In these photos I have been giving the boats their final coats of paint, decals and fittings.
The object had been to scratch build a facsimile of the Deans model, and to see how possible it is to achieve the same features and appearance without compromising on weight or performance. Well, SPT409 (the scratch built model) came in at some 100grams less in weight than SPT 441 when ready for the water.
The differences are:
1. SPT441 uses a Speed 400 motor
SPT409 uses an A2212, 1000KV brushless motor
2. SPT441 uses a 6V 1.6Ah NiMH battery
SPT409 uses a 2S 1500mAh lipo battery
3. SPT441 has forward and reverse
SPT409 has forward only.
4. Performance
SPT441 is fast but at speed quickly drains the
battery
SPT409 is super fast and flighty. Battery life is
much longer than SPT441, in excess of 40
minutes (but not trialed)

Both take on water when run at speed, from the prop tube or rudder tube, but only a manageable quantity.

Conclusions
1 Scratch building takes much longer but can result in a model every bit as good, or better than the commercially made kit.
2 The Speed 400 motor /NiMH battery weigh more than the brushless motor /Lipo battery and perform less well.
3 Building boats of this size presents challenges to fingers and patience to a person of my age ! However, when completed they are much easier to store, lift, transport, handle, launch and recover than larger boats ! 😉