Sailbotix, 1345 Minto Street, Victoria, BC (2026)

03/30/2026

We are thrilled to announce the initial deployment of our first ocean data buoy. You can check out the real time dashboard at https://sailbotix.com/demo-buoy-dashboard/. It’s stationed off Oak Bay

Basically, we’ve stuck the entire operating platform of our USV into a moored buoy. We even use the same hull structure (just removed the thruster and navigation system). So what can it do? Here’s the list:

1) Wave height and period
2) Thermal camera
3) Four full-surround visible light cameras
4) One underwater camera
5) AI-powered marine mammal hydrophone detection system
6) Met Ocean Data (wind speed, direction, pressure, water , temp etc.

But the fat sensor suite isn’t what really makes this buoy powerful, it’s the electrical and software systems platform. Runninng all sensors (cameras, hydrophone, etc) and transmitting to shore via LTE uses a paltry 7.4 Watts. Low power mode (all sensors but cameras and hydrophone) uses 0.7 watts! In low power mode, it switches to Iridium Certus and provides updates at a chosen frequency. Low power consumption and power scalability is achieved by using a dual processor system and sophisticated power management controls.

The buoy has three communications channels – Iridium Certus (low power) and remote, LTE mid power and optimal, and Starlink (works everywhere and provides girthy bandwidth). Starlink use adds an additional 30 watts to the load, however, can be turned on and off for bulk data transfer at intervals. The cameras can be configured in countless different ways between sending still images and video. They are currently set to send images every ten seconds.

A 100 watt solar panel provides ample power in spring/summer/fall conditions, and it can be fitted with a150 watt panel for winter. For winter use, there are many options for tiered power management, and onboard AI analytics to get the full picture.

What you see running in this buoy is what also runs in our USVs – a modular, and exceptionally versatile electrical system that sips power sparingly. We are storing all the images collected from our buoy to fine tune our AI models

Our next stage of development for both our buoys and USVs is to further develop our AI analytics to increase onboard intelligence, so human operators are only bothered when events of interest occur. That’s what you call low cost, low effort ocean moniotorig.

So why use a buoy instead of a USV? Well, they both have their pros and cons, but there are some poorly understood benefits to buoys. We’ll explain it all in our next post.

Huge thanks to the Ocean Startup Project and COAST for your support.

12/03/2025

It was such a gorgeous evening, I had to pause to snap some pics of the USV with my phone. This is in Victoria, Canada, but if you look closely, you can see Mount Baker over in the US.

10/19/2025

Our first manufacturing run is underway! Boats will soon be headed to the US, Australia, and the UK — an exciting milestone for us at Sailbotix.

09/16/2025

Over 500 hours in the test tank so far! Did you know you that a bare naked motor can run in salt water? For thruster motors on boats or ROVs there are a few different ways of protecting them from seawater.

The traditional and most common way is to place them in an air-filled housing with a shaft seal. Or for submersible craft, sometimes the pod is oil filled to resist the pressure. Another very elegant way is to use an air-filled pod with a magnetic coupling instead of a shaft seal.

Most electric outboard motors such as Minn Kota and Torqeedo use the air pod/shaft seal system, and they work reasonably well. The problem, however, is the shaft seals usually need replacing every 300-1000 hours, which prevents continuous multi-month missions.

Blue Robotics popularized a different approach: fully coating the motor’s electrical and corrosive parts in epoxy, making them inert in saltwater (check out their great motors here: https://lnkd.in/gErcPn_9). This allows the motor to run directly in the water with no housing—simple, effective, and with excellent passive cooling.

The advantage of this system is simplicity; no shaft seals to replace and excellent passive motor cooling. Additionally, the motor doesn’t need a pressure-resistant housing to go to depth.

While it’s a simple concept, it’s difficult to do right. Pinhole leaks in the potting can lead to delamination and ultimate failure. Additionally, most bearings don't like salt water – stainless steel bearings start to corrode and plastic bushings impart greater friction.

We’ve put ceramic bearings in our motor, and as far as we know, we’re the first in the industry to do this. Ceramic bearings, as well as being extremely low friction, are completely inert to saltwater so should last a long, long time.
These bearings combined with the ultra low KV rating (170) have allowed us to get really good performance beyond just reliability. In water trials, our two meter USV used 5 watts to move at two knots and 7 watts to maintain the same speed in rough seas and 25 knot winds.

After conducting over 100 hours of sea trials, we're now doing the tank test. The motor is running in a bath of actual seawater (not just tap water with salt added) and we will be running until failure. If we're not satisfied with the results, we'll revise and test again.

Longevity at low cost has always been a challenge for thrusters. But when a $20 computer fan is rated for 70,000 hours (seven years!), it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect similar lifespans from a seawater-ready motor. After all, they’re almost identical: a gearless motor spinning a propeller—the only difference is the environment.

After testing and refining is completed, we will be selling the thrusters on our Sailbotix site for use in your own USV and ROV projects.

08/18/2025

Exciting news from down under! Australian girls’ school, St Vincent’s College (Grades 7–12) in Sydney, is preparing to send our solar USV across the Pacific Ocean. They believe deep-ocean exploration with a robotic boat will help create female leaders of tomorrow — and we couldn’t agree more!

This ambitious journey will be completed in stages: Sydney → New Zealand → Fiji → Japan → Canada → Hawaii. While the boat may not make it all the way — with plenty of ocean challenges ahead — it will be like cheering on your home team with hopes for the finals, fingers crossed combined with plenty of excitement.

The students will be using our Solar Sentinel model, powered by a 100-watt solar panel and equipped with sensors to provide real-time situational awareness and citizen science data through our online portal. Additionally, they will be packing gifts and momentous in the cargo compartment for destination schools enroute.

At Sailbotix, we’re passionate about getting schools involved in ocean science. Canada — where we’re based — ranks near the bottom among Western maritime nations for ocean tech as a share of GDP, despite having the longest coastline in the world and a critical need to monitor, research, and protect it. Initiatives like COAST (Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies) and Canada's Ocean Supercluster are making great progress, but there’s still a missing piece: inspiring the next generation.

Norway leads the world in ocean tech relative to its population. Why? Because the ocean is part of their cultural DNA. Kids grow up on boats, learn about the sea in school, and see it as something exciting and aspirational.
We need the same here in Canada — more Ocean STEM activities, more kids on the water, and a shared identity as not just a hockey nation, but an ocean nation.

That’s why developing our school program has been a core part of Sailbotix’s strategy. While our boats are primarily designed for research and surveillance, they’re also powerful tools to inspire the ocean tech leaders of tomorrow — in Canada and around the world.

Good luck, St Vincent's College, Potts Point — we’ll be cheering you on every nautical mile!

07/22/2025

It's a shipwreck miracle! Four months ago, we launched our autonomous sailboat from the west coast of Vancouver Island with a bold goal: cross the Pacific Ocean. More importantly, we wanted to validate our patent-pending rudderless steering system in full-blown winter ocean conditions. This would be the one-meter boat’s maiden voyage in fully exposed offshore conditions, so a lot could go wrong.
The boat was deployed off Ucluelet, BC and for five days, it performed flawlessly—navigating gale-force winds and 10–15’ waves while sending back telemetry every ten minutes and responding to remote commands. Our ultra-low power system held up beautifully too, with battery levels increasing each day. Hardware, software, and firmware were all doing exactly what they were designed to do. Most importantly, the one meter vessel continued to claw its way away from the coast despite onshore winds.
But on day five, after traveling over 200 km and well past the edge of the continental shelf, we experienced a mechanical failure in the wing sail control. With no ability to steer, the boat was pushed back toward shore by onshore winds. The seas were too rough for a retrieval attempt using a crewed boat, so we could only watch—helplessly—as the vessel was driven onto a jagged, fully exposed reef.
It was painful to watch. The main electrical system went down on impact, but our secondary and tertiary trackers—built to survive nearly anything—kept transmitting. For three days, the boat was slammed by 10–14’ waves moving up and down the reef, until it was finally tossed up onto a gravel beach at the high tide line.
Last week—four months later—I traveled 750 km by road and 106 km by boat to retrieve what I expected to be fiberglass confetti. Instead, I found the vessel fully intact, dry inside, and structurally sound. The keel bulb looked sandblasted and the hull and sail had a few scars, but when I dropped it back in the water—it sailed.
So no, we didn’t cross the Pacific this time. But we’re more excited than ever about the potential of these one-meter vessels to survive and perform in the harshest winter conditions the ocean can throw at them.
Pretty soon we’ll be dissecting the boat, figuring out what went wrong with the sail drive, and launching again this upcoming winter.

03/13/2025

We launched one of our robotic boats from the west coast of Vancouver Island last weekend. The boat is destined for Kushima, Japan and is now making steady progress out to sea. This launch is part of a STEM project with Central Middle School - learning about the deep ocean. The 3.5' boat is controlled by satellite and sends back position and sensor updates regularly. So far, it's gone through gale force winds and waves of up to13" You can learn more at www.sailbotix.com

01/15/2025

Happy New Year!! We thought in it would be fitting to highlight the pioneers of some of the most notable ocean crossings and attempts using robotic boats in advance of our own big 2025 attempt to cross the Pacific Ocean.

Liquid Robotics: In 2007 Liquid Robotics was the first to successfully cross an ocean using an autonomous uncrewed vessel. They sent a fleet of four wave-powered boats from San Francisco to Australia. Two of the four vessels made it across, travelling a distance of 9000 nautical miles.

SeaCharger: Spearheaded by Damon McMillan in 2016, this was an attempt by four friends to cross the Pacific Ocean using a small solar powered robotic vessel. SeaCharger made it successfully to Hawaii, landing with pinpoint accuracy at the designated beach. It then continued on to NZ making it within 300 miles of shore before suffering rudder problems. To this day, it remains the greatest distance voyaged by a non-commercial boat. Damon went on to direct his impressive engineering skills into the creation of Blue Trail Engineering.

Saildrone: Saildrone was the first to circumnavigate Antarctica through the Southern Ocean with an autonomous sailing vessel.

Scout: This was an ambitious effort by students to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the US to Spain with a solar powered autonomous boat. While the vessel didn’t make it across, it did set the record for the greatest distance of an uncrewed autonomous Atlantic voyage for the time. Some of the team later went on to found SeaSats

Mahi: Mahi was an attempt by Belgium students to cross the Atlantic Ocean with an autonomous solar powered boat from Europe. Their vessel made it all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, becoming the first solar powered robotic boat to complete the crossing, although control was lost for the last leg. The team at Mahi went on to found Mahi – Maritime Solutions.

Offshore Sensing: Offshore Sensing completed the first fully controlled crossing of the Atlantic with a USV in 2018 with Sailbuoy, a robotic sailboat. If was launched off the coast of Newfoundland and finished near Norway

Our own attempt, in partnership with Central Middle School, is meant to inspire students to push boundaries, and stoke enthusiasm with engineering and the ocean. And for all of us, it is the accomplishments of the pioneers in this field who create the foundation for our inspiration

12/30/2024

We've set the date to commence our first complete ocean crossing attempt - February 2025! The launch will be from shore near Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island to commence the 15,000 km rudderless voyage via Hawaii. Launching in late Canadian winter will demonstrate the vessel’s ability to operate effectively in low light and rough winter conditions. The launch is being done in partnership with the Central Middle School Robotics club. You’ll be able to track the boat online and view over a dozen sensor feeds at www.sailbotix.com

11/07/2024

Will the kids break two world records? The kids at Victoria’s Central Middle School are stoked to be launching their robotic boat to cross the Pacific Ocean in just a few months. If successful, it won’t just be the first shore-to-shore ocean crossing by an autonomous boat, but it will also be the smallest boat ever to cross an ocean. But even better than trying to beat records is the science that will be coming out of this mission. The boat is packed with sensors and will be relaying the data back in real time. Some of the sensors include carbon dioxide levels, water temperature, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, wave height and period, and more! The track of the boat and data being transmitted can be viewed in real time by everyone (including you) through the online dashboard at www.sailbotix.com

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