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Eek-a-Mouse
by Jerry Church
Hello All Mousers,
I'm a mechanical design engineer, I design and build process equipment to
assemble small optical components for a living. For some fun and a change
of
pace, I created a 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) model of Eek-A-Mouse!,
the
latest Mouseboat version recently released by Gavin Atkin. Gavin
generously
provides his Mouseboat plans for zero cash, and they can be downloaded
from
the internet. I've attached a few "renderings" of the 3D CAD model that
illustrate what she might look like.
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I actually made two versions; the beauty of computer modeling is it makes
trying design variations easy and quick to do. Both versions have internal
chine logs. One has thin bulkheads and logs for bracing the bulkheads. The
other version illustrates construction using board bulkheads, which will
probably be the method I use. The hull weights calculate to 78 lbs. and 86
lbs. (using Douglas Fir at .18 lbs/cu-ft) for the thin panel version and
board version respectively. The board version has a lot fewer parts, thus
fewer nails and less glue so the weight difference may not be as much in
reality. Of course, actual weight will be different from the calculated
values, these numbers are just estimates that are only as good as the
assumptions that went into generating them. Having never built a boat from
scratch before, my assumptions are likely to be off.
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For anyone who is interested, I used SolidWorks 2005 to "build" the
virtual
models. Next, I want to build a couple of the real thing. I'm up to six
kids
in my family now, so having our own racing fleet is conceivable.
Hope y'all enjoy the pictures.
-Jerry
SF Pelican 12 "Trixie B"
Santa Rosa, CA
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