to send information on companies and products to me which might be useful to any and all the teams. I do expect the company to “discount” their offerings for the teams! So let me know if you have a contact or you are a company which wishes to be listed.