Made the framed glass portion of the skylight. They're hinged so I can get a finger inside to flip the power switch on or off. They're made from clear plastic from some packaging, basswood, and brass wire.

I have decided to go with the Fig 1 Hull. This is a L105 x W150 x H105mm section, four required. For anyone interested the cost per section (in the UK) are: Time for print: 133 minutes (Printing at 125mm per second) Electricity : £0.08 PLA material: 26 metres @ £1.49 I am going to do some weight calculations as I am sure I can reduce the height of the hull by 25mm.

It must have been in the early '70's when my father and brothers built this model. It had a car blower motor, a home made server to steer (see picture), and my eldest brother built the RC system. We had fun on many boating lakes on holidays in North Wales, and I've decided to refurbish her, and get her on the water again. She was named "Endeavour", as my mother said it took a lot of endeavour to build her! I think I'm going to fit the missing chine and gunwale stringers and repaint her as a Fireboat - of some sorts! I'd like to go modern with the RC, motor (brushless?) and metal geared servo. Any advice - particularly on motor sizing would be appreciated. I saw a similar Fireboat on the water at Southport Model Boat Club open day recently, with an 850 motor, which seemed to sail very nicely

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:-

I have now started to build this Mountfleet (Model Slipway) Kit. Firstly I decided to sort out the power system. 2 x RE540/1 geared motors (6:1). The propshafts supplied with the kit and the 4 blade brass props, also supplied.

A friend of mine has asked me to make him a Hopper type barge to tow behind his tug. He already has a scratch built shoe box, but it does not tow well and doesn't look the part. I will be 3D printing it and I have designed it in FreeCAD. Attached is my first attempt. I should mention that it has to fit in his transport box. It is, length-542 x beam-150 x depth-120 mm. The sections are glued together and use the 1.75mm filament as location pins. The bow section can be used as a stern.

Hi Shipmates Well my projects are moving very slowly - here is a list of where I stand at the moment. Cheers Pat

Collected this one last week, it came from the Ron Wem collection - have a look at his site as he made loads of amazing boats. I also bought the Aquataur A600 and the mould for the Broom 30 Hull. Sadly, Ron died early this year so his family are moving on a number of his boats. KoH is a very decent representation of 1950s Norfolk Broads Cruiser. The model was built about 25 years ago and needs some updating, the interior requires finishing. Have already replaced the motor and ESC as the motor started smoking when tested. Model is 1:12 and is 43” long. As with the full sized boat the wheelhouse roof slides back and the windscreen folds down to get under the low bridges of the Norfolk Broads. Here she is in her just collected state, will update as progress is made. https://www.ronsboats.co.uk/my-models

This will be my first boat build at this scale, so who knows how it will turn out. I got a set of Vic Smeed's plans from Sarik Hobbies along with their wood packs for the model - I thought having some laser cut parts might be helpful. I grew up in Alness, so if the build goes well I'll probably paint it as 2757 which was based at 1100 MCU Alness/Invergordon in the late 1950's to early 1960's.

Picked up a nicely laid up glass hull of the Smit NEDERLAND. Spoiler alert; it won’t be the NEDERLAND.

I'm building a Venice water taxiboat from scratch. The hull has been build from triplex covered with mahagoni stripes. There is still a lot of work to be done, but technics are working and I hope to get here on the water in the comming week.

Hi y’all. I haven’t posted the video yet, but the Patriot ran well, stayed dry, and pumped a lot of water, luckily I got her maiden done before the wind hit 22 or so gusting to 35. We had some drama but all turned out well. So, I’ve said this before, I like to keep my bench busy…building is therapy for me, and my wife lets me have 6 or so hours on the weekends and unless I’m needed for something or there’s a family emergency, about 2-3 hours a week on average. I’m going to use a lot of that time over the course of the next 3-4 months I think. Maybe more. Let me explain. About 2 Christmases ago I was searching for something for my Christmas present. Now, sometimes I give my wife a list of things I would like to have and I am pretty good about budgeting money for gifts, food, donations, etc. Also…I’m intrinsically cheap. Blame my mom. That woman could stretch a penny clean around the house…and to her credit, I don’t remember ever going without anything I needed or wanted growing up. She and my dad drilled that into my head, which I promptly forgot the first few years of adulthood. Anyway, the budget was settled. Looking thru EBay I found a new in the box Revell Flower class corvette kit. I had read of several conversions that were done, all done differently, all ran and performed well…and it’s not the Tecnic kit, which isn’t cheap…if you can find one. It was an earlier kit after Revell bought the rights to the Matchbox kit…and the price was extremely reasonable. So I got it for Christmas and it’s been in my project stash for a couple of years. Now, she’s on the bench. This kit is pretty nice, there’s tons of parts to her, over 1000. There are things I’ll have to address going forward, like making railing from brass wire instead of plastic, what to glue down vs what’s removable, but the first thing to do is build the stand. Now, the stand provided is fine for a display model, but just a little sketchy for an rc model. The for and aft rods that connect the ends are just plastic styrene rod. I had 2 hardwood dowels and a piece of 6mm cf tubing that would work. Later on I’ll build a proper stand and cut the dowel and tubing away to put back in the wood/brass/whatever stash. But for now, it works. The hull is a 4 piece affair, you have fwd port and starboard halves, and aft port and starboard also. Now, I built 2 sides then assembled the hull, thinking about it now it might have been a good idea to build a fore and aft section then complete the hull, as I had some minor fiddly alignment issues, but was able to resolve them fairly easily. Once that was done I added the chine rails, then decided on internals. Hers where you have to stop and think about what you’re going to do. The aft deck has a good sized opening, maybe 10x4 or so. Not huge, but workable if you plan things out. All my equipment , running gear,etc is built into this hull with that in mind, as I’m going to make the aft house removable for aces and battery changes. Looking at the instructions this looks like a good way to go. I may have to make a compromise how the foscle and bridge connect to this, but from what I can tell this will work. I thought I had a Fineline stuffing box but I only had a standard box in my stash, so I had to carefully drill and ream the propshaft exit to fit the box. I added a greasing tube, then scuffed the tube and the inside of the hull, then glued it in place with copious amounts of epoxy mixed with microballoons. I heated the mixture with a heat gun till it got runny, and poured it in, around and under the tube, the heating makes the epoxy runny enough to get into nooks and crannies, but it also makes it fire off quicker so you gotta be quick. I built the rudder next. Instead of making a rudder from brass, I opted to use the kit rudder and modify it into something useable. I had a Robbe rudder tube in my parts bin, but I was out of 3mm brass stock. Luckily I remembered that I had a short 3mm steel shaft that I wasn’t using for anything. It was bent at an angle, cut to fit into the rudder halves. The shaft was centered, the angle boxed in with wood strip, then filled epoxy was laid in both halves and clamped together. Works like a champ. I used a piece of 1 inch thick balsa, drilled to fit the rudder tube. I glued a piece of 2 mm sheet on top to prevent splitting, sanded the bottom to reasonably match the hull contour, then once lined up epoxied into place. I decided on a 650 KV Zippkits outrunner for power. This motor is wound for tugs and workboats, and it hauls my Taucher Wulf around with no issues whatsoever..bench running I’m pulling less than 1 amp at full chat. I made up a motor mount and once jigged up I tacked down with ca, double checked motor to shaft alignment then epoxied it down. I then made up a rudder servo mount from scraps and an electronics shelf just fwd of the motor. I’m still on the bench about the receiver placement there though, as it’s awful low in the hull, and 2.4 doesn’t like being surrounded by water. That might change. That’s where she’s at now. Next up is reinforcing the hull joints, making a battery shelf then loading the hull up with ballast to the waterline and a leak check. Then..,the real fun begins. Cash

I haven’t done anything on my builds since before last Christmas for various reasons but am looking forward to starting again in the next couple of weeks. I’ve been working on a number of builds for some years and not finished one yet! Main reason is that I reach a certain point, maybe something I’m hesitant about, and so start another! Which is the reason I’ve got five on the go. I’m building all the classic Faireys; Huntsman 28, Huntsman 31 and Swordsman 33 and a rarer Huntress 23 with a stern drive and longer cabin. Also a River Cruiser 23 (the one and only full-size build was a prototype was based on a modified Huntress hull but with more freeboard which disappeared) and I have the plans drawn up to start a Fisherman 27 motor sailer and a Faun 17 river/lake cruiser. All builds are at a scale of 1:12. The River Cruiser and Huntress are further on as they have had lake trials with the others being at the painting stage which I will be taking up again soon. I use a Hitec Flash 8 Tx and Rx’s and Hitec servos with Overlander brushless motors (even in my slower models) and HobbyWing Quicrun and Seaking ESC’s along with LiPo batteries though will probably use NiMh in the Fisherman and Faun.

45 years ago I sold ice cream from a boat very similar to this model which nearing Completion. It is only 13 inches long and vaguely 1:12 scale . More details after sea trials! I SHOULD ADD THAT AS WITH MANY OF MY BUILDS ,I AM ABLY ASSISTED BY neilw ( Lt Cdr)

After the success with the A class catamaran, (glass on foam) I was looking for something new to build using the same method. I've been wanting to do another model of one of my full sized boats, so thought the day sailer would be a good subject. Model is 1m long. Made a sandwich of 4 x 25mm foam sheets on the 5mm ply deck cutout, glued with foam safe contact spray. The area around the cockpit was only glued round the edges, as 2 sheet thicknesses had to be removed later. The big foam sandwich was shaped by eye with a Surform file when dry, using the laminate lines for reference. The full sized boat had been measured previously, and everything scaled 20%, and lines drawn on the foam as a guide also. Once I was happy with the shape (checked side to side with cardboard templates) I glassed the hull with epoxy resin and 5 oz cloth. I rolled on a thick layer of resin before the cloth, to help with filling the pores of the foam. Hull had 2 further coats of resin, sanded between coats, then another 2 with fairing powder mixed rolled on, the 2 more thick fairing mixes squeegeed on, (imperfections filled as well). Each coat was sanded back to eventually hide the weave and leave a smooth surface. LOTS of sanding !-orbital sander, finishing sander, block sanding etc and some Surforming of any high spots in the resin. Next job (yesterday and today) was clamping the hull to the bench for cutting out the cockpit, (clamps go under blocks with cutouts screwed to the bench with a cross bar for the deck, and hull on foam blocks) Cockpit was cut out using a jigsaw with a short medium blade, and finished to the lines by drum sanding and blocking. The deck and 1st lamination came away as one piece, and the second lamination was cut down to with an extended snapoff knife set to the depth, and then picked out easily in large pieces due to no glue in that area. Cockpit is now 50mm deep, with a nice flat bottom, ready to either epoxy thin ply round or glass it then lay ply. The deck will be glassed eventually as well. Centerboard case top will be routed out to drop a complete case unit through, (as I did with the cat) Transom is also 5mm ply, epoxied on before glassing, (which links its' edges to the hull, otherwise it would only be a foam strength joint) Next I'll have to knife some epoxy between the laminations on the centerboard case, as they obviously had no glue previously. the whole case will be ply sheeted and braced. I'll leave painting till last, as the hull will have a lot more done to it yet ) rub rail, coamings etc) This is where it's up to at the moment,- more to follow. See pics of the full size boat, and some of the detail I hope to add to the model. Boat was built in the 80s, took me a year to restore it, (including removing a full width outboard well.) JB

Hey all, newish to RC boats but keen scale kit builder. Usually don't go for converting my scale models, but I picked up this Elco along with a 1/72 Tamiya PT15 in a sale and thought it's too good to sit on a shelf in my loft. (SWMBO doesn't allow me to 'display' my work around the house). I'm not intending weathering/adding loads of etch etc as this makes it too fragile to transport and what-not. Kit was complete but instructions and ref manual were missing. I'm aware there are hardware kits to motorised this but they're too pricey for my budget! I've picked up/recycled some gear to run it but need some build opinions. I've built and primed most of the sub-assemblies and need to decide how to proceed! 1st option, am I gluing these to the deck permanently and just having a completely removable deck? (There are screw fixings to allow the attachment/removal on the kit). Or 2nd option, fix deck permanently and make the superstructure removable as there are already 2 openings on the deck to allow access? 1st is easier regarding building but more awkward for access. 2nd is harder build, needing more waterproofing and also figuring out how to securely attach wheelhouse etc but also making removal easy and without tools. Hope the pics help explain! As ever, all opinions and guidance are truly appreciated!

My first official job, when I was 16, was working on the construction of the Baltimore Clipper schooner Pride of Baltimore. On my 21st birthday I reported on board as a member of the crew. After that I acquired the plans from Thomas Gilmer who designed the vessel, with the intent to build an RC model. After a false start then, I changed the scale and started again in September of 2010. The model represents the boat as she was when I was crewing aboard her in September-October 1981. I had a certification from the National Park Service to handle black powder cannon, so I was put in charge of Pride's guns which was handy when we went to the bicentennial of the Siege of Yorktown, what it really meant is I slept with 25pds of black powder at the foot on my bunk. I cooked right along with construction while also working on Constellation and starting a third model, until July of 2012. She was basically a static display model since then, with an attempt to work out her controls that didn't work out in 2015. Trying to set up her steering uncovered a design flaw that I resolved by moving the rudder servo forward. Life has a habit of getting in the way of my hobbies, and several changes in jobs and homes put a damper on all three models. She's pretty much just sat till now, going on display a few times, getting floated in a pool in 2019 and capsizing, which was a bit eerie considering the fate of the original. The model is 1:20 scale making her Hull length: 54" (137.16cm) Length on deck: 48" (121.9cm) Length on waterline w/o rudder: 46.75" (118.75cm) Length over the rig: 81.5" (207cm) Beam: 13.625" (34.6cm) Draft without ballast keel: 5.875" (14.9cm) Total height (top of jack-yard to bottom of keel): 61.6" (156.5cm) Total Sail area: 2,049.13 square inches in 7 sails as shown above, 2,205.13 with the flying jib. Her keel is plywood and she was planked with white pine strips over plywood forms, which were removed. The hull has a layer of 4oz glass cloth and poly resin outside, and several coats of just resin inside. As mentions she capsized in the pool when a slight gust caught her, despite being weighted to the waterline. She's designed to have a removable fin with a lead bulb making up most of her ballast, but that hasn't been made yet, so it wasn't fitted in the pool that day. Her lower masts are white pin made with the "birds-mouth" method so they're hollow and weigh next to nothing, but are strong. Sails are made of a Dupont cloth called Supplex which is a polyester that makes excellent sails. All lines will be nylon or polyester Dacron walked up from thread acquired from a sail-maker's supplier. All the sails have bolt-ropes hand-sewn on. There's no stitching to represent seams because I think it looks like crap, and it's a lot of work to do to ruin your sails. The seam lines on Pride are drawn on on with an .005 permanent marker. Originally her controls were going to be a Mega-arm sail servo and a winch servo, with the winch driving a loop. That was changed to two arm servo controlling my Semaphore-Sheeting system used successfully in Constellation for the over-lapping heads'ls. That wasn't going to work on Pride mostly because space limitations (vertically inside the hull). A friend recently launched his four foot schooner in which he used two winch-driven loops to control the sails. It's success, especially with the over-lapping jib, got me re-thinking Pride controls and reverting to the loop-sail-control system, with changes. So I'm working on the model again, this time removing everything inside the hull. I removed the motor and my homemade 1 inch prop because there's no way that little prop can over-power all that sail in the lightest of wind. The rudder servo will be moved aft of where the motor was and be accessible through the cabin hatch. One winch will be mounted where the motor was, under the engine hatch, just aft of the mainmast, and another winch will be mounted just aft of the foremast and be accessible through the main hatch. This is where things stand at the moment (June 25 2022). The pic with the gun is a 3D printed test of a gun for my Macedonian model (1:36 scale) which seems to be just right for the 1:20 scale Pride, which will benefit from 3D printing with guns, gunport lids, a much crisper name board on her stern, along with the Baltimore emblem that was back there. The last pic is the actual boat in the Pacific in 1982. I edited in the main tops'l to show the rig I plan to set. She also had a ringtail, stuns'ls, and a main topmast stays'l, none of which I plan to use. Hopefully, this approach to her controls will work out and I can actually get her sailing at last.

Finally tired of using my launcher (PVC pipe and fittings) and had SSMBC member build me a special one. (He has made a bunch of his version.) I am taller than him and have some back issues so I got one about 5 inches taller. The photo here shows it as I got it today at the meet. Need to prep and paint and add padding. It is made using 1/2 and 3/4" EMT steel and can handle at least 80 pounds. Lew Florida , USA

I have started my first 'bought' kit a couple of weeks ago to re-learn the basics. I think I'm getting a little 'punchy' and thought I would post my progress (pics) and ask a really daft question about the bow. My question is....should I be aiming for a 'pointy' bow or a 'rounded' (as per the underlying balsa shape) bow. As I said, I've got a lot of self doubt creeping in because of the planking, I've usually bypassed that method before...

Hello all! Before my two week sojourn out to California starting tomorrow... Here she is, all 31 inches and 4.8 pounds of 3D printed 1/10th scale madness. And the questions are starting arise after more than a few hours spent in research. How to get her to plane even close to scale? 1) EDF? Probably not, actually I don't think even a 90mm fan, (which will, in fact, push a faomy jet) will ever get this boat to plane. 2) Prop? Maybe with dual 6s and a killer motor, monster cooling etc. But, nowhere near scale with a big prop hanging out the back. 3) Turbine? probably yes, but way out of my league in mechanicals and $$. There will be tons of head-scratching my quickly balding head on this experiment. This is going to go on the shelf for the long haul as my freighter needs finishing and the big Sterling Chris Craft Corvette is screaming at me. But, off to Cali for now...I will drop some pix from time to time of our travels. Best to all!

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

Lady Ann Steam Boat Project Convert from Meths to Gas burner

Drumbeat 1.Mast Assembly

Pilot Boat 1. Check Masthead and Overtaking light 2. Separate Radar and deck and nav lights

Patrol Boat 1. Check Masthead and Overtaking light 2. Separate Radar and deck and nav lights

Dutch Power Tug 1. Separate Deck Lights and Nav lights

1. Install new Valve in gas tank (present one leaks)

Light Ship 1. Switch for lighting - working from TX 2. Anchor ??

Hi Shipmates Start my refub of a part built Fleet Tender today - one of the things I would like to do is add a rotating radar whilst keeping the model as true to life as possible - have taken some pictures of the current no working item and wonder if anyone could give any advise about getting it rotating whilst keeping it looking as it is. Thanks Pat

Plans to enhance the model including:- 1. Install New Servo and Steering Linkage 2. Install Mtroniks Viper 15 ESC 3. Install RX - FRSky TD 8 4. Install New Motor (540LN) 5. Ballast 6. Sound Unit 7. Lighting 8. Put Glass in Windows 9. Working Radar Hopefully all the electrics will be controllable from the TX using a 6 port way switch Renaming the ship and giving new Pennant number Any sensible comments or suggestions would be welcome