Scrapheap Challenge s07e05 Episode Script
Jet Boat
Right! Here we go.
Blast-off! I must admit, it's not a total success.
Oh! Professor Smith's is working rather well, though.
Blast! Welcome to Scrapheap Challenge, where two mechanically minded teams create crackpot machines out of piles of old junk.
And this week, it's water wings at the ready as our teams face the wackiest wave race ever.
Yes, this week, we're putting a serious Scrapheap spin on the poser's pastime of jet boat racing.
We're challenging our teams to build petrol-driven canoes with real get up and go.
And if they're successful, they'll be bringing them here for a jet-powered spin round our offshore slalom.
ROBERT: First up are a leather-clad trio of Harley riders from Northern Ireland, the Hairy Hogs - team captain Conn Kelly and team-mates Darrell Hanna and Alastair Nethercott.
These Hogs are confident of bringing home the bodging bacon.
LISA: They're up against three rag-and-bone men from Todmorden, on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border, Team Ragbo - Captain Glynn Myers, Colin Bates and Nick Mellor.
As professional recyclers, they're determined not to waste their chance of Scrapheap glory.
(ALL SHOUT) Come on! Hairy Hogs! ALL: Yeah! Team Ragbo! ALL: Yes! Prepare yourselves for a wet-and-wild wave-riding regatta.
Yes, teams, we want you to construct jumbo juiced-up jet boats, caning all competition in an offshore contest.
First you'll be going in a toe-tingling test of speed before you attempt to twist and turn your way around our aquatic obstacle course.
OK, teams, you know the rules.
When the gong goes bong, you've got just 10 hours to build your turbocharged tubs.
Hairy Hogs, are you ready to ride the waves of success? ALL: Yes! Team Ragbo, are you ready to turn scrapheap rubbish into Ragbo riches? ALL: Yes! ROBERT: Now, wait for it.
Wait for it.
Go! Go! Come on! Come on! ROBERT: On hand to keep Team Ragbo shipshape in Bristol fashion is watercraft whiz Alex Wallis.
Designing marine propulsion systems for a living, he should be the ideal man to help Ragbo find a fair wind.
Alrighty.
OK, lads.
LISA: And to ensure it's full steam ahead for the Hairy Hogs, we've brought in marine engineer Alan Pickard.
With 12 years experience building water jets, there's no chance of the Hogs being left high and dry.
Hi, guys.
Yeah.
A boat.
A boat.
A jet boat.
For what we're doing, we want good manoeuvrability and drive at low speed.
It's gonna be driven by a jet pump, right, which is an impeller in a tube, rather than a propeller.
You're talking about an impeller.
What size of a hose or what size of a tube do we need to fit the impeller? For what weight we're gonna run, I think if we can run around 140-, 150-mil diameter, that's gonna be appropriate for what we're doing.
You know what you're looking for in an impeller, then.
I'll look for the engine if you look for the impeller.
LISA: The Hairy Hogs plan to create a powerful jet by using an impeller pump.
The impeller is an inverted propeller fitted inside an airtight water-filled tube.
As it spins, it sucks in water and blasts it out behind to push the boat forward.
Add a directional nozzle and their jet boat should turn on a sixpence.
But that impeller housing will have to be built from scratch.
Get the measurements slightly wrong and the Hogs could end up chasing their tails.
If these are jet-powered, Alex, how are we gonna get the propulsion system set up? Two options on power.
One is the traditional jet skis-type approach, which is, what, an impeller system.
And the impeller, all we're gonna do is, takes a large volume of water, accelerates up to a high velocity - that's the one option.
The other is going for centrifugal pump, which is perhaps more what you're used to in terms of pumps.
Takes fluid either through the centre or wherever through some annulus, some entrance point, accelerate it up, your flow rate of water's gonna be a lot less than you would have had in the jet ski-type impeller, but it has a much higher pressure - through the higher pressure, we can probably use a sharper, tighter nozzle, and that'll give us much higher exit velocity on our jet.
So the centrifugal pump will give us more options? I think it will, yeah.
LISA: So Team Ragbo are opting for a centrifugal pump to provide their jet propulsion.
If they can find a large enough one on the heap, it should generate a powerful water jet and mean a more straightforward build.
But centrifugal pumps can weigh an awful lot.
And with a powerful engine to drive it, they'll need a big, sturdy hull to take all that weight.
Choose one that's too small and Ragbo could end up with that sinking feeling.
So, guys, let's get out there.
Let's get a pump, a motor, a hull.
Let's start exactly there.
Get into character.
Come on.
Right, let's get going! Right.
ROBERT: Both teams have plotted their course and are ready to hit the heap.
And with all the heavy metal they need to find, they could be scavenging for quite a while.
LISA: At least it doesn't take the teams long to find item one on their shopping list.
We have a double-skin boat here.
Sounds good.
Bring her up and we'll have a look.
I'm bringing it in.
Right.
LISA: Team Ragbo's hull is a little on the large side.
So Glynn and Alex have to be allowed onto the heap to help shift it.
Jeepers, it's a fair size.
I've got a feeling it's gonna be a little bit too heavy.
I think we can get something smaller than this.
Well, what's that there? It's a pedalo.
ROBERT: Meanwhile, Alan runs his expert eye over the Hogs' scavenged hull.
She's heavy at the back, like.
There's some buoyancy there with the foaming.
Right, yeah.
Even though it's waterlogged, but.
And I think for the manoeuvrability, right, with the front being like that, you'll be able to make the front Yeah, mmm.
It's a good type of hull, isn't it? Yeah.
ROBERT: Alex isn't certain about Ragbo's red hull.
He thinks the pedalo might be a better lightweight option.
So it's back to their build area with their buoyant bounty to try and make a decision.
LISA: Second item on the list for our teams is an engine to power their jet boats.
The Hogs want a meaty petrol motor to drive their impeller.
While Team Ragbo think a low-rewing diesel engine is their best option.
And it's the Hogs who get lucky first, finding a tough 2-litre ideal for the job.
That's complete That's That's what we want there.
That's what we want there, yep.
Morning, Darrell.
Yeah.
Morning, Alastair.
Lovely morning for it.
Yeah, it's brilliant.
Luckily, it is a sort of water-based challenge.
So we're just preparing you for it.
Might be able to do it in the yard.
No, we don't have to go anywhere, do we? Presumably, there's an engine in here.
Hopefully.
It's all intact, you know Yeah, 'cause you need, presumably, quite a big lump.
Yeah, we were looking something 2-litre-plus, you know, plus we want a straightforward, you know, carburettor, not many electronics.
Right, yeah.
Yeah, that's always a good idea, isn't it? 'Cause all those wires are a bit worrying.
And have you had sort of experience with boats and things water-based? 'Cause you're a bit more kind of two-wheel Just the cross-Channel ferry.
You know how to get on and off it.
And, of course, we built the 'Titanic'.
That's true.
That's true.
You've got a bit of a heritage there.
ALL: We're the Hairy Hogs.
We're gonna hogtie the opposition.
LISA: Northern Ireland's Hairy Hogs have a passion for all things Harley Davidson.
Members of the province-wide Harley Owners Group, this trio's idea of fun usually involves black leathers, buffed chrome and fat, meaty tyres.
Captain Conn Kelly is an electrician from Larne.
Nicknamed Spartacus, he definitely picks his leathers from the extra-large rail.
Taller team-mate Darrell Hanna is a champion stock-car racer and definitely not a leggy blonde movie star, whilst smallest team member Alastair Nethercott is a plumbing and heating engineer from Limavady whose preferred ride is a Heritage Softail.
But while these Hogs enjoy cruising the coastal road, the closest they'd usually get to the wet stuff are a couple of pints in their local boozer.
ROBERT: Back on the heap, Ragbo are still hunting for a diesel engine.
But Colin and Nick have been distracted by yet another potential hull.
What will Alex make of this latest find? Excellent.
Hmm.
Want to tip this thing over and have a look at it? Yep.
Yep.
That's a lot lighter.
Yeah.
It is lighter.
Yeah, and it's got a nice Oh, yeah.
This is better than that red hull.
The red hull's too big.
This will be the next option on that red hull.
LISA: Overseeing proceedings this week is judge Michael McDowell.
Having worked with jet boats and jet skis for more than a decade, Michael has the know-how to spot whether our teams are cruising to success or taking a jet-powered trip to Davy Jones's locker.
So, what is the big benefit, then, of going for a jet-powered boat? The idea of a jet-powered boat is you don't have anything in the water to restrict the hull.
Agility is fantastic.
You could turn one round 180 degrees.
So you can really throw them about.
So they can turn much faster than a boat with a rudder? Oh, absolutely.
So a slalom course for these teams is gonna be that's where the fun will be? And that's where we'll see if they've got it right.
From what I can judge from what they're doing, the actual approach is slightly different.
Yeah, they're using two different designs of pump.
Ragbo are using a centrifugal pump, the Hogs using conventional jet boat-type drive - an impeller inside a tube.
Now, Michael, I realise it is very early days yet, but I really want to pressure you on making a choice of which one you think is the most likely to succeed.
At this moment in time, although it is very early, having seen the designs, my money's gotta be on the Hogs at the moment.
If I was a betting man, I'd put money on the Hogs.
That could change if Ragbo decide to go a different way.
I'm a little concerned about that boat design they're using.
They're putting a lot of weight high up, which will make it a little unstable.
That's true, 'cause if you've got a very, very top-heavy boat, you start going along in a straight line, it might be alright, but if you start steering it, it could Going through a slalom course, that's gonna be interesting.
It could steer in ways they don't really wish.
Yeah.
Up periscope.
LISA: With the judge's concerns about being top-heavy, Ragbo's choice of hull becomes doubly important.
I've got to say, it's like a boat graveyard here.
We've got two here, and there's one out there as well.
A good collection.
Yes.
Yes.
We're still stuck for a pump and we're still stuck for a power plant, but we think this is our favourite hull.
So we're going with this hull.
Why this one as opposed to the other two? Well, I think boils down That one's quite large and it's got a very deep V hull.
The problem with that is, is that if manoeuvrability Not gonna go anywhere.
Gonna take a lot of effort to get one round.
This one's much flatter - it's a yacht.
It's got a slightly flatter hull.
Not as flat as we like, but it'll work.
Now, Glynn, of course, you work with rubbish, scrap, things people throw away.
Any experience with boats or No, nothing like this at all.
No, this is totally a different feel for what we do for a living.
Really? Yeah, absolutely.
Is it as far from your ideal challenge as you could have got? Oh, no.
No, it's great.
It's what we want.
Bigger, better, dafter.
Yeah.
Excellent.
ROBERT: If any team could ever feel right at home on Scrapheap Challenge, it's Team Ragbo.
From Todmorden in the Pennines, all three work in the rarefied world of waste recycling collecting piles of old junk, then crash, bang and walloping it till it's useful again.
Captain Glynn Myers is the company boss who stays calm and collected, cultivating his bonsai tree collection while team-mates Nick Mellor and Colin Bates are experts in vehicle rejuvenation, Nick's passion being performance bikes and Colin's vintage sports cars.
Scrapheap scavenging should be a busman's holiday for this rag-and-bone trio.
ALL: We are Team Ragbo, and we're gonna shred, grind and destroy all opposition! LISA: And Colin's made good use of that junkyard experience by rooting out a pick-up truck with the diesel engine they need.
So now both teams have their hands on a power plant.
But the scrapheap quagmire is making vehicle recovery heavy going.
So once again, captains and experts are called in to help heave-ho.
Take up the slack.
Jump in it, Darrell, and drive, and we'll try and pull it.
Oh, there's no way.
There's no lift.
LISA: Simple horsepower isn't going to be enough, and the teams have to resort to a more considered approach.
No chance.
We'll have to find a new vehicle.
No.
This is too good, isn't it? Yah! Yah! LISA: Success at last.
Yeah! LISA: But there's no time to celebrate.
The most vital components still need to be found - the Hogs' impeller and Team Ragbo's centrifugal pump.
Uh, teams, you have eight hours remaining.
Eight hours remaining, teams.
Thank you.
LISA: With the clock ticking, it's time to divvy up the jobs.
While Alan works on patching the Hogs' holey hull, Conn and Darrell set about removing their engine.
And as for Alastair, he has to head off to try and find the impeller.
ROBERT: Next door, Alex and Glynn are hoping mathematical equations can help them decide which hull to use, while Nick and Colin hunt high and low on the heap for that vital pump.
I'm a bit stuck for ideas now, Nick.
I mean, from what I can see, the Hairy Hogs have already just won in terms of sheer enthusiasm.
Come on! I don't know I've ever seen a team from the beginning announcement of the challenge be so enthusiastic.
I know.
And they were already soaked.
From the moment they arrived.
They were bursting out of their boilersuits with joy.
(ALL LAUGH) And the one thing they didn't the thing they least wanted to do was anything to do with water.
Course, you can guarantee, on your Scrapheap application form, "I don't want to do water," "Your challenge today involves water.
" But, no, they're very nice, and Alan is very he knows all his stuff about their expert knows all his stuff about your impellerage - you know, impeller pumps and squirty water and the Venturi effect.
Oh, yes.
Venturi.
(POSHLY) Oh, I say! If you want to know about the Venturi effect, ask Alan.
Is that like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective? To be fair, yeah, the other team's, the Ragbos, are pretty enthusiastic as well.
Yeah.
They did some good cheering.
Some very good cheering.
I mean, they're northern.
Right.
Right.
They call a spade a spade.
They know what they're doing.
But, again, I think, no experience with water.
But, yes, they all seem terribly happy and terribly enthusiastic about it, in spite of the revolting rain.
Yeah.
Which has actually, miraculously, stopped for a moment.
LISA: And the outlook's a lot brighter for the Hogs.
They've made short work of removing their engine.
While out on the heap, Alastair's hit the scavenging jackpot, finding an impeller inside an old airconditioning unit.
ROBERT: And it could be good news for Team Ragbo.
They've located a potential pump.
Only problem, it is huge! That's it.
That might be the fella.
That is the perfect fella.
ROBERT: Even with four able bodies on the heap, it's a big job to lift this cast-iron lump of a pump.
And even if they shift it, how on earth are they going to float it? OK.
Hang on.
Right, Alex? Yep.
Three, two, one.
That's it.
Hang on a second.
We got it.
LISA: Meanwhile, Alastair returns proudly to the yard with his scavenged impeller.
Does this thing only go down? There's no housing.
I can't find any housing.
Yeah, I think we can make we'll make summat out of that.
We've got to have summat that's a decent fit on that.
Yeah.
OK.
LISA: So Alastair's scavenge isn't over yet.
The Hogs' impeller can only work encased inside a sealed water-filled housing.
If that housing can be narrowed behind the impeller, then they could utilise a principle known as the Venturi effect.
Inside the narrow space, water flow is accelerated and extra thrust created.
In turn, the increased flow creates suction, pulling in more water and generating an even stronger jet.
But if the housing isn't completely airtight or there are gaps around the edge, their jet will have about as much thrust as a leaky tap.
ROBERT: Having scavenged a pump similar in weight to a granite boulder, Ragbo realise they may need to reconsider their choice of hull.
See, we're concerned about stability - weight of pump, motor, etc, or whether to use the green hull, the red hull.
Obviously, the blue-and-white hull's not gonna be part of the issue.
Blue-and-white, I think, is pretty much out of the window.
But we're happy with this motor, happy with this pump.
It's just which hull are we gonna have? LISA: Team Ragbo's dilemma is that while their green boat is lightweight, it's also flat-bottomed and may not be stable enough to take the weight of pump, driver and engine.
Their red boat has a deep V-shaped hull which is far more stable, the weight of water in contact with the hull acting as a counterbalance to any weight on top.
But stability comes at a price.
The lower the hull sits in the water, known as the boat's draft, the more resistance is met and the more power needed to push the boat through the water.
ROBERT: Next door, the Hairy Hogs have a few weight issues of their own.
Now, the first thing that strikes me Is that How big's that engine? 2-litre.
It's 2-litre.
2-litre, yeah.
That's a very large engine to be going in what isn't that large a boat.
You sure you're not gonna just sink or the boat's gonna go on its side like that? Uh, it's double-skinned, right, so it's got quite a lot of flotation.
Be alright, I think.
We'll have the engine up mid-position as well.
So it'll keep the front down.
OK.
If you put it at the back, it would be like Wheelyboat, wouldn't it? Yes, well.
OK.
It still does look quite heavy.
Have you done your sums? Or have you just looked at it and gone, "lt'll be fine in there"? "Yeah, that'll do.
" "Lt'll be fine in there.
" At least you're honest.
It's a boat.
It'll float.
ROBERT: If only Team Ragbo could be that confident.
The pump they've scavenged looks heavy enough to sink a pocket battleship, let alone a lightweight jet boat.
How do you describe that? It's very large.
What sort of pump is it? Well, it's, uh Looks like a wastewater pump, by the looks of it.
So Yeah, it got probably quite a lot of capacity, actually.
It'll pump a lot when it goes? And at a good pressure head too.
So we can probably use quite good little nozzles on it.
So it should be quite spectacular, yes.
So, presumably, that's why 'Cause you had a lot of different hulls in here.
That's right, yeah.
There was one sleek low-lying one.
And then I saw that.
I was a bit anxious for your safety.
Yes, exactly.
I think if it turned over, gone straight to the bottom.
Yeah.
So this one is considerably bigger.
It is, and perhaps its only disadvantage is its size, but other than that, it should give us good stability.
So have you got any idea of what kind of speeds your machine will achieve? I mean, you No.
No.
It's a bit hard to guess, I suppose.
Yes.
So your task now is to get well, to get this mounted up, so to get your engine and your pump joined together.
That's right.
Once that's all together, I think Game on.
Right.
LISA: So both teams seem clear on how to progress with their build.
But it's taken a long time to get this far.
Halfway through the allotted build time and they've only just collected all the parts they need to build their demon dinghies.
But the Hairy Hogs are starting to make some headway.
Darrell's got their 2-litre petrol engine ready for action.
And Captain Conn's constructed a made-to-measure frame to support its weight.
Now they just need to figure out how to squeeze a driver, steering column and pump in alongside.
coming up straight onto that there.
These here, I think, can cut off.
Aye.
LISA: Meanwhile, expert Alan has begun the painstaking task of building their impeller pump from scratch.
Ooh, you beauty! ROBERT: While the Hogs have the wind in their sails, Team Ragbo have temporarily run aground.
No.
ROBERT: Their plan to weld engine and pump to a metal frame that's dropped straight into their hull is simple enough.
But they can't connect up anything while their engine's still firmly embedded inside its pick-up truck.
And having opted for a heavyweight hull and pump, will that diesel engine be meaty enough for the job? Now, Michael, at a quick glance at the two teams, there seems to be quite a big differential in weight.
What worries me is that the Ragbos' engine isn't that huge and that powerful, and yet it's got a lot more to push.
Yes, it's got a lot of weight to move.
Looking at the engines, Ragbo have gone for a small diesel engine from a pick-up truck.
Hogs have gone for a petrol engine from a car, which is more powerful.
So they have more power and lighter weight.
Ragbo have less power and a lot of weight.
It's good to see that Ragbo have changed the hull that they're gonna use.
They've now got a hull that can take the weight with stability as well.
And do you think there is a sort of historical reason why a centrifugal cast-iron pump hasn't been used a lot in in sort of leisure water sports? To be perfect honest, I don't know of anybody who's tried it before.
But they might.
We never know.
We might see remarkable results.
Yeah.
Could patent it.
What sort of pump is this? Where's it actually come from? Well I think it's a slurry pump.
Gonna have quite a lot of oomph.
There's no doubt about it.
It's gonna have not so much water flow, which is a pity, because if it had doubled its flow, it would've been good.
It's gonna have quite a good pressure head, so we can get high-speed water coming out the back of the boat.
Not enough water at high speed, the only disadvantage of the pump.
'Cause slurry pumps kind of just go "Whoomp, whoomp," rather than "Pssh," which is what you wanted.
It's gonna take a lot of torque, and the diesel engine's quite well suited for that, 'cause it's got low rewing, good torque.
This thing is very low-rewing, it's gonna take a lot of torque out of it, so it's gonna take a fair whack.
LISA: Centrifugal force is the pull generated from the centre of an object in circular motion.
With a hammer thrower, the faster and harder they spin, the more centrifugal force they create.
When they let go, it's that force that sends the hammer flying away from the centre.
Inside the slurry pump, the principle's the same - liquids pumped into the centre of a rapidly spinning chamber, where centrifugal force pushes it outwards and it's released, travelling far faster than when it entered.
If their diesel engine can get the pump drum spinning as fast and hard as possible, Ragbo's water jet may surprise everyone.
ALAN: Lovely! Does it want to work? Of course it's gonna work.
ROBERT: The Hogs' impeller pump is a more conventional way of creating a water jet.
But building one from scratch is tough, even for an engineer with Alan's experience.
Oh, that looks nice.
That looks that looks a bit professional.
Wow.
So that's actually made up of about four or five different components that you've Yeah, we've got the centre shaft off a Mk 3 Escort rear hub.
And then we managed to find a piece of tubing and put the stator vanes in.
And then we've got the Venturi The lads have found me a bit of So will it be shooting the water out that way? No, we've got to strangle the water now.
We've got to taper it down.
Right.
Right? To compress it.
Same as like you're squeezing a hosepipe.
And then, obviously, the directional nozzle to steer it Goes on that way.
But the water goes through in that direction once that's inside? So the other end of that will go under the water? That's sucking the water up out of How do you get the drive out? Do you connect the drive onto there? We've got a shaft rear spline That'll fit in there.
Right.
So we're gonna drive off that spline and then make a PTO on the engine to drive the shaft.
LISA: The Hogs need to power their impeller with a drive shaft running directly from their engine.
But the impeller is fixed inside a sealed housing.
So how can they connect them without springing a leak? Their bodgers' solution is to run the shaft through a rubber hose packed full of waterproof grease, tightly crimped at each end with Jubilee Clips, creating a watertight seal.
But it's only a temporary solution.
They'll have to hope the seal holds long enough to get through the event.
If not, they could end up blowing bubbles round the course.
(SIGHS) LISA: Things still aren't going to plan for Team Ragbo.
Pull it.
LISA: The diesel engine's proving difficult to shift.
Right, I'll keep going up.
You keep pulling.
LISA: So much so, it needs the whole team to help cut it free.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
I thought they were free at this end.
LISA: It takes almost an hour to uncouple the engine and then lift it out.
Right, is that us? It's ours now, is it? LISA: Ragbo now have to work flat out to have any chance of finishing this build on time.
Uh, teams, the sun is now officially over the yardarm.
You have four hours remaining.
Four hours construction time remaining, teams.
ROBERT: Once upon a time, water speed freaks made do with propeller-driven boats out on the open water.
But it wasn't enough for some folk.
So they went away and built the first jet-powered speedboat.
Then, in 1973, Kawasaki fixed a jet pump on a boat the size of a pedalo and created a jet boat mini-me - the jet ski - giving cool dudes everywhere the chance to enjoy some jet-powered thrills.
LISA: Time's marching by, and our two teams are at very different stages of their jet boat build.
The Hogs are riding the crest of a wave, and their 'Wot-er Hog's coming together nicely.
Alan's impeller is starting to look like a beautifully crafted piece of kit.
And under his watchful eye, Conn's fabricating the directional jet nozzle that'll give their speedy schooner its steering.
Yeah, take some more off that side there.
Whack some more out so we get the same lot, yeah? ROBERT: But Team Ragbo are still treading water next door.
Even now, the engine's not quite ready to roll.
The day is going by, and there's a lot to be done.
ROBERT: But the frame's finished, and the pump has been welded into place.
So Alex is keen to get the drive shaft connected up ready for their engine.
We've got to somehow get that thing to lock on, don't we? So It's gonna be a really good weld.
'Cause it's carrying all that torque and all that flexion and Are you happy to weld that? No.
No, I'm not happy to weld that.
Like you said, there's a lot of torque on there.
There is.
A lot of torque.
We're gonna have to weld it, full stop, really.
I'm sure it'll weld on.
OK.
ROBERT: It sounds like team confidence is at a real low.
Perhaps it's the miserable weather that's dampened their spirits.
LISA: Oh! That Team Ragbo.
Do you know what? We started off this morning I first went to see them on the heap, scavenging.
the happiest, go-luckiest men you could ever wish to meet.
A few wet, Scrapheap hours down the line They wish they were back up back north.
They wish they were back up north in Todmorden.
It is very funny, actually.
This morning, I was talking to Colin.
And he was like, "Well, Lis, you know, I'm a bit of a flirt.
"You'll have to watch out.
A bit of a flirt, me.
" I went, "Oh, yes, I know.
" Go back and see him, he's like that.
"Yes.
No.
Yes.
" Not a thing.
Not a sausage.
Oh, dear.
And how are our lovely Hairy Hogs doing? The Hairy Hogs are marvellous.
They're very, very funny.
I kind of want to have lessons to do their accent.
I want them to do classes in the Northern Irish accent.
It's such a fantastic accent.
And I can't I can't imitate it, you know.
(NORTHERN ACCENT) Todmorden, you can have a go at.
You might not be spot-on, but you're close.
You can do up north.
Northern Ireland, can't do anything.
"Ye" is about it.
"Ye!" Ye! Ye! Yeah, I can't do it.
And Alan, their expert, brilliant bit of really fine engineering.
That pump he's made is beautiful.
And it's all made out of different components.
You know, there's a sort of bearing from a car and the propeller from something else and then all the tubing, they measured it and it all fits together really well and it turns I don't know if he's ever seen the previous Scrapheaps where we've had impellers, and they're just not airtight.
They're just not close enough.
They just don't work, basically.
See, obviously, he's seen how important that is.
No, I think he knows his stuff.
Yeah, definitely.
ROBERT: With night falling, the Hogs are miles ahead of Ragbo in their build.
They're already working on fixing their steering system into place.
LISA: But the sun going down does seem to have given Team Ragbo a new lease of life.
Alex and Colin have succeeded in getting engine pump and drive shaft connected up, while Glynn's hard at work cutting and smoothing off plenty of tubing to ensure they have all the watertight pipework they need.
Let's just hope they haven't left it all too late.
Teams, don't let time leave you in its wake.
You have two hours remaining.
Two hours remaining, teams.
Whoa! We're in trouble! LISA: That should be plenty of time for the Hogs to finish their build.
But there is a potential flaw in their design.
Their steering nozzle needs to stick out the back of the boat below the waterline.
And their only solution is to cut a big hole in the back of their hull.
The sun has gone down.
The moon is out.
And you look like you've got something almost almost approximating a jet boat here.
Here we've got the impeller.
Yep.
I believe this was built by your expert hands, Alan.
Yeah, yep.
Lovingly constructed.
Of course, it is really important that it is engineered to a quite exact degree.
Yeah.
Are you happy you've got that right? Yep, yeah.
It's lined up nice.
We've just got to seal the water inlet now.
We've just got to seal that.
And we should be there, I think.
Is this here, and? Yeah, yeah, and And where the duct comes in That's the duct.
That's all fitted.
We've got a steering nozzle on.
That's your steering nozzle? So just sort of explain how that works.
Uh, that's just directing the flow of water.
It's diverting it side to side.
So that should give us our steering.
So, basically, water comes up there, out there, pushes out there, and, obviously, with the water going that way, it's gonna send you that way and that way, that way.
Excellent.
Do you think the agility's gonna be there? Yeah, I think, with the angle we've got the pump angle down, which is gonna make the nose plough a bit, which will give us the keel to steer - should be very manoeuvrable.
Excellent.
But have you all been getting on? Been any tempers fraying? No.
Oh, no.
No.
'Cause you do all seem like you're having a complete laugh every time I come in here - big smiles on your faces.
There's no point, is there? Because if you start arguing and fighting, the job doesn't get done.
Absolutely right.
That's one of the most important things on Scrapheap.
We can't have arguments 'cause I can't understand what they're on about.
(ALL LAUGH) ROBERT: While the Hogs are in high spirits, there's a deep depression settling over Team Ragbo's yard.
Then we're away.
Yep.
The exhausts.
So it's nearly done? Yeah.
We think so.
Yes, no, it is.
It's a bit painful.
There's a lot of anxiety around.
There's a lot of anxiety.
I'm sure there is here too a little bit.
A little.
Just a smidgin.
But, I mean, this is 'Cause I haven't had a look for a while.
But I can see this is now Engine connected to pump.
It's some sort of steel, mate.
Yeah.
So you're doing the engine mounts at the moment? That's right, that's it.
Pretty much in line now.
And once that's then you can mount the whole thing in the boat? Just drop in the boat, and then it's pretty much just we can get on with the plumbing and get on with the actual physical final mounting of the Right.
chassis.
But have you got all the pipework that you need for the All the interface pipework.
The rest of it, we'll have to just in situ.
Right.
Yep.
That's gonna be the experimentation stage, I think.
Right.
So how's it going? How's the team holding up? The clock's ticking and, uh Yeah.
you feel the pressure.
I'm sure you do, yeah.
Now, I've seen that before, where it looks like it's a lost cause, but, actually, all the bits and pieces are there, and they just They just throws in, plumbs up and, uh Couple of strings.
Couple of bits of string! Bit of magic.
Bit of tape.
And it's all done.
LISA: So the Hogs are looking strong in the final stages, while Ragbo still have everything to do just to make it to the start line.
How does our judge rate their chances if they get there? Of course, Michael, a major part of the challenge we set them is speed.
You know, we want them to be able to go fast.
Um, the key to getting a fast boat is to get it on the plane.
What we mean by getting it on the plane is the boat is no longer sitting in the water.
It's riding on top of the water.
This greatly reduces the drag on the boat, the resistance in the water, and you can get a lot more speed.
The problem Ragbo are gonna have with theirs is if they can't get the speed to get it on the plane, that's a big boat, it's trying to push through a lot of water, a lot of weight in that water.
And that's gonna slow them down.
Right.
So you're definitely not gonna change your mind, then, on a favourite at this stage? I can tell.
Not on what we're going on.
So It's definitely my I'm not a betting man, but if I had to spend my money, definitely on the Hogs.
It's on the Hogs? Yep.
LISA: But, then, we all know Scrapheap Challenge has a habit of springing surprises.
Don't let it run away with us, now.
LISA: With only 15 minutes left, Team Ragbo have found one last burst of energy.
That's it.
OK.
Right.
LISA: Their frame's finally ready to be fitted, and though they've had a tough day, these boys from Todmorden will not be beaten.
Bless! ROBERT: Meanwhile, the Hogs seem to have everything in place, though Alan wants to be sure they haven't missed a thing.
So engine's all riveted in? Yes.
Uh, throttle? Yes.
I've checked there again.
Yes.
ROBERT: There's no time for checks next door.
But the important thing is Ragbo now know they'll be joining the Hogs on the jet boat start line.
OK, teams, your time is up! Down your tools and run your eyes over your juicy jet boats.
Oh, teams, relax and unwind, because tomorrow is launch day, and you'll be pitting your personal powerboats against our offshore obstacle course.
Well done, all teams.
Fantastic.
Well done.
Good effort, boys.
ROBERT: In just 10 hours, the Hairy Hogs have created an impeller-driven pocket rocket of a jet boat, while Team Ragbo just succeeded in building a perfectly pumped-up powerboat.
But which of these turbocharged tubs has the speed and agility to triumph in tomorrow's offshore grand prix? And race day has arrived for our teams as they prepare to float their bonkers boats for the very first time here at our inaugural jet boat grand prix.
LISA: This grand prix comes in two stages.
Part one is a full-throttle dash up and down the lake, while part two is a torrid test of jet boat agility, speeding around and through the twists and turns of an aquatic obstacle course.
The team with the best combined time after both rounds will be crowned jet boat champions.
ROBERT: The teams have spent their hour of tinkering adding crucial finishing touches to their boats.
The Hogs have sealed up their boat's holes as best they can Now, that's back on, right? and made sure their engine's firing on all cylinders.
LISA: While Ragbo have slotted their airtight pipes together, christened their jet boat the 'Flying Hippy' and attached the cables from steering column to their directional nozzle.
But their pilot's gonna have to cope with reverse steer - steering left to turn right and right to go left.
I mean, both teams' boats are looking fantastic, aren't they? Yeah, they've done very well.
Yeah.
There is an extreme difference between the two.
I think I can sort of almost picture how the Hairy Hogs' one's gonna work, but the Ragbo Team Ragbo's one, no-one's got a clue, have they? No way.
That huge pump.
Yeah, no-one's seen how much pressure that pump can produce, so it'll be interesting to see.
LISA: After deciding who's going to go first the old-fashioned way Yes! it's the 'Wot-er Hog' that hits the water first with stock-car champion Darrell at the helm.
ROBERT: Hairy Hogs.
Let's see if you can get your 'Wot-er Hog' to get up and grunt.
Go on the sound of the horn.
(SQUEEZES HORN) ROBERT: Time to see if Alan's handbuilt impeller is as good as it looks.
The 'Wot-er Hog's definitely headed in a forward direction, but not as quickly as everyone expected.
This it's looking a little unstable.
ROBERT: It looks like the Hogs have got their ballast wrong.
The weight of driver and engine at the back is causing the lightweight front to lift up and skid around on the water.
Lisa to Robert.
Do you read me? Over.
Reading you loud and clear.
What's it look like up there? LISA: That back end is really low in the water.
And there's some interesting-smelling smoke coming out of it.
Over.
ROBERT: But Darrell seems to be better balanced on the return trip.
It even looks like he's managed to coax out a little extra speed.
And on the line, the Hogs' jet boat sets a respectable time of 1 minute, 47 seconds.
So it's a successful maiden voyage for the 'Wot-er Hog'.
But the Hogs know they'll have to work hard balancing their boat if they're to have any chance around our obstacle course.
Oh, Darrell, how did that feel? Rocky.
Very rocky.
Come on.
The next run, you're gonna have to sit in front.
Wee bit of extra ballast, maybe.
Bit of extra ballast.
Just what we need.
LISA: Next up, it's motorbike-mad Nick, who's been nominated to pilot the heavyweight 'Flying Hippy'.
Team Ragbo, let's see if that 'Flying Hippy' has got flares.
Go on the sound of the horn! (SQUEEZES HORN) ROBERT: Started first time.
Whoa! Possibly the first time a pump-driven jet boat's ever been seen on water.
It's actually moving along very well, isn't it? Moving very well.
ROBERT: With all that weight to push, it takes a while to get going.
But once it does, it looks to be travelling faster than the 'Wot-er Hog'.
Oh! A superb turn around that buoy.
Actually, the turning is great, isn't it? It does the turning really good.
She turned very well.
ROBERT: That red hull may be heavy, but it's a lot more stable than the Hogs' boat, which could be a big advantage around the obstacle course.
In fact, it's going to be a surprisingly tight finish to this speed event.
The 'Flying Hippy' really picks up the pace on the straight.
But on the line, Nick's a couple of seconds outside the Hogs' time, in 1 minute, 49 seconds.
ROBERT: Very good.
MICHAEL: Excellent.
He looks very happy with that.
Very impressed.
I think he's hugely relieved.
First time, he said, he's ever steered a boat.
Well, he did very well.
And he did very well, yeah.
Considering they got the steering the wrong way round.
Yeah.
LISA: To test these jet boats' agility, we've set a devilishly difficult obstacle circuit.
To begin, there are six gates of decreasing size to steer through, followed by an extremely tight slalom run.
Then it's round the marker buoy, circumnavigate the floating roundabout and dash for the line.
Any buoys hit or gates missed along the way and the teams will incur a 10-second penalty.
Well, you know, we've seen the slalom course now.
It looks pretty complicated.
They've got a lot of turns to do in this.
Gonna be pretty hard.
It's tight and twisty, but that's what jet boats are all about.
They should be able to turn on a sixpence.
So manoeuvrability is key.
From what we've seen, there's not a huge difference in speed, which is what we all expected, really.
No, I'm actually quite surprised.
Team Ragbo are actually faster than I thought and Hairy Hogs are slower than I thought, so I've been turned on my head.
LISA: And this time, it's Team Ragbo to go first.
So, Nick, this is it - the grand prix slalom.
Are you ready for it? Yep.
Well, it looks quite a difficult course.
Are you happy getting round? Yeah, it's quite manoeuvrable.
It's just remembering this opposite-steer thing.
That's the only thing.
Just trying to remember left's right and right's left.
Pretty confusing.
I'm sure you can do it.
Best of luck.
See you at the other end.
Yeah, right.
Thank you.
Team Ragbo, prepare to trash the opposition.
On the sound of the horn, let it rip.
(SQUEEZES HORN) ROBERT: Same as the speed event, the 'Flying Hippy's slow to pick up the pace.
Now he's giving it welly.
Yeah.
Oh, dear.
(LAUGHS) ROBERT: And that back-to-front steering looks to have got the better of Nick straightaway.
No, no, he's got his own unique way of going through between the gates.
He just goes round in a circle.
MICHAEL: He's getting the hang of it.
ROBERT: He's got through that one.
He's not touched anything yet.
No, he's through.
ROBERT: Maybe the pressure of the situation's getting to Nick, because now he seems to have lost his way on the course.
Nick is He seems to have forgotten which way he's supposed to be going.
That's not gonna help him.
I mean, it's one way of avoiding hitting the bollards, is just to go nowhere near them.
ROBERT: Nick finally manages to get his bearings and, unbelievably, hasn't missed a gate, so there's still a chance of posting a decent time.
But as he approaches the slalom, a major problem.
Oh! There it goes.
That's the radiator gone.
ROBERT: The jet boat's radiator's blown, and the 'Flying Hippy's gone up in a puff of smoke! Nick, are you alright? Yeah, fine.
Yeah, fine.
What happened there? Radiator hose came off.
The radiator hose came off? I thought there was rather a lot of steam, I have to say.
Did you try and fix it? Yeah, I did.
It was a bit warm.
Is that why your hand's in the water? I'm OK.
That's just cooling it down.
LISA: Ragbo's misfortune means Darrell just has to reach and complete the slalom stage of the course to claim victory for the Hogs.
But with their stability problems in round one, that's no guarantee.
Hairy Hogs, let's see if that hog is the squeal deal! Go on the sound of the horn.
(SQUEEZES HORN) MICHAEL: Oh, good start.
ROBERT: Moving very well, isn't he? It does look like it's going a bit faster.
It's definitely doing better than before.
ROBERT: But it remains to be seen how stable it will be through these turns.
Lovely turn there from Darrell.
Come on, the Hogs.
MICHAEL: Making great progress.
ROBERT: Very good.
Very good so far.
ROBERT: It looks like the Hogs have got the ballast right this time because Darrell's making short work of those gates.
MICHAEL: Nice, tight turn there.
ROBERT: Lovely.
Oh, lovely.
Oh! Gonna stop the boat nearly.
Lovely turn.
Wha-hey! ROBERT: But now for the real agility test - the slalom.
If Darrell doesn't miss a gate, the Hogs will have booked their place in the next round.
ROBERT: Look at that.
Beautiful turn.
MICHAEL: Oh, very good.
Very good.
Look at him go! That's a beautiful slalom.
ROBERT: Darrell's got that boat turning on a sixpence.
In this round, the 'Wot-er Hog's showing real jet boat performance.
LISA: Lisa to Robert.
Do you read me? Over.
Read you loud and clear, Lis.
This is looking pretty good, isn't it? He maintains he's never done this before.
Do you know, I don't believe him.
He looks like he was born on that machine.
He does.
The back end still looks very low in the water.
But I think as long as it doesn't take on too much water, he should be fine to finish the course.
He's letting it rip now on the last run.
LISA: Come on, Darrell! Come on, the Hogs.
(HOGS CHEER) ROBERT: It may not be as speedy as they'd hoped, but the Hogs have got to be pleased with their jet boat's agility.
LISA: Well, teams, happy, smiling faces.
Well, most of the time, Colin.
(ROBERT LAUGHS) You built us two terrific machines, so well done to both of you for that.
The results are as follows.
Team Ragbo got half around the course before your breakdown in 3 minutes, 2 seconds.
The Hairy Hogs completed the course in 2 minutes, 28 seconds.
HOGS: Yes! Having already won the first round, Hairy Hogs are this week's winners.
Well done.
Well done.
(HOGS CHEER) There you go.
Very well done.
And commiserations and well done, guys.
Really, really good.
ROBERT: Oh, goodness! Oh, yes! LISA: Go on!
Blast-off! I must admit, it's not a total success.
Oh! Professor Smith's is working rather well, though.
Blast! Welcome to Scrapheap Challenge, where two mechanically minded teams create crackpot machines out of piles of old junk.
And this week, it's water wings at the ready as our teams face the wackiest wave race ever.
Yes, this week, we're putting a serious Scrapheap spin on the poser's pastime of jet boat racing.
We're challenging our teams to build petrol-driven canoes with real get up and go.
And if they're successful, they'll be bringing them here for a jet-powered spin round our offshore slalom.
ROBERT: First up are a leather-clad trio of Harley riders from Northern Ireland, the Hairy Hogs - team captain Conn Kelly and team-mates Darrell Hanna and Alastair Nethercott.
These Hogs are confident of bringing home the bodging bacon.
LISA: They're up against three rag-and-bone men from Todmorden, on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border, Team Ragbo - Captain Glynn Myers, Colin Bates and Nick Mellor.
As professional recyclers, they're determined not to waste their chance of Scrapheap glory.
(ALL SHOUT) Come on! Hairy Hogs! ALL: Yeah! Team Ragbo! ALL: Yes! Prepare yourselves for a wet-and-wild wave-riding regatta.
Yes, teams, we want you to construct jumbo juiced-up jet boats, caning all competition in an offshore contest.
First you'll be going in a toe-tingling test of speed before you attempt to twist and turn your way around our aquatic obstacle course.
OK, teams, you know the rules.
When the gong goes bong, you've got just 10 hours to build your turbocharged tubs.
Hairy Hogs, are you ready to ride the waves of success? ALL: Yes! Team Ragbo, are you ready to turn scrapheap rubbish into Ragbo riches? ALL: Yes! ROBERT: Now, wait for it.
Wait for it.
Go! Go! Come on! Come on! ROBERT: On hand to keep Team Ragbo shipshape in Bristol fashion is watercraft whiz Alex Wallis.
Designing marine propulsion systems for a living, he should be the ideal man to help Ragbo find a fair wind.
Alrighty.
OK, lads.
LISA: And to ensure it's full steam ahead for the Hairy Hogs, we've brought in marine engineer Alan Pickard.
With 12 years experience building water jets, there's no chance of the Hogs being left high and dry.
Hi, guys.
Yeah.
A boat.
A boat.
A jet boat.
For what we're doing, we want good manoeuvrability and drive at low speed.
It's gonna be driven by a jet pump, right, which is an impeller in a tube, rather than a propeller.
You're talking about an impeller.
What size of a hose or what size of a tube do we need to fit the impeller? For what weight we're gonna run, I think if we can run around 140-, 150-mil diameter, that's gonna be appropriate for what we're doing.
You know what you're looking for in an impeller, then.
I'll look for the engine if you look for the impeller.
LISA: The Hairy Hogs plan to create a powerful jet by using an impeller pump.
The impeller is an inverted propeller fitted inside an airtight water-filled tube.
As it spins, it sucks in water and blasts it out behind to push the boat forward.
Add a directional nozzle and their jet boat should turn on a sixpence.
But that impeller housing will have to be built from scratch.
Get the measurements slightly wrong and the Hogs could end up chasing their tails.
If these are jet-powered, Alex, how are we gonna get the propulsion system set up? Two options on power.
One is the traditional jet skis-type approach, which is, what, an impeller system.
And the impeller, all we're gonna do is, takes a large volume of water, accelerates up to a high velocity - that's the one option.
The other is going for centrifugal pump, which is perhaps more what you're used to in terms of pumps.
Takes fluid either through the centre or wherever through some annulus, some entrance point, accelerate it up, your flow rate of water's gonna be a lot less than you would have had in the jet ski-type impeller, but it has a much higher pressure - through the higher pressure, we can probably use a sharper, tighter nozzle, and that'll give us much higher exit velocity on our jet.
So the centrifugal pump will give us more options? I think it will, yeah.
LISA: So Team Ragbo are opting for a centrifugal pump to provide their jet propulsion.
If they can find a large enough one on the heap, it should generate a powerful water jet and mean a more straightforward build.
But centrifugal pumps can weigh an awful lot.
And with a powerful engine to drive it, they'll need a big, sturdy hull to take all that weight.
Choose one that's too small and Ragbo could end up with that sinking feeling.
So, guys, let's get out there.
Let's get a pump, a motor, a hull.
Let's start exactly there.
Get into character.
Come on.
Right, let's get going! Right.
ROBERT: Both teams have plotted their course and are ready to hit the heap.
And with all the heavy metal they need to find, they could be scavenging for quite a while.
LISA: At least it doesn't take the teams long to find item one on their shopping list.
We have a double-skin boat here.
Sounds good.
Bring her up and we'll have a look.
I'm bringing it in.
Right.
LISA: Team Ragbo's hull is a little on the large side.
So Glynn and Alex have to be allowed onto the heap to help shift it.
Jeepers, it's a fair size.
I've got a feeling it's gonna be a little bit too heavy.
I think we can get something smaller than this.
Well, what's that there? It's a pedalo.
ROBERT: Meanwhile, Alan runs his expert eye over the Hogs' scavenged hull.
She's heavy at the back, like.
There's some buoyancy there with the foaming.
Right, yeah.
Even though it's waterlogged, but.
And I think for the manoeuvrability, right, with the front being like that, you'll be able to make the front Yeah, mmm.
It's a good type of hull, isn't it? Yeah.
ROBERT: Alex isn't certain about Ragbo's red hull.
He thinks the pedalo might be a better lightweight option.
So it's back to their build area with their buoyant bounty to try and make a decision.
LISA: Second item on the list for our teams is an engine to power their jet boats.
The Hogs want a meaty petrol motor to drive their impeller.
While Team Ragbo think a low-rewing diesel engine is their best option.
And it's the Hogs who get lucky first, finding a tough 2-litre ideal for the job.
That's complete That's That's what we want there.
That's what we want there, yep.
Morning, Darrell.
Yeah.
Morning, Alastair.
Lovely morning for it.
Yeah, it's brilliant.
Luckily, it is a sort of water-based challenge.
So we're just preparing you for it.
Might be able to do it in the yard.
No, we don't have to go anywhere, do we? Presumably, there's an engine in here.
Hopefully.
It's all intact, you know Yeah, 'cause you need, presumably, quite a big lump.
Yeah, we were looking something 2-litre-plus, you know, plus we want a straightforward, you know, carburettor, not many electronics.
Right, yeah.
Yeah, that's always a good idea, isn't it? 'Cause all those wires are a bit worrying.
And have you had sort of experience with boats and things water-based? 'Cause you're a bit more kind of two-wheel Just the cross-Channel ferry.
You know how to get on and off it.
And, of course, we built the 'Titanic'.
That's true.
That's true.
You've got a bit of a heritage there.
ALL: We're the Hairy Hogs.
We're gonna hogtie the opposition.
LISA: Northern Ireland's Hairy Hogs have a passion for all things Harley Davidson.
Members of the province-wide Harley Owners Group, this trio's idea of fun usually involves black leathers, buffed chrome and fat, meaty tyres.
Captain Conn Kelly is an electrician from Larne.
Nicknamed Spartacus, he definitely picks his leathers from the extra-large rail.
Taller team-mate Darrell Hanna is a champion stock-car racer and definitely not a leggy blonde movie star, whilst smallest team member Alastair Nethercott is a plumbing and heating engineer from Limavady whose preferred ride is a Heritage Softail.
But while these Hogs enjoy cruising the coastal road, the closest they'd usually get to the wet stuff are a couple of pints in their local boozer.
ROBERT: Back on the heap, Ragbo are still hunting for a diesel engine.
But Colin and Nick have been distracted by yet another potential hull.
What will Alex make of this latest find? Excellent.
Hmm.
Want to tip this thing over and have a look at it? Yep.
Yep.
That's a lot lighter.
Yeah.
It is lighter.
Yeah, and it's got a nice Oh, yeah.
This is better than that red hull.
The red hull's too big.
This will be the next option on that red hull.
LISA: Overseeing proceedings this week is judge Michael McDowell.
Having worked with jet boats and jet skis for more than a decade, Michael has the know-how to spot whether our teams are cruising to success or taking a jet-powered trip to Davy Jones's locker.
So, what is the big benefit, then, of going for a jet-powered boat? The idea of a jet-powered boat is you don't have anything in the water to restrict the hull.
Agility is fantastic.
You could turn one round 180 degrees.
So you can really throw them about.
So they can turn much faster than a boat with a rudder? Oh, absolutely.
So a slalom course for these teams is gonna be that's where the fun will be? And that's where we'll see if they've got it right.
From what I can judge from what they're doing, the actual approach is slightly different.
Yeah, they're using two different designs of pump.
Ragbo are using a centrifugal pump, the Hogs using conventional jet boat-type drive - an impeller inside a tube.
Now, Michael, I realise it is very early days yet, but I really want to pressure you on making a choice of which one you think is the most likely to succeed.
At this moment in time, although it is very early, having seen the designs, my money's gotta be on the Hogs at the moment.
If I was a betting man, I'd put money on the Hogs.
That could change if Ragbo decide to go a different way.
I'm a little concerned about that boat design they're using.
They're putting a lot of weight high up, which will make it a little unstable.
That's true, 'cause if you've got a very, very top-heavy boat, you start going along in a straight line, it might be alright, but if you start steering it, it could Going through a slalom course, that's gonna be interesting.
It could steer in ways they don't really wish.
Yeah.
Up periscope.
LISA: With the judge's concerns about being top-heavy, Ragbo's choice of hull becomes doubly important.
I've got to say, it's like a boat graveyard here.
We've got two here, and there's one out there as well.
A good collection.
Yes.
Yes.
We're still stuck for a pump and we're still stuck for a power plant, but we think this is our favourite hull.
So we're going with this hull.
Why this one as opposed to the other two? Well, I think boils down That one's quite large and it's got a very deep V hull.
The problem with that is, is that if manoeuvrability Not gonna go anywhere.
Gonna take a lot of effort to get one round.
This one's much flatter - it's a yacht.
It's got a slightly flatter hull.
Not as flat as we like, but it'll work.
Now, Glynn, of course, you work with rubbish, scrap, things people throw away.
Any experience with boats or No, nothing like this at all.
No, this is totally a different feel for what we do for a living.
Really? Yeah, absolutely.
Is it as far from your ideal challenge as you could have got? Oh, no.
No, it's great.
It's what we want.
Bigger, better, dafter.
Yeah.
Excellent.
ROBERT: If any team could ever feel right at home on Scrapheap Challenge, it's Team Ragbo.
From Todmorden in the Pennines, all three work in the rarefied world of waste recycling collecting piles of old junk, then crash, bang and walloping it till it's useful again.
Captain Glynn Myers is the company boss who stays calm and collected, cultivating his bonsai tree collection while team-mates Nick Mellor and Colin Bates are experts in vehicle rejuvenation, Nick's passion being performance bikes and Colin's vintage sports cars.
Scrapheap scavenging should be a busman's holiday for this rag-and-bone trio.
ALL: We are Team Ragbo, and we're gonna shred, grind and destroy all opposition! LISA: And Colin's made good use of that junkyard experience by rooting out a pick-up truck with the diesel engine they need.
So now both teams have their hands on a power plant.
But the scrapheap quagmire is making vehicle recovery heavy going.
So once again, captains and experts are called in to help heave-ho.
Take up the slack.
Jump in it, Darrell, and drive, and we'll try and pull it.
Oh, there's no way.
There's no lift.
LISA: Simple horsepower isn't going to be enough, and the teams have to resort to a more considered approach.
No chance.
We'll have to find a new vehicle.
No.
This is too good, isn't it? Yah! Yah! LISA: Success at last.
Yeah! LISA: But there's no time to celebrate.
The most vital components still need to be found - the Hogs' impeller and Team Ragbo's centrifugal pump.
Uh, teams, you have eight hours remaining.
Eight hours remaining, teams.
Thank you.
LISA: With the clock ticking, it's time to divvy up the jobs.
While Alan works on patching the Hogs' holey hull, Conn and Darrell set about removing their engine.
And as for Alastair, he has to head off to try and find the impeller.
ROBERT: Next door, Alex and Glynn are hoping mathematical equations can help them decide which hull to use, while Nick and Colin hunt high and low on the heap for that vital pump.
I'm a bit stuck for ideas now, Nick.
I mean, from what I can see, the Hairy Hogs have already just won in terms of sheer enthusiasm.
Come on! I don't know I've ever seen a team from the beginning announcement of the challenge be so enthusiastic.
I know.
And they were already soaked.
From the moment they arrived.
They were bursting out of their boilersuits with joy.
(ALL LAUGH) And the one thing they didn't the thing they least wanted to do was anything to do with water.
Course, you can guarantee, on your Scrapheap application form, "I don't want to do water," "Your challenge today involves water.
" But, no, they're very nice, and Alan is very he knows all his stuff about their expert knows all his stuff about your impellerage - you know, impeller pumps and squirty water and the Venturi effect.
Oh, yes.
Venturi.
(POSHLY) Oh, I say! If you want to know about the Venturi effect, ask Alan.
Is that like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective? To be fair, yeah, the other team's, the Ragbos, are pretty enthusiastic as well.
Yeah.
They did some good cheering.
Some very good cheering.
I mean, they're northern.
Right.
Right.
They call a spade a spade.
They know what they're doing.
But, again, I think, no experience with water.
But, yes, they all seem terribly happy and terribly enthusiastic about it, in spite of the revolting rain.
Yeah.
Which has actually, miraculously, stopped for a moment.
LISA: And the outlook's a lot brighter for the Hogs.
They've made short work of removing their engine.
While out on the heap, Alastair's hit the scavenging jackpot, finding an impeller inside an old airconditioning unit.
ROBERT: And it could be good news for Team Ragbo.
They've located a potential pump.
Only problem, it is huge! That's it.
That might be the fella.
That is the perfect fella.
ROBERT: Even with four able bodies on the heap, it's a big job to lift this cast-iron lump of a pump.
And even if they shift it, how on earth are they going to float it? OK.
Hang on.
Right, Alex? Yep.
Three, two, one.
That's it.
Hang on a second.
We got it.
LISA: Meanwhile, Alastair returns proudly to the yard with his scavenged impeller.
Does this thing only go down? There's no housing.
I can't find any housing.
Yeah, I think we can make we'll make summat out of that.
We've got to have summat that's a decent fit on that.
Yeah.
OK.
LISA: So Alastair's scavenge isn't over yet.
The Hogs' impeller can only work encased inside a sealed water-filled housing.
If that housing can be narrowed behind the impeller, then they could utilise a principle known as the Venturi effect.
Inside the narrow space, water flow is accelerated and extra thrust created.
In turn, the increased flow creates suction, pulling in more water and generating an even stronger jet.
But if the housing isn't completely airtight or there are gaps around the edge, their jet will have about as much thrust as a leaky tap.
ROBERT: Having scavenged a pump similar in weight to a granite boulder, Ragbo realise they may need to reconsider their choice of hull.
See, we're concerned about stability - weight of pump, motor, etc, or whether to use the green hull, the red hull.
Obviously, the blue-and-white hull's not gonna be part of the issue.
Blue-and-white, I think, is pretty much out of the window.
But we're happy with this motor, happy with this pump.
It's just which hull are we gonna have? LISA: Team Ragbo's dilemma is that while their green boat is lightweight, it's also flat-bottomed and may not be stable enough to take the weight of pump, driver and engine.
Their red boat has a deep V-shaped hull which is far more stable, the weight of water in contact with the hull acting as a counterbalance to any weight on top.
But stability comes at a price.
The lower the hull sits in the water, known as the boat's draft, the more resistance is met and the more power needed to push the boat through the water.
ROBERT: Next door, the Hairy Hogs have a few weight issues of their own.
Now, the first thing that strikes me Is that How big's that engine? 2-litre.
It's 2-litre.
2-litre, yeah.
That's a very large engine to be going in what isn't that large a boat.
You sure you're not gonna just sink or the boat's gonna go on its side like that? Uh, it's double-skinned, right, so it's got quite a lot of flotation.
Be alright, I think.
We'll have the engine up mid-position as well.
So it'll keep the front down.
OK.
If you put it at the back, it would be like Wheelyboat, wouldn't it? Yes, well.
OK.
It still does look quite heavy.
Have you done your sums? Or have you just looked at it and gone, "lt'll be fine in there"? "Yeah, that'll do.
" "Lt'll be fine in there.
" At least you're honest.
It's a boat.
It'll float.
ROBERT: If only Team Ragbo could be that confident.
The pump they've scavenged looks heavy enough to sink a pocket battleship, let alone a lightweight jet boat.
How do you describe that? It's very large.
What sort of pump is it? Well, it's, uh Looks like a wastewater pump, by the looks of it.
So Yeah, it got probably quite a lot of capacity, actually.
It'll pump a lot when it goes? And at a good pressure head too.
So we can probably use quite good little nozzles on it.
So it should be quite spectacular, yes.
So, presumably, that's why 'Cause you had a lot of different hulls in here.
That's right, yeah.
There was one sleek low-lying one.
And then I saw that.
I was a bit anxious for your safety.
Yes, exactly.
I think if it turned over, gone straight to the bottom.
Yeah.
So this one is considerably bigger.
It is, and perhaps its only disadvantage is its size, but other than that, it should give us good stability.
So have you got any idea of what kind of speeds your machine will achieve? I mean, you No.
No.
It's a bit hard to guess, I suppose.
Yes.
So your task now is to get well, to get this mounted up, so to get your engine and your pump joined together.
That's right.
Once that's all together, I think Game on.
Right.
LISA: So both teams seem clear on how to progress with their build.
But it's taken a long time to get this far.
Halfway through the allotted build time and they've only just collected all the parts they need to build their demon dinghies.
But the Hairy Hogs are starting to make some headway.
Darrell's got their 2-litre petrol engine ready for action.
And Captain Conn's constructed a made-to-measure frame to support its weight.
Now they just need to figure out how to squeeze a driver, steering column and pump in alongside.
coming up straight onto that there.
These here, I think, can cut off.
Aye.
LISA: Meanwhile, expert Alan has begun the painstaking task of building their impeller pump from scratch.
Ooh, you beauty! ROBERT: While the Hogs have the wind in their sails, Team Ragbo have temporarily run aground.
No.
ROBERT: Their plan to weld engine and pump to a metal frame that's dropped straight into their hull is simple enough.
But they can't connect up anything while their engine's still firmly embedded inside its pick-up truck.
And having opted for a heavyweight hull and pump, will that diesel engine be meaty enough for the job? Now, Michael, at a quick glance at the two teams, there seems to be quite a big differential in weight.
What worries me is that the Ragbos' engine isn't that huge and that powerful, and yet it's got a lot more to push.
Yes, it's got a lot of weight to move.
Looking at the engines, Ragbo have gone for a small diesel engine from a pick-up truck.
Hogs have gone for a petrol engine from a car, which is more powerful.
So they have more power and lighter weight.
Ragbo have less power and a lot of weight.
It's good to see that Ragbo have changed the hull that they're gonna use.
They've now got a hull that can take the weight with stability as well.
And do you think there is a sort of historical reason why a centrifugal cast-iron pump hasn't been used a lot in in sort of leisure water sports? To be perfect honest, I don't know of anybody who's tried it before.
But they might.
We never know.
We might see remarkable results.
Yeah.
Could patent it.
What sort of pump is this? Where's it actually come from? Well I think it's a slurry pump.
Gonna have quite a lot of oomph.
There's no doubt about it.
It's gonna have not so much water flow, which is a pity, because if it had doubled its flow, it would've been good.
It's gonna have quite a good pressure head, so we can get high-speed water coming out the back of the boat.
Not enough water at high speed, the only disadvantage of the pump.
'Cause slurry pumps kind of just go "Whoomp, whoomp," rather than "Pssh," which is what you wanted.
It's gonna take a lot of torque, and the diesel engine's quite well suited for that, 'cause it's got low rewing, good torque.
This thing is very low-rewing, it's gonna take a lot of torque out of it, so it's gonna take a fair whack.
LISA: Centrifugal force is the pull generated from the centre of an object in circular motion.
With a hammer thrower, the faster and harder they spin, the more centrifugal force they create.
When they let go, it's that force that sends the hammer flying away from the centre.
Inside the slurry pump, the principle's the same - liquids pumped into the centre of a rapidly spinning chamber, where centrifugal force pushes it outwards and it's released, travelling far faster than when it entered.
If their diesel engine can get the pump drum spinning as fast and hard as possible, Ragbo's water jet may surprise everyone.
ALAN: Lovely! Does it want to work? Of course it's gonna work.
ROBERT: The Hogs' impeller pump is a more conventional way of creating a water jet.
But building one from scratch is tough, even for an engineer with Alan's experience.
Oh, that looks nice.
That looks that looks a bit professional.
Wow.
So that's actually made up of about four or five different components that you've Yeah, we've got the centre shaft off a Mk 3 Escort rear hub.
And then we managed to find a piece of tubing and put the stator vanes in.
And then we've got the Venturi The lads have found me a bit of So will it be shooting the water out that way? No, we've got to strangle the water now.
We've got to taper it down.
Right.
Right? To compress it.
Same as like you're squeezing a hosepipe.
And then, obviously, the directional nozzle to steer it Goes on that way.
But the water goes through in that direction once that's inside? So the other end of that will go under the water? That's sucking the water up out of How do you get the drive out? Do you connect the drive onto there? We've got a shaft rear spline That'll fit in there.
Right.
So we're gonna drive off that spline and then make a PTO on the engine to drive the shaft.
LISA: The Hogs need to power their impeller with a drive shaft running directly from their engine.
But the impeller is fixed inside a sealed housing.
So how can they connect them without springing a leak? Their bodgers' solution is to run the shaft through a rubber hose packed full of waterproof grease, tightly crimped at each end with Jubilee Clips, creating a watertight seal.
But it's only a temporary solution.
They'll have to hope the seal holds long enough to get through the event.
If not, they could end up blowing bubbles round the course.
(SIGHS) LISA: Things still aren't going to plan for Team Ragbo.
Pull it.
LISA: The diesel engine's proving difficult to shift.
Right, I'll keep going up.
You keep pulling.
LISA: So much so, it needs the whole team to help cut it free.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
I thought they were free at this end.
LISA: It takes almost an hour to uncouple the engine and then lift it out.
Right, is that us? It's ours now, is it? LISA: Ragbo now have to work flat out to have any chance of finishing this build on time.
Uh, teams, the sun is now officially over the yardarm.
You have four hours remaining.
Four hours construction time remaining, teams.
ROBERT: Once upon a time, water speed freaks made do with propeller-driven boats out on the open water.
But it wasn't enough for some folk.
So they went away and built the first jet-powered speedboat.
Then, in 1973, Kawasaki fixed a jet pump on a boat the size of a pedalo and created a jet boat mini-me - the jet ski - giving cool dudes everywhere the chance to enjoy some jet-powered thrills.
LISA: Time's marching by, and our two teams are at very different stages of their jet boat build.
The Hogs are riding the crest of a wave, and their 'Wot-er Hog's coming together nicely.
Alan's impeller is starting to look like a beautifully crafted piece of kit.
And under his watchful eye, Conn's fabricating the directional jet nozzle that'll give their speedy schooner its steering.
Yeah, take some more off that side there.
Whack some more out so we get the same lot, yeah? ROBERT: But Team Ragbo are still treading water next door.
Even now, the engine's not quite ready to roll.
The day is going by, and there's a lot to be done.
ROBERT: But the frame's finished, and the pump has been welded into place.
So Alex is keen to get the drive shaft connected up ready for their engine.
We've got to somehow get that thing to lock on, don't we? So It's gonna be a really good weld.
'Cause it's carrying all that torque and all that flexion and Are you happy to weld that? No.
No, I'm not happy to weld that.
Like you said, there's a lot of torque on there.
There is.
A lot of torque.
We're gonna have to weld it, full stop, really.
I'm sure it'll weld on.
OK.
ROBERT: It sounds like team confidence is at a real low.
Perhaps it's the miserable weather that's dampened their spirits.
LISA: Oh! That Team Ragbo.
Do you know what? We started off this morning I first went to see them on the heap, scavenging.
the happiest, go-luckiest men you could ever wish to meet.
A few wet, Scrapheap hours down the line They wish they were back up back north.
They wish they were back up north in Todmorden.
It is very funny, actually.
This morning, I was talking to Colin.
And he was like, "Well, Lis, you know, I'm a bit of a flirt.
"You'll have to watch out.
A bit of a flirt, me.
" I went, "Oh, yes, I know.
" Go back and see him, he's like that.
"Yes.
No.
Yes.
" Not a thing.
Not a sausage.
Oh, dear.
And how are our lovely Hairy Hogs doing? The Hairy Hogs are marvellous.
They're very, very funny.
I kind of want to have lessons to do their accent.
I want them to do classes in the Northern Irish accent.
It's such a fantastic accent.
And I can't I can't imitate it, you know.
(NORTHERN ACCENT) Todmorden, you can have a go at.
You might not be spot-on, but you're close.
You can do up north.
Northern Ireland, can't do anything.
"Ye" is about it.
"Ye!" Ye! Ye! Yeah, I can't do it.
And Alan, their expert, brilliant bit of really fine engineering.
That pump he's made is beautiful.
And it's all made out of different components.
You know, there's a sort of bearing from a car and the propeller from something else and then all the tubing, they measured it and it all fits together really well and it turns I don't know if he's ever seen the previous Scrapheaps where we've had impellers, and they're just not airtight.
They're just not close enough.
They just don't work, basically.
See, obviously, he's seen how important that is.
No, I think he knows his stuff.
Yeah, definitely.
ROBERT: With night falling, the Hogs are miles ahead of Ragbo in their build.
They're already working on fixing their steering system into place.
LISA: But the sun going down does seem to have given Team Ragbo a new lease of life.
Alex and Colin have succeeded in getting engine pump and drive shaft connected up, while Glynn's hard at work cutting and smoothing off plenty of tubing to ensure they have all the watertight pipework they need.
Let's just hope they haven't left it all too late.
Teams, don't let time leave you in its wake.
You have two hours remaining.
Two hours remaining, teams.
Whoa! We're in trouble! LISA: That should be plenty of time for the Hogs to finish their build.
But there is a potential flaw in their design.
Their steering nozzle needs to stick out the back of the boat below the waterline.
And their only solution is to cut a big hole in the back of their hull.
The sun has gone down.
The moon is out.
And you look like you've got something almost almost approximating a jet boat here.
Here we've got the impeller.
Yep.
I believe this was built by your expert hands, Alan.
Yeah, yep.
Lovingly constructed.
Of course, it is really important that it is engineered to a quite exact degree.
Yeah.
Are you happy you've got that right? Yep, yeah.
It's lined up nice.
We've just got to seal the water inlet now.
We've just got to seal that.
And we should be there, I think.
Is this here, and? Yeah, yeah, and And where the duct comes in That's the duct.
That's all fitted.
We've got a steering nozzle on.
That's your steering nozzle? So just sort of explain how that works.
Uh, that's just directing the flow of water.
It's diverting it side to side.
So that should give us our steering.
So, basically, water comes up there, out there, pushes out there, and, obviously, with the water going that way, it's gonna send you that way and that way, that way.
Excellent.
Do you think the agility's gonna be there? Yeah, I think, with the angle we've got the pump angle down, which is gonna make the nose plough a bit, which will give us the keel to steer - should be very manoeuvrable.
Excellent.
But have you all been getting on? Been any tempers fraying? No.
Oh, no.
No.
'Cause you do all seem like you're having a complete laugh every time I come in here - big smiles on your faces.
There's no point, is there? Because if you start arguing and fighting, the job doesn't get done.
Absolutely right.
That's one of the most important things on Scrapheap.
We can't have arguments 'cause I can't understand what they're on about.
(ALL LAUGH) ROBERT: While the Hogs are in high spirits, there's a deep depression settling over Team Ragbo's yard.
Then we're away.
Yep.
The exhausts.
So it's nearly done? Yeah.
We think so.
Yes, no, it is.
It's a bit painful.
There's a lot of anxiety around.
There's a lot of anxiety.
I'm sure there is here too a little bit.
A little.
Just a smidgin.
But, I mean, this is 'Cause I haven't had a look for a while.
But I can see this is now Engine connected to pump.
It's some sort of steel, mate.
Yeah.
So you're doing the engine mounts at the moment? That's right, that's it.
Pretty much in line now.
And once that's then you can mount the whole thing in the boat? Just drop in the boat, and then it's pretty much just we can get on with the plumbing and get on with the actual physical final mounting of the Right.
chassis.
But have you got all the pipework that you need for the All the interface pipework.
The rest of it, we'll have to just in situ.
Right.
Yep.
That's gonna be the experimentation stage, I think.
Right.
So how's it going? How's the team holding up? The clock's ticking and, uh Yeah.
you feel the pressure.
I'm sure you do, yeah.
Now, I've seen that before, where it looks like it's a lost cause, but, actually, all the bits and pieces are there, and they just They just throws in, plumbs up and, uh Couple of strings.
Couple of bits of string! Bit of magic.
Bit of tape.
And it's all done.
LISA: So the Hogs are looking strong in the final stages, while Ragbo still have everything to do just to make it to the start line.
How does our judge rate their chances if they get there? Of course, Michael, a major part of the challenge we set them is speed.
You know, we want them to be able to go fast.
Um, the key to getting a fast boat is to get it on the plane.
What we mean by getting it on the plane is the boat is no longer sitting in the water.
It's riding on top of the water.
This greatly reduces the drag on the boat, the resistance in the water, and you can get a lot more speed.
The problem Ragbo are gonna have with theirs is if they can't get the speed to get it on the plane, that's a big boat, it's trying to push through a lot of water, a lot of weight in that water.
And that's gonna slow them down.
Right.
So you're definitely not gonna change your mind, then, on a favourite at this stage? I can tell.
Not on what we're going on.
So It's definitely my I'm not a betting man, but if I had to spend my money, definitely on the Hogs.
It's on the Hogs? Yep.
LISA: But, then, we all know Scrapheap Challenge has a habit of springing surprises.
Don't let it run away with us, now.
LISA: With only 15 minutes left, Team Ragbo have found one last burst of energy.
That's it.
OK.
Right.
LISA: Their frame's finally ready to be fitted, and though they've had a tough day, these boys from Todmorden will not be beaten.
Bless! ROBERT: Meanwhile, the Hogs seem to have everything in place, though Alan wants to be sure they haven't missed a thing.
So engine's all riveted in? Yes.
Uh, throttle? Yes.
I've checked there again.
Yes.
ROBERT: There's no time for checks next door.
But the important thing is Ragbo now know they'll be joining the Hogs on the jet boat start line.
OK, teams, your time is up! Down your tools and run your eyes over your juicy jet boats.
Oh, teams, relax and unwind, because tomorrow is launch day, and you'll be pitting your personal powerboats against our offshore obstacle course.
Well done, all teams.
Fantastic.
Well done.
Good effort, boys.
ROBERT: In just 10 hours, the Hairy Hogs have created an impeller-driven pocket rocket of a jet boat, while Team Ragbo just succeeded in building a perfectly pumped-up powerboat.
But which of these turbocharged tubs has the speed and agility to triumph in tomorrow's offshore grand prix? And race day has arrived for our teams as they prepare to float their bonkers boats for the very first time here at our inaugural jet boat grand prix.
LISA: This grand prix comes in two stages.
Part one is a full-throttle dash up and down the lake, while part two is a torrid test of jet boat agility, speeding around and through the twists and turns of an aquatic obstacle course.
The team with the best combined time after both rounds will be crowned jet boat champions.
ROBERT: The teams have spent their hour of tinkering adding crucial finishing touches to their boats.
The Hogs have sealed up their boat's holes as best they can Now, that's back on, right? and made sure their engine's firing on all cylinders.
LISA: While Ragbo have slotted their airtight pipes together, christened their jet boat the 'Flying Hippy' and attached the cables from steering column to their directional nozzle.
But their pilot's gonna have to cope with reverse steer - steering left to turn right and right to go left.
I mean, both teams' boats are looking fantastic, aren't they? Yeah, they've done very well.
Yeah.
There is an extreme difference between the two.
I think I can sort of almost picture how the Hairy Hogs' one's gonna work, but the Ragbo Team Ragbo's one, no-one's got a clue, have they? No way.
That huge pump.
Yeah, no-one's seen how much pressure that pump can produce, so it'll be interesting to see.
LISA: After deciding who's going to go first the old-fashioned way Yes! it's the 'Wot-er Hog' that hits the water first with stock-car champion Darrell at the helm.
ROBERT: Hairy Hogs.
Let's see if you can get your 'Wot-er Hog' to get up and grunt.
Go on the sound of the horn.
(SQUEEZES HORN) ROBERT: Time to see if Alan's handbuilt impeller is as good as it looks.
The 'Wot-er Hog's definitely headed in a forward direction, but not as quickly as everyone expected.
This it's looking a little unstable.
ROBERT: It looks like the Hogs have got their ballast wrong.
The weight of driver and engine at the back is causing the lightweight front to lift up and skid around on the water.
Lisa to Robert.
Do you read me? Over.
Reading you loud and clear.
What's it look like up there? LISA: That back end is really low in the water.
And there's some interesting-smelling smoke coming out of it.
Over.
ROBERT: But Darrell seems to be better balanced on the return trip.
It even looks like he's managed to coax out a little extra speed.
And on the line, the Hogs' jet boat sets a respectable time of 1 minute, 47 seconds.
So it's a successful maiden voyage for the 'Wot-er Hog'.
But the Hogs know they'll have to work hard balancing their boat if they're to have any chance around our obstacle course.
Oh, Darrell, how did that feel? Rocky.
Very rocky.
Come on.
The next run, you're gonna have to sit in front.
Wee bit of extra ballast, maybe.
Bit of extra ballast.
Just what we need.
LISA: Next up, it's motorbike-mad Nick, who's been nominated to pilot the heavyweight 'Flying Hippy'.
Team Ragbo, let's see if that 'Flying Hippy' has got flares.
Go on the sound of the horn! (SQUEEZES HORN) ROBERT: Started first time.
Whoa! Possibly the first time a pump-driven jet boat's ever been seen on water.
It's actually moving along very well, isn't it? Moving very well.
ROBERT: With all that weight to push, it takes a while to get going.
But once it does, it looks to be travelling faster than the 'Wot-er Hog'.
Oh! A superb turn around that buoy.
Actually, the turning is great, isn't it? It does the turning really good.
She turned very well.
ROBERT: That red hull may be heavy, but it's a lot more stable than the Hogs' boat, which could be a big advantage around the obstacle course.
In fact, it's going to be a surprisingly tight finish to this speed event.
The 'Flying Hippy' really picks up the pace on the straight.
But on the line, Nick's a couple of seconds outside the Hogs' time, in 1 minute, 49 seconds.
ROBERT: Very good.
MICHAEL: Excellent.
He looks very happy with that.
Very impressed.
I think he's hugely relieved.
First time, he said, he's ever steered a boat.
Well, he did very well.
And he did very well, yeah.
Considering they got the steering the wrong way round.
Yeah.
LISA: To test these jet boats' agility, we've set a devilishly difficult obstacle circuit.
To begin, there are six gates of decreasing size to steer through, followed by an extremely tight slalom run.
Then it's round the marker buoy, circumnavigate the floating roundabout and dash for the line.
Any buoys hit or gates missed along the way and the teams will incur a 10-second penalty.
Well, you know, we've seen the slalom course now.
It looks pretty complicated.
They've got a lot of turns to do in this.
Gonna be pretty hard.
It's tight and twisty, but that's what jet boats are all about.
They should be able to turn on a sixpence.
So manoeuvrability is key.
From what we've seen, there's not a huge difference in speed, which is what we all expected, really.
No, I'm actually quite surprised.
Team Ragbo are actually faster than I thought and Hairy Hogs are slower than I thought, so I've been turned on my head.
LISA: And this time, it's Team Ragbo to go first.
So, Nick, this is it - the grand prix slalom.
Are you ready for it? Yep.
Well, it looks quite a difficult course.
Are you happy getting round? Yeah, it's quite manoeuvrable.
It's just remembering this opposite-steer thing.
That's the only thing.
Just trying to remember left's right and right's left.
Pretty confusing.
I'm sure you can do it.
Best of luck.
See you at the other end.
Yeah, right.
Thank you.
Team Ragbo, prepare to trash the opposition.
On the sound of the horn, let it rip.
(SQUEEZES HORN) ROBERT: Same as the speed event, the 'Flying Hippy's slow to pick up the pace.
Now he's giving it welly.
Yeah.
Oh, dear.
(LAUGHS) ROBERT: And that back-to-front steering looks to have got the better of Nick straightaway.
No, no, he's got his own unique way of going through between the gates.
He just goes round in a circle.
MICHAEL: He's getting the hang of it.
ROBERT: He's got through that one.
He's not touched anything yet.
No, he's through.
ROBERT: Maybe the pressure of the situation's getting to Nick, because now he seems to have lost his way on the course.
Nick is He seems to have forgotten which way he's supposed to be going.
That's not gonna help him.
I mean, it's one way of avoiding hitting the bollards, is just to go nowhere near them.
ROBERT: Nick finally manages to get his bearings and, unbelievably, hasn't missed a gate, so there's still a chance of posting a decent time.
But as he approaches the slalom, a major problem.
Oh! There it goes.
That's the radiator gone.
ROBERT: The jet boat's radiator's blown, and the 'Flying Hippy's gone up in a puff of smoke! Nick, are you alright? Yeah, fine.
Yeah, fine.
What happened there? Radiator hose came off.
The radiator hose came off? I thought there was rather a lot of steam, I have to say.
Did you try and fix it? Yeah, I did.
It was a bit warm.
Is that why your hand's in the water? I'm OK.
That's just cooling it down.
LISA: Ragbo's misfortune means Darrell just has to reach and complete the slalom stage of the course to claim victory for the Hogs.
But with their stability problems in round one, that's no guarantee.
Hairy Hogs, let's see if that hog is the squeal deal! Go on the sound of the horn.
(SQUEEZES HORN) MICHAEL: Oh, good start.
ROBERT: Moving very well, isn't he? It does look like it's going a bit faster.
It's definitely doing better than before.
ROBERT: But it remains to be seen how stable it will be through these turns.
Lovely turn there from Darrell.
Come on, the Hogs.
MICHAEL: Making great progress.
ROBERT: Very good.
Very good so far.
ROBERT: It looks like the Hogs have got the ballast right this time because Darrell's making short work of those gates.
MICHAEL: Nice, tight turn there.
ROBERT: Lovely.
Oh, lovely.
Oh! Gonna stop the boat nearly.
Lovely turn.
Wha-hey! ROBERT: But now for the real agility test - the slalom.
If Darrell doesn't miss a gate, the Hogs will have booked their place in the next round.
ROBERT: Look at that.
Beautiful turn.
MICHAEL: Oh, very good.
Very good.
Look at him go! That's a beautiful slalom.
ROBERT: Darrell's got that boat turning on a sixpence.
In this round, the 'Wot-er Hog's showing real jet boat performance.
LISA: Lisa to Robert.
Do you read me? Over.
Read you loud and clear, Lis.
This is looking pretty good, isn't it? He maintains he's never done this before.
Do you know, I don't believe him.
He looks like he was born on that machine.
He does.
The back end still looks very low in the water.
But I think as long as it doesn't take on too much water, he should be fine to finish the course.
He's letting it rip now on the last run.
LISA: Come on, Darrell! Come on, the Hogs.
(HOGS CHEER) ROBERT: It may not be as speedy as they'd hoped, but the Hogs have got to be pleased with their jet boat's agility.
LISA: Well, teams, happy, smiling faces.
Well, most of the time, Colin.
(ROBERT LAUGHS) You built us two terrific machines, so well done to both of you for that.
The results are as follows.
Team Ragbo got half around the course before your breakdown in 3 minutes, 2 seconds.
The Hairy Hogs completed the course in 2 minutes, 28 seconds.
HOGS: Yes! Having already won the first round, Hairy Hogs are this week's winners.
Well done.
Well done.
(HOGS CHEER) There you go.
Very well done.
And commiserations and well done, guys.
Really, really good.
ROBERT: Oh, goodness! Oh, yes! LISA: Go on!