I wanted to make a boat for cruising around lake Michigan autonomously with a GoPro. I have lots of experience with Ardupilot and lots of equipment. I do not want to drop $800 on a hull or custom build one for a first dabble. How about a bait boat? With some 3D printing I can likely add a superstructure for electronics and a GoPro upfront.where the bait buckets are: https://www.amazon.com/Goolsky-Flytec-Loading-Control-Fishing/dp/B07DFZT5LV
Anyone have any other ideas about good Rc boats to convert? Most of the Rc models do not look ideal. Suprised to find there is not more blogging on this topic (yet!).
Marc-If you search “Arduboat” on YouTube you will see some interesting craft. Mr. Boulanger’s (posts on here) twin hull is very nice and another one Randy McKay built. But you are right that there are not many retail offerings to build from. I have the same interest as I have other land based Rovers and I’m in Michigan surrounded by water.
I just started looking at building a bait boat since I live on the beach. I could not really find many designs and the commercial offerings don’t look like they could handle the surf. I think the only thing that would work is a deep vee that is self-righting, and honestly it seems much easier to use a drone to fly bait out 200-300 yards. I’ve been playing with ecalc and the one thing I’ve learned is for max flight time AND higher payload you need a big drone. Prop sizes of 20 to 24 inches seems to be what I would want for bait dropping. Maybe a boat does make more sense. I’m sure I can make a hull out of foam, then glass it. It shouldn’t be too different from creating an airplane fuselage from foam and glass. I’ll look on youtube, but anyone with some info on boat designs please let me know.
Those big Russian bait boats look decent but shipping will cost a fortune. Reckon I could just use the biggest bait boat I can buy reasonably to start. I have seen some catamaran style ones. Unless anyone here can suggest anything better. Or has anything gathering dust they do not mind selling.
Ok. Looked for days. There is not much out there. While a bait boat will work for a pond I think it will be useless on Lake Michigan in all but the most calm conditions. I am leaning towards a stand up paddle board with two blue robotic thrusters. I can probably add some keel ballast. This would be more functional and cheaper than custom hull.
If anyone has any pointers here or can confirm my thoughts I would love to hear it. There seems no reason to stick with lithium batteries either. Why not use a gel sump pump battery in a water tight compartment in the center?
A kids paddle board may be good. Still pretty big. I was poking around a few months ago looking for something to build and came across these canoe stabilizer floats to construct a catamaran from. They sell just the floats for $90 ea. If I lived on the water I might have given it a go but it would be difficult to haul around.
you may be on to something wih that idea. The native Hawiians and other a Pacific Islanders have used outriggters in the surf for thousands of years. They are really stable and don’t have a lot of surface area from the front. Cutting the canoe shape out of a foam block would not be all that difficult either. The shape is simple with no overhangs or complex curves, plus I have lots for motors, servos, ESCs, even a few FC’s that I salvaged mosly from planes that “returned to kit form” right after hitting thr ground I’ve never build a boat before, so this will take some research.
I built a stitch-and-glue construction Kayak some years ago, it was a fun project. Got me thinking… A foam core with epoxy wetted glass, like my kayak, might be a simple, robust and relatively inexpensive way to build the main hull.
A quick check on ebay shows lots of nice rc boat hulls for what I think are reasonable prices. 36" hulls for under $100. A 38" Impulse for $85 I think can be made self-righting, but I was thinking for really rough water than a really big keel like a racing yacht might be a good thing. I really don’t care if it’s fast as long as it gets there. If I don’t build my own hull which the prices make look kind of silly, I could alwasy add on a keel. I think the Agua Cat bait boat also has a big weighted keel. I still like the outriggers too, though.
I just had a thought. A really slim torpedo shape with dual outriggers. if it gets fliipped it just keeps going upside down. The FC would need to know it’s inverted, of course, and the drive system would need to cope. I’m sure someone could figure that out. You could just have a top and bottom motor and run the one that is currently in the water. I need to think about that some more. The whole thing would be really easy to make, you could even use fat pool noodles for outriggers. I’m thinking a flat watermelon seed shaped main hull would be good. Ok, now you guys can tell me why it is a bad idea!!!
After much thought I think I will cut my outrigger pontoons from insulation board sections glued together and I will use ROV thrusters from AlieExpress – the BlueRobotics ones are too expensive I think for a first project. I can quickly make and remake it until I am happy with the performance. 5-6 foot pontoons should give me the ability to handle decent waves and possibly a sump pump gel battery in the middle on the waterline in a waterproof box will give me enough stability and range. Maybe if I feel motivated i can glass the foam to reduce friction but it is not really required here.
The idea is to make something I can use on Lake Michigan and those inflatable outriggers in this instance will have too much side profile and are likely to catch the wind.
I think you are right about the inflatable pontoons. I’m on the other side of the lake and the wind can be fierce. In fact this year its destroying the shoreline and infrastructure. Keep a low profile with some ballast!
Unfortunately boats really need to be custom made based on the environment they will be working in. The various conditions are so extreme that you need to custom make the boat for the expected.
I’ve never build a boat before, so this will take some research.