Fitted the cockpit inner deck support rails and framed the engine covers. Rear deck supports next.

Managed to fit the hinges to the engine covers today (but not attached to the boat yet) and I think they should work ok, as they work just being clamped on at the moment. Fine tuning once the deck is on properly). Won't be gluing it down till I've done all the preparation work inside, (motor / shaft mounts, floors etc. Slow progress at the moment with other jobs needing attention.

Started fitting some floors today, and fitted a centre lap/closer strip to the hatches. Before The bottom is put on, I'll drill large limber holes in the frames so that timber sealer can be flowed around in the under floor areas right up to the bow. I'll seal the bottoms of the floors before sheeting the bottom. I'll probably leave some access hatches in the sealed floor areas just to check things and air them out, although the sealer has an anti mould additive which will prevent any mushrooms growing. Shafts have supposedly arrived in the country, so that will allow me to do a bit more in the way of setting up.

Raining and cold today, so went for a drive (30km return) to our local huge Spotlight haberdashery (and tons of stuff you never thought about ) shop. Had a browse in the cloth department (hundreds to choose from) and found just the colour and type of cloth I was wanting. Bought some sponge type backing and matching cotton, and headed home to try my hand at small upholstery.

Made a sheet balsa seat frame for the front seat, set up the trusty 1975 Bernina (reading instructions for the hundredth time) and attempted a bit of knitting (had to keep resisting the urge to rev it to the red line with the foot throttle😁). After a few practice runs on some scrap bits, it was on to the real couch. Didn't work out too badly first time, so I left well enough alone, (now have experience for the rear seat😊) Should be nice and comfy for the driver, as it has a 3mm foam backing,- very plush😁

I also made a cover for the back of the seat which is trimmed with mahogany strips. The 'couch' cover was clamped at the front edge, then pulled back to the back/bottom crease and sewn through the balsa to pull it tight into the angle. it was then pulled up over the back, and contact glued to the rear of the back board and pinned in place. The clamps were removed from the front edge of the cushion and it was contact glued and re clamped. Stray side edges were contact glued and clamped as well. I could have made it slightly larger as it pulled in a bit with the stitching, (I'm no tailor) but you won't see the sides once it's all together and trimmed out. Stitching's a bit on the p..s, as I'm in dire need of new glasses.

Looking forward to the back seat, (😁) but that will be a bit more difficult, as I have to figure out how to arrange it over the motors. Might not be able to make it yet, until I find out where the motors will sit. Probably be more of a 'dickey seat' for kids

A bit more done today, more 'planks' on the rear deck, a mahogany cap strip on the seat rear partition (will show up better once varnished) and the 2 motor mount plates which have been recessed to lower the drive angle. Original had an open cockpit with the motor up by the windscreen, so the angle would have been easy to achieve.

A little bit more done re the flooring. Made the recessed mount plates, and the rear floors with provision for shaft gluing. They will have tight fitting balsa blocks glued underneath to finally line the shafts up before epoxying them in. Bottom sheets will be drilled to slide over the shafts before gluing them down. The rear floors needed a bit of Origami work to fit them in, as they were larger than the hole. I marked them to be as large as possible, then scored the backs almost through, (with masking tape on the opposite sides to keep them lined up). They were then cracked and folded and inserted, then un folded inside. The motor mount and rear floors will be glued later, once everything is ready. Things look a bit rough at the moment, but trimming later will take care of that, (what I can't see, I don't waste a lot of time on)

Drilled out the 2 front bulkheads and the rear one for the motor plugs. I have also made runs for the wires from the rear compartment to the front, so the wiring will be up out of sight under the side decks. Looks a mess, as the ESCs are capable of running 2 motors each, and have a spare set of wires which need tying down to the floor eventually. I might run the on/off switches for the ESCs to small switches on the dash, to save having to open the rear hatches to switch things on and off.

Nothing is stuck down yet, as I'm just trial fitting some of the bits to see where it will balance. The 2 batteries will sit in small trays where they are now, and the ESCs should be ok where they are as well. As things are, the boat balances 2/3 back from the bow, which is about right.

Still have 2 pumps, (with assoc plumbing) hull to finish sheeting, rudders to make, shafts to fit and hull to glass etc. Not sure what the weight will be, but aiming for around 5-6lbs. As it is with most of the gear, (motors, ESCs, batteries, shafts, pumps it's 4lbs 12oz, so looking hopeful.

Glued in the motor mounts and lined up the shafts, using a small jig to give the correct height and separation from the centre line. Also made the 3mm motor mount screws easier to remove by using a 30mm screw, setting the nut at the proper distance (so screw does not to touch the stator) and cyano-ing it in position so it can be screwed in to the nut, which can then be tightened with a spanner.

I added heat shrink to the remainder of the screws to give the fingers something to grip on. I could use 3mm cap screws, but hate fiddling with tiny hex keys in confined spaces. This method works well and makes it easy to find the threads in the motors. Still have to fill up around the shafts with balsa supports, as the floors don't sit on the bottom. I can tack the jig onto the keel to hold the shafts in place, then flip the hull over to add wedge material round the shafts from the bottom. This is a bit of fun, as the model was not designed to have twin motors and has involved a bit of experimenting and a lot of chainsaw work.😁

Glued in the rear floors and the shaft tube guides, after tacking the shaft tube positioning jig temporarily to the keel. This was the only way to set the shaft tubes, due to the gap between the floor and the bottom. The 10x10 square balsa guides sit proud of the bottom, and will be sanded flush when dry, so the bottom sheets will sit flat on them. Shafts will be epoxied in later, once hull is glassed and oiler tubes soldered on. Seat and its' back cover is removable to enable shaft tubes to be inserted from the front through the motor mounts.

The rudders have been made, and the rudder tube support blocks built up. They will be topped with balsa, to be sanded flush as well. Inside of the hull has been coated with Randolf (US) Butyrate aircraft dope to seal it, (will use resin anti mould sealer below the waterline later once glassed) The good thing about doping first, is that you can still use balsa/UHU etc - solvent type glues if anything else needs attaching, as it blends with the glues. The reason I've done this, is that some areas won't be accessible once the deck is on, so at least they have water protection (not that they should need it hopefully once glassed). Easy to paint over as well.

Made the rudder tillers and link bar, drilled the rudder tube support blocks for the tubes and drilled out the props today. Slowly getting there. Bit too cold to be doing much at night, as we are getting a polar blast from the South Island at the moment, with a small amount of sun during the day. The fingers don't work well in the cold.