"California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo"
(4th place overall; 4th in paper; 8th in presentation; 4th in product)

Presentation:

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo represented the Pacific Southwest Conference and made their ninth national appearance.

Cal Poly - SLO relied on 4 people to make their presentation; 3 men and 1 woman.  The presenters were dressed in business attire and the presentation was business oriented.  The team used 1 screen and included 1 video segment.

After a brief introduction, the team outlined their goals.  They began with project management and outlined their schedule.  They elaborated on the time spent on the project and then went on to hull design.  

The team gave the specifications of their hull and explained how the design was modeled for structural purposes.  They found that the critical loads occurred during the turn in the two man sprint.  Then the team outlined their mix design. They explained why constituents were used and explained the attributes of the final design.  

Construction came next.  The team explained that they employed a female mold and a dual mold release system.  They elaborated on tile production and final fabrication and integration.  The overall lay-up was detailed and, after giving a summary of their stint, the team brought their presentation to a strong conclusion.

Questions and Comments:

• What was your rationale behind trying to achieve better stability?
• Why did you use a combined fiberglass/carbon fiber layer of reinforcement?
• What does grade 120 slag mean to you?
• How does the strength compare to the 100 grade?
• What was your motivation for choosing the FEA software used?
• Why were there so much of difference between last and this years’ FEA results?
• Did you see any cracks in the hull?
• Did you have any problem with the admixtures relative to meeting the air content requirement?
• Is there any significance behind the mosaic design incorporated into the boat?
• How does this project affect your grades and do your instructors take this into account?

Overall, this was a very strong performance.

Product:

   Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo fielded "Big Sur."
Length: 19.83'
Weight: 174 lb
Color: white with a dyed concrete tile mosaic

Poly’s hull was reinforced using 2 layer of fiberglass scrim and 1 layer of carbon fiber mesh.  The team included PVA fibers for secondary reinforcement.  Matrix materials included poraver and K-1 micro spheres.  

Poly developed a dual mold release system to help them remove their canoe from their mold.

Vital Statistics