Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Carnegie Mellon University mechanical engineering students, from left, William Wedler, 29, a junior, of Ballwin, Mo.; Mark Rockwell, 20, a senior, of Farmington Hills, Mich., and Ming Hul, 21, a junior, of New York City, put solar panels on the boat they built for the Solar Splash Competition. Click photo for larger image.

At first glance, the humble gray boat looks like the typical flat-bottomed variety used for fishing or duck hunting.

But once four solar panels are placed across its bow and wired to an electric motor mounted on the stern it's clear this one is powered by something other than a boater with oars.

This boat's fuel source is the sun and Carnegie Mellon University students have spent a year raising money and designing and building the solar-powered boat for competition this week.

Known as "The Carnivore" -- which demands explanation later -- the boat will be CMU's first-time entry in the Solar Splash World Championship, an annual collegiate competition of solar-powered boats built to meet strict contest rules.

The competition starts today on Fayetteville Lake near the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, and runs through Sunday when a world champion in speed and endurance will be crowned.

"The electronic technology is what has changed a lot," said Dr. Jeffrey H. Morehouse, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of South Carolina who organizes the event.

"What really is interesting is, since we sell technical reports [about the solar boats], we have requests from electrical boat companies, who buy the reports. They want to know how we're getting such high speeds and keeping batteries charged with solar panels."

Several CMU students, most of them mechanical engineering students, started the university's team a year ago with simple goals.

"We just wanted to get a team together, put a boat in the water and compete," said project leader, Mark Rockwell, 20, of Farmington Hills, Mich., noting that 10 students with various skills participated in the year-long project. "Next year we hope to have double or triple the number of people involved."

Mr. Rockwell and his teammates said they know they won't win the competition this year. But they entertain hopes of being rookie team of the year. Five rookie teams are scheduled to compete.

Dr. Morehouse said a rookie team placing in the top five "is possible, but not probable."

Still in need of design and mechanical improvements, The Carnivore can travel 4 knots an hour, equivalent to a brisk walk. Its student designers expressed confidence it can compete in the endurance competition by doing nonstop laps around the lake for two hours.

Mr. Rockwell and his teammates said they expect the best boats to reach 7 knots an hour in the endurance phase. "In comparison, we're not that much slower," Mr. Rockwell said.

The project required students to raise $6,500; line up donations of supplies, equipment and tools; do research and design the boat according to contest rules; then build and test it.

The team floated the boat in Schenley Pond near campus before doing a successful test run in Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park in Butler County, but only after they were forced to buy a boat license.

The only problem was, the engine does not drain the battery, which is a technical flaw. Ideally, the engine should gradually drain the battery so it runs at top power for the two-hour endurance test.

Mr. Rockwell said he attended Solar Splash last year in Buffalo to scope out the competition, get advice from other universities and do advance research.

Last year's overall champion was Cedarville University of Ohio, with the University of New Orleans winning the sprint championship.

To launch its project, the CMU team landed a $3,500 grant for environmental research from Ford, bought four solar panels for at a discount price of $1,640, borrowed tools from a boat company and received donated equipment and supplies.

Many hours were devoted to designing the boat to increase power, minimize weight and enhance the electrical system.

The four solar panels, which produce 480 watts of electrical power, are connected to a charge controller, which energizes a lead-acid battery that powers the boat. The controller has been the focus of many technological advancements over the years, Dr. Morehouse said.

The CMU team acquired a motor mount and propeller from a gasoline engine, but replaced the gas motor with an electric golf-cart motor, using a belt drive to spin the propeller.

Rather than build a hull for the boat, they opted for a duck-boat design with a flat bottom. Glen L Marine, a well-known boat design company in California, advised students on boat construction. Hull design to increase endurance and speed represents another area of focus for winning teams, Dr. Morehouse said.

There are no weight restrictions, but a boat cannot be longer than 20 feet, 7 feet wide or more than 4 feet out of the water. The Carnivore complies with those specifications, Mr. Rockwell said.

The boat's one passenger must weigh 150 pounds. If the boater weighs less, ballast is added.

"This is an excellent start, considering a year ago we had no money, no participants and no school involvement," Mr. Rockwell said, calling the project "a real world engineering experience.

"It's been a lot of work and at times painful. But we are using our engineering knowledge rather than earning a grade.

"We're creating a buzz."

Next year, he said, the team will design a fiberglass hull, with issues involving electrical power, engine size, gear ratio and propeller size better resolved.

Oh, and that name, "The Carnivore"?

Starting from scratch last year, the team suffered many setbacks and frustrations all year long. But when frustration set in, team members had a meat-eating retort for everyone to chew on:

"You're a carnivore," they would tell each other. "You're going to get it done."