Long Range Autonomous Drone Boat - Build and Tuning

This video shows the build and initial test runs of my latest autonomous boat.

[aurelienwittmann]

Final mission would be to put solar cells and cross the pacific

[bonvivant]

There are countless books on hull design, and you've somehow happened to plot a course around all of them.

[ukariah]

its honestly amazing how he made this hull float, it goes against every single rule when youre making a boat and it still stays upright

[ACDProductions]

If the battery can support the boat for a few hours of autonomous sailing, you should consider adding a depth finder that maps the path you take and maps the depth of the path in like a 5-10 ft diameter on the lake floor and see how long you could go with one mapping a lake/pond on a calm day. That would be pretty sick.

[galaxis]

Boat videos from rctestflight are honestly top tier

[super_jo_nathan]

Love that you put the random interactions with strangers in the video, really gives it a nice touch.

[ianb]

"Rudder 101" - put the rudder blades (yes, 2 of them) directly behind the propellers

[skyrimnb]

Ship stability is an interesting subject. I graduated from a maritime academy last year with a third mates license and during my time at the academy I got to learn the basics for the subject. The cargo ships you see have many containers below decks as well as a comprehensive ballasting system. It seems bizzar and complicated from the outside, but it's not incredibly hard to understand seeing as your average Mariner has to learn about it.

Edit: You're representing the 206 well my friend!

[francistheodorecatte]

came for autonomous boat, stayed for depression-era mega-sturgeon story from random passer-by.

[StarWitchCendrill]

I realy like these boat projects. all the people stopping to talk is fun too. It's very similar to what happens when I'm doing my own projects. Even if they're not as advanced as yours.

[bluerobin]

you know what would be cool in the summer you could have your Autonomous solar plane fly above the boat and be a relay for the boat on very long distance which could improve you signal overall

[littletimelord]

The underwater portion of container ships (also known as the draft) is absolutely huge. And because it’s so deep, it’s also reinforced, making it heavier. That’s why those ships stay stable. They have a deep underwater portion, and a very heavy underwater portion.

[polakmaciej]

The thing you're missing in terms of stability is a keel, a heavy fin extending below the bottom and into the water. Keeps your boat straight up and makes steering much much easier.

[TheMekein]

I don't know if it's been commented already. But i work in boats, and autopilots DO have different PID's for different sea states as well as different speeds. Maybe you can come up with different steering modes. That would help.

[charlescoult]

Would love to see a version 3 with a deep dive into how container ships work and how to implement the same principles in your smaller scale boat!!!

[mowler]

I watched my dad build a boat in our backyard and as soon as I saw yours I knew it would be too top heavy...great job you pushed through so cool.

[joedafpv]

When you hear "so um i built it out of dollar tree foam board" you know its gonna be good on this

[dwightjones]

I think a V shaped hull would improve stability in the waves.

[adammcveigh]

"After building a boat, I now have no idea how boats work"... fantastic quote

[ryanokeefe]

"This boat will go slow, for high efficiency"
**Adds 15lbs of ballast to keep boat upright**