A new 12” prop shaft will be needed to be fitted fairly early into the hull rebuild, so I need to either buy one or make one.

As the hull is already built the bulkheads would make it really difficult to fit a tube that already has an oiler soldered onto it, so I will fit a plain shaft without an oiler.

Most of my prop shafts have a 5mm inner shaft and have run for years (some have run for hundreds of hours) without an oiler fitted so this is not likely to be a problem on this boat - and various clamp-on oilers can be retro-fitted easily enough if I should ever feel the need to have one in the future.

Bob.

As the previous picture showed, my replacement Tamiya razor saw came with a spare blade, so “Christine” (as I now refer to my Sportsman) has even more to worry about as I have fitted it to my old handle so I have two active razor saws in action 😂.

Tamiya have not changed any (visible) detail of this razor saw in over 25 years (maybe longer?) as the new and old saws pictured together shows.

Also shown together are the old (broken) and new blades that also look unchanged (before I broke my original copy!).

The long M5 prop shafts seen above them (the shortest is 14” long) are in stock for use on other projects.

The 17” M5 shaft is to replace the pathetic 17” 4BA shaft that came fitted in the Sea Queen that is on the bench for a refit and minor restoration.

With a decent brushless motor and a 5mm prop-shaft coupled together with a Maxi-coupling the Sea Queen should run smoothly for many years to come.

Bob.

My trusty Tamiya razor saw replacement has now arrived - I felt “lost” when the blade snapped-off when cutting the rear panel out of this Sportsman.

The previous blade has lasted for many years and always performed well, even when it was deeply embedded in ply skins whose curvature caused the blade to bend severely as it was being cut.

I am starting to think that my Sportman resents any changes being made…..I may call her “Christine”……..

Bob.

The way that the cabin fits onto the hull on this Sportsman is very rough and is yet another area that need some attention once the work on the hull is completed.

Comparing it with the pictures of one of Wills Sportsman models, it looks like this one has had some extra ‘side spats’ added to either side of the cabin to stop it falling off!

It is a very rough and ready “fix” that looks bad so I will try to correct this when the time comes.

……..did I mention how much easier it would be just to buy a new kit? The more I find to do on this one, the more tempting it becomes…..

Bob.

Tamiya Razor Saw RIP.

Since you invited me to “moan away”, I will add that when I was cutting across the rear cockpit floor (to make it easier to remove) using my trusty olde Tamiya razor saw - the blade snapped !

I have had this saw for many years and have always been impressed by the fact that it never seemed to go blunt (good quality Japanese steel?) that always gave good sharp surgical quality cuts.

As well as having lots and lots of uses, this is also the tool that I have always used to cut out my plywood skins as they are too thin to cut properly on my bandsaw……and in any case I like using this razor saw!

What has always surprised me when cutting new plywood skins with this saw is that I often find the blade taking on more and more of a bend as it gets imbedded in the wood skins …..and yet it continues to cut really well!

…..unbeatable - until it encountered this old Sportman!

Maybe the blade has finally reached old age and given-up after years of abuse and cutting lots of other things such as 3D printed plastics and cutting the side guards off of a HAYA 1/16 scale r/c Centurion tank (that plastic is early tough to cut!)..etc etc.

Fortunately this superb tool is still available, and looks exactly the same, so I have ordered a new replacement…..but I may never forgive this old Sportsman for its part in my favourite saws demise !

Bob.

Feel free to moan away, we'll always listen (read) and offer advice, or hopefully motivation.

I will keep searching for a copy of the Sportsman plans though. As I say, someone will have one.

Will

Don’t worry Will, I have a lot of work to do on this model that can be done without any plans, but a set for reference would be handy.

The comment about it being easier to build a new model rather than restoring this one is just a realistic acceptance of the situation I find myself in when starting a restoration that I originally thought would only need a bit of a tidy-up !

Not to worry, I usually find that a good moan helps to stiffen the resolve to get stuck in and get on with it 😂

Bob.

I haven't given up on finding some plans Bob, but the chance of some hasn't materialised as yet.

I'll keep looking and chasing though, someone must have some.

Will

As is often the case - I think that building a new one would be much less time consuming, nicer, and probably less expensive too !

……….if only I had a set of plans…………

Bob.

The water staining tends to suggest that there will probably be an area that needs some attention that I have not found yet!

The bulkheads are not particularly "tight" to the bottom and side skins and show some gaps so I may be using glass fibre matting and resin to secure and make this good.

I have not mentioned the decking yet, but the planking is warped and lifting in some areas that would make it difficult to repair, so when the planking is removed I may also remove the front deck skin as well so I can take a look inside to see what is going on.

That's a bit of luck Bob, and a much better result that you had possibly feared you were going to uncover.

Will

The bows were given a rub with some aggressive 40 grit sand paper to remove some paint and smooth out the area that shows the filler that had not been blended-in very well.

More importantly, I wanted to see why the filler had been applied.

I was running out of time but the side skins had not been sanded to blend in with the bottom skins very well and it looks like filler paste had been roughly applied to the bows to help cover this rather than hiding any crash damage.

I ran my 65 year old Xacto mini-plane along the protruding bottom skin edge to remove some of the overlap.

At this stage it does not look too bad and with some time it can be smoothed down and blended-in better.....but, I have yet to give the other side any attention so hopefully it wont be any worse than the side that I have looked at.

Maybe adding a stringer along the side to bottom skin joint would be a good idea - and possibly help with the performance too?

I was able to get back home for a couple of hours so rather than doing the sensible things such as putting the motor and radio gear in my almost fully restored Javelin or fitting a prop shaft into the Huntsman 31 g/f hull that I fitted the wooden interiors framework into last week..........I decided to take a look at this Sportsman!

The truth is, I just wanted to get some idea about how much work would be involved in getting this boat "sorted" before `I can get it onto the water.

The first part of any good restoration is removing all the bits that are either in the way or need changing.... and then making an assessment of the work-load that will be needed.

......so the broken rudder shaft and the novel spring motor mount and belt drive system has to come out.

..followed by removing the prop shaft and its heavyweight blocks of doubling wood

.... and that floor that is stopping me seeing how well the bulkhead are fixed to the skins.

.......and finding out what's hiding under all that untidy filler in the bows.

........and..........etc

So away with the motor mount, broken rudder shaft and out with the floor (hope it is not glued in too well!......for starters!

I had to saw the floor in half (widthways) to get some leverage on it after removing the broken rudder shaft and eventually both halves were removed. Once removed I was able to see what was lurking underneath.

The spring loaded motor mount was removed next and the pulley removed from the end of the prop shaft.

Both blocks of wood that were acting as external (unshaped) doublers were chiseled away and a drift was inserted into the prop tube after I had removed the shaft.

With the external blocks of wood removed from either side of the keel the shaft was easy to drift out and then the inside of the hull could be vacuumed out to see what was inside.

Lots of long sharp nails were the first thing that impressed me ! These extra long nails had been used to hold the skins on and were far too long. I clipped them back to reduce the chances of getting my fingers impaled.

The motor mounting bulkhead had only been loosely glued to one half of the hull - the other half was "floating in the breeze" (as the witness mark in the hull under its position indicated) and was easy to pull out.

Next came the visual inspection of the outside of the keel.

Bob.

No problem Will - thanks for looking 👍

A set of plans would be nice to have, but not having a set to refer to won’t hinder the restoration process of this classic model powerboat too much as I tend to go ‘freestyle” when working on my restorations in any case.

My Rapier turned out OK without plans (I did mange to get a set of kit plans when part way through the restoration) but kit plans don’t normally show bulkhead shapes etc so they are nice to have but are of limited use …but helpful in showing the prop-shaft length and angle and the position of the rudder etc

I am really looking forward to getting stuck-in to it over the winter or (better still) any time that I may be able to find during my increasingly rare time at home.

Bob.

Sorry to disappoint Bob, but if I have got a copy of the Sportsman plan, I can't find it 🙄
I was convinced that I had one, and will keep looking.

Will

If I end up with a flat pack set of wooden shapes, I will draw around them for you Chris, and send them to you so you can tidy them up and make some drawings.

The length is 33” and the width is 12.5” so I am getting more and more convinced that this really is an original and genuine LesRo Sportsman.

Bob.

I don’t know how old this sportsman is, but my guess is that it probably dates from the early ‘70’s.

Bob.

Whoa! What a fantastic looking boat Bob! Great find! How old do you think particular kit is?
👍😁

You mentioned on a previous thread that you thought this " Norstar Fisherman" looked like a Sportsman and I agreed. A search didn't throw up the Norstar Fisherman. But another one just now on the Sportsman is pretty conclusive that you have indeed become the owner of the real deal! So congratulations Bob!

Just carry on taking it apart and I'll draw it up! Only joking! 😁

The cabin is not too bad and looks like a little bit of tidying-up will (hopefully) be all it needs.

Bob.

I wonder what that filler is hiding 🤔
Maybe the hull sides had started to come away from the frames. Who knows.
Whatever it is, you'll sort it and make it good again Bob, thats for sure.
Looking forward to seeing what your partial stripping reveals, and whether it's been badly made in places, or bodged repairs maybe.

Will

The deck planking has warped and suggests that the ply skin underneath it has warped or delaminated too, so I am thinking that I may need to remove all the deck planking and the skins underneath it.

Although a lot of work it will give me a clear view inside the hull and access to repair or reinforce any areas that may benefit from some attention !

Bob.

The prop shaft looks very thin (maybe m2.5.) and has been quite crudely reinforced on either side of the keel by being sandwiched between two oversized lumps of unshaped wood.

I hope to improve this feature when I remove this shaft and replace it with a much more solid 5mm prop shaft.

This is where a copy of the kit plans could come in handy to check the position and length of the prop shaft and rudder etc.

The rudder blade is missing, but without the plans to refer to I need to decide what size and shape of rudder would work OK and where best to mount a water pick-up to work with the size of propeller that I would probably use with a suitable brushless motor.

I want this “Sportman” to make some “white water” when it moves a little faster than it probably did previously. 😎

Bob.

The outside of the hull does not look too bad, but the poorly applied filler around the bows may reveal some future “horrors” when it is sanded to smooth the hull shape back to what it should look like.

Bob.

Fantastic news Bob, I'm really pleased you've finally got one.

Will

Looks like a project but ne well worth the investment os time and skill

More strips of wood and the servo mount assembly were also removed (ripped out) to expose this flat deck that has the rudder shaft passing through it.

After removing the rudder shaft I am hoping that it will not be too difficult to remove this deck so I can access and check the bulkheads and their joints to the bottom and side skins.

The basic speed control gave Forward/Stop/Reverse and has also been removed.

Bob.

I have removed the plastic card battery box and some surplus strips of wood to expose the sprung motor mounting platform and the sprung pulley on the end of the propeller shaft.

Quite an ingenious self tensioning belt drive system

Bob.

The name “North West” on the bows threw me off the scent initially when I had only seen pictures of it when it was given (!) to my friend.

Now I have it home I actually think it could be a genuine LesRo Sportsman.

It needs a lot of work, and has a few “quirks” (the closer I look the more I find) but it is going to be well worth the time and effort that it will take to restore it.

The 540 type motor is held onto a hinged motor plate that has a spring to keep tension on a drive belt (missing) that would have connected the small pulley on the motor shaft to a bigger pulley mounted on the end of the prop shaft.

A compression spring between the end of the prop shaft and the large pulley would have allowed some dampened movement when the motor was running.

Bob.