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The kayak hull is the WaveSport Fuse 35, a kids whitewater kayak, 1.8m (5.9 ft) long. The small size of this kayak allows it to fit in the back of a SUV and be easily lifted in and out of the water by two people. The kayaks weigh roughly 40 kg (88 lbs). The whitewater hull design is less efficient for transit, but is highly maneuverable and seaworthy for its size. The modified kayak hull has one hole for the thruster shaft and two 80/20 rails running lengthwise in the front of the vehicle to provide a stiff mounting platform. Maximum speed when towing a modem is roughly 3 m/s (6 kts), and over 4 m/s (8 kts) is possible when not towing a modem.
In contrast to most autonomous kayaks (and powerboats in general), our kayaks have the thruster near the bow and a small skeg near the stern. Since steering is accomplished by rotating the thruster, this arrangement makes the kayak stable in heading and simplifies control. The basic control system uses a PID for heading (using compass) and the MOOS trackline controller for waypoint control (using GPS). More advanced control algorithms are implemented as MOOS applications and inserted in the appropriate places in the control loop.
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