Playing with some ideas for a small boat for the tub challenge. Well maybe not an official entry but I thought I would give a little tub tug boat a try for fun.

Sketch is of current tug idea. Plan to build entirely of styrene as I like working with it, it bends easy and I have enough scrap laying around. Just a simple flat bottom design .

Found a tiny brushless motor 10g that I had from when I built small balsa planes, a tiny ecs too. It seems to work slow enough to drive a prop so I thought I would give it a try. Mocked up a shaft and it spins nicely. Plan to build a small brass prop as well, it will be my first.

Will start in the morning on the hull.
Joe 😁

Styrene hull underway, glue is curing....so on to building the small prop and rudder assembly.

Photos show small brass rudder made of solid brass rod and flat sheet. Prop is my first prop build, it's small, 20mm. Build is based on what I found on the web on how to build. Cut out a circle using my small snips. It was easier than I thought it would be and took less than an hour to build. Cut, solder and filed. Those tiny jewelers files come in handy, I use them everyday. Photo shows a size comparison to a 55mm prop and a mastodon.

So if you have not tried prop building, try it. This one is a bit crude, but it's just a start at a new activity for me.
Joe

Small ESC and mini servo for rudder, again from my model airplane building days.
Joe

Progress on the hull, styrene is easy to use and quick for a build. Had to laminate some thinner scraps to get some required stiffness, not the prettiest job so far. 🙄

Motor mounted, shaft and rudder location in place. More to come tomorrow.
Joe

Had to add some detail to the hull to make that thin plastic look better. I used styrene shapes that I had including some squares, rod and rectangle shapes. Shapes bend easy with no heat needed as they are quite thin. Just glued and held as I worked my way around the hull. Only problem was may left hand cramping up...

Quick note, if you do use heat on styrene be careful. I once used a heat gun on a styrene model and it quickly went from normal to melted. My opinion is that hot water (just boiled) is the way to go, just soak until more flexible.

Painted with gray primer and will later finish with acrylic paint brushed.

Installed the rudder servo, found that I had one smaller than the previous one in the earlier photo.

On to some superstructure detail next.
Joe 😎

Sketched out a typical little pilot house and machine room superstructure. I then laid the sides on graph paper, wax paper and then gluing up pieces of styrene. This is my typical method of constructing, stick built.
Joe

Pulled out some little switches from my parts boxes, now how to conceal them. For mounting switches, I always keep in mind several things; access for maintenance/replacement, water resistance and last, concealment. To be honest my biggest problem with concealment is remembering where I hid it after a boat is stored for a while. I like to blame aggressive chemo treatments in the past for memory loss but the reality it's just part of aging. So I laugh and carry on as I am sure you do as well......

Photos show some switches I have. My current thinking is to hide a slide switch under a oil barrel or maybe a bollard. Any suggestions for hiding mini switches are welcome.
🤔 Joe
PS: Figures and barrels are from my O scale railroad activities 1/48 scale

Hull and superstructure paint in progress. Not sure how much detail I will add next. Wiring complete with 4 AAA batteries providing most of the ballast. In a float test it balances well, will need about 1/4 oz toward the bow but will wait until all details are added. Still having fun.
Joe 😎

Installed a spotlight on the tug, yes it works, a super bright led. Some misc items added.....