Apr 08, 2020 - When taking apart a cheap, broken, remote control helicopter, I noticed that there were only two motors and a board inside.  Then, I put two drone propellers, and noticed that when I steered the "helicopter" one motor sped up and the other slowed down.  I immediately saw this as an opportunity to make a Mini RC Boat.

 

The first thing I had to do was make sure the motor were spinning in opposite directions.  I did this by adding spare drone propellers, and re-soldering the motor connections to make them spin the right direction.

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I knew I wanted to 3D print this in "vase mode" (which means it spiralizes the outer contour) because this would minimize printing imperfections.  This had many positive effects, such as reducing weight, less chance of leaking, quicker printing times, and increased driving efficiency.  This is why the boat is printed in 2 parts, and why the boat has a flat nose.

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All the electronics and motors were hot glued in place on one side.  Depending on many variables, the user may have to put some weight on the nose of the boat. Trimmed-down drone propellers work well as boat propellers.  One must turn on the boat before sealing the two parts with scotch tape.

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The boat worked great, and I had no leakage!  In all, the boat measures 6cm x 4cm x 2.5cm and can all be printed within 45 minutes.

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In the future, I would try to make the boat even smaller, and try to eliminate the use of tape.  Stay tuned!