Leonardo de Vinci Paddle Boat Part 2 - On the water

I know what you are asking - after all this, does the boat float ?

First, I tested the mechanism. All the careful painting of different woods, except for the "teeth" on the cogs which were left natural plastic finish, had paid off an the model looked rather nice. Complicated but in a good way.

The drive is wound up by rotating the paddles in the opposite direction that you want them to work. After about half a minute of this, taking your finger out will make things happen - as it so often does.

Three drive shaft heights are available. I chose the lowest as this offers the most dig from the paddles. Presumably the higher holes give greater speed but I haven't experimented yet. On the water the model works superbly. I reckon it would be good for a couple of lengths of the bath, around 15 feet. Sadly it won't cover the boat club lake but that doesn't make it any less fun. To be honest, I just like watching those cogs working.