Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
Followers (5)
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
My Kopy Kommander was pictured in action at our Southport Club Open Day this week by a visiting member of the Bury Metro Model Boat Club.
Thanks for the picture Ken - that is a great action shot 👍
Photo credit Ken Mears.
Sunday 24th August 2025.
Thanks for the picture Ken - that is a great action shot 👍
Photo credit Ken Mears.
Sunday 24th August 2025.
Never too old to learn
Liked by Madwelshman and ChrisF and
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
After much testing with various battery locations I have decided to revert back the the original placement - because the boat actually drives (sails?) so much better with them mounted on either side of the motor.
When mounted on either side under the cockpit, the boat did not feel as stable and it did not “ride” as well.
With only one battery placed across the back of the compartment under the cockpit the boat felt even less stable and felt as if it needed some ballast adding to the front to help it “sit” down in the water better.
No battery position affected the hulls action of wanting to “dig-in” at the bows or attempting to “dive” when turning sharply at speed into choppy water or a large wake, so this is a characteristic of the boat that I am happy to live with.
….. but I have previously made some adjustable trim tabs for use on a really fast boat that I used with some success that have given me some “food for thought” ….but I am not so sure that they would look “right” on a Sea Commander……….
When mounted on either side under the cockpit, the boat did not feel as stable and it did not “ride” as well.
With only one battery placed across the back of the compartment under the cockpit the boat felt even less stable and felt as if it needed some ballast adding to the front to help it “sit” down in the water better.
No battery position affected the hulls action of wanting to “dig-in” at the bows or attempting to “dive” when turning sharply at speed into choppy water or a large wake, so this is a characteristic of the boat that I am happy to live with.
….. but I have previously made some adjustable trim tabs for use on a really fast boat that I used with some success that have given me some “food for thought” ….but I am not so sure that they would look “right” on a Sea Commander……….
Never too old to learn
Liked by Madwelshman and Len1
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
I came to the same conclusion as yourself Chris - the Sea Commander was never designed to run quite as fast as I am running the Kopy Kommander - but I have seen videos of Sea Commander’s (and Sea Queens) being driven at unrealistically high speeds and they appear to be running very well.
Maybe they also dig in at the bows if turned violently?….or maybe because they don’t have any strakes they just side slide and don’t dig-in ?
The fact that the Sea Commander comes with a “wave deflector” in the design kind of suggests that the boat is handling exactly as it is designed and expected to do?
The natural buoyancy of the hull will never allow it to actually go completely under-water (like the ED Krack-A -Long was designed to do) and when the water is deflected over the decks and front cabin it does look very impressive. I could imagine a real ocean going boat handling in same way in rough seas ?
This in turn makes me wonder why the larger version of the same boat (Sea Queen) does not have a wave deflector.
I have a Sea Queen to restore - and I think I will add a wave deflector to it - because it looks “right” and I have witnessed it working well on my Kopy Kommander.
Maybe they also dig in at the bows if turned violently?….or maybe because they don’t have any strakes they just side slide and don’t dig-in ?
The fact that the Sea Commander comes with a “wave deflector” in the design kind of suggests that the boat is handling exactly as it is designed and expected to do?
The natural buoyancy of the hull will never allow it to actually go completely under-water (like the ED Krack-A -Long was designed to do) and when the water is deflected over the decks and front cabin it does look very impressive. I could imagine a real ocean going boat handling in same way in rough seas ?
This in turn makes me wonder why the larger version of the same boat (Sea Queen) does not have a wave deflector.
I have a Sea Queen to restore - and I think I will add a wave deflector to it - because it looks “right” and I have witnessed it working well on my Kopy Kommander.
Never too old to learn
Liked by Madwelshman and ChrisF and
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
You don't think you're being too harsh on the poor old girl do you Bob! I know the Rapier is performing exceptionally but with the KK you are asking it to do things it was never designed for and in a similar full-sized boat, scalewise, you would never be travelling at such high speeds and executing sharp turns under power.
In the video you showed earlier it looked to be running nicely and at a scalelike speed. I know you are a bit of a speedfreak though! 😀
Funnily enough when undertaking lake trials with the Huntsman 28 a few weeks ago I had some occasions when the boat dug in on tight turns into choppy water. I can only guess that the water was getting above the chine rail and pushing the bow down or grabbing it? I don't really want to do too much to it though as the boat sits nicely on the water and I can't really move the battery any further back, though I could add some ballast though. Anyway I will finish the build and see how it performs again. I'm not too worried as I know about it and will just drive it accordingly.
In the video you showed earlier it looked to be running nicely and at a scalelike speed. I know you are a bit of a speedfreak though! 😀
Funnily enough when undertaking lake trials with the Huntsman 28 a few weeks ago I had some occasions when the boat dug in on tight turns into choppy water. I can only guess that the water was getting above the chine rail and pushing the bow down or grabbing it? I don't really want to do too much to it though as the boat sits nicely on the water and I can't really move the battery any further back, though I could add some ballast though. Anyway I will finish the build and see how it performs again. I'm not too worried as I know about it and will just drive it accordingly.
Scratch building 7 Faireys at a scale of 1:12
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
Test conclusions?
There are no definitive conclusions to be had just yet as it was still possible for me to cause the boat to attempt a dive into the water with the LiPo’s mounted in any configuration.
As it stands, the Kopy Kommander can be turned violently at speed into its own wake or into a choppy water surface to cause it to “dig-in”
This happens quite suddenly as the boat can be seen to be planing along at speed looking very secure and stable and shrugging-off the conditions easily - but a sharp turn at speed can cause the bows to dive down into the water rather than continuing to ride above it.
There are no definitive conclusions to be had just yet as it was still possible for me to cause the boat to attempt a dive into the water with the LiPo’s mounted in any configuration.
As it stands, the Kopy Kommander can be turned violently at speed into its own wake or into a choppy water surface to cause it to “dig-in”
This happens quite suddenly as the boat can be seen to be planing along at speed looking very secure and stable and shrugging-off the conditions easily - but a sharp turn at speed can cause the bows to dive down into the water rather than continuing to ride above it.
Never too old to learn
Liked by zooma
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
The Kopy Kommander was tested today with the LiPo batteries moved back from being held in custom made “holsters” on either side of the motor into the compartment behind the engine bay under the cockpit.
For this test the power lead from the ESC was re-made and threaded through a pair of holes that were bored into the bulkhead that seperated the engine bay and the cockpit areas.
As this was only a test the LiPos were secured with Velcro strips to the bottom of the hull inside the cockpit.
It was quickly noted that the boat raised up onto the plane even faster that it did previously and my “observer” claimed that the boat was quicker too!
The boat did not feel as “stable” as it did previously and gave me the feeling that it was resting on top of the water rather than travelling through it.
A second test only had one LiPo cell in the cockpit section and one returned to the engine bay, with one cell on each side of the hull.
This configuration felt very strange as if the boat wanted to corkscrew its way along in a twisted motion.
The final test saw only one LiPo being carried, and this was mounted across the rear of the cockpit floor, and in this format the boat felt a little more unstable - like it needed to carry a little more ballast to help it sit “in” the water rather than being sat on the top of it!
For this test the power lead from the ESC was re-made and threaded through a pair of holes that were bored into the bulkhead that seperated the engine bay and the cockpit areas.
As this was only a test the LiPos were secured with Velcro strips to the bottom of the hull inside the cockpit.
It was quickly noted that the boat raised up onto the plane even faster that it did previously and my “observer” claimed that the boat was quicker too!
The boat did not feel as “stable” as it did previously and gave me the feeling that it was resting on top of the water rather than travelling through it.
A second test only had one LiPo cell in the cockpit section and one returned to the engine bay, with one cell on each side of the hull.
This configuration felt very strange as if the boat wanted to corkscrew its way along in a twisted motion.
The final test saw only one LiPo being carried, and this was mounted across the rear of the cockpit floor, and in this format the boat felt a little more unstable - like it needed to carry a little more ballast to help it sit “in” the water rather than being sat on the top of it!
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
The two hard cases LiPo batteries have been moved back in the hull and are now in the next compartment under the cockpit.
I carry two batteries side by side, but I nearly always run with just the one connected.
Having one battery on each side means that the unused one acts as a counterweight for the other.
If a boat needs to carry any ballast, I like it to be useful (if possible) and not just “dead weight”, and by laying a battery on each side of the keel, I also get the weight as low as possible.
Today I will be performance testing the hull to see if the rearward shift of the batteries has stopped the boat wanting to dive when under power on choppy water following a sharp high speed turn.
I have left enough wire to also carry just the one battery across the rear of the cockpit floor, so that is another test that can be completed easily this morning to see what works best - and to find out if carrying less ballast has any improvement or detrimental effect on the boat’s performance and handling.
I carry two batteries side by side, but I nearly always run with just the one connected.
Having one battery on each side means that the unused one acts as a counterweight for the other.
If a boat needs to carry any ballast, I like it to be useful (if possible) and not just “dead weight”, and by laying a battery on each side of the keel, I also get the weight as low as possible.
Today I will be performance testing the hull to see if the rearward shift of the batteries has stopped the boat wanting to dive when under power on choppy water following a sharp high speed turn.
I have left enough wire to also carry just the one battery across the rear of the cockpit floor, so that is another test that can be completed easily this morning to see what works best - and to find out if carrying less ballast has any improvement or detrimental effect on the boat’s performance and handling.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
When I compared the Kopy Kommander alongside my Rapier the revised battery position makes a lot of sense.
I am not sure why I didn’t position them under the cockpit (as I usually do on my classic model power boats)in the first place, but at the time I liked the idea of housing the motor, ESC and batteries together in the “engine room”, but this has probably given a too far forward centre of gravity.
The overall size of the LesRo Rapier compared to the Kopy Kommander is interesting, but the approximate proportions are about the same, so the relocated position of the battery weight should help to balance the boat in a similar way.
The Rapier battery retaining method is shown in the picture on the left.
I may devise something like this for the Kopy Kommander as the “retaining strap” secures the batteries firmly, but is easy to unscrew and remove thanks to the threaded insert secured in the central divider.
I am not sure why I didn’t position them under the cockpit (as I usually do on my classic model power boats)in the first place, but at the time I liked the idea of housing the motor, ESC and batteries together in the “engine room”, but this has probably given a too far forward centre of gravity.
The overall size of the LesRo Rapier compared to the Kopy Kommander is interesting, but the approximate proportions are about the same, so the relocated position of the battery weight should help to balance the boat in a similar way.
The Rapier battery retaining method is shown in the picture on the left.
I may devise something like this for the Kopy Kommander as the “retaining strap” secures the batteries firmly, but is easy to unscrew and remove thanks to the threaded insert secured in the central divider.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
Following my worrying experience with the Kopy Kommander on choppy waters last weekend where it wanted to dive under power following tight fast turning manoeuvres I have decided to relocate the two 7600mah 2C LiPo cells to change the balance of the boat.
The picture on the left shows the boat as it is now with the LiPo batteries slotted into their “sockets”, one either side of the motor.
My plan is to move them back and out of the engine compartment and into the next rearward compartment under the cockpit floor.
This will move the balance of the boat more towardss the stern in the hope that this will prevent the boat’s desire to dig its bows into the water under certain conditions.
The second picture shows the two cells in their proposed position under the cockpit floor.
The picture on the left shows the boat as it is now with the LiPo batteries slotted into their “sockets”, one either side of the motor.
My plan is to move them back and out of the engine compartment and into the next rearward compartment under the cockpit floor.
This will move the balance of the boat more towardss the stern in the hope that this will prevent the boat’s desire to dig its bows into the water under certain conditions.
The second picture shows the two cells in their proposed position under the cockpit floor.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
This picture shows the Surpass 150amp fan cooled ESC with the matching Surpass 3674 - 1580KV in-runner brushless motor - currently fitted with a water jacket.
Seen here fitted in the Kopy Kommander on a water cooled motor mount fully plumbed together.
The Surpass ESC provides forwards and reverse speed control but seems to “surge” a little as the throttle is opened from a fast pace to full speed.
Seen here fitted in the Kopy Kommander on a water cooled motor mount fully plumbed together.
The Surpass ESC provides forwards and reverse speed control but seems to “surge” a little as the throttle is opened from a fast pace to full speed.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
Thanks Chris, that will give Ian the answer he needs much sooner!
I will add a picture showing the Supass fan cooled 150amp ESC with the matching Surpass 3674 - 1580KV brushless motor.
When I get around to giving this boat a decent paint finish (painting is not exactly my strong point !), I will ask you to remind me where you bought your coach paint.
I also have my Swordsman to finish, and that will need the same paint as yours !
I will add a picture showing the Supass fan cooled 150amp ESC with the matching Surpass 3674 - 1580KV brushless motor.
When I get around to giving this boat a decent paint finish (painting is not exactly my strong point !), I will ask you to remind me where you bought your coach paint.
I also have my Swordsman to finish, and that will need the same paint as yours !
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
This is the first model that I have not used a water cooled ESC on Ian, and is the first one that has a reverse . I chose to use a fan cooled Surpass 150amp ESC and so far it has run cool enough.
This is also my first build using an in-runner motor. The water jacket that I slid over the motor has covered the markings so at this moment I cannot tell you what type it is other than that it is a Surpass motor.
The slide on water jacket is sealed at each end by an “O” ring that I greased with petroleum jelly to help it slide on and to help the seal remain water tight, but in practice I have found that it has a slight weep, so I re-routed the water cooling from the pick-up to the motor mount and then directly to the outlet nozzle to bypass the water jacket.
When I remove the motor to take off the water jacket I will be able to see any markings that are on the motor and let you know what type it is.
This is also my first build using an in-runner motor. The water jacket that I slid over the motor has covered the markings so at this moment I cannot tell you what type it is other than that it is a Surpass motor.
The slide on water jacket is sealed at each end by an “O” ring that I greased with petroleum jelly to help it slide on and to help the seal remain water tight, but in practice I have found that it has a slight weep, so I re-routed the water cooling from the pick-up to the motor mount and then directly to the outlet nozzle to bypass the water jacket.
When I remove the motor to take off the water jacket I will be able to see any markings that are on the motor and let you know what type it is.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
Looks great and always good to see one running in the water. I am about to embark on another model and I would be interested to learn what motor etc you have used as it seems to push the craft along very well. Do you have reverse on it? Cheers Ian
Ian Langley
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
I have just been given this short video of the first sea trial of the Kopy Kommander being run at a medium pace to bed everything in. This is the first time that the hull had been put in the water..
Never too old to learn
Liked by thadlietz and Mike Stoney and
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
I am fairly certain that the location of the battery pack(s) in the average Sea Commander - that is being driven well within its intended design comfort zone- would make very little difference.
It has a very buoyant and stable hull that works well in most conditions.
Most Sea Commander owners that I have seen enjoying their boats over the last 50 - 60 years would not risk their models in rough waters, and very few drive them very fast.
It is only the combination of high speed on choppy water combined with tight turns that makes the weight distribution a bit more critical in this particular hull, and I am confident that when I get it right it will be much improved.
It has a very buoyant and stable hull that works well in most conditions.
Most Sea Commander owners that I have seen enjoying their boats over the last 50 - 60 years would not risk their models in rough waters, and very few drive them very fast.
It is only the combination of high speed on choppy water combined with tight turns that makes the weight distribution a bit more critical in this particular hull, and I am confident that when I get it right it will be much improved.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
Today saw the return of calm waters to the lake and my wife Sue to act as an observer .
With the lake devoid of any other craft I powered the Kopy Kommander at speed through a series of opposing high speed turns back on its own wake until I was able to replicate the nose diving effect that I experienced yesterday.
Convinced that Les Rowel had never intended his design to try to bury itself under water in this way I continued to try to find the reason for this worrying behaviour.
Sue suggested that the hull could be front heavy (I am sure I would have reached the same conclusion a few milliseconds later !).
I carry a pair of 7600 LiPo battery packs low in the engine compartment, one on each side of the motor (on their sides mounted in slots) to equalise the left/right balance of the hull.
One additional spare pack was placed in the next compartment under the open cockpit floor and during similar testing the diving effect was reduced.
By placing the spare pack on the floor of the rear cabin (beside the rudder servo) the effect was reduced still further.
When I get home next and can get into the workshop I will relocate and mount the pair of 7600mah LiPo packs further back in the hull as this should help to resolve this problem.
Shown here are a couple of pictures of the non-standard triangular strips I cut and added to the bottom skins to act as strakes.
With the lake devoid of any other craft I powered the Kopy Kommander at speed through a series of opposing high speed turns back on its own wake until I was able to replicate the nose diving effect that I experienced yesterday.
Convinced that Les Rowel had never intended his design to try to bury itself under water in this way I continued to try to find the reason for this worrying behaviour.
Sue suggested that the hull could be front heavy (I am sure I would have reached the same conclusion a few milliseconds later !).
I carry a pair of 7600 LiPo battery packs low in the engine compartment, one on each side of the motor (on their sides mounted in slots) to equalise the left/right balance of the hull.
One additional spare pack was placed in the next compartment under the open cockpit floor and during similar testing the diving effect was reduced.
By placing the spare pack on the floor of the rear cabin (beside the rudder servo) the effect was reduced still further.
When I get home next and can get into the workshop I will relocate and mount the pair of 7600mah LiPo packs further back in the hull as this should help to resolve this problem.
Shown here are a couple of pictures of the non-standard triangular strips I cut and added to the bottom skins to act as strakes.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
I braved the poor conditions this weekend and ran the Kopy Kommander at speed on the choppy Southport Club water.
The boat was fast and handled the conditions very well- until I noticed that under certain fast turning conditions that the bow was inclined to drop and dive into the water in an attempt to sub-marinate !
With plenty of power available I was able to drive the boat forward and down deeper into the water.
The natural buoyancy of the hull kept it afloat and the slightly exaggerated “wave breaker” shape that the Kopy Kommander has on its sloped front cabin broke the wave as it rolled over the cabin tops and decks.
The amount of water that rolled over the top of the boat gave me some concern.
I immediately launched my equally fast Rapier over the same choppy water at the same speed and executed the same very sharp fast turns - and nothing happened!
The Rapier tore around the lakes same choppy waters like they were as smooth as a mill pond.
Very violent sharp left and right turns and reverse turns over its own wake refused to unsettle the Rapier, so I checked over the Kopy Kommander and subjected it to the same treatment.
The Kopy Kommander did not cope anything like as well and was in danger of either sinking by being powered under the water or even being damaged by the force and weight of the water that it was being forced into rather than riding over it as I would have expected it to.
The boat was fast and handled the conditions very well- until I noticed that under certain fast turning conditions that the bow was inclined to drop and dive into the water in an attempt to sub-marinate !
With plenty of power available I was able to drive the boat forward and down deeper into the water.
The natural buoyancy of the hull kept it afloat and the slightly exaggerated “wave breaker” shape that the Kopy Kommander has on its sloped front cabin broke the wave as it rolled over the cabin tops and decks.
The amount of water that rolled over the top of the boat gave me some concern.
I immediately launched my equally fast Rapier over the same choppy water at the same speed and executed the same very sharp fast turns - and nothing happened!
The Rapier tore around the lakes same choppy waters like they were as smooth as a mill pond.
Very violent sharp left and right turns and reverse turns over its own wake refused to unsettle the Rapier, so I checked over the Kopy Kommander and subjected it to the same treatment.
The Kopy Kommander did not cope anything like as well and was in danger of either sinking by being powered under the water or even being damaged by the force and weight of the water that it was being forced into rather than riding over it as I would have expected it to.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
The Kopy Kommader was compared directly alongside a fellow club member’s genuine vintage kit built Sea Commander - and its dimensions and overall shape compared well enough for it be recognised as a Sea Commander, so I was really pleased about this as I had not had a genuine model to refer to when I was building it.
The boat ran on a two cell 7600mah LiPo battery and gave a sparkling performance.
To please my eye, I like my “classic powerboats” to rise easily up onto the plane and to generate nice amounts of white water.
The Kopy Kommander certainly “picks her skirts up” and rises very quickly onto the plane (possibly helped by those non/standard strakes?) and makes a nice amount of “white water” so I could not have wished for a better first test session with my new copy Sea Commander.
The boat ran on a two cell 7600mah LiPo battery and gave a sparkling performance.
To please my eye, I like my “classic powerboats” to rise easily up onto the plane and to generate nice amounts of white water.
The Kopy Kommander certainly “picks her skirts up” and rises very quickly onto the plane (possibly helped by those non/standard strakes?) and makes a nice amount of “white water” so I could not have wished for a better first test session with my new copy Sea Commander.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
First “sea trials” took place on the Southport Club lake recently and were generally quite successful.
Like the Rapier, I glued some small magnets inside the rear compartment to hold some basic tools to enable me to make waterside adjustments if needed.
I quickly discovered that the in-runner motor does not develop as much torque as the similar sized our-runner I had used on the Rapier, so I dropped the prop size from a 50X down to a smaller size (45S) until the boat “felt” right and run smoothly.
The onboard tools were all I needed to change the prop easily and remove the shaft to adjust and apply some lithium grease to the prop shaft before refitting it and adjusting the end float to be as tight as possible without binding. This also stopped any water creeping up the shaft into the engine compartment.
At the same time the rudder shaft was also removed and greased and I cut and fitted some very thin slices of the silicone tube I was using for water cooling to act as additional seals on either end of the rudder shaft and the prop shaft.
These “seals” were also “knocked-up” on the spot at the waters edge and were a very tight fit that needed some “encouragement” to get them onto the shafts, but once in place they added an extra layer of water sealing that I wanted to experiment with.
Like the Rapier, I glued some small magnets inside the rear compartment to hold some basic tools to enable me to make waterside adjustments if needed.
I quickly discovered that the in-runner motor does not develop as much torque as the similar sized our-runner I had used on the Rapier, so I dropped the prop size from a 50X down to a smaller size (45S) until the boat “felt” right and run smoothly.
The onboard tools were all I needed to change the prop easily and remove the shaft to adjust and apply some lithium grease to the prop shaft before refitting it and adjusting the end float to be as tight as possible without binding. This also stopped any water creeping up the shaft into the engine compartment.
At the same time the rudder shaft was also removed and greased and I cut and fitted some very thin slices of the silicone tube I was using for water cooling to act as additional seals on either end of the rudder shaft and the prop shaft.
These “seals” were also “knocked-up” on the spot at the waters edge and were a very tight fit that needed some “encouragement” to get them onto the shafts, but once in place they added an extra layer of water sealing that I wanted to experiment with.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
As an ic engine user from the 1960’s my Rapier restoration gave me my first experience of using electric motor power.
I used an out-runner in that model and it performed better than I remember my 10cc glow engines doing, so for the Kopy Kommander I decided to try an in-runner motor this time.
As I had fitted a water cooled engine mount I thought I would slide on a water cooled water jacket over the motor so I could cool them both at the same time.
Unlike the Rapier where I used a 180amp water cooled ESC, I decided to try a 150amp non water cooled ESC in this model as I am still learning and want to experiment with all the options at this stage.
Using 5mm gold sockets to make all the joints, everything was wired-up and bench tested before its first “sea trial”
I used an out-runner in that model and it performed better than I remember my 10cc glow engines doing, so for the Kopy Kommander I decided to try an in-runner motor this time.
As I had fitted a water cooled engine mount I thought I would slide on a water cooled water jacket over the motor so I could cool them both at the same time.
Unlike the Rapier where I used a 180amp water cooled ESC, I decided to try a 150amp non water cooled ESC in this model as I am still learning and want to experiment with all the options at this stage.
Using 5mm gold sockets to make all the joints, everything was wired-up and bench tested before its first “sea trial”
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
Once the bottom skin had been fitted I added a 5mm prop shaft and an alloy motor mount with a water cooling facility.
Without the side skins fitted it was easy see from both sides (and above) to align the in-runner motor with the shaft using a solid bar that was the same length as the coupling I intended using.
Once this was all fitted solidly I fitted the side skins and decks followed by a laminated pair of deck edge and chine edge strips.
I had previously cut some triangular strakes to fit my Rapier restoration and had been very impressed with the performance and “look” of them, so I couldn’t resist fitting some to the bottom skins of this Kopy Kommander as well.
When restoring my classic power boats I like to use traditional methods and since household paint would have probably been brushed on to most of these early model boats I found some oil based paints in red, white and blue to use.
Unfortunately the only thing I could find at the time was “non-drip” paint of this type.
The good thing about these thixothermic paints is that when they are stirred they cease to be “non-drip” and can be brushed on as normal paint.
I mixed some of the blue and white paint to give a contrasting paler blue deck colour to finish the colour scheme.
Without the side skins fitted it was easy see from both sides (and above) to align the in-runner motor with the shaft using a solid bar that was the same length as the coupling I intended using.
Once this was all fitted solidly I fitted the side skins and decks followed by a laminated pair of deck edge and chine edge strips.
I had previously cut some triangular strakes to fit my Rapier restoration and had been very impressed with the performance and “look” of them, so I couldn’t resist fitting some to the bottom skins of this Kopy Kommander as well.
When restoring my classic power boats I like to use traditional methods and since household paint would have probably been brushed on to most of these early model boats I found some oil based paints in red, white and blue to use.
Unfortunately the only thing I could find at the time was “non-drip” paint of this type.
The good thing about these thixothermic paints is that when they are stirred they cease to be “non-drip” and can be brushed on as normal paint.
I mixed some of the blue and white paint to give a contrasting paler blue deck colour to finish the colour scheme.
Never too old to learn
Kopy Kommander (Sea Commander).
I recently completed the challenge of building a Sea Commander from a pair of cabin sides that had been taken from an old model that had been broken-up.
The cabin sides were both delaminated and each had a small section (different each side) cut away for another unknown purpose.
After repairing the delaminated areas and cutting new wood to fill the voids I set about using them as the base for my own Sea Commander - one of the few Aerokits kits that I had never owned or built previously.
I used mostly new birch plywood to make a new keel and bulkheads from.
A used Sea Commander plan was found and bought from eBay, so this c gave me an accurate shape to work from for anything drawn as a side profile, so the keel and doublers were known to be exactly right.
The plan view gave me the width for the bulkheads and the side profile gave me the height, so I free-lanced the bulkhead shapes within these dimensions - and they worked out OK.
Other shapes could be seen or worked-out, but once I got the stringers fitted I mainly just did my own thing and merrily chopped out shapes on my bandsaw after making symmetric (folded on centreline) shapes from old cereal packets.
The end result was a completed frame ready for skinning with thin marine ply.
Once the deck lines were checked to make sure that they flowed smoothly (I have seen a lot of Sea Commanders and Sea Queens wobbly deck edges) I fitted the bottom skin
The cabin sides were both delaminated and each had a small section (different each side) cut away for another unknown purpose.
After repairing the delaminated areas and cutting new wood to fill the voids I set about using them as the base for my own Sea Commander - one of the few Aerokits kits that I had never owned or built previously.
I used mostly new birch plywood to make a new keel and bulkheads from.
A used Sea Commander plan was found and bought from eBay, so this c gave me an accurate shape to work from for anything drawn as a side profile, so the keel and doublers were known to be exactly right.
The plan view gave me the width for the bulkheads and the side profile gave me the height, so I free-lanced the bulkhead shapes within these dimensions - and they worked out OK.
Other shapes could be seen or worked-out, but once I got the stringers fitted I mainly just did my own thing and merrily chopped out shapes on my bandsaw after making symmetric (folded on centreline) shapes from old cereal packets.
The end result was a completed frame ready for skinning with thin marine ply.
Once the deck lines were checked to make sure that they flowed smoothly (I have seen a lot of Sea Commanders and Sea Queens wobbly deck edges) I fitted the bottom skin
Never too old to learn
Liked by Mike Stoney and zooma and
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