Creations take to the YMCA pool
By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Photo courtesy of Tim J. ZavackiStudent Alex Van Nest submerges his submarine for its trial run in the YMCA pool on Friday.
Submarines
turn course
into fun study
Submarines
– 8SUBMARINES-
Gene RobbinsManaging Editor
Classes in small engines used to be about lathes and lawn mowers.
This year, it’s about submarines, too.
On Friday, about 25 Hillsborough High School students used the YMCA pool to test their underwater vehicles built from scratch from a kit in a class led by teacher James Shabazz.
The "subs" were simple foot-long creations of tubing with small waterproof motors and foam flotation. While one student stood at the edge of the pool, manipulating controls to move the sub up, down or sideways, other students were in the water to recover pieces that were likely to come off.
If things did go awry, the students had to take it to the tool table, diagnose the problem and fix it.
The off-campus project went off perfectly, said Mr. Shabazz. It taught about propulsion, thrust and waterproofing, but added values of teamwork and ingenuity, said Mr. Shabazz.
"It worked so well, I was surprised," he said.
Mr. Shabazz brought the idea to Hillsborough from his previous job at a middle school in Norristown, Pa. The class breaks down to teams of four, each of whom design a submarine on paper. (Next year they’ll likely do it on computers, the teacher said.) Then they collaborate and choose the elements of each design they think will work best.
For instance, one group added a fourth motor, said Mr. Shabazz, which was tricky because the kit’s circuit board only had three electrical portals. They had to jury-rig another.
In the pool, students first ran their submarines down the length of the pool. Then they sunk hoops offset at angles, to require maneuvering. Another member of the team stood at the opposite end to direct the pilot as he tried to follow the zig-zagging submarine through the distorted vision and perspective of water. Another student would feed the cord from controls to submarine.
Senior Andrew Doroshenko, who will attend Rutgers in the fall as an engineering student, said he chose small engine class rather than just pad his schedule with another academic course.
He built a submarine with an extra motor to give him two to control speed and one for rise and fall. The design required less foam padding but more tubing the sub looked like the outline of a lunch pail. He said he was surprised to find his creation gained speed, probably by creating less drag, he said.
"It’s funny. I wanted more speed but I ended up with more control with the bigger chassis," he said.
Teacher Tim Zavacki came Friday to assist. He has taught small engines in the past, but it was much more mechanical, he said rip apart engines, measuring and studying systems and putting them back together again.
He said he was hesitant about the challenge of water trumping electrical systems, and even keeping the sub afloat.
"I wasn’t sure if the kids would go for it," he said, but he came away impressed with the kids’ interest and problem solving, he said.

