Hi Doug
The mesh on my Taycol was flat so not surprising it sparked so much. A friend who exhibits vintage models etc has my motor on loan at present so I can't upload a pic. The special had extra coils so could be reversed by connecting the battery to one of two connectors to reverse the field coils. I see the extra holes are on your paxolin end formers. The extra field coils did make for a heavier motor but a simple relay could be used to reverse direction. This was a big bonus in the 1960's as the radio was not cheap and multi channels were not that common.
Happy days
dave976

Colin's Supermarine test vid - I hope.🤞
Have converted it to mp4 (twice, had to reduce the definition🤔)
Hurrah😀 seems to have woiked!
😎

Hi Dave,
"I did suspect that the modification to work with modern RC would have had a beneficial effect."
I recall that we had a discussion about this effect a few years back (2018, in your Dave M incarnation 😉) while I was restoring/modifying Colin's motor and my Target.
I guess you only had chunky germanium diodes available back in the sixties?
The early silicone diodes were relatively low current as I recall.

Have had a dig around and found some pics of the restoration and a short vid of a test run.
Attached a few Before and After pics.
Site rejected the test vid☹️ I'll try it in a separate post. (More time wasting. Grrr😠)
Unfortunately I have no vid of the pyrotechnics before the mods☹️
Cheers, Doug 😎

This is my Sea Commander which I built a few years ago. Brought her out a few days ago for a new prop and for Alice to re-battery and here she is on the lake earlier today.

Nerys

Hi Colin, great to see yet another of the classics restored and now getting some use. I hope that I am able to finish my own Sea Commander to such a good standard.

I agree with your comment regarding the battery weight. Whilst the speed may well be scale like, the boat does appear to sit fairly low in the water, so I believe that a lighter battery would definitely be a good call as it would increase freeboard.

Overall though, a great looking model, well done and time to enjoy it now. Will

Hi Doug
I did suspect that the modification to work with modern RC would have had a beneficial effect. Only wish the modern diodes were about when I was using my Special. I bet the bearings have made a great improvement although the speed I used to achieve resulted in a most satisfying whine but did require frequent lubrication of the oil pads on the solid bearings.
I agree it is a pleasure to see a Sea Commander and the motor all afloat and restored.
Cheers,
dave976

Hi Colin,
" I don't appear to get any sparking if the brushes are oiled correctly, only if allowed to dry out.
I did a test at night without light and no sparking."
There's a very good reason for that (or two😉)!
Mainly, the diode bridge that I used in the reverser box (to provide forward and reverse with a standard modern ESC) suppresses the sparks😊😀
I should have a test run video and scope traces somewhere (on an old PC) that show this effect. I'll rummage around.
Also I machined and polished the commutator and brush ends for the best possible continuous contact.
I trust that the ball races I fitted will also help to reduce friction and jack up the efficiency a little and thus reduce the current drain a bit 🤞

Very happy to hear (at last!😉) that my efforts (from a corroded 'block' to a humming motor) were not in vain.
Thanks for the credits in your posts 👍 I had fun doing it but was glad that I had previously practised on my Target.
My little Taycol Target which I converted before your Supermarine also does not spark.
I'll see if I still have the photos and test run videos that I made during the two conversions. Some info on the Target conversion is in my Sea Scout Jessica Blog in case anyone else is interested in going this route.
Very nice to finally see the Commander afloat.
Well done. Happy sailing.
BRAVO ZULU THAT MAN
Cheers, Doug 😎
PS to Dave976 (AKA Dave M) As far I know the brush mesh was from the 1960s. I certainly didn't change it, just cleaned 'em up and squared off the ends.

Hi Colin
Probably the modern mesh is better than I had in the 60's but good to hear you are running this motor
dave976

Great to see a positive outcome of your labours Colin

Good evening Dave, I don't appear to get any sparking if the brushes are oiled correctly, only if allowed to dry out.
I did a test at night without light and no sparking.
Cheers Colin.

Hi Colin
I have a Taycol Supermarine Special and it draws 5amps unloaded so I suspect yours will be similar. Under load this will increase to a higher level so a 4Ahr battery although lighter may not be suitable. A LiPo would be the best choice but a 12v Nimh at 5amps might be a suitable and lighter choice. The RFI from the Taycols was quite strong and in the early days of 27Mhz it was quite capable of disabling any models (including mine) on my local pond so I was usually made to sail when everyone else had finished. Modern 2.4Ghz sets seem fairly immune but your Esc could be affected so keep the signal and aerial wires well away from the battery and motor leads. I did have coils and suppressers fitted but the sparks were acting as a transmitter. Good to see a restored Sea Commander we have several in my club and they do bring back so many memories.
dave976

Hiya,

I had one of these Aerokits Sea Commanders back in around 1966. It had a 3.5cc diesel engine which was always really difficult to start. Sometimes had to come away from the pond without even getting a sail when it refused to start! In those days no easy to use electric motors and lightweight batteries! So in the end I sold it but I now wish that I still had it in order to convert it to electric! Lovely boat.

Looks really good Colin, seems to sit ok in the water, doesn't look too heavy. You are only running at displacement speed so I don't think it matters. A longer run time is probably more useful.

JB

She looks Great Colin👍👍
A Family Heirloom!!
It's nice that you have your family involved especially your grandson.
Trev

How wonderful Colin to see her on the water. Father builds her, son restores her, son brings her to the water and son sails her. How good is that
Rick