World's first Solar-powered ASD Tug Boat!

My first video illustrating the core maneuvering characteristics of a ASD (Azimuth Stern Drive) vessel.

I built this for a few reasons:

1. Full-blown vessel bridge simulators are expensive ($1M-ish and typically many hundreds of dollars per hour), and while I fully support their use for professionals in the industry (financially sponsored by their companies/unions), it's difficult to justify the cost for private individuals like myself who want to give it a whirl.

2. The other option is to get your hands on the real thing. But that often takes YEARS for a deckhand (AB) to do, and it isn't so fast for the licensed, non-tug boat people either (you'll need to get hired, complete your TOAR, then have a company actually be willing to let you touch the sticks).

3. Lastly, this is my jam. I've had my Captain's license since I was 19, but I've been driving boats since I was in middle school (I was raised on a 40' sailboat) and driving is the most fun part of being a mariner. It's what we crave, and this is a new flavor of maritime Brando.

So thanks for watching, and please feel free to comment or ask questions!

And yes, I realize the audio is clipped (input gain on camera set too high).

Видео World's first Solar-powered ASD Tug Boat! канала Danny Blanchard