First Test of the Prototype

After a sprint weekend, our prototype finally touched water for the first time on a foggy Sunday. It wasn't quite the Atlantic Ocean, but the calm waters of Lake Blausteinsee near Aachen proved challenging enough. Unfortunately, we underestimated the forces resulting from the deck, which resulted in the bulb keel being too light. So our boat was prone to tipping to one side. On the bright side, we could successfully test our propulsion, steering and telemetry with only small hiccups. Also worthy of a mention is all the progress we made on the software: a first version of an autopilot (which sadly couldn't be tested) and a nice interface for telemetry and the autopilot.

All in all, we learned a lot from this test and had a great deal of fun. Next goal: refine the prototype for the next test.