Sketch of

'TōnFerns' Motor Boat

fully hand-crafted by

Tony Fernandes

(and with a little help from my friends)

Goa - Circa 1963

The first hand-made miniature motor-boat

 ever to sail the rivulets of the village

of Cumbiem Morod, Guirim, Bardez, Goa.

In order to have mechanical handicraft as a hobby is not easy especially when only limited resources are at one's disposal.

So, if one had in mind to devise something like the above, it would be with whatever was available around the house and in the neighbourhood. Now, I'm talking about the 1960's, when I was in my early teens.

Of all things conceivable, to build a miniature boat was quite a stretch by any means in putting parts together in the old days and it posed a real challenge. In order to see one's humble concept come to fruition or realization was a difficult task.

However, the basic requirement to make a self-propelled miniature motor-boat would be the acquirement of the motor itself. One could buy this main part, and the on/off mini switch, from Auto Popular in the nearby market town of Mapusa. The carpenter at Canca - Parra was kind in cutting out the basic 15 in. x 6 in. flat piece, and helping me in making a battery compartment more or less according to my specifications! Luckily, the carpenter's son happened to be my good pal.

The motor was glued to another small angled piece of wood, thus raising it up a bit. The sides (about 2" high) all around were cut from an old tea-chest and nailed to the basic shape. Candle wax or red sealing lacquer was used to seal the gaps. A swing contraption was made into, something if at all one would call it, a rudder - fitted to the bottom. A metal rib from an old broken umbrella served as a motor shaft. Connection to the propeller was made by means of a sleeve from electrical wire. The propeller was cut out from a lid of an used condensed milk tin and slid over a small piece vinyl sleeve from electrical wire. Power to the motor, at most times, was supplied by old batteries with hardly any gumption left in them, salvaged from our portable radio. Pocket money, to buy and use new batteries in a gadget of any sort, was hard to come by.

Now, the boat is ready, but where's the water? The boat had to be taken and put to the water. It was about a kilometer away - a small rivulet that passed through our village behind our house. The best time to see the boat was during the onset of the monsoon season when the fields opposite my house were flooded. It was fun as many other young kids and village folks gathered around to watch the first hand-made ever to sail the rivulets of Cumbiem Morod.