OpenShip - An Open Source Autonomous/RC Surface Vessel

thingiverse

A cutting-edge, modular boat that I've designed to be fully remote controlled and eventually autonomous in operation. The entire hull can be printed and its length adjusted by adding or removing parallel midbody sections. A battery-holding midbody section is provided along with an empty baseline that can easily be modified to accommodate any payload. Bow and stern sections can also be customized to suit the user's needs, as long as the mating surface remains unchanged. I have currently designed a transom-style stern as well as a more hydrodynamic streamlined stern design. Additionally, I've made a catamaran version by removing the transom and rudder, relying on differential steering instead, and using two hulls connected with 80/20 aluminum extrusions. Power is provided by a 12V sealed lead-acid battery available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003S1RQ2S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Propulsion is handled by a bilge pump cartridge inserted into the twist-lock hole in the propulsion plant module available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000BYOAV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I'm currently experimenting with designing propellers, but this design has worked well so far: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:986079. Remote control is achieved via a hobby RC Transmitter/Receiver, waterproof servo motor for the rudder (if used), and waterproof Electronic Speed Controllers (ESCs) to drive the motors and power the RC receiver. Instructions will be posted as the project converges to a final iteration. A Fritzing schematic of the autonomous version is available now, while the RC version omits the Arduino, Raspberry Pi, sensors, etc.