PEP26: Portsmouth City Park
6th annual collegiate competition
Competition Information
(Scroll down for race divisions and Q&A.)
We will race in Portsmouth, Virginia from April 14-16. We have full support from the city and
we're excited to
use the boat ramps at the Portsmouth City Park.
Teams filled out this form (Word) with the best information
available now. We
know that the budget and even the division may adjust over the next few months, but give us the
best information
you have. If necessary, there's also an extra
page for signing up additional
teammates. All sign-up forms were due September 30, 2025. If you are
looking to sign up
now, please email education@navalengineers.org
We are excited to see you this fall! These meetings will give you special access to job and
internship
opportunities. It will also provide you with in-person mentorship (and likely in-kind donations)
that will speed
you down your Gantt Chart to successful testing and iterative improvement. Get this on your
calendar and email
us if there are troubles. Please don't worry if the whole team cannot participate, but send who
is available and
we'll have impactful meetups!
- Philadelphia, PA: October 9-11 (Homecoming 250 - Cherry Street Pier)
- Pascagoula, MS: October 24-25 (with support from Austal, Bollinger, & Ingalls)
- Portsmouth, VA: October 29 (boat testing in Portsmouth, reception Norfolk)
- Portland, CT: TBD – November
- Independence, OH: TBD – Late October
- Providence, RI: December 9-11 (PEP at RI Inspires)
- Other – more events will be scheduled through August 2025.
Here are the six racing divisions for PEP26!
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Uncrewed - Autonomy: New for PEP26! Design an autonomous
craft that can
race for 2-miles around our course given GPS waypoints. Go through the levels of
autonomy to earn the
maximum number of points in the documentation for your autonomous craft.
Sign Up Today! (Word)
Autonomy
Rules |
Uncrewed - Over-The-Horizon: New for PEP26! Operate the
craft from the
shore, and ensure you can control your craft from about 1 mile distance. You will need
to send
information from the craft back to the operator to navigate our oval
course.
Sign Up
Today! (Word)
Over-The-Horizon
Rules
|
 |
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Uncrewed - Budget Warriors: Want to show off how efficient
your team can
be? Compete with other craft on a $1,500 budget. Note that we will supplement your
budget with funding
to ensure you can travel to and from Portsmouth, VA using money outside this
budget.
Sign Up
Today! (Word)
Budget Rules
|
Uncrewed - Open: Similar to PEP25, but teams must carry 60
pounds of
ballast through the two-mile course. Use 55.5 volts or less. We will again have the
great support craft
from Little Creek, so you can follow your boat as close as you choose.
Sign Up Today! (Word)
Uncrewed -
Open Rules
|
 |
 |
Crewed - Planing: Man your boat! Race for five miles of
glory! The
challenge is the same as PEP25: Maximize the efficiency from your 55.5 volts or less.
Worry about the
straightaways, there are only 9 turns. Race safely and efficiently with a hull that can
get on top of
the water at your speed.
Sign Up
Today! (Word)
Planing Rules -
Final |
Crewed - Displacement: Displacement craft are manned boats
that do not get
up on plane. Use your 55.5 volts of battery power to navigate through 5 one-mile laps.
Only 9 turns and
5 total miles to PEP glory.
Sign Up
Today! (Word)
Displacement
Rules -
Final |
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Office Hours Recordings
(September 26 PPT deck)
September
4
Recording
Questions & Answers about PEP26 Rules
(Updated Aug 5)
Can a single craft participate in multiple events provided that it has the capability to do so?
Our goal is not to start this way. But, there have been craft in the
past that started
in one division and then gained more abilities, and competed in both the crewed and uncrewed
divisions. So, we
may allow it down the road, but teams will have to decide which division the craft is primarily
designed for.
This year, we have Autonomy and Over-The-Horizon uncrewed divisions. Teams will not be able to
race in both of
those divisions. Teams will need to declare which type of operation they will utilize.
Could a manned craft be configured to participate in the autonomous or over-the-horizon events?
Let’s not make this the main focus. In fact, there will be three
sources of boats that
teams will be able to purchase that have some of their dimensions and cost $500 or less. Those
details are being
nailed down right now, but we should have extra hulls hanging around so it will be easy to
ensure teams do not
feel overly tied to one hull.
Note: This year we expect about 55 boats, so part of
the focus here is
to make sure we are using the on-water time to maximum efficiency. The counterpoint that you
could show is at an
October event, a team could show off something innovative that wows industry so we make a
special allowance.
Are there any size limitations on crafts for the autonomous and over-the-horizon events?
There are no size limitations, just remember that the ONR judges are
the ones that
appreciate the payload so bigger boats will match the judges’ expectations.
How much weight does speed have on final scores as opposed to reliability?
It still is a reliability race. There are 60 points for on-water
performance, and the
winners tend to be the craft that have tested extensively and can reliably operate over the 2
miles for uncrewed
craft and 5 miles for crewed craft.
Will points be deducted for crafts that take on water next year?
We will not deduct points for craft taking on water. There is a rule,
that craft must
have reserve buoyancy so that they continue to float even if they are swamped with water. You
can see in some of
the videos from PEP25 how craft operated differently when they took on some water as they ride
lower and move
slower.
To meet these challenges, we are excited to share educational opportunities from Ansys, the
American Bureau of
Shipping, and ASNE. The PEP Discord is still the
go-to location for
people interested in learning and sharing about electric propulsion. Check out some fancy PEP merch.
Please join our
community today!
In addition, ASNE memberships are free for all
students as is
attendance at the Fleet Maintenance & Modernization Symposium;
Technology, Systems, & Ships; and Combat
Systems Symposium.
You can also take a look back at previous year's competitions by
visiting the PEP24 celebration Page and the PEP25 celebration Page.
In addition, the Fall 2023 Naval Engineers Journal is publicly available because it
depicts publications
from each 2023 PEP team (click
here to see the
student publications). This website is the digital monument documenting
everyone's hard work
through the 2022-2023 school year. We will also publish a second research book by the end of May
to share the
technical expertise developed by the 43 boats racing at PEP25.