Where to start for a general understanding?

Hi,
I have a long term goal of building an autonomous boat, however it requires that I first have an understanding of how boats work and how to build them haha. I'd like to start by building a small remote controlled boat, does anyone have recommendations on where to start? I'd like to understand all the math and theory behind it and not just follow plans blindly. I've been getting a lot of conflicting information and don't have a clue where to start.

For context I'm 19 not enrolled in school but do research at a university in machine learning (computer vision mainly), what I've taken includes calculus 1-3, linear algebra, and well versed in deep learning and reinforcement learning.

Information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Yanis

Hi Yanis, the Archive website has a number of books available to read online, similar to a library loan. Anything by this bloke is worth a read.

Aero-hydrodynamics of sailing : Marchaj, Czesław A : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/aerohydrodynamic00marc/mode/1up

Hi @yanisf ,

I suggest you take a look at Navalapp Courses: https://navalapp.com/courses/

The "Sailing Yacht Design 1" course could be a good entry point in the subject for you.

Hope it helps!

The best way to understand boat behavior is to go boating. All the equations and theories in the world will be less educational that spending time in the water. Practical experience will provide you with a realistic context for the knowledge in the books.

gonzo said:

All the equations and theories in the world will be less educational that spending time in the water.

Click to expand...

I can totally agree, as long as you use your time in the water studying the concepts. But it doesn't seem to be the most comfortable way to study.