Since my last post I have been working on building a cheap RC sailboat. And I must say that the feedback I got from the community has been very helpful. So special thanks to people who showed their interest and gave me tips.
My aim is to eventually build an autonomous sailor, and a RC one is just a step in between. The “Catamaran” which you see in the pictures is radio controlled and I have tested it on water. However there is more work to do, the final RC boat will be even more cheaper and better. The reason for that is because I want to provide an accessible platform, which is easily built and is not as expensive as a toy boat. In that way anybody interested can start developing autonomous sailors. Within two weeks I hope to have the final RC version and I will share the instructions with you.
I am also going to prepare five kits with all the materials and instructions you’ll need to build one, excluding the electronics.
So, if you are interested to get involved mail to sina.sailorkit@gmail.comand I will ship one of the kits to you, if your on time. You don’t need to pay.
If you have received the kit, I would appreciate if you also join the autonomous sailor group and share your experience with the community.
Note I can only provide five kits :)
Cheers,
Sina
Comments
http://www.wired.com/design/2012/04/sailboat-drones-for-oil-spills/
That a nice boat Veikko. Too bad it's backordered, as with all things good at HK. :-(
Btw, Sina, I thought Cats were more stable against wind. At least that's what I was told, and it does seem reasonable given the wider base.
Thanks for all the tips and the feedback. I agree that a Catamaran is a bit tricky with too much wind. However it does provide enough space for electronics, at least for now. A friend of mine is working on a boat with a singel hull, also PVC. However is is very difficult to make the hull water proof to protect the electronics and at same time provide enough space for additional sensors and modularity. That is why I have started with the Catamaran.
How does everything scale with small model boats? Does a 10 knot wind equal gale force for a small scale model?
I just can't see a scale model surviving in the ocean or even my nearby Lake Tahoe.
What should a small, resilient platform look like?
I think trimming for optimal wind will be the next step after getting a workable system. Initially, I think just trimming for board reach should be good in most wind conditions. The major issue is when tacking the controller needs to know when the wind direction and be able to trim for starboard or port tack.
Good idea Veikko. However, adding a secondary power source for the APM, like a solar cell for charging the battery would be even more reliable.
Too bad 90% of North America is land locked. That's probably why there's not a lot of people joining the Sailing Group.
The main task to solve in building an autonomous sailing ship is the ability to judge wind speed and direction. I took a weekend sailing course a few years ago and found it extremely fun.
Ever since seeing the Wave Glider, I've always been interested in making a very long duration autonomous sailing craft, but never thought of a way to make it storm proof. Well that, plus I'm land locked...
I have wondered how feasible it might be to dispense with the sails and instead create a small, storm proof craft that is just uses a large, inflatable sail that inflates when the wind is favorable, deflates when it isn't, and can deploy a sea anchor to harness currents or hold position.
A fun project might be to create a sort of "guided" message in a bottle. One could send it to somewhere that you know someone would find it. When opened, it would instruct them to reply to the message and place it back in the water to sail on to the next way point. Make it kinda like an ocean going geocaching game.
Or, put a camera and wifi on it and send it to photograph a remote area, then transit to a urban coastal area to locate an open wifi and send the pictures home. Better yet, enable it to crawl on sand to take pics. That way it to could also re-launch itself when stranded. This could lead to all kinds of hijinks...
If a successful system could scaled up, a series of unmanned, slow moving, autonomous, wind powered cargo vessels could possibly open up new markets by allowing for the inexpensive transport of low value, non-perishable materials around the world. The viability would only go up with the price of fuel oil.
I love the use of PVC pipes. This is not only a great approach to building sailing boats, but even powered boats.
Very cool looking boat.
I would love to see how it works autonomously.