Maritime Vehicle with Removable Cap Having a Pick Point

1 . An autonomous maritime surface vehicle (AMSV), the AMSV comprising:

a hull;

a cap removably coupled to the hull, the cap being reconfigurable between a first configuration, in which the cap is coupled to and sealingly encloses at least a portion of an interior of the hull, and a second configuration in which the cap is at least partially decoupled from the hull, thereby permitting access to the interior of the hull.

2 . The AMSV of claim 1 , wherein in the first configuration the cap sealingly encloses an entirety of the interior of the hull.

3 . The AMSV of claim 1 , further comprising one or more pick points coupled to an exterior surface of the cap.

4 . The AMSV of claim 1 , wherein the hull is a mono-hull.

5 . The AMSV of claim 1 , further comprising a hinge system that removably couples the cap to the hull.

6 . The AMSV of claim 5 , wherein the hinge system includes a plurality of latches disposed around at least a portion of a perimeter of the AMSV.

7 . The AMSV of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of bulkheads arranged within the hull and configured to separate the interior of the hull into separate compartments.

8 . The AMSV of claim 1 , wherein when the cap is in the first configuration, a bottom surface of the cap engages a top surface of the hull, further comprising a seal surrounding an interface between the bottom surface of the cap and the top surface of the hull.

9 . The AMSV of claim 1 , wherein the cap includes a channel that extends along at least a portion of a perimeter of the cap, the channel sized to receive a top surface of the hull when the cap is in the first configuration.

10 . An autonomous maritime surface vehicle (AMSV), the AMSV comprising:

a hull;

a cap removably coupled to the hull, the cap being movable between a first configuration, in which the cap is coupled to and sealingly encloses an entirety of an interior of the hull, and a second configuration in which the cap is at least partially decoupled from the hull, thereby permitting access to the interior of the hull; and

a single pick point coupled to a top, exterior surface of the cap.

11 . The AMSV of claim 10 , wherein the hull is a mono-hull.

12 . The AMSV of claim 10 , further comprising a hinge system that removably couples the cap to the hull.

13 . The AMSV of claim 12 , wherein the hinge system includes a plurality of latches disposed around at least a portion of a perimeter of the AMSV.

14 . The AMSV of claim 10 , further comprising a plurality of bulkheads arranged within the hull and configured to separate the interior of the hull into separate compartments.

15 . The AMSV of claim 10 , wherein when the cap is in the first configuration, a bottom surface of the cap engages a top surface of the hull, further comprising a seal surrounding an interface between the bottom surface of the cap and the top surface of the hull.

16 . The AMSV of claim 10 , wherein the cap includes a channel that extends along at least a portion of a perimeter of the cap, the channel sized to receive a top surface of the hull when the cap is in the first configuration.

17 . An autonomous maritime surface vehicle (AMSV), the AMSV comprising:

a hull, the hull including a projection that extends around at least a portion of a perimeter of the hull;

a cap removably coupled to the hull, the cap including a channel that extends along at least a portion of the perimeter of the hull;

a sealing element disposed in the channel of the cap;

wherein the cap is movable between a first configuration, in which the projection of the hull is disposed in the channel of the cap and sealingly engages the sealing element, thereby sealingly enclosing at least a portion of an interior of the hull, and a second configuration, in which the projection of the hull is at least partially spaced from the channel of the cap, thereby permitting access to the interior of the hull.

18 . The AMSV of claim 17 , wherein when the cap is in the first configuration, further comprising a seal surrounding an interface between the projection of the hull and channel of the cap.

19 . The AMSV of claim 17 , further comprising a hinge system that removably couples the cap to the hull, wherein the hinge system includes a plurality of latches disposed around at least a portion of a perimeter of the AMSV.

20 . The AMSV of claim 17 , further comprising a vision system sealingly mounted to a front surface of the cap, wherein the vision system comprises a stereo camera and an infrared camera.