SeaCharger build blog: see the latest progress on the project

MakerFaire was awesome!

5/21/2016

SeaCharger was at MakerFaire in San Mateo this past weekend. It was an amazing experience. This picture was taken on a Friday, which was relatively quiet. But on Saturday there was a constant stream of people. Thank you to all of you who came by for your enthusiasm and encouragement! I committed to about 500 people that I would launch this thing on Memorial Day, so I guess I had better do it.

2 Comments

Matthew Simmonds

5/29/2016 08:50:35 pm

Cool project. Several years ago I was involved in designing remote control yachts and had thought about designing an autonomous yacht that could sail around the world.

One of the first things I noticed with your design was how exposed the rudder is. If you follow the Volvo round the world yacht racing one of the most common things to break is the rudder. It is surprising how often they hit submerged objects.

Have you considered not using a rudder at all and going with a tandem keel similar to what Team NZ had on NZL20?

Cheers,
Matt

Damon

6/15/2016 04:01:23 pm

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the interest. The rudder probably is vulnerable to stuff getting caught in it. It's one of those things I would do differently if I did it again. The tandem keel would definitely be a good way to handle it, although it's nice to have the rudder as far towards the stern as possible for control authority.

MakerFaire was awesome!

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