This catamaran (the Luca) has been a pet project of mine since high school. The hulls themselves were handmade by my dad's friend many years ago (hence the name). Originally, the boat was wind powered and was rigged to automatically sail into the wind. I don't know anything about sailing, so as a high school freshman I decided to throw giant motors at it (the particular motors, still used today, came from my much-loved Power Wheels Jeep, which became too small for me). I could have thrown off-the-shelf electronics at it, but I'm not that kind of guy. Why let others have all the fun? All the main control electronics are designed and built by yours truly (minus the motor controllers - my own designs kept blowing up. I ended up using the excellent Dual VNH2SP30 Motor Driver Carriers from Polulu. Part MD03A). The electronics for this beast have been a huge driver for my own proficiency in electronics, acting as a test bed for my skills. Every few years I decide I was a giant idiot when I designed the electronics, and throw everything away and start fresh. That's happened at least 3 times. Great for learning, not so great for the wallet and, you know, actually having a fun RC boat :) I'll post updates as I go along. I'm gonna finish it this time, honest!
Check my blog for more info as I post it: http://giferrari.net/blog
