A quick update.

The first stage of rubbing down & filling is complete.

The first coat of High Build Primer is on - the surfaces
don't look too bad, although the grain of the balsa is still
visible in one or two places.

I have settled on 1mm x 6mm mahogany planking for the deck.

I have also ordered one of the budget Wattmeters I mentioned
in my last update.

budget wattmeter arrived this lunchtime.

I made up a couple of leads to adapt the Deans connectors
on the wattmeter to the standard Tamiya connectors that
I have on all my battery packs.

The wattmeter seems to 'do what it says on the tin'. I managed
to get up to 0.8A and 6 watts when I hooked it up to my
brushless esc. and motor (0.8A x 7.74v = 6.192 watts 👍 )

Richard

Just in case you thought I'd left the country . . .

Having felt a bit under the weather 🔨 for a couple of
weeks I have now completed stage one of painting the hull

I am taking it carefully because I have used Gloss Black
Humbrol enamel on top of the rattle can filler primer & I
shall be using rattle can metallic on the hull sides - I don't
want to start lifting the enamel when spraying the hull sides.

See piccies

Richard

A family wedding and the nice weather's meant that the mermaid building
has been put on hold a bit.

Anyway, the niece is married off, & away on honeymon, & the spuds,
onions, beans, tomatoes, & summer bedding plants have been seen to.

I am still in the process of spraying the hull sides with rattle can
metallic blue, but with a bit of a 'problemette' - I can produce quite
a good blue surface, or a nice metallic surface but not a single coloured
surface with any consistency. Best is blue with a silvery metallic bloom in
patches - Any had experience of this and managed to solve it?

If I can't get the spray-can to work then I will fallback on airbrushing
Humbrol metallic blue, hopefully that should do the trick!

pictures attached - I recently finished building & conversion of a static
model of a motor yacht (by Manutua) to R/C - I call it the 'squeeze' job.
I started building this time last year and named it after my father
who passed away last August.

I can post more info/photos if anybody's interested.

TTFN

Richard

Just to let you know I haven't left the country !

I have unexpectedly had to take time out to have a heart pacemaker fitted.

It has left me a bit one handed, since my left shoulder is very sore.

The rubbing down of the hull is only proceeding slowly since I
need to rest the shoulder periodically, but I WILL finish the boat!

Richard

I hadn't realised how long it was since I last posted

Update : April 2013

A long pause in the Mermaid build because I did my usual trick of starting another project
before finishing the current one! - End effect - I now have a half built hovercraft - that
project has stalled because I am having problems making a satisfactory skirt for it -
all the other main bits are done.

Next problem - after having a heart pacemaker fitted last year I started having intermittent
problems with angina usually at night - problem is, everytime I rang NHS Direct for advice I
ended up in ambulance to Hull Royal infermary - I had about 5 or 6 "away days" - I think
I have things under control now, just need to be careful what work I do outside (see third
reason for long pause below) also I need to keep warm whilst working outside.

Third reason for delays - I decided to get rid of a large garden 'shed' (actually an old railway
trackside building - 18 feet long by 9 feet wide - all large wooden beams and corrugated Iron
roofing) - I had hoped to give it away in the hope that somebody would dismantle it for me -
but in the end I had to make a start dismantling it on my own - it was overworking on this in
the cold weather that caused the angina problems! - somebody did eventually complete the
dismantling and took it away. Once the shed was removed there was a lot of tidying up to do
-arranging for the building of a long section of garden fence and the rebuilding of a brick wall
I took the opportunity whilst all this was going on, to get a concrete pad laid so that I could
buy myself a greenhouse!

Situation is that the greenhouse is now assmbled, 'glassed' and ready for action - so in between
planting this years veggies and a few flowers it's back to the mermaid build!

Have you followd my story so far?

Last week I completed the decking on the mermaid - mahogany planks 1mm x 3mm glued to the
balsa deck - so far I have given the planks about 5 or 6 coats of yacht varnish rubbing each coat
down with wet and dry.

Next few days I shall post pictures of the mermaid in her current state - the boat can't be far
off her maiden voyage now!

TTFN

Richard

Perhaps I should bring you up-to-date on my Mermaid build (and own up to not
having properly finished it yet! http://model-boats.com/sys_files/graphics/smileys/026.png)

Various other jobs seem to have 'got in the way' - gardening, new greenhouse,
talking my self into new project (Mountfleet Puffer), buying new car etc. etc.

The boat is generally complete - still haven't really finished the hull painting
although I did run it on Goole MBCs pond a few weeks back. it goes like stink
with the Hobbyking 1000kv Brushless Motor and 7.2v NiMh battery pack and
shows very long run times.

two (minor) problems - it was very twitchy on the rudder set-up I first installed -
I have reduced the rudder throw to make the driving easier.
To be fair the boat did turn very smartly without any sign of wanting to turn over -
the hull is very light and all the 'heavy bits' are generally in the centre of the boat
(both fore and aft and side to side) The battery is held in on a Velcro pad - this
was so that I could tweak the centre of gravity a bit if it proved to be a problem
but it seemed to OK from the start.

The boat is very noisy - mainly motor noise - this is probably since I haven't yet glazed
any of the cabin windows - I think I will also put some sound absorbing material inside the
hull level with motor and tucked away under the decking at each side.

I'll try and get some video next time I take it out

see pictures below

Richard

more photos of btushless motor Installation.