The Backyard – I Didn’t Expect a Tugboat

Happy Friday all and welcome to the Backyard!

Every now and then, someone sends me something that completely catches me off guard.

A few days ago, my friend Jason Worthley did exactly that. Jason is a hardcore nitro monster truck guy, so I usually expect a video featuring one of his monsters. Instead, he sent me footage of two scratch-built workboats locked in a tug-of-war across the water. One is a triple-screw tugboat, while the other is a single-screw workboat built to hold its own despite the obvious disadvantage.

Naturally, I had to ask about the drivetrain. Jason handled all of the engineering himself, figuring out the motor and propeller combinations, while another friend built the cabins. (He’ll readily admit his RC engineering skills are much stronger than his carpentry!)

My favorite part, though, was hearing his design philosophy:

“My goal was twofold: do something unique, and vastly overpower the boat.”

Mission accomplished.

If you’re wondering just how serious he was, the triple-screw boat is powered by three Torpedo 800 brushed motors. That’s the kind of wonderfully unnecessary engineering that makes RC such a fun hobby.

Check out the video:

Oh yeah…now that gets the ol’ Friday juices flowing.

More than anything, though, I just found myself smiling. It’s such a wonderfully odd project, and exactly the kind of thing that reminds me why I love this hobby.

Jason is best known to me as a diehard nitro monster truck guy, particularly when it comes to the Kyosho USA-1. He regularly sends me clips of his rigs running, so seeing him suddenly show up with a pair of scratch-built workboats caught me completely off guard.

Then again…maybe it shouldn’t have.

This is exactly the kind of thing we’ve always celebrated at Big Squid RC, and one of the biggest blessings of writing here has been getting to know so many wonderfully crazy RC people over the years. (And yes, I mean “crazy” in the most affectionate way possible!)

I’ve got friends who are into large-scale gas drag racing, others who spend their weekends hauling logs around their backyard with RC semi trucks, some who build incredibly realistic off-road dioramas with moving vehicles, and now…apparently…scratch-built workboats built for tug-of-war.

And thankfully, I get to experience a little bit of all of it through them.

That’s been my favorite part of writing for Big Squid these past twelve years. The vehicles are cool, but the people behind them are even better. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and I’ve discovered parts of this hobby I never would’ve found on my own if they hadn’t shared them with me.

So thanks for sending these over, Jason. They definitely made my Friday.

Speaking of which, if any of you have a fun RC project, a unique build, or just a cool video you’d like to share, drop me a line at Doug at BigSquidRC dot com. I’m hoping to start featuring a random RC-related link each Friday here in the Backyard, and yours might just make the cut.

Alright, that’s it for me this week. Stay cool out there, folks, and keep it on all 4’s!