Congratulations, you have successfully constructed an affordable autonomous boat! Welcome to the world of marine robotics! Your hard work is about to pay off and no doubt you are excited to see your Maker Boat Basic in action. To increase your chances of having a successful maiden voyage, find a safe, secluded, and shallow body of water. Go to a familiar location that will allow you to rescue your Maker Boat Basic if it becomes disabled. Avoid areas with high boat traffic, like marinas and boat ramps, and protected areas. Do your research to make sure that you comply with all local rules and regulations.
Before you head out…
Check the weather! Even though the Maker Boat Basic can handle choppy conditions, you may need to open up the junction box to change the direction of rotation of a thruster and the computer/mobile device that you use to run QGroundControl probably is not waterproof (the X9 Lite definitely is not!). Consult your local forecast and plan for a clear day with light winds and small waves to show your friends and neighbors your affordable autonomous boat!
The night before
- Charge your 4S LiPos, Taranis X9 Lite batteries and the laptop or mobile device that runs QGroundControl
- Save offline maps of your test location in QGroundControl
- Pack a basic toolkit
- If using a laptop, pack a folding table or something to keep the laptop off the ground
- Gather everything else that you will need for a few hours outdoors in the sun (hat, sunscreen, water, snacks, etc.)
First in-water tests
Warning– The T200 thrusters are water-cooled. Do not run them for more than a second or two in air.
Remember– If, at any point, the Maker Boat Basic behaves erratically or becomes uncontrollable, use the ARM switch on your X9 Lite transmitter to disarm the vehicle
Power up
- Power on the X9 Lite first
- Open QGroundControl and plug in the ‘ground’ telemetry radio
- Plug the 4S LiPo into the Power Module
- Listen for tones from the ESCs
- Close the junction box
- Secure the junction box to the mounting brackets
- Wait for QGroundControl to auto-detect your Pixhawk
Test thruster direction and steering
- Select ‘Manual’ flight mode on your Taranis X9 Lite
- Attach a short rope or use the leash on your boogie board for the first thruster tests
- Place the Maker Boat Basic in shallow water, but deep enough to provide adequate clearance for the fins
- Move the ARM switch to the armed position
- Gently ease the throttle forward
- Slowly turn the Maker Boat Basic to the right and left
- If the Maker Boat Basic travels in the correct directions then you are good to go!
- If the Maker Boat Basic goes backwards instead of forwards, swap a wire on each ESC and try again
- Instead, if the Maker Boat Basic goes in circles when you tell it to go forward or backward, check the direction of rotation to determine which thruster is operating in the wrong direction
- For example, if you want the Maker Boat Basic to move forward, but it spins counterclockwise, the left thruster is spinning in the wrong direction
- If the Maker Boat Basic goes forwards and backwards, but turns in the wrong direction (you tell it to turn left but it turns right), swap the ESC signal wires on the MAIN outputs 1 & 3 on the Pixhawk
- Before you pick up the Maker Boat Basic and remove it from the water, disarm the vehicle using the ARM switch on your RC transmitter
Ease into it
Once the MBB responds properly to inputs from the X9 Lite, gradually increase the complexity of your maneuvers, all while keeping an eye on battery levels, weather, and other people, boats, and wildlife. Don’t get cocky! Operate at slow to moderate speeds and remember that the line of sight distance for a boat is shorter than a plane or a drone in the air. Try out loiter mode and, if that works, plan a simple autonomous waypoint mission.
Share your experience!
The Maker Boat Basic is our attempt to make the world of marine robotics open and accessible to as many people as possible. We have tried to make an affordable autonomous boat that is simple to create and we hope the build documents here have taken some of the mystery out of the process. If there’s anything that we can do to improve the Maker Boat Basic, please let us know! Let us know what you think and show us what you’ve built! One day we will probably have a social media presence, but for now – use our contact form.