The final jig was simply held in place with a single quick release clamp.

More jigs to split different sizes of square hardwood strip are easy and quick to make using scrap wood and superglue.

I wrote the size of the wood to be split on the end of each jig for easy reference.

My next attempt added a guide for the square strip both in front of the blade and after the blade.

This idea worked really well and gave much better (and safer) control of the square wood strip as it was slowly pushed against the blade and I was able to start production of triangular strip with no failures .

Making triangular strips with this profile from square section hardwood strip effectively split the wood into two identical halves so there was NO WASTE at all.

My next attempt at controlling the square strip wood as I pushed it against the blade was simply a strip of scrap wood with a square hold cut in it that was clamped to the table.

This had two advantages over my first attempt.

One was to protect my fingers from touching the blade and the second was to hold the square section strip in a controlled position against the blade.

This was a simple fix that worked well enough - but could be improved.

This is how I first started trying to make triangular strip from square section hardwood - simply tipping the bandsaw table to 45 degrees and guiding the square strip against the table guide and controlling the wood with my fingers as I pushed it against the blade.

The strakes that were cut from 5 x 5mm hardwood strip were added to the bottom skin.

The original TURNIGY 3648-1450KV out-runner motor that I had in my Rapier was a bit too fast and power hungry (only 8 minutes or so on a full charge) Chris, but since then I have got bigger capacity LiPo packs (!) so I am thinking about using another one like it in the Swordsman.

I actually removed this out-runner motor from the Rapier and fitted a smaller Surpass C3548-1100KV motor in it - and that one performs well enough.

When I checked my Vic Smeed Remora I was surprised to see that it was running on exactly the same 1100 KV Surpass out-runner that I currently have in the Rapier!

That TURNIGY 3648-1450KV motor was so impressive at shoving the bigger Rapier along that I admit to buying a couple more of them at the time (with my Swordsman models in mind), so I will start with one of those and experiment with prop sizes to see what performance and duration it produces.

The motor also was only run on 2 cells and can accept much more power than that, so it could be a rocket on 3C…….and even faster on 4C…., but as I like to run on the small Southport Club lake, I keep the speed and the power down - partly because it is fast enough for a boating lake of this size, and partly out of respect for other lake users that may be on the water at the same time.

I am away from home at the moment so I will check to see if I have any pictures of it so I can give it a name and a bit more information.

Bob.

I do a bit in the summer but the winter is my real time for building and the reason I took up the hobby. Summer, my wife tells me, is for doing other things which I can't really argue with. 😊

What motor are you going to use? I tend to over-motor mine so that I don't have to water-cool and am using an Overlander Tornado Thumper V3 4250/06 800KV running on 4S to give enough revs and performance.

My Swordsman has been left in this abandoned state for months and as I am still away from home quite often at the moment, nothing is likely to change anytime soon - but I do want to get back to it as soon as possible because the Swordsman remains my favourite (and first ever) classic model powerboat.

The cabin roof shape and contour was worked out with cardboard formers and then the birch ply ribs were cut and glued onto the base.

Diagonal ribs were added to prevent any warping or twisting whilst the base was pinned flat until dry.

The two halves of the roof skin were then fitted and pinned in place with brass tacks until dry when the heads were cut off and the shafts were driven down flush to give a mechanical fixing to support the adhesive fixing.

My first ever attempt at planking was made on the modified cabin roof and a floor was also cut for the cockpit and planked at the same time.

The circular vent that would have been fitted to this rear cabin roof was cut and turned to its final shape on my mini mill-drill.

The new shape rear cabin top was made up after it was drawn onto card and the roof formers were cut and fitted onto a suitable base and then skinned.

The decision was made to make the scratch built Swordsman with the optional aft cabin and the original kit built Swordsman to be finished as standard - after Chris had advised me of the various rear cabin options that Fairey offered to their customers.

The height of the rear cockpit bulkhead had to be increased to accommodate the optional aft cabin variant.

The revised rear bulkhead shape was sketched onto some card that was then cut out and test fitted until it looked “right”, and then it was cut out of birch ply and grafted on top of the original rear cockpit bulkhead to increase the height without changing the original bulkhead position.

I thought this comparison of the Swordsman and the Wavemaster when they are both under construction would be of some interest .

Card templates were made for the deck sections, drawn around and cut out with the trusty (but now getting slightly blunt) Tamiya razor saw.

PVA glue was used to fix them and they were positioned and held in place with brass nails overnight until the glue dried.

The side skins have been cut from birch ply using the cardboard templates to draw around and a Tamiya razor saw to cut them out.

I will be at the Southport Club lake later tomorrow morning and hopefully will be able to drive the large scale Huntsman 31 and take some pictures of it in action to try to see the handling problem identified by its current owner.

A video would be more helpful, so if my new recruit to model boating (Adam) comes with me, I will get him to follow it on my iPhone and record some footage of it to show and share on here.


Bob.

That last picture of your ex Huntsman 31 at speed looks really impressive Chris - just like the real thing!

Bob.

I was reminded of the beautiful handling of the semi-scale MFA Spearfish glass fibre model when the transmitter was kindly given to me by the owner when I was at the Southport Club on Sunday - who seemed more than happy to allow me to drive it for as long as I was happy to keep the throttle open!

The radio was a good quality stick set - a pleasant return to my traditional choice from the steer wheel radio that I have been using recently.

The owner has 6 (six) of these deep vee hulled beauties - as well as the large Huntsman 31 that I was quite taken with.

......and it’s my birthday shortly.......

I think that due to the extra volume of the hull that the bigger 47" Huntsman 31s tend to suffer less with the nose down issue.

I only had mine for a short while and it sat on the water Ok. Performance was only adequate with the original Como Drills 850 brushed motor but a fellow club member bought it off me and did what I had planned to do and that was to fit a brushless motor. See last photo - it went really well then. Handling was really good and stable.

I think the smaller versions can flop into turns a bit if sudden changes of direction are undertaken. Haven't tried my 1:12 Huntsman 31 yet but my Huntsman 28 does exhibit those characteristics a bit though it is reduced by wider turns and smooth driving.

Chris

With the motor fitted and aligned with a solid coupling, the side skin shapes were worked out using thin card and taped in place before being copied onto the plywood skins and cut out with a razor saw.

Thanks Bob, I'm still not able to give any worthwhile amount of time to my boats, Mum is taking a lot of my spare time of late (damned Dementia), not that I object to it, it's just frustrating what's happening/happened to her. I do look on her very occasionally, to try and keep up with what's been going on etc, but it is pretty infrequent.
As you know, I have a Huntsman 31 or 5, so if you're not successful with the one you speak of, I may (or may not) have one that might interest you. Four of them are 34", and one 48".
I will check my laptop too, for Sportsman plans, and in the attic for Sportsman.
Glad to hear the Rapier, Remora, and kopy Commander are seeing plenty of use.

Will

Thanks Will - good to have you back here again.

When driving my Rapier (yes it is still going strong), your pair of old delaminated Sea Commander cabin sides (now built into my Kopy Kommander) and my Vic Smeed Remora (now finished and running really well) at Southport today I spent some time watching a large Huntsman 31 driving around very nicely.

It’s current owner is not short of power boats but does not like the way that the boat leans over when turning (typical Fairey Marine hull characteristic) and says he is thinking of selling it.

I have never had one of these in my Classic Model Powerboat fleet - so I have shown some interest in it - and if I am successful I will check your concerns about the Huntsman 31 balance and let you know what I find !

One of the worst things from what I've read regarding Hunstman 31 models Chris, is getting the balance right, as due to hull shape they do tend/like to sit bow down.

Bob, your Swordsman is coming together very nicely. It's great to see that Fairey shape starting to show itself as the build progresses.

Will

My Swordsman is getting quite heavy as well and still a few things to add to it. Not a problem as I always build heavy and all my Fairey models so far have sat just right and on the waterline so not expecting the Swordsman to be any different.

The Huntsman 31 is the unknown and I'm working towards testing it in the bath. It's a quite long and narrow hull and the design of the bow means there is less support there and many models sit a little nose down at rest. No trouble getting up onto the plane though.

I tend to build my model power boats a bit on the heavy side as I like to increase the bonding area to the skins. This is probably a hang-up from my early days of seeing some of my friends boats break up in the open sea or when running fast in rivers etc.

I use scrap wood for this purpose - left over lengths of hardwood from the stringers are glued around the edges of the bulkheads to effectively double or even treble the bonding area to the skins.

Likewise scrap balsa wood is used to reinforce curved areas like inside the bows and under the curved sections of the stern etc.

Using scrap means that the only cost is a little extra time and glue but it does give a stronger construction that can improve the durability of the hull if the boat is going to be run hard or in demanding conditions - such as in the open sea.

Getting the transom skin wrapped and fitted was very satisfying, but I made the rookie mistake of leaving all the brass nail heads in.

On my later builds I chop the heads off of the brass nails and drive the shaft into the wood to leave the mechanical fix but the end of the brass nail shafts are flush to the surface and make future finishing much easier.

The engine bay was reinforced and the engine bed was fitted once the correct angle had been established with a solid coupling.

The use of water cooled alloy engine mounts allow the rapid change of motors for testing - or if the hull should have a change of use in the future.

Once the glass fibre side cheeks are epoxied in place, alternate pre-mounted motors can be rapidly exchanged.

Alternatively, a single mount can be used with various motors just by unscrewing them and screwing the replacement in.

With the bottom skins fitted, the engine mounts can easily be aligned before the side skins are fitted.

At this stage a simple “orange box” stand was made to support the hull during the remaining construction.....and probably for the life of the boat !

It was about this time that a part assembled Aerokits Swordsman became available - so two stands were made !

Doublers were added to the bulkhead edges to increase the glue area for the skins.

The bottom skins were added and marked to show the position of the strakes.

With the bulkheads (including the transom sub-assembly) glued onto the keel, and the stringers added, the skeleton of the hull is beginning to take shape.

The M5 propshaft was then fitted in the correct position and checked to make sure it was in line with the keel centreline and suitable clearance was provided for the 50mm prop that was expected to be used

The bows assembly followed next. This was assembled on the keel and placed on the edge of the bench to work on.

The first sub-assembly put together was the stern

The cut parts were checked against the templates before being ID marked in Biro ink and checked for fit before any glue was used.