Wizard's whatsit makes waves

Robert Farwell, who calls himself Merlin the Wizard, has already tested out his boating contraption by covering 25 metres of water in around two minutes to pick up second place at Goodyear's national Hydragrip Competition on the Isle of Dogs last weekend.

The winner got across the water in the canoe type structure in 46 seconds.

Mr Farwell, from Parkfield Road based in Stourbridge, said: "I got an email out of the blue asking me if I wanted to enter this competition and I am up for a laugh so I thought why not?

He explained: "It is made of aluminium and looks like two canoes. You basically stand in it and put your hands down like you are crawling and it literally walks across the water.

"It is not fast but it will go as far as you like and never sinks. You could use it to walk along the canal if you wanted," he said.

"I came second in the competition to what was a hamster wheel style design which did not really walk on water like mine did. I would love to have a re-match because I know I would win," he added.

"Many of the other designs sunk and or fell apart," said Mr Farwell.

He said the design took him two days to make but he is not interested in patenting the idea which he says was just a bit of fun.

Goodyear spokesman James Bailey said: "The Goodyear HydraGrip Challenge gave inventors the task to create a device that could really perform on speed on water.

"The designs will give our engineers some inspiration when they are working on developing tyre tread designs that keep cars on the straight and narrow in the wet too," he added.

Mr Farwell has come up with a string of inventions in the past including a "shiddle", a cross between a spade and a garden sieve.

And he is currently working on a heart monitor for large animals.

By Ben Lammas

Popular stories:

• Skimpies can support charity

• Find local bargains online

• Longer Xmas hours at Merry Hill

• Video - Chippie to host pop gig?

• Watson: Make Pearson boss