With all the members permission I would like to share my Galilee Boat project.
Here is a brif story of how I got my hands on the model.
I have to mentioned where I got this kit from because is always good the real story behind the kit.
The place is "SE Miller Guitars". http://www.semillerguitars.com/sea-of-galilee-boats/.
Scott Miller owns the business and I asked him how he came to produce this now famous boat kit.

This was his exacts words:

I was a moderator at MSW when Captian Pugwash was running the site and had just moved on from building kits to scratch building. I did the Triton cross section build that was going on at the time and that got me interested in building models other than standard scale ships. This lead me to building boat models because they are fun to build and can be done in much less time than a three master ship. The also don't require a lot of rigging which was attractive to me as well.

One model that was fun to build and could easily be scratch built was Midwest's Peterborough canoe kit. I made quite a few of these as gifts and this introduced me to building on a strong back and using thin CA glue to weld planks together

I started looking at different boats that I could model and found that no one offered a Sea of Galilee boat model kit other than a paper one from a German company. I found an excellent book by Shelly Wachsmann about the discovery of the Kinneret boat and that book had a set of ships plans in it. I used those plans plus what I had learned from building Peterborough canoes to build the first 16" Sea of Galilee model.

Finally had a chance to do a test on Pilot 40 project that was my lockdown stay home project . Change the props to 50 mill.4mill.threaded & now I have right prop & left prop Replaced the Sabertooth speed control as it was to hard to control with my Airtronics transmitter used a standard Hobby King speed control changed the wiring terminal block to a larger size as the one I first used was to hard to put wires in it . I always have trouble with mounting so glued the motors in with some goop & there just fine now

I decided to risk a salt water trial, as there is no place I can think of with fresh water and a smooth beach or ramp which doesn't involve a 100 mile round trip (most beaches where I am are ocean beaches and others are soft sand/shell. The only lake I can think of is 112km away and I'm not THAT keen. Launching went ok but retrieval was another matter, not helped by an 8mph side wind (looks calm but is windy) Had a number of goes and discovered a few things which need changing, (extra front guide posts and rollers either end of the pads) The rubber resting pads stick like glue so I'll have to make some pop up rollers at the ends.

The pads hold the boat slightly above the centre rollers to avoid damage and stop it sliding off while shifting it. New front guide posts are needed as the boat only draws about 30mm and goes right over the trailer with it underwater 😮(no prop or rudder sticking out,) so it might help locate it when coming in. Jeep had truckloads of power (just fitted a new even lower geared -geared motor -1000rpm/min @ 12v), but unfortunately being only 2x2 (not 4x4) and being half the weight of the boat/trailer combo it couldn't get a grip in the mud, so needed a bit of assistance, (as did the boat getting onto the trailer). Cut out most of the vid with the boat missing the trailer about 10 times, but scored a direct hit once😊. Heaps of fun trying and heaps of washing and CRC when I got home! Going to need some new bearings at some stage, - the ones in it are rubbish and have only lasted for about a few hours running, noisy as anything now, even with gallons of oil. Stainless NMB ones next if I don't change the jet to something else, (another thought on propulsion happening)💡

Made a few mods to the cooling system and was hoping for a quiet day for a video ("yeah right") Too busy watching out for an erratic orange torpedo to have much close up fun! Tried out a few full speed turns with no dramas, sticks like glue with no hint of 'roll out', just a bit of cavitation.

I have been building my scratch build PT 109 for the last 3 months, working sometimes only one or two evenings in the week. As you must all know you can only do so much before you have to stop and wait for glue or paint to dry :( but at last it is now completed, RC gear installed and a mighty 48" in length at 1/20 scale. Next will be the lake and a final trial run, I completed a 'bath' test a couple of days ago and it only just fitted in the bath but both motors run great. hope you like. Andy

This is the Dumas US Army tug kit showing the two hull halves being glued together, I hope to modify the model to replicate the tug I was Petty Officer in Charge of while in the Navy!

here is my 2nd Graupner Carina ( after the 1st one I just wanted to built another one and Ebay supplied - again- a 'barely started' set.
Taking apart the glued wooden parts was a bit of a challenge. However, the previous owner used cheap glue and all the parts could be dismounted without any damage.
(will post more pictures of the rebuilt )

Hi Model boat enthusiasts,
This is a photo of almost completed 2 model boats I have almost completed. The Sea Queen 50 years old find. it was found in an attic in a kit. The kit was in a very poor state and most of the timberwork had to be glued back together or remade. I had no plans for it and had to source a copy from the Model Boat website. it is a very nice model. The pilot boat was scratch built and sails very nicely. I have been building boats for about 30years and have built over 25 boats, scratch built all of them. I have included photos of some of my boats.

Brought this vintage Aero Kits RAF Crash Tender for £50 from Newcastle area, it is the 34in version.
To my surprise at home I found that it had a Bullet 30 motor installed these motors were the top drawer motor of early fast electrics in the early 1980's and its the only one I've ever seen, it can run on 24v and pull around 15A giving 300w not bad for a brushed motor.
due to the power of this motor I have modified the hull under the water line with turn fins and trim tabs to reduce torque roll and improve turning stability, the underside is incorrect already as it only has one propshaft, where the original had two and I believe that both props turned in the same direction.

The Pictures here show some of the work in progress I have remounted the motor and added a speed controller rated at 24v
I have remade the stern compartment and rudder gear under it.
I have blocked windows and foamed the front half of the boat.
made missing parts and repaired delaminating ply.

Note old ply is not as good as modern, the glue is not as water resistant.

Have painted the hull and have just ordered the decals from Cornwall model Boats :-https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=hose%20fire&PN=becc_fire_tender%2ehtml#aB_2dFTS1_2e32

The 34in is 1/16 scale

Fitting can be brought but many are cast white metal and can add weight to the boat, I have made two water cannons and plan to buy plastic fittings from this site.

This has turned out to be a task that is difficult to assess how much effort and money to spend on a hull that has been built by someone else (say no more).
Have just finished the steps for the stern compartment.
Painted and now for the test run.
the Bullet 30 motor ran well between 14 and 18v,

So, the crane story. Here are pics of the crane in it's original guise - essentially the jib raised and lowered and the turret rotated. I decided to add extensions to the jib internally, and then use servo arms to send them through the deck (inside the turret) such that a servo could raise and lower them from below deck. The issue was trying to get a mechanism that would allow the arm to raise/lower, whilst being able to rotate from inboard to outboard! Solution - a helicopter swash plate from a crashed Blade! The connection joints had to be moved around the swash plate (refixed with superglue) to make it symetrical. More photos to follow..

Tortola at rear, Curlew in foreground.
Tortola plank (Balsa, tissued and dope) on frame, the keel and bulkheads from 10mm plywood. it has a small electric motor fitted but will have sails as well. Curlew from the Eezibuilt range. Material ply wood, Some of it from fruit crates.
The stand for Tortola made from 3 ply cardboard to my own design, stuck together with PVA glue.

Cheap buy as it had been in the loft for years.
Most of the glue had failed and many parts lost. Totally resprayed or hand painted from deck up. Powered by to monoperm motors. Now finished it is up for sale. Now been sold.