Autonomous boat Instruction manual for dummies?

Hello everyone,

so, im no engineer, although i am university educated, took carpentry and learn fast (im smart) but not familair with the electronics involved in this project. can anyone help explain all the components in the boat and their funtion/cost. like an idiotproof guide explaning how it works.
i have an awesome idea for the physical design, the hull and whatnot. i just need help with the electronics… id like for mine to be able to cross long distances. not neccesarily going to send it to hawaii or africa or anything… but maybe from alaska to cali? along coast?

Ive been absolutly obsessed with the idea of building one of these autonomous boats (motor powered) with possible sail for added power. and ill have powerbanks and solar panels onboard… i was told to go with the ardupilot unit. (is this what i should get?) https://www.ebay.ca/itm/APM-2-8-ArduPilot-Mega-Flight-Controller-Built-in-Compass-with-GPS/173493709627?var=472186223365

woops, posted too soon accidnetly.
also wanted to ask about things like, obsticle avoidance, speed and/or temperature gauge. adding a live feed camera… or having certain sensors that change from solar power to battery power when nightfall comes.
(does the ardupilot show its gps location in live feed or instantly upon request? or does one need to put a gps tracker with a simcard and data plan if they wish to track the location during the journey.) maybe a stupid question… because i think the ardupilot doubles as this feature.

i will summarize with this.

im a noob, im sure many here are. and i would appreciate if someone could take a picture of their electrical components box in there boat rover, and say what each component is, and what its connected to and what it does, and the cost of it. (as well as things that are absolutly necessarily bare minimum to work, and what is just an added feature that may not be totally necessary, just bonus

PLEASE AND THANKYOU

Start here:
http://ardupilot.org/rover/

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