Automatic Canting Keel Project

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1

Hello Guys!

I came to this forum to find out more about building RC boats. Im in a group engineering project for school and our final year project is to design and build an automatically adjusting canting keel boat.
I have been reading up quite a bit on the subject and Decided to finally post here to get started. Canting keels seem to have been discussed quite a bit here, but I want to have a controller on the boat recognise the heel angle, and automatically kick the keel out.
Right now, we are still researching our options, and writing down our specifications, but I want to ask this forum for some help. It seems that you guys are the brains and experience of the RC world and can help us make this dream a reality.

Ideally, we would like to take what we learn from the project, as well as our cad models and software analysis results and our controller program and make it available to everyone. We hope that with your help we can make some small advancement in the art of canting keels. If our boat fails, then at least it will be a useful guide how NOT to make a canting keel boat.

Can anyone give me a few suggestions on where to start? It seems that the user Doug Lord has a lot of information on the subject, but he is no longer with this forum. Any way I could get in contact?

2

He is on the RCGroup website. Click on his name and it should provide you with a Personal Message link or Email address.

3

Hi , I’m not sure about what you search for.
In principle a pendulum sitting inside the hull can drive a potentiometer for more the 270° although you may need less the 180° (90° left and 90° right). The potentiometer can supply a variable resistance to an “electronic device”.
In my past electronics souvenirs was feasible with a ‘mono-stable’ circuit’ properly clocked at the rate required by the servo. The ‘mono stable’ produces a variable pulse width to be sent to a servo.
The principle is drawn here. Vertical position equal to 90°, left 180° and right 0°. This system may require a lot of power for the servo. Robotics experts may help you much better then me !
I do not knows more then that of course, but for sure Servocity.com deserve a contact.
Claudio

Of course this system may react too fast to angular movements and probably it may be a good idea to insert an Oil damper