Colin Furze participates in YouTube Makers Secret Santa, creating a unique gift for Xyla Foxlin. Inspired by her love of planes and boats, he designs a "boaty plane" oar with propellers. The project involves building a complex system of chains, gears, and motors. After several attempts, the device is finally tested in a river, but it's deemed too heavy and potentially hazardous. Instead of sending it to Xyla, Colin creates a safer alternative gift. Meanwhile, he receives a tie launcher from Emily the Engineer, which he tests and finds to be a fun and well-crafted device.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The YouTube Makers Secret Santa event is taking place, where makers create something for each other.
2. Colin Furze is participating in the event and has been assigned to make something for Xyla Foxlin.
3. Xyla Foxlin is a maker who lives in LA and has made a boat and has a pilot's license.
4. Colin Furze decides to make a propeller-powered oar for Xyla Foxlin.
5. He uses a chain, bearings, and a cog system to connect the propellers to a central hub.
6. He tests the propeller-powered oar on a river and finds that it works, but has some design issues.
7. He decides to use a drill and later an angle grinder as the power source for the propeller-powered oar.
8. The propeller-powered oar is not suitable for Xyla Foxlin to use due to safety concerns, so Colin Furze makes her a different gift.
9. Emily the Engineer makes a tie launcher for Colin Furze as part of the YouTube Makers Secret Santa event.
10. The tie launcher is powered by a CO2 cartridge and uses a laser pointer to target the tie.
11. The tie launcher is tested on a mannequin and later on Colin Furze himself, with successful results.
12. The YouTube Makers Secret Santa event involves 10 makers creating something for each other and sharing their experiences on their respective YouTube channels.