Often the easiest way to get acquainted with new technology such as IoT hardware and software is to apply it in a practical way to build something useful; that way learning gets to be fun. In this project the author builds a remotely controlled model for his grandchildren; they get lots of fun out of using the finished product and also helped him build the boat. It uses some empty drinks bottles, a couple of old PC fans and some small controller boards such as the ESP8266 to handle the control functions, set up a Wi-Fi network and even provide an MQTT broker service!