@JoeHaase wrote:
Good day all! After several years and rebuilds, our 4-H club successfully built and ran a 6 foot kayak for lake mapping.
We had to have a platform that tracked incredibly straight, and wouldn’t tend to be blown around by wind or waves. This hull shaped has worked out amazingly, as it runs like a arrow through the wind. In order to get it to turn, we had to build a rather large rudder and hook it to a large waterproof servo.
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While it turns great, and we were able to tune it fairly well to hold a course over a long distance, the rudder has proven to be the weak link. The linkage hardware and servo control horns just can’t stand up to heavy use, and being moved around for presentations. The slightest bump will cause it to break, and I have had to go swimming more than once to get the project back.
Since it’s powered by a single T200 BlueRobotics thruster, and has a fwd / rev ESC, I have been thinking of doing a skid steer setup, and doing away with the rudder all together.
My only concern is if the skid steer is forward only, or if it will run one motor in reverse. It takes A LOT of effort to get the hull turning, and the thrusters are going to be fairly close together.
Does anyone have any experience with this, or can recommend heavy duty, reliable hardware for steering control??
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