pic: 1726 NURC robot prototype

[MrForbes]

No rules....basically we can do whatever we want, we are limited to maximum total power and maximum voltage.

We are limited by our budget, though! which is one reason we started out using the $15 bilge pump motors. another reason is that they come with a shaft seal that works ok at the depths of the competition.

We are also limited in time/fabrication abilities/etc so a pre-packaged motor is a big plus. Boat props work best when attached to a relatively long drive shaft, so the motor is a ways away from the prop, not like our current design. That's one reason we wanted to go with a larger diameter prop. Also I tihnk that efficiency is not going to be our ultimate goal..instead, we'll be aiming for a propulsion system that can accomplish the mission objectives in the required time, and have enough battery reserve to get the robot(s) back to shore. Budget again comes into the equation....

We had found the boat props already, but not the nozzles...very interesting!

Thanks for your input, we'll keep working on it and let you know what we find!