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Comment by bogwog | Hacker News Reader

> Sean explained the setup: it was an autopilot he had built using a windshield wiper motor, gyroscope, television remote, and a Raspberry Pi – a palm sized computer costing less than $40.

Correction: from watching his videos, it looks like he's using a Raspberry Pi Zero, which costs $5, or $10 if you need Wifi.

This is damn impressive. I've always wondered what it would be like to live on a sailboat, and this guy has actually gone and done it successfully without dying.

Personally, I'd opt for a bigger boat though...

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>> I've always wondered what it would be like to live on a sailboat..

Misery. It is not fun. There are forces out on the ocean that are truly terrifying. And there are people out there who want to hurt you. If you are going to be alone in a slow boat, you better look so poor as to not be worth their time. I'm a little surprised he displays those shiny solar panels so openly.

> there are people out there who want to hurt you

You mean want to steal from you? Who would hurt you just for the sake of it?

Piracy is still very much a thing in the 21st century.

I mean actual piracy.

I'm perplexed. But I guess it makes sense. In the middle of the ocean there are no laws and nobody to protect you.

https://arachnoid.com/sailbook/Chapter_6_--_Darwin_to_Sri_La...

Scroll down to "October 10 — Day 5"

no one is going to hurt him:) pirates will see the rust stains on the hull and the orderly deck and will probably give him some cash. generally boaters are much friendlier than people on the ground. surviving on the water is the real deal, not like taking uber home.

Overblown fears.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNYlvlreZiRRHo_v5Nmrfow (Sailing Zatara)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9rRsBE2nFbnUSjtmv6Jq6w (Sailing Yacht Ruby Rose)

https://www.sailingtotem.com/blogging-families-afloat (Blogging families afloat)

That sounds like the American kind of nonsense perpetuated by reality tv and bs documentaries. There are a lot of people, even entire families loving aboard and sailing the world with plenty of youtube channels and forum posts about it.

Open source navigation software he contributes to:

https://www.opencpn.org/OpenCPN/info/about.html

It's a very good program- we use it for teaching in the US Power Squadron.

The term is called "livaboards". There are "a lot" of people who do that by the way and with ways that are way more convenient and luxurious than this. Check sailnet.com and on youtube Sailing La Vagabonde and Sailing Britaly. The recommendations algorithm will take care of the rest.

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