RC Tugboat with functional Azimuth Pod Thrusters

Description

A fully 3D printed RC harbour tug with a working azimuth stern drive. The two pods rotate 360°, giving it the same rudderless maneuverability as a real ASD tug — spinning on the spot, crabbing sideways, and full thrust in any direction.

Control is managed by a custom ESP32 set up - one at each end with NRF24L01 radio modules for communication and rotarty encoders on the controller to set the pod angles.

The vessel design is based on a real ASD tug based at Port Otago called 'Arihi'. Check out my build video below for more info.

Download Links

STL Print Files

ESP32 Code

Parts List

Electronics, bearings, bolts, and anything else that isn't 3D printed. Links are AliExpress affiliate links — so if you buy through them I earn a tiny commission (at no extra cost to you).

Electronics for Boat

1x ESP32 Dev Board (expansion board recommended)
1x NRF24L01+ Radio Module with expansion board
2x 28BYJ-48 Stepper Motors with ULN2003 Driver Boards
2x DC Brushed Motors (I used 31ZY 12v 3500RPM)
1x 5V Power Supply. I use an 18650 battery charger module.
1x 12v Battery and Dual ESC for DC Motors

Electronics for Controller

1x ESP32 Dev Board
1x NRF24L01+ Radio Module with expansion board
1x 5V power supply. I use 3.7v LiPo with 5v output charging module.
2x Rotary Encoders (5 pins - SW1, SW2, KEY, 5V, GND)
1x 0.91" OLED Screen
1x On/Off Switch

Standard Hardware

2x 150mm x 3mm steal rods for drive shafts (cut to length)
2x 3mm to 3mm shaft couplers for DC motors
8x bearings - 4 for each side (8mm/3mm/4mm)
2x bearings - 1 for each side (6mm/3mm/2.5mm)
2x 608 bearings for mounting azimuth pods
4x M4 10mm bolts for joining deck sections
8x M3 10mm bolts for motor mounts and brace

Other Stuff

Glue for joining hull sections (I used Selleys super glue)
Vaseline for waterproofing around the pods/shafts and greasing gears
4x Bevel Gears for gearboxes (0.8M 15T) - These are printable but the metal ones mesh so nicely I ended up using them.