The Solar Powered Bottle Boat kit contains the basic equipment required to transform a plastic bottle into a solar powered boat, just supply your own plastic bottle. The kit comes with an instruction book that gives the instructions to create three different boats: a surface submarine, a speed boat and an air boat. The kit can also be used in other ways, allowing some inventiveness with bottles and the equipment to create a powered boat.
The Solar Powered Bottle Boat kit is designed to help educate children about the alternative energy source of solar power. It also makes a great toy to play with that also allows you to ‘recycle’ a plastic bottle and learn about hydrodynamics by experimenting to find the best shape for a fast vessel.
The kit contains a 0.5 watt waterproof solar panel (measuring 10.8 cm x 4.1 cm ( 4.25 in x 1.63 in.)). This panel powers the motor that is included in the kit and comes with the wires needed to attach it. The motor is then attached to the water or air propeller (both included). The kit also contains other basic parts needed to connect the components to a plastic bottle, 63.5cm (25in) of mounting tape, two 12.7cm (5 in) metal shafts, and 2 wire nuts.
It does suggest using electrical tape and paint to decorate the vessels which you would need to provide yourself. Once created the boat will need direct sunlight (or a powerful light source) and a body of water to operate.
The solar-powered boat kit is costs just $24.95 from Spheral Solar.