The F-Boat is essentially an upgrade of the N-Boat II. This project was led by a group of researchers from UFF College, partners with Natalnet. In this upgrade, the same design as the N-Boat II was used. Very few adjustments were made to the hull assembly and virtually none to the sail.
The greatest difference is in the onboard equipment. Primarily an electric outboard motor was added, a necessary requirement for the wind conditions where the sailboat would be sailing in Niterói, RJ. This is because in some recurring cases the wind stops and a second form of propulsion, the motor, is required. Here is a list of updated components on the F-Boat:
- 54 LBs thrust outboard motor and corresponding controller board.
- Camera sets: In addition to installing a newer version of Zed, a 360-degree camera from Kodak, the Kodak SP360, was also installed.
- NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier Kit.
- Complete Pixhawk 2.4.8 PRO Kit (with GPS and data communication antenna).
- Wifi router with 5GHz support and SD card for 3G/4G phone signal.
- More powerful MPPT charge controller and solar panel.
- Updated weather vane and anemometer system.
Other than that, the shipbuilding of the F-Boat was quite similar to the N-Boat II. This part was done in Natal, RN and then sent to Niterói, RJ. There, the electromechanical construction and initial tests were carried out. Here is a sequence of photos from this last part:
Youtube playlist of electronics and mechanics construction:
First fild test at Guanabara bay at Niterói/RJ:
Youtube Field test video:
Downloadable files:
Click here to download Álvaro Negreiros' master thesis.Click here to download Davi Santos' master thesis.
Click here to download the N-boat II Renders and blueprints.
Click here to download the N-boat II Solidworks CAD files.
Click here to download the N-boat II STL files.
Source code repositories:
Github Medialab F-boat.