Making a bit of a start on my stretched Stiletto (more a Stilapier) at the moment, as it had been put aside while I had a play with a surface drive to fit to it, if I could get one working (see under surface drive experiment, in forum). I've shelved that idea till I can find a suitable universal for it, and have decided to use a modified cable drive instead (see under 'converting a cable drive to a standard drive', in forum) I wanted to settle on the drive type before starting fully, to make installation easier. The Stiletto has been stretched to 38 1/2" by blowing the A4 sized drawings up to AO paper size. I've left out the usual internal locking structure so as to create more room and ease of access to the internals, instead, the whole cabin will lift off, rather than a few 'lids'. All the new positions have been worked out using top and bottom datum lines (pic 1). The deck camber has been changed but the deck sheer left in. A few other mods will be made as things progress. I started by cutting out the keel, breast hook and new ply bulkheads, then cut the centers out of the bulkheads notched them for the stringers and reinforced them. I made a new universal building jig (under model framing jig, in forum) to hold everything in place, (right side up and upside down), and set everything up on it. Glued all the bulkheads bar the transom to the keel, (keel has shaft tube slot previously built in by cutting the keel on the appropriate angle, separating the 2 pieces by a shaft tube diam, trenching 2 side plates to suit the shaft tube angle and diam, and gluing/clamping them on using the building jig to hold them flat and straight. I've made a cut-out for the motor in bulkhead 3, and bent the cable drive to suit. A motor mounting plate will be made later. Cable drive will have a V brace made to suit once the angle has been sorted for prop clearance etc. Getting hard to find some modelling supplies (namely spruce strips for stringers and balsa) now so there might be some slow patches in the building.

Has anybody built this recently? Just got the plans so any advice/help will be much appreciated. At 86 it's years since I built a model!!

Hi y’all. So, the “Mystery” has maidened, and handled her sea trials with flying colors. My bench was busy the past couple of weeks with repair and minor restoration of our antique “Pom Pom” aluminum Christmas tree. We’ve had it since the 90s my wife found it at an antique store and brought it home. She still thought it was….errr…tacky, and that I was quite out of my mind, but once I had it up, trimmed, and the color wheel shining on it she changed her mind. It needed some sprucing up and minor repair to the branches, as the tape that holds the aluminum “leaves” was failing, so I used a little ca and almost as good as new!! Anyhow…I’ve been looking at the Aeronaut Pilot boat for a few years, finally pulled the trigger a few months ago. It’s a fairly well thought out kit. It’s a traditional built up hull, but all the frames, keels, etc are laser cut abs. It comes with that, hardware, metal etched parts, it’s nice. I was off today, so I started the hull. The kit comes with a precut cardboard jig for the hull, the frames have tabs and the jig is marked as to what frame goes where. Frame number 5 is also the motor mounts. The slots that are pre cut are a little too wide for a speed 400 or 28mm outrunner, but there were punch outs for the correct spacing, so I drilled those and marked them. You add the keel first, then the deck and chine stringers. The main “fun” was sheeting the hull with the precut abs sides and bottoms. The hardest part was getting the bow seam right. I tried to do it as the instructions stated, using tape to hol everything in place, but I finally had to do it by tacking the sides to the bow, bending and occasionally cursing till I got a good fit. The bottoms were just about as bad, but I got it done.The instructions do tell you to glue to the keel and stringers first, then the frames if they’re touching the sides, so I did that. There’s also use of copious amounts of Stabilit Express used to fill any gaps, etc. Thats next up. I plan to lay in some balsa for filler in places to sturdy up the hull, then I have to build the transom. Once that’s done I need to get a couple of 900 kv outrunners ordered, then I can start mounting the running gear. I plan to add lights, and this boat has provisions for a lot of lights. She’s going to take me a while to build…stay tuned!!

After weeks of waiting for the kit to be delivered from Italy I re-ordered instead from Cornwall Model Boats and received it next day. The box was smaller than the one for my Riva but at a quick glance all the parts seem to be there. Now that I have received the kit for this motor sailor I can start to plan how to attach a detachable keel and a detachable extension to the rudder. There is an optional motorisation pack available which uses one motor but drives two props through a gear system. Myself and Roycv are thinking of using 2 separate motors but I'll check space available. Not sure whether with potentially 3 sails we can get away with one winch because it looks like space is at a premium. I must say the Amati Italian Runabout kit had very much clearer build instructions than this kit with lots of photos of various stages. Before I can start building this I need to resolve a problem with my newly fitted fireboat's fire monitors! Hopefully my blog will help to fill in missing information. It might be a slow build log because I'm limited with pains in my hands how much I can do at a time - so to those followers please be patient! Some photos of the box content:-

Started 2020 with plans by P F Eisnor from Nova Scotia 34 pairs of ribs

I have the honour and privilege to embark on a restoration of a model of a boat which belonged to a family I have known since I was knee high to a grasshopper. She is the "Turtle", which has a very storied past. When I knew her she was plying the waters of the Southern Lakes of the Yukon. I believe she is a Lake Union Dreamboat designed by the Grandy Boat Co. in Seattle and built in 1929. I understand from her history that the "Turtle" may have actually been built with prison labour. Her specs are as follows (if she is indeed a Grady Dreamboat). LOA 38' 0" Beam 11' 6" Draft 3' 6" Designer: Grandy Boat Co. Gross Displacement: 12000 lbs. Number of Engines: 1 (model has twin screws) Engine Model: Lehman Fuel Type: Diesel Year Built: 1929 ( "Adelante's" Information shows her as built 1912. I believe this is an error as Grandy started building Dreamboats in 1926) The model I believe was built from the "Dumas" model boat plans for the 40' "Vinyard" (very last photos), and the cabin modified to reflect the "Grandy" plans. I have started with a photo of the "Turtle" on the Southern Lakes as I remember her. Then a photo of the only sister I know of her in Seattle, the "Nirvana". Following is a the photo of the model when she was stored in Edmonton earlier this year. Unfortunately as the following photos show, she floundered and was quite damaged. She arrived at my shipyard today, and I did a quick survey of her. Her wood is probably close to 50 years old now and quite delicate. She has the old mechanical speed control in her from "Dumas" as well as dated electronics. I have removed all I can so that I can start repairs and reinforce the hull. We will work our way up to superstructure and electrical later. I would like to honour her builder and keep his work intact as much as possible. I do think I will need to redo the transom on her however. I will save the old one if that is the case. The model is 28" LOA Stay tuned for more as we bring her back.

Hello After the construction is before the construction!!! The construction trailer is tidied up and I am full of energy. After I have completed the RAU IX (driving pictures and videos to follow) I will now start with the Britannia from "Mountfleet Models". Here are the first pictures and a link https://www.mountfleetmodels.co.uk/product/pilot-boat-britannia/

I am finally just getting going on the "short kit" of the Naxos fishing boat from China. I call it "short" because there are no instructions (posted somewhere on the web) and only a minimal amount of parts, but the fiberglass hull is beautiful. And the laser cut pilot house and deck parts (what there is of them) are really really sweet. However, a huge amount of kit-bashing is in the offing on this one! As a side note, on a personal level. I am heading on a cross-country trip for a few weeks and it is always my habit to leave a project undone so I have something to look forward to when I get back. Call it habit or superstition...it's just me.

Many of us have seen or heard of the "Springer" push boat (a.k.a., tug, truckable boat, etc.). Most of them are not scale models but still built to the enjoyment of the owner. This blog deals with how I build "Springers" to look like a scale model of some real boats. I will deal with some of the issues as well as ideas for searching for you own "scale model Springer". Follow this blog as I build my latest "Springer", a US Army Corps of Engineers truckable push boat working at the Little Goose Dam in Washington State where it moves river debris to the "stoplog" gates. Lew Florida, USA Here is the introduction video: https://youtu.be/bZZJOWAsU0Y

This is a new thread of my refurbishing of an old ship model that was built back in the 1980's or so. Background: I managed to get this model when a fellow boat modeler knew that I have multiple scale RC powered boats and would be the right person to give it to. This was during a sailboat regatta and I was videoing the races from my big fishing trawler using a GOPRO camera. The story goes that this particular person had the boat built, wired and fitted professionally. It is a huge model spanning 76 inches in length and weighing 35 lbs fully loaded ( of which 21 lbs were lead acid batteries ; six of them ). however, that person passed away years ago and after a while, his widow needed to clean up the house and was about to trash all the models into the dumpster. Fellow modelers were able to save two of his huge boats. One being the German U99 submarine that went to a collector in Texas and the second was this un named old ship. It languished for years in a garage. The person that saved it was not interested in powered RC boats, but kept it. Apparently there was an email offering this model for sale back then, but I have no idea what came of it or when it was written, nor any details as to what it was. So what is it? next thread Isaac

Here's the history bit so pay attention... Many years ago as a boy in the fifth year of my north London secondary school, circa 1971, our woodwork class was given the option to make something of our own choice. Having mastered the majority of joints, wood turning, finishing techniques and the making of table lamps, stools and bookshelves etc. this seemed a good idea, so myself and a fellow classmate and model making chum asked if we could construct a model boat. The teacher, on hearing that it was to be from a kit and not from scratch was a little surprised but agreed. So my friend and I jointly invested about 20 quid in an Aerokits 34.5 inch RAF Crash Tender from Blunts' model shop in Mill Hill (long since gone like many others) and we set about construction during lesson time and sometimes at break times. I recall we used "Cascamite" to glue it all together on the advice of the woodwork teacher because neither 'Scotch' glue nor PVA was suited to marine construction. Good progress was made over the course of our last year at school but it was never fully completed, only requiring painting, running gear and detailing. My friend decided that he needed to withdraw from the project as he was enrolling in a college away from home to study for a career in the merchant navy and I agreed to buy out his share and continue with the project. And so it was that I carried on with the painting and installing the running gear which consisted of a 1.5 cc marine diesel engine, water pickup, prop shaft and rudder and a MacGregor radio system with a stick for steering and a single button for speed control. The engine and radio came from Michael's Models in Finchley (also long gone) for £20 as my elder brother, who had started a Saturday job there, was able to get a staff discount for me. The diesel engine was noisy and smelly and a pig to start with a leather thong around the flywheel and I decided to abandon this means of propulsion (I foolishly ran it for slightly too long 'dry' and melted the soldering around the brass water jacket!). By now I had graduated from my part time job in Woolies to an engineering apprentice with Post Office Telephones and my new income of 20 quid per week could support my modelling and electronics hobbies after my contribution to the household for my keep. So off to the model shop to buy a Taycol Supermarine electric motor, two 12v volt lead acid batteries and a suitable charger. The diesel came out and was sold on Exchange & Mart and the mount and coupling re-made to accommodate the new Taycol motor. What an improvement that was! I can't remember now what speed controller or servo I used but whatever it was did the job, and it went like the clappers on Friary Park boating lake (also long since gone) even though the radio control system was a bit crude with the non-proportional steering and 'blip' throttle control. The boating took a back seat when I acquired my driving licence and my first car (a rusty old Cortina Mk 1) and I also got involved in sound recording for radio. I decided to sell the boat and bits for £60 through Exchange & Mart and bought an Akai 4000DS tape recorder and a 'Chilton' audio mixer, built a home studio and along with a good mate of mine started making radio commercials for the new commercial radio stations including London's Capital Radio. We even won a 'Campaign' advertising award for one of our efforts! And so after several years as a 'phone engineer I moved into professional recording for A/V and broadcast and then into TV production. Fast forward to today. Semi-retired with grand kids and with more free time on my hands I still had an interest in model making so in Jan 2016 went to the Model Engineer exhibition at nearby 'Ally Pally'. It was there that I saw an RAF crash tender just like the one I built all those years ago and got into conversation with the chap on the stand. This re-ignited my model making interests and I researched the hobby and that model in particular.

While touring the Museum of the Gaspe, they told us a near disaster caused by a cigarette smouldering in the trash. The fishing vessel displayed outside, caught fire, requiring structural frames be replaced and hull planks. The carpenters were able to take my IPhone and get photos up on deck for me. There was a nice model in the museum created by a local model builder. which the staff brought me a chair to stand on to take photos of the deck. The staff are superb! The museum includes a large research library is open to visitors. Most of the collection is in stacks beyond eyes of the public. I was able to see some materials relating to the WWII period of history that included the 5 forts and two naval bases.