April 30th, 2012

Today was our first day. We began with a meeting at our build site in Wanaque, NJ: we worked out some designs and made a materials list. Next we retrieved a key part of our boat, the 55 gallon barrels for flotation. These had previously been used to transport protein supplements to major manufacturers across the country. Once used, they are deemed unfit to be used or recycled so they are simply thrown into a landfill. These displace 55 gallons of water each and will serve as the main means of flotation. We will be sure to clean them thoroughly to prevent any chemicals entering the water. The buoyancy calculations are as follows:

From these calculations, we know that our boat must weigh less than 2753.98 pounds with us on it.

Photos from the day:

6 55 gallon plastic drums

Land where we will be working (garage not pictured)