Hi Graham.
The "Bill sync" looks and sounds spot on now.
Well done 👍😀.
Rob.

Hi Martin, Doug,

No plans for a camera. I think PD Donald is finished now. He’s getting a bit heavy with the extras and I don’t want to find him diving and failing to resurface.

Graham93

"Knowing you, you will be working on a camera as the next upgrade"
I don't even want to think about where he might hide the lens Martin! 😮🙈
😎

Well done Graham,
Looks/sounds quack-on now 👍
Quacks, Doug 😎

Graham,
Knowing you, you will be working on a camera as the next upgrade.

Martin555.

he will be giving the swimmers heart attacks in the summer
brian😀

Rob,

"the lip sync, or 'Bill Sync' 😉 is just a gnats out"

Updated the 'Bill Sync'. It's better now. Whilst changing the timing in the controller was easy, the only way I could check if I had it right was to video the resulting action and then play the video one frame at a time. Took several attempts before I got it near enough. Very tedious, but worth it I think.

You can also see in the video one of the 'keels' I added to help with the steering.

Graham93

Brian,

We have a member at Buxton with a crocodile which can be submerged like a submarine. It also has one red and one green eye as 'navigation lights!

Graham93

Hi JB,

Glad you like it.

"Is the 'quack' from the same media player set-up as in the rowboat?"

Yes, it's the same basic module. Available from China for £2 or thereabouts. Needs a microSD card to store the sounds. A bit tricky to get working but seem to be reliable once correctly set up. I only have a single sound file on the duck version. There are 10 songs on the one in the rowing boat which play sequentially.

Graham93

have seen the crocodile heads bet you could have a lot of fun with one in summer when its hot and the boys are in the water😋

Hi Graham93, I'm in total agreement with all the comments on 'PD' this video brought me a BIG smile, but don't risk it in hunting season !! 🤣 😜 😄

Ouch !! 🤣 now your adding 'cheese' with the 'quackers' 😁😜😅

As JB implied...don't make Donald too realistic..
😂🤣

'Quacked' me up Graham, next minute it'll be diving for food😂. As Rob mentioned, it seems to steer a bit better now. Is the 'quack' from the same media player set-up as in the rowboat? You are going to have to watch that a duck shooter doesn't mistake it for the real thing😁.👍👍

JB

You said that and i did not see your lips move Rob.LOL!

Martin555.

Absolutely inquackable!😮
😎

Just as I thought then Graham.

My apologies for nit-picking but it seems that you already have a 'fix' for the issue in hand.

In retirement I'm still just as sensitive to audio/video sync discrepancies as I ever was 🤓🗣👂👁🕐.

Rob,

You are right! I thought it was a bit out and you have just confirmed it.

It’s not difficult to change. There is a microchip timer that operates the bill. It is independent of the audio file. They are both started together and then it’s ‘dead reckoning’ to sync the action. Just need to tweak the timings.

Graham93

Martin,

Glad it made you smile. We all need something to smile about right now🙄 I don’t mind being considered ‘quackers’ if it brings a smile to everyone’s faces.😂🤣

Graham93

Graham.
Not a criticism but an observation........
From my POV as a 'video man' the lip sync, or 'Bill Sync' 😉 is just a gnats out !
I reckon that the bill opening is about 6 frames ahead of the 'quack', so is there a way of re-timing the action?
Is the 'quack' triggered by the bill motion which might account for the delay, were it the other way round might it be possible?
Anyhooo....superbly done all the same.
Rob.

Hi Rob,

Glad you like it 👍

The steering is better, but still very sensitive. I added a couple of vertical ‘keels’ made of plasticard attached one to the either side of the vertical hull sides with double sided tape. Quick and simple to do. Won’t be able to try any alternatives for a while with the new lockdown. My little garden pond is really representative of how it handles on the lake.

Graham93

Absolutely brilliant Graham.

There is definitely no end to what you can come up with.

That really put a big smile on my face.

Well done.

Martin555.

Hi Graham.
Luv a Duck !.........I absolutely love it 🤣
It looks like you have much better steering control too👍.
What was the eventual solution?
Rob.

Great looking day!
JB

nice job looks good

Nice little boat, can just imagine going out on her to see to the lobster pots.

Cheers, Nerys

Great job - thanks for sharing !👍⛵

The model is a Midwest kit but the hull is bass wood kit came with balsa wood & fiberglass but I prefer Bass wood & Finishing Epoxy to seal the hull .

Nice one Garth- but unless you put those traps in the water - not much chance of a lobster......
Was that from a Midwest Kit or scratchbuilt ?

She rides the water well GARTH.

Nice work.

Martin555.

I spent a day in one several years ago photographing an Etchells yacht race series in Australia. The versatility was brilliant, especially being able to pull up in the river at the end of the day and get photos that otherwise would have been lost.

Loved it but a tad out of my price range.

Hi Doug, see comments on the other vid😁. Most of the people who own these live on beaches with riparian access, so they can drive straight to the water from their front yards. Someone had parked one on a sand bank on the shore of the estuary a few weeks back and gone somewhere (visiting perhaps) and it looked hard case sitting there on its' wheels in the mangroves. They can also squat, and sit on the hull while on land with the wheels down slightly to level them. Pretty clever machine but rather expensive.!
JB

Bit of a 'show stopper' JB😮
But y ja need a drive on trailer?
You can drive the damn thing to the beach, and tow ya car along with it as well!😁
😎

Hi Peter, using the private surf club access ramp (private ramp) driving a 'vehicle' on a public road without a current registration $200,-without a current warrant of fitness, $200, none of the 3 occupants wearing seatbelts -$450 and probably a few other things as well such as driving an illegal vehicle on a public road. Probably looking at fines in the $1000, range plus possible confiscation of 'vehicle' or stopped from driving further and a tow truck required to remove the 'vehicle'

Just lucky no cops came past or they could have had a field day,- also the cop shop is just up a side street past the service station😮. The old thing of 'never a cop when you want one' applied. The waves were around 3ft earlier as it was a calm day, but can get to around 6ft in a good breeze. They are constantly having to cart the sand from the southern end to the northern end as in big storms it all moves, (the beach is 3km long so they do it with scrapers.) They are trying to get a big sea wall built to stop the shore erosion as well.
JB

Cheeky B . Could have had him for a few traffic violations . Description of vehicle on the docket would have been interesting - imagine the beak saying "what sort of vehicle ?"

Not much of a surfing beach then - is it always that flat ? Being on the tip of Africa the waves roll up here all the way from Antarctica ........ Not for nothing this place has two names - Cape of Good Hope - and Cape of Storms. Proved to live up to the latter this Winter - were told to batten down the hatches on a constant basis.......

Hi Brian,

Not happened yet 😁. There are a lot of real ducks on the Pavillion Gardens lake in Buxton and they get fed by lots of the visitors. Most visitors don’t notice Donald as he blends in with the rest of the crowd. It great to see their faces if/when they finally notice that Donald is a bit different to the others ( the blue flashing eyes tend to give it away!) 😂🤣

Graham93

do you get people feeding it
brian😋

You've done it again, haven't you Graham,) just when everyone seems to be suffering from algal bloom, back you come with a right 'Royal' MALLARDY remedy😊😁
JB

Quacking good fun Gwaham 👍😂
I think the flashing eyes are a good touch too 👍
Rob.

Thanks Martin 😂 🤣

I too am struggling with motivation, so I thought building something daft might help, and it did 😁. Only took a little over a week to build, gave me a few technical challenges to solve but produced a quick and fun result.

Graham93

I told you you were quackers Graham LOL!!!

I do like this sort of thing, something different.

Martin555.

Hi, I started building the Anfora tug "Duna" (actually the "Frederic Mistral") several years ago but stopped when I could not get the drag chain for the steering strong enough. Seems the all the pulleys along the deck caused too much drag. How does yours work? Any photos?
Lew