I mentioned in the Vic Smeed Vivacity forum I would do a few smaller builds while chugging through the Vivacity project; the first of these I have started (while waiting on certain components/materials for Vivacity), based on Glynn Guest's Knocker White tugboat plan from his book 'Small Radio Control Boats'.
The Driving force behind choosing this particular design was the fact I had just filled my Backyard Model Boating Pond for the first time and sailed a couple of small free-running boats in it.
I had already made Arcady and Bredette many years ago when they were first issued as free plans in Model Boats, so Knocker White was the next project from the book with the necessary compact dimensions to sail happily on my pond, the first of (hopefully) several small such boat projects.
Here are the first stages of the build shown in the photos;
1) Paper template traced/assembled from the book - a little 'guestimation' was required as the plan was over two pages that didn't quite align...
2)Carcass pieces (deck, bottom, bulkheads, stem) marked out on 1/4" sheet
3)Carcass pieces cut out
4 & 5) carcass glued together, care taken to get as square as possible - note extra piece placed in stern to support rudder tube, making stern slightly deeper than original
6)Power train/RC components; Specktrum 410 RX, Ali Express 20A esc, RS 280 motor (was eventually replaced with an RS260 type when I clumsily broke off one of the contacts while trying to fit the battery), 100mm prop shaft/tube assembly with 25mm 3-blade prop.
7)Power train set up & tested on the bench to ensure everything worked
8)Prop tube skeg/support added
9)Prop tube epoxied in place, sandwiched between skeg support and lower skeg piece.
10)6mm ply motor mount glued into position after checking alignment.
More pics and comments to follow soon,
Best regards to all following this,
Nick