Plans for Testing and Construction Progress
Sandy Hook, New Jersey, February 25, 2009- Emily Holt, an 18 year old high school senior from Rumson NJ, is designing a surfboard for small surf conditions in New Jersey.
Contact: Emily Holt, Period 5/6
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 5, 2009
Systems Engineering II: NJ Short Board Design
Background
After a recent visit to The Marine Academy of Science and Technology, a vocational school in Sandy Hook I was enlightened to see amazing projects the students are doing there. Each senior Systems Engineering student has a design project they complete over the course of the year, one that really struck my eye was 18 year old, Emily Holt’s idea for a surfboard design specific to New Jersey conditions. During the interview Ms. Holt told me “I was having trouble competing on small days in the summer and I wanted to see if I could design a board to overcome those problems”. Emily took the problems she was having and designed a board to fix each aspect of the board. She started construction this quarter and is going to be complete by March 18th. In this article I am going to update you on the progress of Emily’s project and her aspirations for testing.
Mentor
In order to help her with her design Emily looked for a mentor. She is working with a retired surfboard shaper in the local area. Her mentor has been surfing for over 20 years in New Jersey and has a lot of background information on the conditions as well as surfboard construction. They meet every few weeks to discuss the progression of the project and to answer any questions Emily has encountered along the way.
Board Design
The new board Emily is creating solves many of the problems she was having surfing during the summer when the waves are small and weak. She came up with specifications the design must meet to be a viable solution. The board must do the following things; perform in 1-2ft mushy New Jersey conditions, be acceptable for competitive events, allow you to catch more waves than the typical short board so it won’t dump speed, move faster to keep you on the wave and maintain speed to move around flat sections on a wave. Her final design can be seen in her AutoCAD drawing below. Her design is a 6 feet tall, 2 ½ inches thick and 22 inches wide. This is thicker and wider than her current short board, which she was having trouble riding in small conditions. The new design increases surface area to help catch waves more easily. The board is going to have a swallow tail (which looks like a fish’s tail). “It has two separate pivot points to allow for rail control to keep you on the wave.” Emily told me. The bottom contour is going to be single to double concave. This will jet water to both pivot points on the tail to allow for maneuverability and rail stability. The explanation for each design item is how Ms. Holt aspires for her board to perform when tested. Below are a few pictures of the board being constructed.
Testing
In order to test the design Emily is going to actually ride the board. She is going to plan testing around the surf conditions. She is looking to test on a 1-2ft day in late April or early May (an example of this can be seen in figure 4 on the following page). The testing location is going to be in Long Branch, New Jersey. In order to test the design she is going to ride her current short board as well as the new designed board on the same day. She is going to catch 5 waves on each board and compare the different rides through a video of the session. She will describe each maneuver, show the old board in action and then the new board (through this you will be able to see both problem and solution). The session is going to be video taped and edited in windows movie maker, text is going to be supplementary to describe the differences on either board. The movie is going to be a great visual aid to see what Emily has been working on for the year and how her ideas actually transfer to a real life situation. Hopefully the board is going to perform as planned.
Project Based Education
There are many benefits of project based learning, which is what the senior students at the Marine Academy are taking part in today. It allows for a variety of learning styles and is “real world” oriented. It gives students a purpose to their work because they are creating a tangible product. Project based learning often cuts across multiple curricular areas, Emily’s project does. Emily’s project involves math, science, technology, writing, public speaking, AutoCAD and even art involved in airbrushing the board. Emily benefits in many different subjects, all from doing a project she is very interested in. This is a great way to learn. Learning from experience is one of the best ways to learn because your experience is engrained in your memory much more than reading a text book or doing a math problem. In Emily’s case the knowledge she is gaining throughout the process of her project is used as application to something she loves, surfing.
Summary
Emily is designing and constructing a surfboard for small New Jersey waves. As of February 25th 2009, Emily is in the process of construction. She should be finished by March 18th. She is working with a retired surfboard shaper. He is her mentor in case she runs into any big problems along the way. The new board is going to solve many of the problems people face surfing in small waves in the summer. In order to test her design Emily is going to ride her current short board as well as her new design on the same day. She is hoping for the favorable conditions of a 1-2ft weak day surfing. She is going to test her design in April. In doing this project Emily is crossing many curricular topics and is gaining knowledge she never could from a textbook because of the hands on aspect to the project. If you would like more information about the project, or too see what she is currently doing you can use the contact information below. Be sure to check out her blog (the link is also below). Hopefully Emily’s construction and testing will go as planned.
For more details about NJ Surfboard Design in Monmouth County NJ, contact Emily Holt at emily_holt@mast.mcvsd.org or visit the weblog at SE2shortboard.blogger.com.
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