Construction of a 2m length hull for an autonomous boat

[mikasavolleyball]

Hello, I come to you with a question about the construction of the hull of an autonomous boat powered mainly by solar panels. I have looked at some material on the internet and I saw that the main structures for transatlantic boats are either wood or ( all glass fiber, kevlar and carbon fiber with a reinforced structure. ) I'm going to build hull using a fiberglass, kevlar and carbon . Does anyone have links to videos with a full explanation of how to build such a super strong hull or can you explain the full process? One more question, would someone give the names of programs (preferably free) in which such structures are designed?
Thanks to everyone for your help

 

[sarabande]

Masses of information on the internet.
Is this a school project?

Try starting here

Making an autonomous transatlantic boat - OpenTransat

and here

Scout Transatlantic Home- GoTransat.com


I think you need to improve your searching skills, rather than have other people provide all the answers.

 

[mikasavolleyball]

As I wrote above, I did some research on the internet and of course I have already looked at the materials regarding these two autonomous boats. My point is, I'm still not sure about the the cost of making the hull itself or the step by step instructions for making the hull using fibers.

 

[KevinV]

Cool project, a lot of different elements to sort out.

As for hull design/ construction, I wonder if a model boating forum might be a better resource for you? They may have an off-the-shelf hull design that you can adapt with your own keel and steering arrangements, rather than having to re-invent every wheel you need?

 

[Minerva]

Does it have to be 2m long?

If you're doing it on a budget, presumably you could take a Laser dinghy (4m LOA) as the basis? You could get an older one very cheaply - stick a wee stub bulb keel using the centreboard slot, glass up the self bailer, and then finally stick your electronics in the cockpit with a screw down water tight lid?

Sounds like it could be a fun project!

 

[mikasavolleyball]

Does it have to be 2m long?

If you're doing it on a budget, presumably you could take a Laser dinghy (4m LOA) as the basis? You could get an older one very cheaply - stick a wee stub bulb keel using the centreboard slot, glass up the self bailer, and then finally stick your electronics in the cockpit with a screw down water tight lid?

Sounds like it could be a fun project!

It doesn't have to be 2m long, and thanks a lot for the laser idea! I would just have to check out the conversion

 

[mikasavolleyball]

Cool project, a lot of different elements to sort out.

As for hull design/ construction, I wonder if a model boating forum might be a better resource for you? They may have an off-the-shelf hull design that you can adapt with your own keel and steering arrangements, rather than having to re-invent every wheel you need?

Do you know any popular forums of this type?

 

[KompetentKrew]

As I wrote above, I did some research on the internet and of course I have already looked at the materials regarding these two autonomous boats. My point is, I'm still not sure about the the cost of making the hull itself or the step by step instructions for making the hull using fibers.

At two meters long, any book or YouTube video on moulding glass fibre kayaks will do you. Buy the materials from East Coast fibreglass supplies. You used to be able to hire moulds for some of the most common boats (e.g. Snipe). This site has kits for plywood kayaks. Build a kayak using someone else's design and you will be well equipped to build a small powered boat to your own design.

 

[Laminar Flow]

My son has just been hired by a company that uses autonomous marine drone boats for various oceanographic surveys. The structural requirements are no different as those for any other type of craft of a similar displacement/size. If anything, I was somewhat surprised at the inefficient hull shapes used for such low power applications.
As to size: one might want to consider as of which magnitude such a craft becomes a hazard to navigation.

 

[Boathook]

Could buy one of these Pond/ Lake Dinghy Rowing Boats - Otter Boats and alter as required.