Loitering on a model boat forum, I spot a topic with a title along the lines of "This would be a good boat for the kids". Inside is a link to an eBay shop and a paddle boat costing £3.75. It looks like a bit of fun and so I hit the "Buy it now" link and then add a load of waterproof switches from the same shop for good measure.
A week or so later a package arrives in a jiffy bag from China. The switches are brilliant, and impossible to find in the UK (I've looked a lot) but the kit is contained in a plastic bag. Opening this up and I have the bits above on my bench.
The instructions show that you basically use double sided tape to stick the foam shape to the plywood board, attach the double-ended motor with cable ties, wrap some wires around terminals and push the plastic paddles on the shafts.
I broke out the soldering iron for the wiring, twisting the wires didn't work for me and the paddles took a bit of brute force to fit on the motor, but the whole job was done in under 20 minutes.
On a pool, the little model potters around beautifully. Care is needed to make sure the paddles don't catch on the foam, but when working well, it's quite fast and utterly charming.
I'm already wondering what I can do to make more of this kit. For the price, it's a bit of fun and yes, would be good for kids.
If you speak Chinese, the company (Algga Science) website is here.
2 comments:
It might be interesting to see what the waterproof switches look like.
I'll try and post pictures soon.
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