A Tugboat from Trash

"Tell Me About It" feature by Liz Burnett

Photos courtesy of Rick Rickert

Rick Rickert, a Newtown Square resident since 2009, has been creating art ever since he could hold a pencil. He took many art courses at the Philadelphia College of Art, and enjoys working with acrylics, color pencils, and watercolors, carving wood, and making jewelry.

Rick creates art because it relaxes him. Every artistic creation has first come to him in a dream. After four straight nights of vividly dreaming about a tugboat, he realized that he had to make it a reality.

Tugboat Creator Rick Rickert

Rick had never built a tugboat — or even set foot on one! After extensive internet research, he chose the tugboat he found most interesting: It was 50' Long x 23' Wide and 52' High. He built it to ½" to 1' scale, with no printed plans because the plans were already in his head.

Over four months, Rick spent 840 hours building his 25"L x 11½"W x 26"H tugboat. It’s unique because 95% of it is made from “found materials” (people’s trash) that he repurposed. The only purchased materials were glue, paint, ¼" nails, and the rubber tires that hang off each side of the hull. Those tires came from www.HarborModels.com.

Front top-down view of NAUTi BOY, the "tugboat from trash" created by Newtown Square resident and artist Rick Rickert

The spotlight near the top of the mast was created from a discarded eye drops bottle. The port holes are ¾" spiral keyrings; the windows are pieces of packaging blister pack. The deck ropes are from discarded venetian blinds. Anchor chains are discarded costume jewelry. The fire extinguishers were carved from pencils painted red. A piece of black wire served as a hose whose tip was painted silver, to look like a nozzle. People who’ve seen it and have worked on or around real tugboats have said it’s “spot on” in detail.

Side and mirrored view of NAUTi BOY, the "tugboat from trash" created by Newtown Square resident and artist Rick Rickert

When asked why he named his tugboat NAUTi BOY, Rick said, “Well, if a boy is being a schoolyard bully and pushing people around, he’s being naughty. A tugboat is a NAUTical vessel that pushes boats around in a harbor.”

NAUTi BOY is now permanently displayed in a museum-quality case in Rick’s house. Model boat builders can request an appointment to see Rick’s “tugboat from trash” in person by calling him at 267-280-7249.

If you’d like to share your creative hobby or an interesting story in this “Tell Me About It” feature, please send your suggestions to Liz Burnett at LBurnett@BestVersionMedia.com.