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You are here: Experts > Science > Science/Nature for Kids > Science for Kids > boat lock
Expert: Ralph Salier-Hellendag
Date: 5/13/2008
Subject: boat lock
Question
ok, my class is doing this boat lock which in this case the toy boat has 2 rise how ever many inches, then, go through a door and the door seals and the water level goes down and back again!!! i have no idea how!!!! help
Answer
Hi Emily,
You will some help on this from a parent potentially. The basic design will require 2 pieces of Plexiglass, wood for a base and sides and 2 segments of piano hinge (6" long) and wood for the "lock doors" and some rubber gasket material (weather striping used for sealing doors in your house).
The pieces of wood should measure as follows:
#1 2' x 2' 1/2 ply wood (Base)
#2 2 pieces of 1" x 6" x 1.5' long (sides of the lock)
#3 2 pieces of 1" x 6" x 6" long (Lock doors)
Plexiglass
#1 2 pcs 6" x 14"
Rubber gasket for the doors 14" long and looks like the letter "D" when you look inside of it. It should be soft and flexible. (cut into 2 7" pieces)
Screws (20 ea #6 1" long with big head) and drill bit to match.
1+ tubes of clear silicone caulk for sealing the wood and plexiglass
1 container Gorilla Glue
Polyurathane wood sealant that gets painted onto the wood surfaces facing the water.
small electric water pump and tubing like for a simple fountian. you can find these at garden shops.
Construction:
Lay out the sides of the lock on the base and using gorilla glue, glue the sides onto the base so that you have 3" from the edges of the base and the boards are 12" apart from inside to inside of the wood sides of the lock. This should be on the center line of the plywood base. Once the glue is dry, paint the entire base and wood inside with the polyurathane sealant. Let dry.
Take the lock door segments and paint these too. On one edge, screw in the piano hinge (cut to full length of the wood or 6") The one side of the hing should be on the face of the door (not on the narrow edge). The open side of the hinge will be screwed to the inside of the lock walls at the mid way point of the lock. Before you screw the piano hinge to the side walls, put a bead of sealing caulk on the back side to seal the screw holes. (the hinge should come with its own screws, don't use the ones on the list above).
Once in place put a bead of gorilla glue on the back of the rubber gasket (Flat side against the narrow edge of the door) from the bottom to the top. There should be some extra over the top edge. This will be cut off later.
When the door is closed, the gasket will seal the opening but may bulge out a little bit. That is ok. It does not need to be flat.
Using the silicone sealant, seal all of the edges of the wood (Except around the doors.)
Now using a drill and the bit place the plexiglass against the ends of the walls and mark out 5 equidistant marks on each side. Drill thru the plexiglass and into the wood very gently. Plexiglass breaks easily. Then when done, take the plexiglass off, put a bead of silicon sealant on the wood, put the plexiglass back and using the screws, fasten the plexiglass to the front and back of the lock. Then using the silicone sealant seal the bottom and sides again. Let dry.
Mount the pump on the base of the project and extend the tube from the pump to one side of the lock and the other end to the other side of the lock. now fill one side 3/4 full and the other side 1/4 full.
The doors may be forced open by the weight of the water. This can be fixed by using a small screw eye and hook.
Use the pump to equalize the water level and then you can open the doors to let the boat pass. Then reversing the pump move the water to the other side to lower or raise the boat.
Good Luck. By the way, don't be too surprized if it leaks. The caulk will fix that.
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