We will race in Portsmouth, Virginia from April 13-16. We have full support from the city and we’re excited to use the boat ramps at the Portsmouth City Park. These on-site safety rules and regulations will be handed to teams and volunteers.
Teams will fill out this form and email it to [email protected]. Or, teams can use the new Google Form to submit the information electronically. All sign-up forms are due September 28, 2026. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
We will have the same 6 divisions racing this year.
You can also take a look back at previous year’s competitions by visiting the PEP24 celebration Page, the PEP25 celebration Page, and the PEP26 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 fourth research book by the end of May 2027 to share the technical expertise developed by the boats racing at PEP27.
Rules for PEP27 Displacement Division
Rules for PEP27 Planing Division
FAQs for PEP27
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.
Is this a reliability competition or a speed race?
First and foremost, it’s 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 and PEP26 how craft operated differently when they took on some water as they ride lower and move slower.