The PT Boat forum is a great source of information. I had joined that many years ago when researching which boat to model. I bought a well passed on 1/20 scale package (minimumly started) for $150 which included a fiberglass hull, deck, and structure.

This brings me to a point that should be mentioned. What version of the Elco 80ft PT boat are you building. Of the many hundreds of this class PT boat built, there is a great variety of configurations to choose from.

My ideas usually fall on the oddball, historic, and maybe a wild configuration. I did this with my Elco 77ft. I found the PT59, 60, and 61 were heavily modified while in the Pacific theater of operations and no longer carried topedoes but lots of weapons and armor.

The problem with picking the 61 was basically getting enough information, especially photos and drawings, to stay as accurate as possible.

I hope this helps getting you started.

Lew
Florida ⛱️, USA ❤️

Steve check out this site. Ton's of info.
http://www.pt103.com/PT_Boat_Specifications.html
Should answer prop questions.

Thanks for this, from the info I have I had worked out that the outer shafts to Keel should be close to 4 Ft, so the 4.375 could be correct.

Appreciate your time, the knowledge on this site is amazing.
Steve

Lew,
8.75 / 2 = 4.375 ? Mine was NEW math.
Thanks for the correction.😊

Take a look here.
https://www.ptboatforum.com/

8.75 / 2 = 4.375 ?

The shafts are parallel view from both the top and the side. However, they are not in alignment as the center shaft is located slightly aft ward.

Propellers on many model PT boats are usually larger than the tiny ones on the real boats. My boat is 1/20 scale (Elco 77 footer) and I use all three shafts. It does not get up on a plane which is OK because it is modified to be a "PT Gunboat" which was much heavier.

There are a number of the 1/24 scale Elco 80's out there including RTR's. (Look at Motion RC.)

Lew
Florida ☀️, USA 😎

The shafts should be parrallel to the keel. For spacing, based upon Al Ross's plans, if my measurements are correct, the shafts should be 8.75 feet apart, or 4.75 ft out from the keel.