New 2nd RC Boat Made of Popsicle Sticks with Onboard Camera
Here is my second scratch built radio control boat made of popsicle sticks. It is somewhat based on the Andrea Gale fishing boat from the movie “The Perfect Storm.” It isn’t super detailed, but was given more effort than my first one. It runs on a stock 540 motor with a 7.2 volt battery. She’s about 30″ long and 8 1/2″ wide. Like my first boat, a traxxas villain drive system was used. There is an electronic speed control which is a bit harder to control low speed on than the old mechanical speed control in my other boat. I also installed a cooling fan for the motor. This came out of an old computer. It’s a 12 volt fan but runs plenty fast enough on a seperate 8.4 v battery. Some cosmetic features include an HO scale train bridge stood on end, O scale train figures, and some HO scale train building roofs. Everything else is popsicle sticks, dowels and thin slivers of poplar. The hull was wood glued, epoxied inside and sealed outside with the resin only from a fiberglass repair kit. Fiberglass was not used. Every change of season my old boat gets joint cracks on the outside of the hull from expansion & contraction. I must seal them up every spring. This taught me to seal the outside with resin on the new boat. After the resin many, many coats of white paint, and finally several coats of clear coat. Overall I’m pleased with it’s handling, though I would like to get a less aggressive power plant. It’s tricky to get a smooth take off sometimes with this motor and the ESC that …
Filed under Doctor Coats Videos by on Sep 1st, 2010. Comment. 
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Comments on New 2nd RC Boat Made of Popsicle Sticks with Onboard Camera
@Kirkfan410 it’s a cheap aiptek digital video cam
what kind of camera did you have on
very nice boats ^^ whats the first song called
@spear913
Right. Thanks! I thing the stern of the Fitz is going to be a challenge. But Popsicle Sticks look easier to work with rather than the traditional way of modeling.
@ShabogamoLakeRider As long as it’s flat or wide enough at the back it’ll be pretty stable, and then just brush everywhere inside & out with epoxy.
@spear913
Right. So besides that, is there any precation I should take to ensure that it floats, and floats upright? (Last Question)
@ShabogamoLakeRider I actually had to twist the popsicle sticks as far as they would go to get the curvature. You have to sort out the hard sticks because the soft ones will break. I started making the stern and worked forward. You make “V”s out of the sticks gradually getting steeper towards the front. After making the V, add sticks to the bottom of the V, like a half I beam. Then you can add the planking one section at a time. Study some of the internal pics in my videos. That might help.
I want to build a popsickle ship Edmund Fitzgerald. But The hull and curvature seems a bit complex. Any help? Tips?
Hey man, these boats are really really cool. Could you mabey give some sort of advice on how to make the hull? I plan on making a ship myself.
@GigglesRC13 It is epoxied around the tube that houses the prop shaft. The shaft itself is on an angle and comes up above the water line inside the boat so the water can’t come out the top.
@zr1driftmods The metal tube that holds the prop shaft is mounted on a downward angle, and comes higher than the water line, so it never gets in through the tube. Around the tube itself, where it goes out of the hole is just epoxy.
Spear what did you use to keep the water from coming through the propellers hole?
Spear what did you use to keep the water from getting in the boat?
Because the water is leaking through the hole were my propeler.
Any sugestions?
how did you water proof where the propeller comes out of the boat?
Can you post a video that has the diagram for this boat btw awsome boat
What would be great for your build is a Replica of the Northwestern from Deadliest Catch.
thanks im working on the hull know will have a video of some of it pretty soon wish me luck
I used little plastic pinch clamps for hobbies. They kind of look like big clothespins. Also, read through some of the old comments on this video. I explained several things to others with questions that might help you.
hey spear im trying to build one but i cant keep the v sticks help together while their drying any suggestions?
The hull took about 3 weeks (an hour or 2 a day), then it sat all winter and in the spring I started on it again and maybe spent 2 more weeks.
how long did it take to make
Thanks very much.
Very nice – RC boats dont need to go 120mph to be fun!
Thx for sharing!
Thank you. I really appreciate that.
ESC, not ECS, my bad