MakerBot Man… ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT

A PLA rowing boat, propelled by MakerBot Man and a little help from the sun (or some batteries).

This “thing” has several parts:

• The boat hull with a platform for the machine housing
• The machine housing
• Two crank shafts
• Two oars and their supports
• Two gearwheels which could be printed, but I bought them.
• The seat for MakerBot Man
• A small geared DC motor
  http://nl.aliexpress.com/item/Model-N20-DC-6V-30RPM-Mini-Metal-Gear-Motor-with-Gearwheel-10mm-Shaft-Diameter/32252427324.html
  or equivalent.
• One or two small solar cells 5V 60mA (the motor needs about 30mA max). In series for high speed, parallel for easy going.
  http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6748434748.html?orderId=67936096962572
  or equivalent.
• Some M3 stuff.
• And of course MakerBot Man himself. He is printed at a scale of 1.5.
  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:42882

None of the components requires support and they can be printed with low infill. You may have to print the hull 45 degrees rotated around the z-axis to fit on a 20x20 cm bed.
The gearwheels used have a shaft distance of 28mm, 18/38 teeth module 1.
If your wheels are different, just adapt the shaft distance in the SCAD file. The place is indicated.
The size of the gearwheels is not very important, as long as the smaller one fits in the opening of the housing
A very handy gearwheel designer and fully customizable can be found on. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:900277

Before gently pushing the motor in place, the smaller gearwheel is pushed onto the motor shaft.
The larger gear wheel is mounted on a 35mm M3 shaft using two M3 nuts and a lock washer. The two crankshafts are screwed on at both sides and locked with a nut/bolt combination. Make sure they are in the same position.
When ready, the motor housing is mounted in the hull with four M3 bolts.

After taking of his shoes, MakerBot Man is glued to his seat with a two component epoxy adhesive. The crank shafts are snapped into his hands and the seat is bonded to the hull at a position where the body follows the rotation of the crank shafts easily. If MakerBot Man does not pull the oars under water, but pushes them, you can swap the motor unit 180 degrees or reverse the wires of the power supply.
The depth of the slot in the outriggers determines how high the oars are lifted. This might need some trimming depending on the weight of the boat. Just move the slot up or down in SCAD.

Usually, rowing boats don’t have a rudder. However, if you have a small pond, it would be nice to row in circles. That’s why an invisible underwater rudder can be attached to the boat. Use the 3mm hole to attach your own rudder design.

Buoyancy has not been tested… simply not enough Euros .
Spray the hull with varnish to make it water tight.
Dry test
https://youtu.be/zh_66jNfeBw
Testride on batteries
http://youtu.be/pgUFf4cUTjU
Rowing on solar cells: Hey, thats our food!!!
http://youtu.be/38qMjNA3ETc
https://youtu.be/KgSsbJ3sYpQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwAPki8t0s8&feature=youtu.be

http://3dprint.com/85589/solar-powered-rowboat/