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Rick Willoughby
Human Powered Boat Design and Engineering Adviser
e. rickwill@bigpond.net.au
i. http://www.rickwill.bigpondhosting.com
I graduated in engineering from the University of Queensland, Australia and have worked in the Australian mining industry or associated businesses since graduating.
My interest in boats stems from a long family association with the sea. My father, grandfather and great grandfather all made a living sailing and navigating boats and small ships. Consequently I have been involved with work boats and pleasure boats my entire life.
I sold my last yacht 15 years ago as my immediate family had little interest in yachts. After selling the yacht I began building model yachts to test hull designs with a view to designing a yacht for my retirement. In 2002 I decided to build a small human powered boat. My aims were to experiment with propulsion systems and hull design at a scale that I could actually use on the water.
I have built twelve boats over tha last 5 years and have gradually improved my knowledge base and design tools such that I can now design and engineer HPBs with a degree of precision. This enables accurate performance prediction and more reliable operation while being able to evaluate the merit of different options without actually testing the idea at full scale.
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