Dalhousie Microtransat Autonomous Sailing Team (DalMAST)

DalMAST is a student run design team where our goal is to create an autonomous sailboat to compete in competitions. As of writing this we are finishing up our final touches on our current sailboat before competing in Sailbot 2026. While next year our goal is to compete in the microtransit competition and send an autonomous sailboat across the Atlantic ocean. Our main spot where we work is at Sexton campus where we host weekly meetings and work sessions. Additionally we will sometimes bring in those who have experience in the field of sailboats or autonomous vehicles to come and talk with some of our team so then they can get insight into how what we do can be done in the real world. Students are involved in our society in a multitude of ways. We create 3D models of various parts for the boat before printing them off. Additionally we heavily value having students learn and be able to teach one another on how we can go about creating the boat. Some examples from last year include having a member present their work on the PCB and explain how they did it to those on the software and electrical team. Furthermore a member took the lead last year to try and show others how to vacuum bag some of the parts we were creating with the oversight of the mechanical lead. We also have students making the hull for the boat itself and the sail. DalMAST helps to give students the opportunity to learn about the process of creating a sailboat from the ground up and allows them to have hands on experience with the assembly of it.