Our sailing venue has some very rough country on the far side of the lake, difficult to get to and lots of snakes. It is also very difficult place from which to launch a kayak, hence the need for this boat.
We sail in wind gusts of up to 20 knots so the boat is built heavy and sits low in the water so that it doesn't get blown all over the place during a rescue.
FPV (first person view) is essential when trying to line up on a grounded model yacht 100 metres away. I use a basic Fatshark FPV system with viewing goggles.
The boat is a scratch-built, hard-chine, plywood design, very robust and powerful.
As well as a front hook, it also has a servo mounted hook attachment on the rear deck. For long tows back to base I back up to the yacht using the rear view mirror, hook the backstay of the yacht and tow it home, checking now and then in the rear view mirror.
The FPV camera can pan through 180 degrees and when pointing to the right, looks straight into the rear view mirror.
When I first started using the boat there was no audio from it which made it very hard to judge speed. I fitted a microphone in the hull and connected it to the video card and I can now get very precise motor control.
Over 100 real rescues have been done since February, 2015. There is one star on the hatch cover for each rescue.
The video was recorded on a deck-mounted GoPro.
See also FPV Resue Boat- Real Rescues
