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!