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Monday. New week

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Monday. New week

#1

Monday.  New week

Gary Smyth

A small Ontario company makes and sells a world class item that in their beginning in 1981 was made of wood. Slowly over the years until the present they phased out the wood to move their product to a lighter weight composite material. They did this to increase impact resistance by 400% and stiffness by 50%. The product they make comes in different sizes and is used by both individuals and groups. Their smallest pro item sells for $7000 and the largest almost $33,000. Since 1984 their product has become the leader in its field and has been involved in the win of 65 medals at the Olympic and World Championships. Most countries participating in the field have purchased this companies product either for use or reverse engineering. The company started out with two employees in a garage and now has 50 employees in a state of art facility. It is under the original ownership but now hires the finest international people to stay on top in their field. What they do has as much to do with art as it does with science. As to the science part of the equation, they are now considered in partnership with Nike a leader in the area of biomechanical engineering. What does the company make?

Re: Monday. New week

#2

Re: Monday.  New week

John Veerkamp

I wouldn't touch this with a pole.

Re: Monday. New week

#3

Sorry but

Gary Smyth

you would be vaulting into an abyss. A slight correction. When I said groups , more accurately would be individuals in a group who train to work as a team.

Also the product was never 100% wood even in older times. And it comes with (purchased separately) variously shaped attachments that since the companies founding have also changed from wood to composite.

Re: Monday. New week

#5

Re: Monday.  New week

Gary Camp, Bend Oregon

My first thought was Canada, hmm must be a Hockey stick, but who ever heard of a $7000.00 much less $30,000 plus hockey stick. Then I thought about pole vaulting but pretty much the same criteira applys, plus I see that one is wrong too. Not expensive enough for a bobsled. Todays question is pretty mcuh a shell game with the answer hiding under one of the shells, maybe I can guess which one, later.

glc

Re: Monday. New week

#6

I'm feelin ya 


Re: Monday. New week

#7

Change the season


Re: Monday. New week

#8

Re: Monday Answer 

Gary Smyth

Gary gets the gold star for today. Somehow he seems particularly good at winnowing down possibilities. The name of the company is the Hudson Boat works. They make racing shells from the singles to the eights. They have their own site.

For me the most fun is the eight man rowing shells in lightweight and super heavyweight configurations which have an elongated hull with a bow and stern and a smoothly tapered hull surface. The hull surfaces have particular cross-sections below the waterline at stations spaced along the hull waterline. Other parameters for both super heavyweight and lightweight hulls are critical such as waterline length, entry and exit angles, maximum beam, maximum draft, and metacentric (heel and stability when at various rowing positions) height. In both configurations, the hull itself may be made of a laminate of a fiber composite skin over a core, such as a carbon fiber/honeycomb laminate, or of natural materials such as wood.

Hudson boats feature:

Speed & Stability: Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) optimization employed to create faster and more forgiving hulls

Speed: hull form creates more hydrodynamic lift providing a more responsive and lighter feel (similar in function to a seaplane "step")

Stability: unprecedented reduction in pitching (longitudinal) and roll (side to side tipping)

Comfort: wider, deeper, adjustable foot stance allowing optimal gender specific force application

Comfort: wider slide tracks allow leg lockout, (almost) eliminating calve bruising and slide bites. (Imagine catching your thigh or calf in a garage door roller--ouch -- given the typical rowing arc it really messes up rowing rhythm) (Pictures may or may not be Hudson examples)


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