Evening folks, I have done a few hours today, the modified 5mm ply keel has been made and the shaft threaded. The photos show the basic layout,(see drawing earlier in the thread). I can now finalise the position of the outer bearing bracket and crack on making that. I aim to make a brass lower bearing for the rudder from the length of 3/8" square brass shown in the photo, I will machine the width to 5/16" then run a 5mm slot up the center of the bar so there will be a decent length running forward to reinforce the rather narrow ply. The shaft support/bearing will be silver soldered to the brass keel reinforcement and with luck I will end up with a nice strong structure. Once I have finished the cylinder boring job that is occupying the mill I will set to with the keel piece and shaft support. I hope the above notes are understandable, all will be revealed soon..

A little progress has been made! I haven't started properly yet due to lack of space, there is no room in my workshop for a boat this size. I have now created a workspace in an unused airing cupboard so battle can commence. I will attend to the rest of the brass fabrication work once the basic hull shape is formed as I need the whole drivetrain in place to be able to take accurate measurements. I have an Mtronics Hydra 30 1000kv motor and esc and will be using a 40mm 3 blade prop. This evening I got the box structure cut out, assembly tomorrow. Job should move along now I have a work area.. First photo shows my workshop, absolutely no room! The second and third show the converted airing cupboard and the 4th, Let battle commence!

Thanks, it will be getting a few coats of paint...

That's a nice piece of brass work, its a pity that these nice polished brass bits are underwater.

Hi Nick.
Good to see that you are making a start especially after a bout of illnesses!
You can bet you'll find your roll of soft iron wire while you're looking for something else. Such is the 'Law of Sod' 😉
Rob.

I have finally managed to make a start! I have had nearly 8 weeks of sickness, a bout of prostate trouble followed by a heavy chest infection topped off with a dose of covid. Better now except for the lingering post covid cough.
Anyway, first job, the rudder, fabricated from 1/16" brass sheet and 5/32 brass rod. Once cut out, the two slots were milled 2mm from the edge, leaving enough space for a good strong joint. Next a 1/16" slot the length of the rudder blank was milled into the 5/32" rod, due to my goggy eyesight it is slightly off center but not enough to make any difference. I can't silver solder them together yet as I need some soft iron wire to bind them together whilst being soldered. For those that didn't know silver solder will not bond to soft iron wire. I have a roll somewhere but can't find it, so Amazon to the rescue!

Thanks Rob. As far as shaft angle goes, nothing will be set in stone until all is assembled and lined up. I am going to use the 1000 kv brushless set up from Mtronics which uses an outrunner motor which I think are a bit shorter than brushed/ inrunners so hoping ai will all sit naturally before gluing.....

Hi Nick.
I really like the what you're doing with the keel/prop redesign, it will look really good and should work just fine.
You may find that reducing the propshaft angle will mean you have to move the motor location further into the cabin very slightly but that's of little consequence.
Rob.

I have some bronze bar for the bearing and 2mm brass sheet for the supports and rudder so it won't be a problem. The 3D printed one was for 'doing the sums' with....

Hi Nickthesteam
Should be a simple job to fabricate from some brass tube and sheet, silver soldered together.
dave976

Afternoon folks. Today I worked up my alterations needed for a scale appearance. All worked out well and a little tweking on assembly will see it right. I will need to make a new 5mm ply keel piece, brass keel strip, rudder and shaft support bearing. I was going to get the shaft support cast in brass or bronze but I think it will be a bit chunky so I will fabricate one.

Hi Nick as you can see you have a good source of information on completed boats, as for the plans yes mine were on two sheets, however you will see that mine are different to yours and Robs, but as Rob said it makes little difference as the "plans" are just a guide to general construction.
good look with the build
Michael

Nick.
The plans for the kit I built were also in two parts so they're no different. However they are good quality prints with no geometric distortions so they are easy to align and tape together, and you won't be building off the plan anyway. The CNC and laser cutting is extremely accurate so the parts fit well with little or no 'fettling'.
Robbob.

Hello Robbob, nice work I notice from your photo that you seem to have the original plans. Mine is drawn full size but is in two parts so will need joining...

Many thanks for the replies. First job is a bit of research, I want to give the running gear a more scale appearence, Make a rudder of the correct shape and add a skeg/shaft support, as per the photocopied ga drawing that came with the kit. I have been searching for more scale drawings but have so far drawn a blank. I do a bit of 3d printed patternmaking for a mate in the Midlands so I can mess about with skeg designs by 3D printing them ans once correct I will get it cast in bronze. I have a lathe and a mill so machining up the casting will be no problem..

Hi Nick.
The VMW kit is a great choice for your latest project and is very good value as mturpin013 has already said.
When I built mine I did some extensive research on the history of the boats, found some good pictures and also a few videos on BritishPathe of the boat in action which I found very helpful for detail.

Here are some links to the videos:

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/river-police-rescue/query/river+police+rescue
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/river-police-1/query/river+police
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/river-police-boat/query/river+police+boat
https://www.britishpathe.com/video/river-pilot/query/river+police+boat

I'll also be following your blog with great interest 👍😀.
Check my blog too 😀
https://model-boats.com/blogs/47891?sort=ASC
Robbob.

I have built this not long ago, its a great kit well worth the money.
If you need any help have a look ay my blog you may find some tips useful before you start the build. but don't hesitate to ask if you need any help

https://model-boats.com/blogs/78377