Contest day one.

Today saw the start of the organised event and we pitched up with our towels earlier than everyone else, not because we're organised but because we're still waking up at 6am. We were subsequently moved on but were fortunate enough to be placed next to last year's winning team, from whom we intend to learn much. With a little fettling we passed the technical inspection, although we're still to find out whether they will allow our batteries as they are on the borderline of being too heavy. People seem to like our boat and the general consensus appears to be surprise at the speed with which we were able to construct it. Our work space accommodates us easily, especially when compared with the larger crews and they are all larger than ours. The boat spent the day standing proud, the most obvious boat from the entrance and looking smart with all its sponsorship decals, the union flag welcoming all interested parties. Interested parties were in plentiful supply throughout the day and I've become used to being introduced as 'Richard, the one you won't understand'. We left the boat this evening ready for our seaworthiness trials tomorrow morning and headed for a provided supper at the university football team's stadium. Some more calculations await our attention this evening, as does a pack of beer.

Richard, Team Tarka

First update from Arkansas

After spending yesterday fixing the multitude of broken boat parts we were able to commence testing today. The boat was run for approximately 4 hours in variations of the endurance configuration. A close to optimum configuration has been found and further analysis of data later tonight will allow us to select a number of parameters that are still unclear. The boat performed well and we are optimistic that it is competitive, in the endurance configuration; based on the information gleaned from local competitors. We are prepared to be shocked by the speeds that the faster boats may reach in the sprint configuration. Observations have shown that the local boat uses two motors, which are identical to our one; an extravagance we simply could not afford. The custom props are another significant difference that with extra funding and time next year we intend to consider. Despite our low cost solution local observers appeared to be impressed and we were pleasantly surprised at how much running we achieved; the sun here is good, for the boat at least. We are now off to sample the delights of the local brewery, wish us luck. Team Tarka

IEEE talk

Peter Wilson gave a talk hosted by the IEEE student branch this evening, on the progress of Team Tarka and the Solar Splash competition. We were also recruiting for a team for Solar Splash 2010. Please get in touch if you'd like to be involved next year.

Tarka shipped off today

Tarka was on display outside the Mountbatten building on campus this morning, in fantastic sunshine. Lots of ECS staff and students came to look and ask questions before we packed her up into the shipping crate, and onto a lorry to begin the long trip to the US.

See the ECS news story too.

Boat Launch

The boat launch was totally successful!

It was really great having people around to check the boat out, and I think the press really enjoyed it too! Check out the following links for the press coverage:

• http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/about/news/2457
• http://www.bsn.org.uk/view_all.php?id=15055
• http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/search/4301287.Solar_powered_speedboat_makes_a_splash/

Some of the videos are pretty funny! You can see me with the strange posture as I was trying to get my weight as far forward as possible to get the nose down.


After all the press had left, everyone had a go on the boat. It was quite exciting seeing everyone's different style of driving, as well as just how manoeuvrable the hull is.

First powered test on the water.

Tarka went out on the water this evening for her first powered test. With only two batteries and even those not fully charged, it was still very impressive to see the speed and manoeuvrability on the water. It's really very pleasing to see what we've achieved in such a short time, and a relief that we will have a good demonstration for our press launch tomorrow!

Solar panel testing

It was one of those rare bright Monday mornings where the intense sunlight was shining down on our south-facing Mountbatten roof garden. We decided to use this space as our solar panel test facility for the day.

The 215W SunPower panels were specifically chosen for their superior power to weight ratio and adequate efficiency. They were connected directly to a neat-looking MPPT, which was wired to a 12V Varta battery.

The selected MPPT has a set of indication LEDs that correspond to its charging status. Once the panel packaging was removed and the sunlight was exposed, the appropriate LEDs flashed on indicating that the panel was successfully charging the battery.

For the remainder of the morning we took some voltage and current readings in order to identify the charging characteristics of the power charging system. These measurements will be later used in optimising the electrical performance for the endurance race.