Yellowfin
Compact, Self-Righting, Efficient
A truly enabling ASV platform, allowing researchers quick deployment with as little as a single-person field crew - readily launched through consistently plunging breakers and able to collect high resolution sounding data within minutes of arriving on site. Recovery through the same swash conditions is as easy as switching into manual mode, timing a wave and riding it ashore to a controlled grounding.
Compact and refined for robust surf-zone survey - designed specifically for operations in shallow water and turbulent waves & currents - where spilling breakers are typically encountered
Compact and lightweight - supports rapid single-person launch & recovery through consistently plunging breakers and easily portable to remote launches
Efficient self-righting hull design & integrated sensor payloads result in field productivity
High agility and plenty of reserve power support beach launch and recovery in aggressive wave conditions
Completely sealed design and available in both Jet Drive and Dual Prop configurations
Hull Type
Compact, narrow-beam, semi displacement, low drag, passive self-righting hull constructed from advanced composites for maximum durability, impact resistance and field serviceability.
Designed specifically for efficient operation at survey speeds (~2m/s)
Propulsion
Yellowfin is available with two propulsion variants - each having distinct operational characteristics and benefits.
Jet Drive
Provides operational safety at launch, in the water and during system bench-testing
Flat bottom hull provides lowest draft and low chance of damage to drive system if washed aground by waves
Easy shore recovery - can be typically run aground depending on beach conditions
Dual Prop Thrusters
Superior vegetation shedding & anti-fouling operation with long swept blades
Excellent vessel agility from counter-rotating props with pivot turns and reverse for maneuvering in tight harbors, around piers & pilings, etc.
Greater efficiency - can reduce on-board battery capacity without reducing endurance or have extended endurance
Standard Payload
Single Beam Echosounder
Cerulean S500 (or similar) SBES
Integrated to onboard data acquisition with future upgrades allowing real-time depth telemetry to Operator Basestation
GNSS
Emlid Reach M2
cm-level GNSS with dual-band support (L1/L2) PPK
The GNSS Z location is used for heave compensation / water level measurement used to calculate wave heights, tidal water levels or surge.
Integrated IMU
Attitude (roll, pitch) measured by Ardupilot
Optional Sensor Payload
Single Beam Echosounder
Kogger SONAR 2D-ENHANCED
300 — 800 kHz; 0.3 to 50m range
Sidescan Echosounder
Cerulean Omniscan 450 SS or Kogger SIDE-ENHANCED
Installed in pairs for scanning both sides simultaneously and integrated in software as a single system.
Multibeam Echosounder (Dual Prop Thruster Variant only)
Cerulean Surveyor 240-16
240 kHz MBES; transmit beam: ~4 deg along track / 80 deg cross track; 16-element receive array
Dual GNSS
ArduSimple simpleRTK3B Heading
cm-level dual antenna; GNSS based heading (not subject to magnetic interference) w/ triple-band support (L1/L2/L5) PPK
Fitted for Sidescan and MBES equipped payloads
Interferometric Swath Bathy (Dual Prop Thruster Variant only)
PingDSP 3DSS-iDX-450
Sensor can be supplied by user; includes hull provisions for 3DSS w/ integrated Sound Velocity Sensor / SBG MU with DUal GNSS heading and topsides electronics.
Other Special Missions Payloads available - consult factory for details
Heavier payloads & drag inducing payloads will reduce battery lifePayload elements are highly integrated into the hull and need to be specified at the time of ordering
Specifications - Jet Drive
Physical
Motor: 5.8 kW (Max) DC Drive
Propulsion: Jet Drive
Overall Dimensions LxWxH0: 70" x 11" x 11" / 1780x280x280 mm
Draft (without sensors): 3" / 75 mm
Mass w/ S500 (approx): 30 lbs / 14 kg + 10 lbs /4.6 kg for 1.2 kWh Li-ion batteries
Capability
Mission Payload Capacity: 7 lbs / 3.5 kg
Shallowest Launch Depth: 4" / 100 mm
Typical Endurance1: 6+ Hrs
Max Survey Speed: 6 kt / 3 m/s
Max Burst Speed: 20+ kt / 10+ m/s
Max Wind: 20 kt / 10 m/s
Max Wave2:: 5-6 ft / 1.5-1.8m
1Endurance taken at @ 2m/s survey speed, 1.2 kWh battery capacity under actual field operating conditions off eastern-facing North Atlantic beaches.
2Max Wave Height depends on wave period and amount of breaking
Specifications - Dual Prop
Physical
Motor: Dual 200 W (Max) DC Drive
Propulsion: Twin Screw Thrusters w/ swept back bladed props
Overall Dimensions LxWxH0: 66" x 13" x 14" / 1675x330x350 mm
Draft (without sensors): 5" / 150mm
Mass w/ S500 (approx): 24 lbs / 10.6 kg + 6.4 lbs /2.9 kg for 720 Wh batteries
Capability
Mission Payload Capacity: 25 lbs / 11 kg (with endurance derating)
Shallowest Launch Depth: 8" / 200mm
Typical Endurance1: 10 Hrs with 720 Wh Battery
Max Survey Speed: 6 kt / 3 m/s
Max Burst Speed: 10+ kt / 5+ m/s
Max Wind: 20 kt / 10 m/s
Max Wave2:: 5-6 ft / 1.5-1.8m
1Endurance taken at @ 2m/s survey speed, 0.72 kWh battery capacity under actual field operating conditions off eastern-facing North Atlantic beaches.
2Max Wave Height depends on wave period and amount of breaking
Measured Accuracy
With S500 and EMLID M2 GNSS:
3-5 cm (PPK GPS) vessel XYZ position relative to NAD83/NAVD88 or user-selected datum
4-5 cm RMSEz3 compared to GPS pole mount measurements and when track lines are sampled similarly with equipment and methods established by U.S. Government Agencies (USACE)
3Interpolation between track lines introduces a substantial error component in reconstructing bathymetric surfaces from SBES data and is therefore dependent on track spacing.