Either the Martial Mechanics or the Boat Buoys are going to steam into the finals if they can pull their weight. The teams will have to build a boat BUT...it cannot have a propulsion system with a propeller of impeller (IE jet powered). The tasks of the boat will be simple. While carrying all 4 teammates they will have a head-to-head rack up and back a straight course. Secondly, will be another up and back race, this time towing a barge with cargo. Finally, they will be tied to one another and try to pull the other team across a line. The first two heats are worth one point with the tug-of-war worth two points. If there's a tie, they play a tie-break,
 

The Boat Buoys have been bad, that's why they're gonna get the paddle. They'll take a tractor, remove the back wheels and attach paddles. It'll be slow but the torque (turning power) will be mighty which should give them an advantage in the tug-of-war at least. The problem...how do you float a tractor that weighs ONE TONNE! Plus, there is a number of fiddly bits that will have to be rather precise in their placement. Mostly, where to put the paddles for maximum paddling power.

The Martial Mechanics are feeling rather screwy. In one of the most radical designs of any Scrapheap vehicle, they are going to build a dual screw pontoon boat. A screw on each side of a van chassis will pull them through the water. It won't be powerful, necessarily, but it will be fast and very maneuverable. However, it's such an odd approach that one look at it and you'd swear that it will never work. Also, they need to have the screws turn in opposite directions otherwise they just spin in circles.
 
 
 

Martial Mechanics TC Hadrian Spooner	Boay Buoys TC Colin Poole
The Martial Mechanics screw design	The Boat Buoys paddle-wheeler design
What luck! A tractor and a boat	This van is giving the Mechanics a problem
But that fender isn't...also a good way to take out a cameraman	Expert Philip Wilson
The boat is fiberglass which you cannot weld to so it's ditched...	...in favour of a couple of rusty skips
Hadrian starts to form one of the two screws	Unfortunately, the skips aren't water-tight and will require much work
The tractor is a bit too wide so the sides are bowed inward to make it fit	The placement of the wheel is crucial or else the paddle won't sit properly in the water
The van is almost down to the chassis to make it floatable	A screw goes in place. It will work by pulling itself through the water, kind of like a screw pulls itself into wood
The paddle is on and it's looking good

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