Building a Remote Control Boat using ESP32

What happens when a group of makers decides the lake deserves its own boat? You end up with an ESP32, some motors, a 3D-printed hull — and a weekend well spent.

The idea

The project started with a simple challenge: build a functional remote-controlled boat using only components readily available to makers. The ESP32 — a powerful dual-core microcontroller with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth — was the natural choice as the brain of the build. It offered enough processing power to handle motor control and a wireless interface simultaneously, without any additional networking hardware.

Designing the hull

The hull was designed in CAD and 3D-printed in PLA, then post-processed to improve water resistance. Special attention was paid to buoyancy distribution and the placement of the electronics compartment, which needed to stay dry while remaining accessible for iteration. The propulsion system uses two independent DC motors, allowing differential steering by varying the speed of each motor individually.

WiFi control firmware

The ESP32 runs a lightweight web server that exposes a simple control interface accessible from any device on the same WiFi network. A phone or laptop becomes the remote: directional inputs are sent as HTTP requests and translated into PWM signals that drive the motor controllers. The firmware was written in C++ using the Arduino framework, keeping the codebase approachable for other makers who want to fork and adapt the project.

What we learned

Beyond the technical skills — CAD, 3D printing, embedded firmware, electronics — the project reinforced a core maker principle: build something real, test it in the real world, and iterate. The first version took on water. The second had steering issues. By the third, the boat was zipping across the lake with reliable control. Every failure was a lesson, and every lesson made the community stronger.