Selected a hobby grade remote control boat as a suitable platform in the next step for my quest to build an autonomous watercraft. Picked up a AquaCraft Wildcat Brushless Catamaran and took it out to Lake Berryessa to test under remote control. Got a feel for the speed, turn rate, and battery life. The boat is much faster than I need it to be as an autonomous robot. At its slowest speed, turning is still very responsive. I estimate I’ll only use around 20% of the rudder deflection angle.
I drove the craft for approximately 14 minutes at various speeds, including full throttle. Overall, this consumed 65% of a 2200 MAH 3s Lipo.
At autonomous speeds, imagine I’d get at least double that duration.
This was my first RC boat experience, and I have to say, it was wicked fun.