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[ The challenge and teams | Result | Hogs' diary | Knights' diary | Science | Related links ]
Barges on the beach
Our bearded bodgers The Thirsty Knights concocted an enormous rolling road-style, paddle-powered pontoon, using a rear-wheel-drive VW Beetle as the power train.
The Hairy Hogs opted for the classic Scrapheap solution of floating barrel raft. Going for a scavenged Suzuki Jeep, they came up with a clever linkage between the rear-drive shaft and the onboard propeller and added a nicely balanced rudder for steering.
The test was a race to rescue their experts who had been marooned on an island in the lake. Each team had to speed down the beach in their vehicle, avoiding enemy mines, before driving aboard their landing craft.
They then had to engage their drive system and power across the lake, avoiding the pesky enemy submarines in their way to reach their experts. With them safely aboard, it was then a straight race back to HQ and the finish.
Hog-tied
Starting well, The Knights pipped the Hogs to the water's edge and were already reversing on to their pontoon as the Hogs tried to line up their Jeep.
The Knights set off in a whirl of paddles as the Hogs desperately tried to haul up their loading ramp.
Unfortunately, The Knights' early advantage quickly evaporated once the argumentative Hogs had mastered the steering. Their propeller clearly had the edge over the diminutive paddles and they easily reached their expert first.
All at sea
Playing catch-up, The Knights almost came back into it as the Hogs made a mess of lowering their ramps. As the Hogs stormed to a place in the final, The Knights, in a hilarious twist, left their expert afloat only to be rescued again!