Bamboo design (semi-retired)
In 2013, the most eco-friendly drifter to date was created with bamboo. While they seemed to do well, the size and shapes of bamboo were inconsistent, which makes it hard to replicate and reproduce.
Build
The Cassie drifter is built with bamboo mast and spars.
A note on design
We keep the basic configuration/size the same in order to maintain the oceanographic-standard drag but try to use materials available at any hardware store. The idea is that the drifter can be built in any high school shop class, for example. It is a project in materials science. See our full list of models under the “Drifter History” tab. They all have a cross-sectional area of approximately one square meter and, since the electronic package is getting smaller, we have been able to further reduce the windage with each new design.