Todd McBride is no stranger to big ideas, but his latest project—a lake monster mascot for Chestermere Lake—might be his most ambitious yet. A retired engineer known for his love of creating unique gadgets, Todd has been working tirelessly to turn this imaginative concept into reality. What started as a lighthearted comment last year has grown into a community-driven initiative, showcasing Todd’s determination, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
“I mean, that the lake monster thing originates kind of from Scotland, and everybody’s heard of Loch Ness; well, you go there, and there’s a whole big museum somewhere along there where they’ve built this great big building, and it all looks like a monster over it. And it’s a big hall.
It’s a tourist attraction, but it’s all playing on the, you know, Loch Ness. Well, of course, over at Okanagan, they have their Ogopogo, but their Ogopogo is just something that’s sometimes made from concrete; it’s just put in a playground.
So, it’s just a playground thing for little kids because the kids all climb over. I said, you know, Chestermere, we got to have a lake monster, don’t we? If you’re a lake, you got to have a monster,” said Todd.
Todd’s original idea was to create a six-foot-long realistic catfish that could surface unexpectedly in the lake, sparking awe and mysterious stories among onlookers. “The idea was to let it come to the surface, have people see it, and then pull it back down,” said Todd. However, he soon decided to take a different approach. “But then I said, for it to be more fun to the kids, it needs to be something that’s a mascot and has a mythical element to it,” Todd shared, shifting his focus to designing a mythical, community-friendly creature.
He encountered setbacks early on, particularly with finding materials that were durable yet lightweight enough to float. “I thought wood would be ideal,” Todd said, “but it was too heavy for the size I had in mind. So, I pivoted to high-density foam and reinforced it with fiberglass. It was a bit of a learning curve, but that’s part of the fun.”
“To make it stable in the wind, you had to have some weight, some steel down quite low on it to get it to be stable. And then I had to add a little; I had to add some more flotation to it,” said Todd. Todd had planned to unveil his lake monster creation this past summer, aiming for a dramatic debut on a calm summer evening when the lake would be packed with families enjoying the sunset. However, the timeline proved to be tighter than expected. “I was nearly ready to go, and then one thing led to another,” Todd shared. “The one day I might have thought about it, it was windy.” The ideal conditions he envisioned—a still, quiet night—never lined up, leaving the much-anticipated reveal postponed.
Its design incorporates dual motors that allow the creature to “swim” in an articulated motion, creating the illusion of a lifelike creature gliding through the water. “Through the control system, you can swim it with two motors, so it moves like a snake-like motion,” Todd explained, gesturing how the motors mimic natural motion. The monster also features LED lights in its eyes and mouth, giving it an otherworldly glow-in-the-dark. To add more spectacle, Todd rigged it with a fire-blowing mechanism using a cannon fuse for short bursts of flame. “It’s a one-shot deal,” he admitted, noting that if he were to scale up the project, he’d replace the fuse with a propane setup to produce continuous bursts of fire.
Todd also credits his daughter’s boyfriend, who has a knack for working with remote-control gadgets, for helping refine the technical aspects. “He showed me how to reprogram the control system to enable what they call a Caterpillar drive,” Todd explained. This drive system, unlike traditional throttles and rudders, allows the motors to work independently, creating intricate movement patterns. The design also includes face-like features and 3D-printed elements such as spikes to add character.
As a member of the Chestermere Men’s Shed, Todd McBride hopes to collaborate with the group to bring his lake monster vision to life as a full-scale model. The Men’s Shed, formed in May 2024, is a city-run program designed to foster camaraderie and community spirit among local men. With 12 members so far, the group aims to build a reputation as dedicated volunteers, planning to tackle projects ranging from painting an elder’s fence to creating imaginative initiatives like Todd’s Lake Monster. They are currently looking for workshop space to take on even more ambitious community projects. If you’re interested in joining this dynamic team or learning more about their work, email cmcleod@chestermere.ca. To get involved visit click here.
