How to Build a Remote Control Boat
Piloting a remote control, or RC, boat on the open water brings back memories of childhood and can be a great hobby for a parent to share with a child. The cost of purchasing one of these toys brand new, though, can be intimidating. However, you can make a remote control boat at home from scrap parts and junk no one else is using. This project delivers all the fun at less than half the price.
Things You'll Need
- 18-inch by 6-inch wooden board
- Water sealant spray
- 10-speed bicycle tire tube
- Heavy-duty waterproof glue
- Measuring tape
- Permanent marker
- Drill
- Zip ties
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- 2 PC power supply fans with wiring
- 9V RC battery
- 4 1 1/2- inch bolts with nuts and washers
- RC plane propeller
- Water bottle
- Thumbtacks
- RC plane motor
- Remote control circuit from plane
- 2 RC plane magnetic wing controllers
- Base engine mount
Instructions
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1
Apply heavy-duty water sealant wood protector to the 18-inch by 6-inch wooden board on the top, bottom, and on all sides. Let the sealant dry for a few hours, then apply a second coat. Let dry.
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2
Cut the bicycle tire tube into four sections that will be placed along the outer side of the board to make the boat stable. Any 10-speed tire tube will be large enough to work. Two sections of the tube should stretch across the two narrow ends of the board, and the other two across the long ends of the board. Because the tube won't be on the very edges of the board, it is not necessary that it be as wide or as long as the board itself.
Connect these sections by squeezing one end of a section and inserting it into the end of another section. Apply heavy-duty waterproof glue to the inside of each hose section before connecting. Coat the seam in the hose with the glue, and allow to dry overnight.
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3
Measure 3/4 inches from the edges of the wood board. Make a mark with a permanent marker every 2 inches along this 3/4-inch margin around the board. Drill one hole in each corner of the board along these edges. Insert one zip tie through each hole but don't zip them yet. They will be holding the tire tube to the wooden board.
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4
Place the bike tire tube around the board, following the 3/4-inch margin you just created. Make sure the tube is between the head sections and tail sections of the zip ties. The tube should be on top of the board secured by the ties. Zip the ties just less than half way so they stay in place, but leave room for the expansion of the tube. Inflate the tube, and check for leaks.
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5
Flip the board over so the tube is on the bottom. With a hot glue gun, glue a PC motor fan on each side of the rear of your RC boat. The fans should be located on the back corners of the board 1/4 inches from the edges. Place the 9V R/C battery you will be using in between both fans to make sure it fits before you glue the fans down.
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6
Drill two holes, each at one inch from the inside corner of each PC fan. Use caution that you are not drilling into the tube. Place the base for the propeller in this location, and secure it using two bolts with nuts and washers. The propeller will go here to help guide the boat forward.
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7
Measure down 1 1/2 inches from the top of the water bottle and 1 1/2 inches from the bottom, and mark both spots with a pen. Poke a hole with a thumbtack on the marks you made. Flip the bottle over to the other side cut two flaps, one will be small one-inch flap in the top and the other a small one inch flap in the bottom of the bottle.
Insert the circuit board for the fans in the top of the bottle. Insert the propeller motor control into the flap on the bottom of the bottle. Poke the wires for each through the holes you made with the thumbtack. Seal the holes and the flaps using the hot glue gun. Glue the bottle to the front of the boat. The circuit board and motor control must remain dry so the seams of glue should be airtight.
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8
Place the 9V battery from the remote control plane in between the two fans, and connect to the fan power supply wires. Insert the black or red wiring from the fans into the terminals in the battery. Let the white wire stay free.
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9
Install the engine to the base for the propeller. There is a hole in the propeller base located behind the propeller blades. Through that hole, insert the screw or pin you removed from the engine to take it off of the plane, and secure it to the base with that screw or pin.
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10
Glue the two magnetic wing controllers from the plane to the board about 1 1/2 inches from each fan. Connect the white wire from the fan behind the magnetic wing controller to the controller. This will enable you to operate one or the other fan separately from the other or both at the same time using the remote control.
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11
Connect the red wires from the remote circuit board to the white wire from each of the magnetic wing controllers. Attach the propeller to the engine by sliding it onto the pin and locking it into place by pressing until it clicks.
If the engine you have uses a screw instead of a pin, there will be a pin on the back of the propeller instead of in the base itself that will screw into the base.
Connect the power supply wire to the battery. The power supply for the propeller will be a plastic clip with metal contacts on the end of the wire that plugs into the battery.
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12
Test your RC boat.
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