Sciencemadness Discussion Board - RC boat fight.

RC boat fight.

DubaiAmateurRocketry - 2-8-2014 at 17:29

Im in a competition with my friend who makes rockets with me a challenge in armoring a remote controlled boat and whoever's ship sink first loses pays for a expensive meal :p any ideas?

The RC boat we will armor will be around 2 laptop size.

I wonder where i can get a remote control an ignitor? I will probably have a flame thrower on my boat (Butane re-fueling can) not sure where do i get few pounds of pushing force from my boat though...

Metacelsus - 2-8-2014 at 19:12

If you're dealing with an armored boat, I doubt a flame thrower will be very effective, since you can't set the target on fire.

Most boats have propellers for propulsion.

TheAlchemistPirate - 2-8-2014 at 19:22

If you are willing to put a lot of money into this, I would suggest a fast boat with a device that could lay an array of remote-detonated land mines as a weapon. Are you and your friend planning on using rockets as weapons? If you are, good luck hitting anything with them. For a flamethrower ignitor (As Dubai said good luck using this),I'm sure you could take an old transmitter/receiver setup from an old rc car and connect it to some nichrome wire. Also, to keep the boat from sinking, you should compartmentalize it so that the water can only fill small areas if you happen to get a leak.

DubaiAmateurRocketry - 2-8-2014 at 19:45

Yes I do realize using small rockets to hit each other is not practical. Land mines? We're going to do it in a small lake or pool. Sink... umm we also agreed that if our boat is in a condition so critical that our remote controls cant work any more, its considered as a loss. haha.

Umm.. need more ideas...

Note : I moved to USA

DubaiAmateurRocketry - 2-8-2014 at 19:46

Quote: Originally posted by Cheddite Cheese

Most boats have propellers for propulsion.

Oh I mean pushing the butane can's spray so the flame thrower could work.

Metacelsus - 2-8-2014 at 21:11

Quote: Originally posted by DubaiAmateurRocketry

if our boat is in a condition so critical that our remote controls cant work any more, its considered as a loss. haha.

Easy. Jam the signal of the remote.

Loptr - 3-8-2014 at 07:20

Quote: Originally posted by Cheddite Cheese

Quote: Originally posted by DubaiAmateurRocketry

if our boat is in a condition so critical that our remote controls cant work any more, its considered as a loss. haha.

Easy. Jam the signal of the remote.

Without jamming your own?

subsecret - 3-8-2014 at 08:36

Attach a spear, tipped with some contact-triggered explosive device. Just ram the end into the opposing boat, and he's finished.

You could also make your boat drop a length of string or yarn, in order to ensnare your opponent's propeller.

Magpie - 3-8-2014 at 08:40

Catapult some large chunks of Na at your opponent.

Pyro - 3-8-2014 at 08:59

use a fan driven boat and lay lots of yarn.

train a fish to place and activate a limpet mine

a basic ram would be best. as well as a spare set of batteries built in so you outlast you opponent.

and build a cover for your boat (thin aluminium) at a correct angle to deflect possible projectiles

DubaiAmateurRocketry - 3-8-2014 at 09:47

Quote: Originally posted by Awesomeness

Attach a spear, tipped with some contact-triggered explosive device. Just ram the end into the opposing boat, and he's finished.

You could also make your boat drop a length of string or yarn, in order to ensnare your opponent's propeller.

Quote: Originally posted by Magpie

Catapult some large chunks of Na at your opponent.

Hhahahaa, that'd be some funny stuff. Umm.. I'll considering dropping some potassium.

I also like the spear with a war head idea

Just need to bump into him. However I need to make sure I can detonate it. That'd be bit hard and risky handling explosives since we're doing for fun.

Brain&Force - 3-8-2014 at 09:53

Why not dissolve a strong acid or base in the pool and dissolve your opponents' boats? HCl will work for aluminum hulls. If you do this, make your boat out of a chemical resistant plastic or something. If you use a strong base (NaOH is cheap) it'll dissolve aluminum and certain plastics, but your boat should probably be made out of a non-amphoteric metal, like iron.

DubaiAmateurRocketry - 3-8-2014 at 11:54

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

Why not dissolve a strong acid or base in the pool and dissolve your opponents' boats? HCl will work for aluminum hulls. If you do this, make your boat out of a chemical resistant plastic or something. If you use a strong base (NaOH is cheap) it'll dissolve aluminum and certain plastics, but your boat should probably be made out of a non-amphoteric metal, like iron.

That'd too messy, polluting and stuff, also, the lake can simply dilute the acid to a extend I guess it would be almost useless?

numos - 3-8-2014 at 12:06

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

That's a lot of substance... most pools are around 5-10 thousand gallons, forget speed boat, you gotta build a small freighter for that!

If you can fill your boat with 100 grams of explosive, you could do a kamikaze style attack, though, if he's using 'armor' that could turn into shrapnel so be careful.

Also might I suggest Greek fire? Was apparently used for ship v. ship battles long ago, Some combination Antimony trisulfide, crude oil, and Potassium nitrate, I suppose compositions vary... But it burns on top of water at very high temps..

Last but not least, a cannon system? maybe using a CO₂ cartridge as a propellant, you can fire a handful of ball bearings (about half a cm in diameter) at high velocity or perhaps it could fire a single shaped charge.

Just know that if he's gonna have that kind of armor, his ships is going to be really slow and easy to hit. So if your boat is fast and agile with a lot of punch, you could easily take him down.

Brain&Force - 3-8-2014 at 12:07

Not if you can spray the acid or base at your opponent's boat. Or, depending on the size of the lake or boat, just dump it.

As for environmental concerns, don't do this in a lake filled with fish and things, but do take both acid and base so you can neutralize the mess you've made.

[Edited on 3.8.2014 by Brain&Force]

m1tanker78 - 3-8-2014 at 20:34

How many extra channels on your receiver? Assuming 2, I'm thinking 2 small servos that wind a string and set off a spring-loaded firing mechanism for 2 shotgun rounds. You'd need to build the skeleton of the boat to withstand the force of the buck but not much else to go wrong with the above setup. If you miss, you still have a second shot and if you miss that one, well, it wasn't meant to be.

If said competition will have bystanders, this isn't so safe

Tank

TheAlchemistPirate - 3-8-2014 at 20:47

Sorry, I meant to write only "mines" in my above comment, I naturally wrote "land' for some reason. A ship mine idea that I was thinking of would be a small chunk of sodium or potassium metal, attached to a few very small neodymium magnets, coated with a material that would slowly dissolve in water (maybe wax...?). These could be attached to pieces of foam by string, so when deployed they would float under the water surface, maximizing effectiveness. The neodymium magnets would serve to attach to the enemy ship's hull if it is made of metal, though you would have to make your own ship out of a different material(maybe a epoxy/fiberglass cloth material?). They could be suspended above the water along the side of the ship, attached by fuses to the ship itself, that would burn when a button is pressed on the controller, releasing the mine.
Another weapon idea I thought of would be to have small single-use cannons along the side of the ship, activated by single fuses attached to nichrome wire, remote activated by buttons of course. They could simply use black powder as a propellant and a 1/2 inch metal ball as a projectile. The cannons themselves might have an accurate range of six feet? But they would be very effective I'm sure. I would secure them so that the cannons themselves would be inside a slightly bigger metal tube, able to slide freely along but not able to fall out. They could have wads of fireproof cotton at the back, to reduce kickback.
These are some other random ideas I had:
1. Fill the empty spaces of the ship with shipping foam to greatly reduce the odds of it sinking.
2. Protect all the expensive electronics in a strong waterproof metal box, with all wires going in and out sealed with a glue.
3. When all else fails, and your friends boat is about to win, activate your secret self-destruct sequence next to his boat

.
As you can probably tell, I'm very interested in weaponizing RC "toys?" and battling them, I wish I knew people that shared this though.

prof_genius - 4-8-2014 at 02:15

You could cover the sodium in a thin layer of gelatin, that would slowly dissolve but you would have to run some speed tests.

DubaiAmateurRocketry - 4-8-2014 at 09:28

Quote: Originally posted by TheAlchemistPirate

3. When all else fails, and your friends boat is about to win, activate your secret self-destruct sequence next to his boat

Hhahahaa Im actually laughing out loud imagining my friends expression when I kamikaze him. Oh well.

I read all of your replies and thank you all so much.

I still find a flame thrower related weapon as most promising for now since I can fire for a long time and the range/ flame radius is not so bad.

Projectiles are risky since it is easy to miss the target.

[Edited on 4-8-2014 by DubaiAmateurRocketry]

Insanity

Praxichys - 4-8-2014 at 09:37

Am I reading serious suggestions about floating an RC boat with a gun on it, where it can point anywhere as the boat drives around, and the trigger is subject to radio interference at commonly used frequency? Or triggered by a controller that might get damaged in the battle? Do I even have to explain how absurdly dangerous that is?? Have you ever seen a bullet fired at a low incidence angle skip right off the surface of a lake? I hope this body of water is miles from civilization... and you!

Sodium/water explosions are very weak compared to real chemical explosives. On a small and lightweight boat that is free to float around, I would be surprised if you could damage a boat with sodium or potassium at all. Besides, the sodium would likely melt and float to the surface before it popped, and would be safely left behind by a moving boat.

The acid spray is also ridiculous. Unless the armor on the other boat is aluminum foil, there is nothing you could use to dissolve it with any rapidity at all, or without re-application of the acid many times to replace it as it is spent, and perhaps a gelling agent to keep it on the surface. Besides, you might be creating an environmental hazard in the process.

The spear with explosive or towed explosive mine might work, albeit super dangerous. You could trigger by contact or remotely. Just be prepared for high velocity shrapnel skipping off the water. Remember that a WWII hand grenade has about 57g of high explosive in it, and fragments were still at dangerous at 200m.

That said, go with a flamethrower. Even if the armor is metal, the electronics and batteries will cook inside. "Greek Fire" is as much a farce as it is historic, and is extremely overrated in comparison with modern chemistry. Most flammable organic solvents are easy to pump with a 12v windshield washer pump, and can be gellied to stick. They also float on water to create additional hazards for the opponent. Palmitic and stearic acid will readily turn a diesel/gasoline mix into a thick, flammable, pumpable mess. A little flyback transformer driven by a ZVS driver can easily be used as a reliable igniter.

I think this is cool. I used to watch BattleBots back when they were still doing it. Just be careful and don't skimp on safety.

Brain&Force - 4-8-2014 at 11:22

Quote: Originally posted by Praxichys

Sodium/water explosions are very weak compared to real chemical explosives. On a small and lightweight boat that is free to float around, I would be surprised if you could damage a boat with sodium or potassium at all. Besides, the sodium would likely melt and float to the surface before it popped, and would be safely left behind by a moving boat.

Granted, sodium isn't a good explosive, but you might be interested in this:

<iframe sandbox width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Nn3M1hfjxMU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Flaming oil is a good idea, but I'd still worry about making an environmental mess if you're doing this in a lake. I don't know much about battle bots, but a can of Axe is flammable, light, and cheap.

prof_genius - 4-8-2014 at 11:46

Try setting up a smoke screen, this would stop your enemy from seeing the boat if the size of the body of water is small enough, and if you have thermal imaging equipment you could attach a heating coil to your boat and see it through the smoke screen.

gdflp - 4-8-2014 at 13:34

Launch some napalm at it then fire up that flamethower.

Pyro - 4-8-2014 at 14:12

this whole thing is an exercise in futility. you won't be able to sink an RC boat since the strength of the materials relative to the size is so high.

attach a few extra battery packs to your ship, use aluminium armor plating and fill everything under it with foam and outlast your opponent.
this should be in whimsy, i'm surprised it hasn't been sent there yet.

confused - 4-8-2014 at 18:12

shaped charge on a stick, attached to your RC craft

stick it on, have a small spool of wire to provide some standoff distance between the enemy craft and your's

if th point is to disable the craft, perhaps a craft mounted EMP woud work if your onboard electronics were shielded against it.
A somewhat simpler alternative would be to jam the particular frequency your friend is using , while keeping your channel clear.

Just throwing ideas out there

Fenir - 5-8-2014 at 08:56

A ram of some kind could be useful. Perhaps a harpoon shaped ram to tear the skin of the craft until the electronics are no longer useable.

TheAlchemistPirate - 5-8-2014 at 16:02

Quote: Originally posted by Praxichys

Am I reading serious suggestions about floating an RC boat with a gun on it, where it can point anywhere as the boat drives around, and the trigger is subject to radio interference at commonly used frequency? Or triggered by a controller that might get damaged in the battle? Do I even have to explain how absurdly dangerous that is?? Have you ever seen a bullet fired at a low incidence angle skip right off the surface of a lake? I hope this body of water is miles from civilization... and you!

Some of my more dangerous suggestions were simply as a joke, especially the self-destruct system.

I would expect a regular member on these forums and his friends would be smart enough to take safety measures for shrapnel and such (Blast shielding, etc.)
You could replace the sodium in the mines with a small blasting cap and a shaped charge, if you took measures to protect yourself from shrapnel, of course.

subsecret - 5-8-2014 at 18:16

Has anyone thought of using thermite to destroy the enemy boat? A small bag or packet of thermite attached to a segment of a drinking straw and backed with adhesive could be fitted with some sort of pull-fuse. The straw could be slipped onto a stick attached to your boat, and a piece of string could connect the pull fuse to the hull. To attack the enemy vessel, the thermite bag-on-a-stick could be rammed into the enemy, and then you could quickly pull your boat away. The drinking straw would allow the thermite bag to remain on the enemy boat, and as you retreat, the pull fuse would be activated, causing the thermite reaction to begin.

TheAlchemistPirate - 5-8-2014 at 19:49

Quote: Originally posted by Awesomeness

Has anyone thought of using thermite to destroy the enemy boat? A small bag or packet of thermite attached to a segment of a drinking straw and backed with adhesive could be fitted with some sort of pull-fuse. The straw could be slipped onto a stick attached to your boat, and a piece of string could connect the pull fuse to the hull. To attack the enemy vessel, the thermite bag-on-a-stick could be rammed into the enemy, and then you could quickly pull your boat away. The drinking straw would allow the thermite bag to remain on the enemy boat, and as you retreat, the pull fuse would be activated, causing the thermite reaction to begin.

Thats a good idea, maybe you could have an array of 1 ft metal poles mounted horizontally 6 in above the "deck" of the ship along its sides. You could have a fuse wrapped around the poles suspending a bag of an incendiary mixture, corroding chemicals, or even an explosive! The fuse could be easily ignited at your own ship's end of the pole, dropping the payload and igniting any incendiaries & explosives.

DubaiAmateurRocketry - 5-8-2014 at 21:11

I am pretty sure he will have few layers of protection.

Such as aluminum foil/ carbon fiber glass etc.

Any idea how to break through these? Some explosives and shaped charges sounds promising although I hate going too serious since we're just doing it for fun.

Manifest - 5-8-2014 at 21:15

What about a cannon? Fire steel balls at your opponent, just attach it on the front of the ship and when you're certain you will hit and sink it fire.

TheAlchemistPirate - 5-8-2014 at 21:40

I suggested something like that, Manifest. Look at the earlier posts.
I was also thinking of a projectile that a large cannon could shoot, that would basically be an arrowhead but much stronger and heavier. The arrowhead would embed itself inside the enemy ship, and would have a kevlar cord attached at the back leading to your own ship. The kevlar cord at your ship's end will be attached to a small anchor, which you release when you see the arrowhead successfully embedded itself into the enemy ship. The anchor would fall to the bottom of the body of water(In this case the hooks on the anchor would attach to something and completely destroy the ship's mobility) or float as far down as possible before the enemy ship's buoyancy suspends it( which would only allow it to travel in circles).

Also, please post videos.

Zephyr - 5-8-2014 at 21:54

This would probably be very impractical, but what about a semi submersed boat, similar to a u-boat? This way you could locate your electronics under water and very few of his weapons would be nearly as effective user the water. For instance, rockets, spears, and low explosives will all be easy to defend against.
This way you could ram the opponents boats and maybe even flip it over, depending on how fast your boat is.

prof_genius - 7-8-2014 at 03:24

I would install a waterproofed (splash proof) dremel tool to make holes in your enemies ship.

aga - 7-8-2014 at 13:43

I could actually do what the OP suggested that they want.

The implications are rather too HUGE to contemplate though.

A remote controlled, armed system, remotely Fired does not need to be limited by it's Size, does it ?

A 2x Laptop sized system can scale to a Supertanker very easily.

Beware people.

What may appear to be a request for a 'Fun Game' one-off system could easily be a request for a remotely controlled weapons platform.

Discussing the effectiveness of weaponry and chemistry in this context is somewhat Insane, especially for you people in the USA.

aga - 7-8-2014 at 14:23

Perhaps you USA dwellers are unclear about what is going on, due to media filtering.

Most of the world Outside the USA wants the USA to disappear.

Quite a large chunk of the World population are SO pissed off with US 'foreign policy' that they want the US dead, as in 'no longer living'.
Some have dedicated their lives to that aim.

The USA is no longer THE SuperPower.
It's a has-been, much like Great Britain.
Currently China has more USD than the US has - it could easily buy the USA, in US $.

Postage may be a problem, as would somewhere to put it.

Basically you're at War (US people) and your Gov agencies will take a very dim view of US Citizens Publicly suggesting ways to mash up their new Aluminium war fleet (=traitor =old sparky chair).

I know it's a Fun topic, but please cover your asses (think before posting suggestions), or prepare to get thoroughly buggered by the NSA, CIA, FBI and DEA in turn, repeatedly.

Manifest - 7-8-2014 at 15:14

Aga, I think you've been watching too much Alex Jones again.

TheAlchemistPirate - 7-8-2014 at 16:05

It is true that the three-letter agencies track internet posts at will, it would be naive to think otherwise. They didn't spend over 2 billion dollars on a massive computer facility to just sit around and laugh at the fact that they have the ability to completely survey people's lives, completely invading their privacy. The days of 1984 are in fact upon us, but that doesn't mean we should stop exercising our rights, and posting on these forums about what we love to do. I do use firefox and HTTPS everywhere to help, but I know that if they wanted, they could track me.
Anyways, back on topic. I would recommend watching these videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtDgTeK-D5I . They use CO2-propelled ball bearings to sink other ships, which are sold on several different sites just for this sport.

Wizzard - 7-8-2014 at 19:29

A light gas gun would work, to pierce the hull. You might only get one shot per chamber, but it's doable with off-the-shelf materials. A small charge, lit electrically, in a steel barrel with a temper (aluminum foil) leading to a steel nail in a well machined chamber will launch with excessive force, and blow right through anything. A few of these could be loaded on your boat. Aimed down, it'd blow through electronics, battery packs, and the hull.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_gas_gun

But to simplify, shoot BBs with a paintball mechanism, with chamber. You could fit a few 'rounds' on a single boat, with a servo feeding a paintball gun's trigger mechanism with steel BBs, in a matching-sized barrel tailored to the maximum velocity based on the amount of gas delivered per shot. No as effective, but easier to use.

A *far* easier thing to do is either impede the competition with yarn, tangling/obstructing the prop, OR simply flip the other guy's boat.

m1tanker78 - 7-8-2014 at 20:26

Quote: Originally posted by Praxichys

Sigh.. ok, walk over to your friend (the other competitor) and punch him right between the eyes. You can run circles around his boat and he won't be able to see. Take your time and ram it or do whatever to destroy his boat. Apologize and offer to help him pick the pieces of his boat out of the water. Buy him a beer or a bottle of tequila. While you're at it, name your boat "Uncle Sam" and buy 'aga' a bottle of tequila as well.

Seriously though, I like wizzard's idea of flipping the opponent's boat. I envision a boat with four floats spread out for stability. A steel rod connected to a servo could serve as a flipping mechanism -OR- a hammer fist to beat down repeatedly on the other boat. Counterweight it properly and even a small-ish servo can swing a decent mass.

Texium - 7-8-2014 at 20:39

Quote: Originally posted by m1tanker78

Counterweight it properly

And that is the key part of that design aspect- you wouldn't want to go swinging at the enemy boat only to flip yourself over in the process! It would certainly be very comical if nothing else.

[Edited on 8-8-2014 by zts16]

aga - 8-8-2014 at 00:25

Sounds a lot like Robot Wars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_J8oO5UrS8

aga - 8-8-2014 at 07:58

The radio control part need not be expensive.

www.hobbyking.com is where i get most of my stuff.
This is an 8 channel Transmitter/receiver set :

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__8992__Turnigy_9X_...

It says 9 channels, but you get 8.

If you really want to go to town, you could rig up a camera/transmitter on the boat, mounted on the gun barrel.
Add FatShark video goggles with a Head Tracker module, and wherever you point your head, the gun will follow.

For a boat you only need two channels - thrust and steering.
The headtracker uses 2 more, so you have 4 channels left = 3 for weapon select and one for Fire.

Maybe save one for self-destruct if it's going badly !

All the camera/video goggle stuff is under "FPV & Telemetry" on that website.

Zyklon-A - 8-8-2014 at 09:19

Quote: Originally posted by DubaiAmateurRocketry

I am pretty sure he will have few layers of protection.

Such as aluminum foil/ carbon fiber glass etc.

Any idea how to break through these? Some explosives and shaped charges sounds promising although I hate going too serious since we're just doing it for fun.

Thermite will take care of that just fine.
Maybe use a long rod with a container filled with about 20-40 grams of slow burning thermite mix (iron oxide - Al).
If you had a way to attach the rod (with the thermite) to his/her boat, so he/she can't get away, light it, and watch their boat melt and burn to a crisp.
Or you if you can find a way to get the thermite on top of his/her boat and ignite it, that would be even better.
Thermite will burn just fine underwater, so you don't need to worry about it going out.
What about torpedoes? It might not be too hard to build a few of them. Accurately firing them at a moving boat is prove to be difficult but is possible.
[EDIT] It's equally important to discuss how to armor your boat, then to destroy his.

[Edited on 8-8-2014 by Zyklon-A]

WGTR - 8-8-2014 at 11:27

If this is a "for real", then what I would suggest is to limit the amount of armoring and the type of materials that are allowed for both contestants. Otherwise, both contestants end up building their boats out of old gas cylinders, and end up trying to sink the other guy with ten pound charges of tannerite, or something. This is really impractical, especially if spectators are present, and not particularly interesting.

If playing a scaled up version of "battleships", then perhaps figure out the gauge of metal used in a real boat, and scale it down to the size of your model, just to keep things real. Scale it for weight, too. No Styrofoam allowed for floatation, or other cheesy things like that. There have to be weaknesses in both designs, to allow for both competitors to exercise practical strategy. If you can't cripple both vessels by ramming, then they're probably over-designed.

Maybe include a "magazine" of "rocket candy" on board each vessel, that can be initiated by a contestant lobbing burning projectiles at his opponent (that is, if a direct hit is scored). Or even better, directly lob projectiles of burning rocket candy. In any case, it will take some skill and strategy to get good aim.

To make things more interesting, have a couple of "safe zones" that each respective contestant can attempt to retreat to (either to reload, repair, escape, etc), and "international waters" where the battles take place.

aga - 8-8-2014 at 11:59

Having a Magazine is a great idea.
Add magnalium and stuff to make it go with some sparkle.

To make it more interesting, you could rig it so that after firing all weapons, a Timer starts after which the self-destruct detonates automatically.

So careful Aim, no firing wildly ...

EDIT :

A large piece of polystyrene with a plank of wood sticking up vertically, with a rock underneath to keep them upright, would give you both a 'shield' to hide behind.

Leave it free to float about so it changes position.

Maybe have a few of them, and quite small - smaller than the boat.

Near Misses that hit the planks would be fun, plus Wood burns ...

[Edited on 8-8-2014 by aga]

aga - 8-8-2014 at 12:29

Thinking about it, WGTR is right.

Maximum fun would be to have two (or more) wooden boats.

Flamethrowers as the OP suggested (use a Lever and a large servo to press the nozzle down on a can of flammable aerosol, spirit burner as igniter).

Each boat should be rigged to Blow anyway, with a 'protected' fuse at the front and another at the back.
'Protection' should be easily burned away within a few seconds, like a thick coating of wax.

Winner is the one who destroys the Protection and lights the fuse on the other boat.

Dramatic, skill and luck involved, flames everywhere, no projectiles, an explosion at the end (maybe two).

Add 'props' like floating shields, and maybe a 'Shower' where you can sail under a pipe that sprays water to put some flames out. Alternate between water and petrol on a timer

All easy to do as well.

TheChemiKid - 8-8-2014 at 12:46

Make your boat also able to be a submersible, then you can go under your friend's boat and knock it over!

AJKOER - 8-8-2014 at 13:28

Here is the ultimate simple and possibly effective idea. Have your boat tow a small vessel with a long floating cord that after several feet has a coating of a highly flammable substance perhaps including an occasion pocket of a thermite material. The little boat being towed has a candle that upon burning down ignites the tow line, which automatically disconnects from your vessel upon burning.

You must circle around your opponent vessel, wrapping him in the death cord.

[Edited on 8-8-2014 by AJKOER]

aga - 8-8-2014 at 14:04

... while he's firing his flamethrower at you.

Maybe better to just have a simple Rod at the front of the boat which can engage with a tube on a smaller floating chunk of something, which has a lot of Grease on the other side.

Have a few of these dotted around, or have them Released from time to time.

The smaller 'boat' is loaded with some explosive, and has a Fuse on top.

Your boat could engage the 'floating sticky bomb' and then try to slap it onto the opponent boat.

Flamethrower ignites fuse. Who's flamethrower, and When would be hilarious.

Edit:
Also a chance that you could shave the sticky bomb off your hull using the opponent's hull, transferring the sticky bomb back to it's originator.

[Edited on 8-8-2014 by aga]

TheAlchemistPirate - 31-10-2014 at 22:06

Sorry to revive an old thread, but did the OP ever actually do this?