Autonomous Achilles 24

[weustace]

I saw this posted on the Achilles Owners Forum and first thought it was a joke about somebody not obeying col-regs. But no: https://www.abports.co.uk/media/aypp4aqj/abp-lowestoft-ntm-no-23-2019.pdf

Not only have they apparently converted the hull into an electric autonomous boat (I'm guessing with a big generator inboard, judging by the spurt of water out of the transom in their photo) but they have rendered a beautiful passage plan in Navionics.

I wonder what the plan is? Anyone seen her around?

 

[LittleSister]

I saw her ashore at Shotley recently, and thought it a strange conversion - the arch and all the gear, etc. - and wondered about the owner's intentions. Now I know. Unlikely choice of base boat for that sort of thing, I would have thought.

 

[Stemar]

For a small-scale project on a budget, an unloved MAB makes an ideal base hull. It's easily available and strong, well able to stand up to the slings and arrows of outrageous grad students. Any number of boatyards would be glad to give one away to a good cause - it would save them the bother of getting out the angle grinder.

 

[weustace]

Indeed—though word on the A24 forum is that this is far from an unloved MAB (well, you can argue on the latter bit). Won a couple of notable races including Round Lundy (class anyway) in 2015. Of course, a lot can go wrong in 4 years, but still... I guess even a good MAB hull is pretty cheap, so it works in a sense. Still seems a weird decision, you'd have thought they'd go for something with an inboard rather than sticking that e-outboard thingy on the transom. I must pop into Shotley when I'm next down there and have a gander!

 

[markhomer]

Does anyone have a problem with this ??

 

[NotBirdseye]

Aside from every sailor griping about how it can't possibly be obeying colregs?

No.

 

[Stemar]

I suspect it would be better at following colregs than plenty of charter boats and coasters, though distinguishing between steam and sail would be a challenge

 

[NotBirdseye]

*almost.

Actually, distinguishing between those under motor and those under sail is really easy any Submariner will be able to confirm.

 

[weustace]

Does anyone have a problem with this ??

As an owner of another of the class it's a bit sad to see it being brutalised in this fashion, but I don't have much of a problem with the general concept... Apparently it has a massive fuel tank and large engine inside it, as I suspected.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I suspect it would be better at following colregs than plenty of charter boats and coasters, though distinguishing between steam and sail would be a challenge

I presume it has "working below decks" and "blind drunk Lithuanian" modes to simulate fishing and cargo vessels respectively.