SLB
The self-launching boat (SLB) is being prototyped to address conventional obstacles to launch and recovery of sea-going craft, and takes the form of a flat-pack kit-catamaran.
With a motor and propeller at each corner it will be able to self-deploy from land to water, whereupon forward motors are shut down and rearmost vectored for forward progress.
A key finding from years of developing personal air vehicles is that hovering flight has always been, and remains, costly in terms of energy. Forward motion ~ supported by aerofoils or else by hydroplanes as here ~ is wholly more efficient.
Progress on development of the prototype can be followed in the blog accessible from the home page.
25th Jul 2024