Hi y’all. If you remember I built a Robbe Paula III from an original Robbe kit last year as my “furlough” project. I ran it one time, was quite happy with the way she looked and handled. Then, as luck would have it my buddy Larry came over with an armload of kits and accessories and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Anyway, my buddy Fred had an unbuilt Paula IV in his stash, so I traded him my Billings Samson II for the Paula, some older brushed motors and a set of plans for a “kneeler” hydro. I was having issues with the windows in my Grimmershorn, so I put her aside to finish later and started on the Paula.
Now, the new Paula is a Krick/Robbe kit. There are several changes to the kit. Firstly the crane, if used and winch are setup different than the system in the Paula III, which I incorporated into my III with some success. The cabin of the IV is built up of machine cut plastic sheet, the windows are precut and framed. The original Paula used a tinted molded upper and lower cabin, the upper was then masked with the included masking and painted, leaving the windows clear once unmasked. The accessories and fittings are of good quality, but maybe just a little off compared to the original Robbe parts. Don’t think the hull is plura, standard, ( but well made and molded) abs.
I decided early on that I was NOT fitting the crane, nor would I use the standard 600 brushed motor. Instead, I opted for a 1700 kv brushless outrunner. I am adding lights, a working radar and another surprise that I will discuss later. I did the radar same as I did my first Paula, using a continuous rotation servo in an enlarged radar housing. This works a treat!!
It’s a fairly simple boat, I basically did the shaft, rudder and motor mount work in the hull, added the deck then started on the cabin. I’m doing paint now, once that’s complete it’s on to details and electronics.
Cash

I was able to get a bit done this week in regards to paint. I’m using a combo of Tamiya sprays and some of my “vintage” Krylon Fusion paint. The blue is the Fusion, and that can of paint is probably 6 or 7 years old. I truly wish Krylon had left this paint formula alone, and hadn’t “updated” it, as it’s the easiest to use rattle can paint I’ve come across. Their new formula isn’t bad, but more prone to run and doesn’t dry as quickly. Anyhow, it’s on to touchup, details and electronics next.

Here’s an off the cuff video of the Paula. I’ll do a better, more in depth one when she’s finished and buttoned up.....y’all might want to turn the volume down though🤣

I did a second video detailing the MR RCsounds module install and function.

Added a few more details after the maiden. I have a bad habit of not finishing up a boat after it’s maiden, but since I didn’t use the Paulas boom and winch I decided she needs a launch on deck for divers and salvage, plus some odds and ends.