Build blogs
Long-form project journals — follow builds from first cut to maiden voyage.
Builds by flaxbybuck
19 blogsKathryn - a Thames Bawley - 13
by flaxbybuck
Regretably I have decided to part company with Kathryn. The boat that is, not my wife. I am looking to dispose of the larger, less manage…
Brushless motor sync problems
by flaxbybuck
Can anyone help me with this issue please. Cabin cruiser 1m long; 4240 x 740 brushless motor; 5S lipo; 55mm prop. Cruised happily for 15 …
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 12
by flaxbybuck
I had intended posting videos of Kathryn under sail but cannot find out how to put videos onto the site. Can anyone help please ?
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 11
by flaxbybuck
Finishing details There are a few details to describe that could be of help to other builders. The first two pictures show the jib sheet …
To switch or not to switch ?
by flaxbybuck
I wrongly entered my last post in the 'how to' section where, it seems, you are unable to respond. So here is my query for which I am see…
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 10
by flaxbybuck
About the mainsail, topsail and large staysail. The gaff is lifted by the uphaul (Pic 1) with the halyard being tied off on a mast cleat …
Kathryn, a Thames Bawley - 9
by flaxbybuck
All about the masts, boom, gaff, sails and standing rigging. The standing rigging are those parts of the rigging such as shrouds, stays e…
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 8
by flaxbybuck
You will have gathered that I spent a lot of time planning how everything should be; where it should go; its size; the sequence of work t…
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 7
by flaxbybuck
My assistant in filming the operation of the sail winch is Kathryn, after whom the boat was named. Please see the attached videos. These …
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 6
by flaxbybuck
How the sheeting loop and rudder operate. Pic 1 shows the general layout as seen inside the hatch opening. Top left is the switch; mid le…
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 5
by flaxbybuck
Designing the sheeting loop was perhaps the most important single item beneath the deck. It needed very careful planning to make the trav…
Connectors
by flaxbybuck
My latest Turnigy brushless motor, a 4240, 740 has banana type plugs moulded on to the three leads which connect to the ESC. See picture.…
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 4
by flaxbybuck
This section of pictures is slightly out of order because prior to this stage I spent some time designing the internal installations. The…
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 3
by flaxbybuck
After doing a bit of research into Thames Bawleys I discovered they were built in a number of different lengths, and this enabled me to a…
Kathryn - A Thames Bawley - 2
by flaxbybuck
Amongst the model boat magazines from Ernie was a copy of Marine Modelling International, February 2010 in which Barrie Griffin had writt…
Kathryn - a Thames Bawley - 1
by flaxbybuck
In 2020 a fellow member of the Leeds & Bradford Model Boat Club, Ernest Birch, gave me a model of a Thames Bawley he had been making. He …
Sea Plane tenders
by flaxbybuck
Sea plane tenders have always attracted me. There is something very pleasing about the shape, and the jizz when on the water is wonderful…
Speedwell - auxiliary ketch
by flaxbybuck
How should I start to tell you about Speedwell ? I was 12 when I made her and the accompanying photo shows me with her some months later …
Restore or burn ?
by flaxbybuck
This is the story of Albert, a pond yacht made by an uncle in 1926 and given to me in 1959. The photos show how she looks now, and how it…