“Introduction
This big 3D printed big radio controlled boat is designed to house water monitoring equipment and other environmental utility systems. The hull is a catamaran design with both sides of the hull connected with carbon tubes. It is capable of carrying a large payload inside the hull as well as on the optional modular deck system. The boat is powered by a brushless motor and air propeller and steering is via above water control surfaces. The boat is designed to be radio controlled. A minimum of two channel radio equipment is required for throttle and steering, more channels are required if you would like reverse and for operating any optional auxiliary systems. This instructable is for the hull and drive systems only and does not include any of the auxiliary systems at this stage, but I plan to add these soon.
Specifications
- Overall length: 1,000 mm
- Dry weight: 6 kg
- Running weight: 7 kg
- Payload capacity: 5 kg+
- Maximum speed: ~20 km/h
This design is not waterproof. Parts must be prepared to prevent water entering. I recommend two coats of polyester resin on the hull. A video series showing the design and build process can be found on the Electrosync YouTube channel. Note that there are some differences between the boat in the videos and the boat in this instructable.
Recommended print settings:
- Minimum build plate size: 200 mm x 200 mm
- Material: PLA+
- Nozzle size: 0.6 mm
- Print speed: 60 mm/s
- Layer height: 0.36 mm
- Initial layer height: 0.42 mm
- Wall line width: 0.6 mm
- Initial layer line width: 140 %
- Wall line count: 3
- Top layers: 3
- Bottom layers: 3
- Infill density: 40%”