DIY Network

Foss Cup: RC Tugboat Competition From "Radio Control Hobbies" episode RCH-406

In this episode of Radio Control Hobbies, host Chris Chianelli visits Bellingham, Washington for the annual Foss Cup--an RC tugboat competition that brings in the top RC tugboat pilots from all over the country. Along with covering the actual event, Chris Chianelli also gets to board a real tugboat docked on the coast of Washington state just outside of Seattle.

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This Foss Cup competition features some of the best RC tugboat pilots from all over the US, and scratch-built historically accurate tugboats from a variety of eras. Contestants are judged on the craftsmanship and scale appearance of their tug models.

Unlike other competitions in the world of RC hobbies, tugboat competitions aren't about speed. Instead, pilots maneuver their boats around obstacle courses either towing or pushing a barge. In this case, an obstacle course is set up on a local pond, and the experienced RC pilots take their tugs through the paces.

In addition to the authentic look of their tugboats, their movements have to be very "scale like" and give a visual approximation of the real thing. Pilots demonstrate their skill on a navigation course--maneuvering their tugs around, under and through a series of challenging obstacles. Points are awarded for a clean pass.

One highlight of the Foss Cup happens during intermission. That's when six to eight tugboat pilots perform a highly coordinated team maneuver. First, an aluminum barge weighing 1600 pounds is piled with log bundles and pushed out into the harbor. Radio controlled cranes pick up the last remaining logs. By filling up a chamber with water inside the right side of the hull, the barge tips the logs into the water--just like the real operations performed in logging harbors around the country. Then the tugs go into action circling and herding the logs into a bundle that can be moved into the harbor and to the mill.

Seeing an electric-powered RC tugboat guiding a barge that weighs hundreds of pounds is an impressive sight, and watching this operation performed by radio control gives some real appreciation for how the full-scale tug boats must work in harmony.