The objective of the project was to create a scaled sailboat that can navigate through the wind. The project originated from the differing robotic sailboat competitions throughout the area with hopes to create a boat strong enough to compete in such competition.

The studio taught us a lot about the configuration of different sailboats and the scientific reasoning behind the success of such boats. After the lessons informing us of the different kinds of sailboats, we modeled a catamaran boat using tin foil and tape. This was our first prototype of our boat. After testing it through the water, we identified the problems and altered our designs to ultimately find success. Our second prototype required us to use DELFTship to create a model of a hull for our boat. After finding the right shape and size we then used the laser printer to create our second prototype. This prototype consisted of cardboard cut hulls and platform with a garbage bag sail. We then altered our blueprints once again and created our final project out of carbon fiber molds.

The creation of the boat was not the only aspect of this studio, we then had to hook up the motor to arduino and program the boat to respond to the remote control guiding the boom and the rudder. We used a simple arduino board to program the motor to do the provided tasks. We also had to find an efficient way to connect the batteries and motor without the risk of electrifying our circuit and causing an unbalance in weight distribution of our boat.

After completing the final prototype of our boat, we came to the conclusion that the programing required to find the right angles in which the boat can successfully reach the end point while sailing through the wind. The rigors of our project were creating the fiberglass molds of our hulls as well as finding the right angles and stability needed to successfully sail into the wind, minimizing any chances of failure or capsizing. Overall despite any rigors along the way our project was successful and taught us many things regarding the structure and efficiency of a sailboat and the programing that came along with it.