“Smartening” Up a Sailboat with a Raspberry Pi and ESP8266 Modules

While gasoline or diesel-powered watercraft have been available for many years, there is something amazing about a sailboat quietly moving…

Hackster Staff
7 years agoInternet of Things

While gasoline or diesel-powered watercraft have been available for many years, there is something amazing about a sailboat quietly moving through the water under this free source of power. While the propulsion system may be ancient, hacker “gwilken” decided to take the rest of his 1975 Yankee 30 MKIII into the 21st century, using an array of ESP8266-based sensors along with a Raspberry Pi to tie everything together. He also installed an electric motor in place of its old gas engine.

Sensor data is transmitted wirelessly to the Pi, allowing the vintage boat to monitor battery power levels, real-time energy usage, solar energy creation, as well as environmental conditions like temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity via a Bosch BME280 breakout board. There’s also a GPS antenna for monitoring location.

This data is displayed as web page — live here — that can be viewed on an iPad or any other connected device. You can find more details on the hacker’s sailboat upgrade over on GitHub.

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