Introduction: Rc Duct Tape Swamp Boat V1
Step 1: Gather Materials
1-2 rolls of duct/duck tape
1 rc reciever
1 rc servo
1 rc speed controller and motor (or make it autonomous with an aurduino)
1 computer fan about 120mm and fan grill to match
a bunch of popsicle sticks
battery
rc transmitter
and other misc items and tools
Step 2: Make the Hull
youll need to make a bottom skid plate i used duck brand tape for the bottom and scotch for the sides
First youll need to make a fabric swatch for the botom (duck brand) about five strips wide and however long you want. it layer it five or more high and make the top and botom layers non sticky then. cut off the ovelap on the two sides
Second make another swatch for sides (schotch brand). make it five or mor thick. 3-4 strips wide and about 1-2 inches longer than your bottom
Third cut the swatch in half and find the angle you need for the front and cut it out
Fourth make another swatch five layers. and 3 strips wide for the angled piece. and 2 strips for the back piece. make it the length of your small side of the hull
fith once all this is done lay your sides and bottom flat and tape together the seams it may seem unstable but the next step will take care of that
Step 3: Lay the Popsicle Sticks
youll need the popsicle sticks a glue gun and patience the popsicle sticks keep the boat from caving in and folding out
First start at the back of the boat and work forward lay them lenthwise and start gluing when you get to the end of them going lengthwise start layin sideways and cutting them to fit
second when floor done start the wall going from botom to top when at the top if the next stick hangs over the edge do not put on
third put a drop of glue in all the little squares for waterproofing and and put along the edges
Step 4: Fan Disassembly
Disassemble the fan carefully see pictures for instruction
Step 5: Motor Install
some motors will just mount to the fan gaurd and if so just mount it and form the guard the way you need too if it wont fit the guard with modifications try a differant motor ar fan guard
see pictures for help
if gear off of motor will fit just epoxy it to the blade see picture
Step 6: Fan Assembly Install
youll need popsicle sticks, fan assembly, hul,l and glue gun
pictures will help with placement and install of struts
Step 7: Rudder
youll need popsicle sticks, a little metel rod, and a piece of plastic. this part is hard to explain so look at pictures for info
Step 8: Finishing Up
youll need speed control, reciever, battery, hull, and zip ties
dont place the battery in a specific spot because we got to ballence the boat first
place speed control and reciever where desired and connect all wires. then zip tie the loose wires together to save room
Step 9: Balancing
to balence the boat place in water and look to see how low the back is to the front in the water. to make the boat ballenced place battery in the front of boat until the water line is the same height across the boat
Step 10: Battery Hold Down Install
place battery where it was when you balenced the boat. than make some side rails the height of the battery with popsicle sticks and glue. then glu into place snug against the batterys sides. to make the front hold down cut sticks to the right lenght and glue into place.
Step 11: Finished
after completing all steps put boat in water and have fun

Participated in the
Duct Tape Tough Contest
52 Comments
9 years ago on Introduction
nice u should put the propler in the water
Reply 8 years ago on Introduction
If I did, it wouldnt be a Swamp Boat, but a boat.
9 years ago
Where did you get engine and rc parts
Reply 8 years ago on Introduction
I got the Motot, Speed Control, Battery, Servo, and Radio from an old RC truck I had lying around. The blade was just a 12v Computer fan (Have lots of them lying around). The Duct Tape, and Popsicle sticks I bought tho.
9 years ago on Introduction
ok thats pretty sick
10 years ago on Step 11
video?
Reply 10 years ago on Step 11
It's on the first step. The link and I embeded it. I'll make a new on once i get a new battery.
10 years ago on Introduction
How much would this cost?
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
Depends I had all this already the only thing i needed was some more duct tape but ill add a price list soon of what it might cost
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
I havent been able to get an exact price estimate. But i think (if u had nothing) it would cost around (for my setup) 500-600$ depending on quality of parts. the radio was at least 300-350$ then you need, the speed control(40$) motor(40$) fan(free or 5$) tape(10$) popsicle sticks(5$) battery(30-50$) glue gun(25$) servo(13$) reciever(25$) misc. items(50$). And thats saying u had absolutly nothing. like no drill or gluegun or anything.
10 years ago on Step 11
One heck of a fine effort! Some time ago, I spent about 4 years tinkering away at Dumas' "Lil Swamp Buggy"......and only got it about 45% finished!
Good show here!!
11 years ago on Introduction
What if you did thrust vectoring with a servo? You could mount the motor on top of the servo, then connect it all to a receiver, and control throttle and direction from an rc transmitter? That would give you fully proportional throttle control as well as 3 direction control remotely.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
what do you mean
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
What I mean is:
get a servo with a large disk arm and literally glue the computer fan to the arm. You would be controlling steering by turning the motor, not the air, this would make your steering more precise and efficient.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
you do that and tell me how well it works
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
It works really well, also try using a brushless motor because that is what I did for one i made out of foam core and hot glue and it goes fast, but the only thing wrong is that you can do donuts really fast and that has caused mine to flip twice.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
i would have but i wanted to make this with things around the house and the only thing i needed was more hot glue. plus a brushless motor and speedcontrol would be too pricy for me to put in a boat that could sink very easily
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
that's cool, but the only reason i did that was because i took the parts from a plane i crashed.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
if it works well ill do an update to it and im designing a nozzle of some sort to move the air more efficiently
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
i did that