That is good news Martin, I hope you enjoy building it and sailing it.

Bob.

The lifeboat came part built with a full set of plans so all safe for future reference.

I have never had an Aerokits Lifeboat kit, Martin but it was a good find, and I hope you enjoy building it.

If you have time to copy all the bulkheads and major parts onto card to make templates for future reference you will be able to make another one in the future or share them with others who may like to build one too .

I will take a picture of the Sea Commander kit box that I bought as it seems so typical of most of the unbuilt original kits that still crop up for sale from time to time.

It is currently on a shelf under a work bench in my shed - along with a similar condition Aerokits Swordsman and LesRow Rapier kits.

The already pictured HMM Wavemaster and Aerokits Fast Patrol Lumch completes the unmade “oldies” kits that are awaiting my attention!

I bought a Aeroktis Solent lifeboat off e-bay and what’s left of the box is the same as you described!

This old Wavemaster kit was another “damp” original, but the wood was warped so badly that I cut all new parts, made the HMM building jig and built a complete new hull.

I have yet to build the superstructure, but all the parts are cut ready, and the original damp and warped parts have been left under a weight for some years and could now be used to build a genuine original HMM Wavemaster.

I noticed an unmade Aerokits Sea Commander kit for sale on eBay and ended up buying it !

This original kit probably dates from the early 1960’s, but could possibly be older.

What I don’t understand is why all old original kits that appear for sale on eBay all have water-stained boxes and labels - maybe they have all been stored in lofts or sheds that have suffered a small leak over their 50 or so years of storage?

I have bought several old original unmade Aerokits and LesRo kits over the years (from several different sellers) but they could have all been stored in the same leaky loft !

Only one (an H&M Wavemaster) had badly warped plywood components inside that needed re-cutting, but I always change the strip wood before building as it is generally of lower quality than currently available strip wood and has inevitably dried-out (despite the damp box!) over the years.

I always make a copy of every component as a thin cardboard template (usually from a cereal box!) so can preserve the original shapes for future posterity.

So yet another project joins the queue but I will enjoy building this one and comparing the bulkheads with those that I cut for the Kopy Kommander to show how close I got to the original shapes.