How to Build RC Bait Boats

Bait boats give you an easy and fun way to spread fish food over the surface of a fishing area to draw fish, but it can be prohibitively expensive to purchase specialty radio controlled bait boats. Building one of your own is a viable alternative, and you can use practically any radio controlled boat that's big enough to carry a hopper full of bait. You'll have to install an additional servo onto the boat that will control the bait hopper and dump it when you activate the correct switch on your controller; but once that's done, you'll be ready to drop bait just about anywhere you want.

Things You'll Need

  • Hobby-quality radio-controlled boat
  • Two-channel radio control
  • Self-tapping screws
  • Plastic container
  • Servo
  • Metal wire
  • Silicone sealant
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place the radio-controlled boat on a flat surface where you can work on it. You may have to remove some pieces of the boat in order to make it work properly as a bait boat. The plastic container should rest on the back of the boat so that when the trap door you will install is opened, the bait will fall out of the container and into the water.

    • 2

      Test fit the plastic container toward the back of the boat. It should be positioned at an angle to drop the bait. On toy boats, this can be accomplished by balancing the container between the transom of the boat and the bridge. When it is in the right position, apply silicone sealant to the joint between the boat and the container to glue it in place.

    • 3

      Connect the remote control servo to the boat's deck so that when it is actuated, it will be able to push open the trap door of the container. As with the container, use silicone sealant to attach the servo to the boat's deck.

    • 4

      Wire the servo to the secondary switch on the toy boat. This is the function that will be triggered when you flip the switch on the remote control. Children's toy radio control boats do not have this functionality. This is why selecting a boat and a two-channel radio from a hobby retailer is important. The boat kit will include the necessary instructions you will need to be able to connect the servo.

    • 5

      Cut a trap door into the back of the plastic container with a rotary tool. Rather than cutting off an entire side of the container, however, cut everything but the rim on one side. This will act as an upper hinge, simplifying the installation procedure.

    • 6

      Route a length of metal wire from a hole in the servo to the trap door so that when you actuate the servo, it will push the wire and open the trap door.

    • 7

      Waterproof any connections you made in the boat with silicone sealant to complete the installation.