About Project eYacht
Project eYacht documents the design, construction, and real-world operation of a solar-electric liveaboard catamaran. It uses a real boat as a concrete example to explain how complex systems: energy generation, batteries, propulsion, automation, and control, work together in practice.
The focus is not on idealised designs or isolated components, but on system-level decisions and how they hold up once a boat is actually built, used, and lived on.
Who we are
Project eYacht is created by Dr Tessica Dall and Dr Robert Dall, two Australian tech enthusiasts and educators with PhDs in physics. We enjoy building real systems from first principles and explaining how they work once theory meets reality.
Dr Tessica Dall
Tessica works at the intersection of software, systems, and communication. Her background spans physics, data science, and software development, with a strong focus on how complex technical systems are controlled, monitored, and made usable in the real world.
On Project eYacht, Tess leads the software architecture, control logic, user interfaces, and system integration from a human-interaction perspective. That includes coding, automation logic, data flow, and the design of interfaces that allow complex electrical and propulsion systems to be understood and operated safely. She also leads the public communication side of the project, translating technical decisions and tradeoffs into clear explanations that are accessible without being simplified.
Dr Robert Dall
Rob leads the design of the boat’s core electrical and propulsion systems. His background in experimental physics underpins a hands-on approach to electrical engineering, power systems, and system optimisation, with a focus on robustness, efficiency, and real-world operability.
Within Project eYacht, Rob is responsible for the high-voltage electrical architecture, battery systems, propulsion, power electronics, and component selection. These designs are rigorously reviewed and sanity-checked within the project, with assumptions challenged and refinements made to improve safety, usability, and real-world performance. The result is an energy and propulsion system that is physically sound, safely engineered, and grounded in practical operating demands.
Why we’re doing this
We started this project because we couldn’t find a solar electric boat that met our performance requirements, and there was a lack of clear, grounded explanations of what it actually takes to design an efficient solar electric boat.
Project eYacht is a personal and family project. We’re building a boat we intend to live on, and sharing what we learn along the way because the same questions keep coming up: Is this practical? What are the real tradeoffs? What changes once systems are used every day?
Rather than presenting answers upfront, we document the process honestly, including revisions, compromises, and lessons learned through testing and use.
How to engage with the project
Most of the project is shared publicly through YouTube videos that explain the systems, decisions, and testing as the build progresses.
For those who want to spend more time with the ideas, including deeper technical notes, design rationale, and longer discussions, we also run The Workshop, a small, focused space that supports the project with deeper written material and longer discussions.
There’s no required path. Curiosity is enough.