Electric Surfboard

• Two high power lithium polymer batteries in series
   

• Two VESC 6 motor controllers
   

• Water cooling system (open loop) for controllers
   

• Custom wireless receiver with custom firmware based on Arduino
   

• Waterproof enclosure with cable glands

The board is controlled by a 3D printed, wireless, waterproof controller with custom firmware.

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• Telemetry data (Battery remaining, temperature, RPM, estimated range...) displayed in real-time on the Oled screen and recorded on an SD card.
   

• Wireless charging
   

• Various modes for acceleration and cruise control

Two motors are mounted at the rear of the surfboard, attached with 3D printed motor mounts, and fitted with 3D printed propellers.

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The brushless DC motors, originally designed for big model aircraft, worked flawlessly after replacing the bearings for stainless steel ones. Each can provide over 3.5kW, resulting in a combined maximum power of around 7kW.

V1 motor mounts had increased drag and created turbulent flow towards propellers.

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V2 motor mounts were redesigned to have less drag, a smoother flow for propellers, and more stiffness. This resulted in increased efficiency and durability.

Testing done at 40% maximum power.

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Telemetry data displayed using DashWare

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Cavitation can be observed at higher throttle. A future propeller redesign is needed to further increase efficiency.

The surfboard reached a top speed of 18km/h, still limited at 70% power.