Hello everyone, just to let you know.

Those who follow this topic know that it covers all the construction and update phases of the 1:60 scale RC naval model.

The advantage of creating a single topic is consistency, but the major disadvantage is that (there are now thousands of posts) it's almost impossible to search and read old posts. It would take hours.

For this reason, I've decided to create a new topic for the update of the second navigation test, which took place on September 4, 2025.

Here I'll just link to that new topic.

forum/157027

Thank you so much for your appreciation, Thadlietz.
Yes, it seems like a very complex job for a small detail, but I was forced to.
I've done it on two other occasions for this model, where the piece was thin but prone to breakage.

Thank you very much Chum444, your words are much appreciated.

Bravo! So much work for a seemingly simple thing..... maybe you save one to make a mold of for a casting maybe? kind of sort of somehow carbon fibre/grp probably to small huh anyways BRAVO SIR!😮

mio amico, you have the patience of a saint & the tenacity of a bulldog. Incredibly well done.

Good evening, all ship modelers.

I'm way behind on my work, but I've gotten something done.

The goal was to build the lateral davits for the two lifeboats (already ready) to be positioned on the outside of the sides.
Since I don't have a pre-made plan to follow, I had to decide on the shape, size, and material to use for the davits.
The only thing I had foreseen in the initial design (which, however, didn't address all the details from the outset) was their position.

First, I roughly decided on the shape by looking at dozens of images and drawings, choosing those closest to the historical period in question.
I opted for a curved davit with a circular/elliptical cross-section.

Then I had to research the measurements.
As you can see in the hand sketches, I measured the distances needed based on the main ship and the dimensions of the lifeboats (for example: total height of the davits, maximum projection of the curved arm, distance from the side). For the maximum height, in addition to considering a harmonious appearance, I had to consider the overall dimensions of the hoists.

Regarding the thickness of the crane, I did some research and finally found the maximum and minimum diameters for the straight and curved tubes.

Regarding the material, I definitely ruled out wood due to the impossibility of making the curved part and its fragility.
Metals and plastics remained to be considered:

Metals or alloys:
I don't like iron because I'm always afraid it will rust.
Spring steel springs back into place, and it would have been very difficult for me to give it a curved shape and keep it there forever (unless I used a tie rod, like a bow).
Brass doesn't rust; it can be soldered, but it can bend (especially such a thin rod). It's easy for the crane to sustain accidental impacts, and I'd end up with brass cranes that were always bent or deformed.
External tinning or other heat treatment could have made the brass tube stiff and non-deformable.
However, I couldn't have tapered it. I don't have the right tools.

Plastics:
Years ago, I tried printing cranes from my own designs.
They resisted a light impact and returned to their original shape, but with a stronger impact, they broke easily. I found that the plastic materials used by 3D printers are unsuitable for this purpose, lacking the resilience (for such thin thicknesses).

In the end, I opted for a solution I'd already experimented with in the past.
In short, I create a multilayer of very thin plastic sheets, glued and overlapped.

As you can see from the screenshots, after several attempts, I found the shape that seemed most suitable (I mean, suitable in terms of size and composite curvature).
The tube is straight and untapered at the base (the part attached to the side), then curved and tapered, with its smallest diameter at the tip.
Essentially, the first part is a straight cylinder, the second is a curved truncated cone. The curvature is not a simple arc of circumference.
Once the solid was found, it was "sliced" with several parallel and equidistant surfaces.
The intersection of the solid and the cut surfaces generated various profiles.
The profiles were transferred to a PDF and printed.
Then cut out and glued onto sheets of transparent plastic.
The various profiles, joined with cyanoacrylate, recreated the shape of the initial solid (with good sanding, a circular/elliptical cross-section is obtained).
To draw a parallel with the world of electronics and telecommunications, it's as if an analog signal (the curved tube) were sampled and then reconstructed from the samples.
I repeat: I don't have the solid I designed printed directly because it would be too fragile and totally unsuitable for the purpose.

Now I've made two (of four) that still need to be refined and then colored.

The flaw in the structure is the paper. I can't avoid gluing it because it would be impossible to cut out the profile without the guide drawing. Each profile differs from the others by tenths of a millimeter.

There are practical construction details that I didn't want to delve into because they're very difficult to explain. Without certain precautions, however, the work will not succeed.

Thank you very much Duncan!

Thank you so much, Stevedownunder.

Fabulous little lifeboats. You are so clever with your hands. Well done!😊

Hi Alessandro,
Fantastic end result, beautiful little ships boats.

Cheers,
Stephen.