SailBot Naval Architecture! 5 Tips and Hints Learned the Hard Way! - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

SailBot Naval Architecture! 5 Tips and Hints Learned the Hard Way! Dr. Paul H. Miller

#1 - The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float! • Water@ght Integrity is the most important aspect of your project! • Water ≠ Electricity • Sugges@ons: – Use OTS hatches – Test & Fix!

#2 - KG is King! • KG is the distance from the boTom of the keel to the Ver@cal Center of Gravity • This is the primary characteris@c of useful stability in SailBots! • The VCG should be below the hull. So, all weight from the boTom of the hull to the top of the rig should be low, light or not there!

#3 - F=ma! Weight versus speed • Unless the wind is strong, a lighter weight boat will accelerate faster and if we take the double integral … . • So, balance light weight versus strength. • Excep@on – light weight ballast is not recommended!

#4 -You Can Have Too Much of a Good Thing! – Sail Area A 15-knot breeze produces 900% the force of a 5-knot breeze! Have two (or more) rigs or sails or add reef points

#5 - Balance in Life • Steering a sailboat is not easy! • A “balanced” boat sails in a straight line. • Your coding is not as smart as you, so to get your boat to sail in a straight line, balance it. • If it turns downwind with controls released, move the sails ah or the keel forward. • The opposite is also true!

Have Fun!