Second test was slightly better, using the aluminium spiral cut universal which came with the jet unit. As you can probably hear, it was horribly out of balance (even with cable ties to reduce it). It was not even drilled centrally and the spiral is right hand when it should be left hand, (like a spring twisted against the wind, it wants to deform). Slight improvement in speed on the first test (no slip this time) but the noise was horrendous.

Have pulled the jet apart and found that the 3 blade prop is around 1 mm too small for the hole, causing cavitation (see loads of bubbles in the jet stream) which is causing loss of thrust. The prop is the wrong type as well, with rounded blades, so I have modified a larger prop with more pitch to fit snugly in the unit to hopefully increase thrust. The shaft is also wrong, with a flat cut almost half the diam and carrying on through the bearing, allowing the grease to fly out.

I actually saw a Chinese site on Al Expr stating that "some dimensions on the product may be different due to the number of machines and operators involved in its' manufacture," SERIOUSLY!!??? their quality control must be utter crap and the operators not skilled enough to eat their lunch😐 Why bother having a dimension at all?? Little wonder nothing fits properly.

Unfortunately, most model shops sell the very same stuff, unless you want to shell out muchos dolleros for European stuff. I have just ordered some 4mm silver steel to make a new shaft, so a coupling or silicone tube will fit better. Also ordered some solid connectors to try. Vibration is wasted energy so it needs to be eliminated. Hopefully the mods will improve things and allow the motor to run on 4s rater than 3s. Worked out that the motor is only 1200KV, so it's only doing around 13,000 rpm under load. Probably will need around
18,000 rpm for proper performance. Onwards and upwards (or forwards as the case may be.😁)

Sorry about the blurry vid again, but my camera lens is knackered.

Pity such a beautiful West Coast location should have a popular boat club pond in disrepair. Sign of the time perhaps with many councils having reduced expenditure. But a disappointment travelling with my small grandson to sail his little Proboat Westward 18 for the first time. it's the first thing he noticed, no water.

Staff in the RNLI shop along the promenade said the pond had not been in use since last year. Here's hoping the council can organise repairs before next year's season. I couldn't resist buying a little model fishing boat from them the RNLI shop which now has pride of place in our kitchen shelf.

nearly there i think a few tyres around the hull will complete it what a pity the model shop do not sell them 🤔
I will contact SHG they stock a few sizes

Stolen Boat. Please be on the lookout for this beautiful KRICK VICTORIA complete with a Chedder Puffin Steam Unit, This boat was stolen from a member of the Mutual Model Boat Society, Heywood, Manchester. when some scumbag broke into his workshop over the weekend of 5th 6th September 2015. as well as his pride and joy they also stole a Spektrum DX6I / 3 x 40Mg / 2x27 Mg Tx's, plus tools???.

Should you hear or be offered this boat please contact me. or the police
Colin Travis 07905028298

Hull hollowed out and some bits from a static display model, based on several photo's of Greek fishing boats, Fish boxes from Coffee shop stirrers, Fish from long grain rice, Crew from Pound shop (Soldiers chopped & reshaped. ) She sails fairly well on first trial at Weymouth & Portland MBC, Miles Cross Farm lake .

Spec: M'tronics Vision 400 brushed motor, M'tronics 15a ESC, 12v SLA battery, 3 blade 30mm Prop. with Led Navigation and deck lights.

Chris

Purchased this from Ashton Model Shop at it closing down sale, what a sad time that was, been used using it man and boy, Airfix kits were 2 old shillings 10NP to 12s and 6d (62.5NP) Boeing Superfortess, mind you pocket money was 5/- (25p,) then when old enough got a Paperboys job 13 shillings a 6 day week (65NP), extra for Sunday. Back to the TID she sailed brilliantly all session at Ethrow Park. That is until run down by my Brother David's yacht, even though I'd moved it to what I thought was safe distant, power giving way to sail etc, when he tacked straight into her, tried to dodge but TID not the fastest of the mark. He swiftly got the rescue boat out and after two attempts we got it back, a quick rush to parks gents and a blow over of ESC and receiver with electric hand drier, soon had her running again, but still need a scrub to rid her of lake silt :-)

My latest project - Hull and some bits from a static display model, based on several photo's of Greek fishing boats, Mtroniks 400 motor, & 15A ESC, 12v SLA battery & 30mm 3 blade prop. Fish boxes from Coffee shop stirrers, Fish from long grain rice, Crew from Pound shop (Soldiers chopped & reshaped. )
She sails fairly well on first trial this week at Weymouth & Portland MBC, Miles Cross Farm lake . Hope to post video soon.
Chris

HI fellow modellers, Another model from the RADMC fleet at the fleetshaven workshop and boat yard in Ponthir.This model was scratch built using a fibre glass hull and plan obtained from a fellow modeller at the Bridgend Show in 2007. The front door and some fittings are made from plastic card and tube, decks are from ply and timber. On board figures are from the pound shop and car boot sales, modified by myself. The on board tank and half truck are RTR models that I have modified their looks to fit into a WWII theme for the craft. This craft has twin drive, 400 motors via 2.5/1 gearboxes. I tend to use both sticks on the TX for drive as this allows me to turn the model on a six pence.The dispatch door works from a rotary pot on the TX and via a rotary sail winch servo in the hull. I have just modified my Planet 5 TX to allow me to change my radio gear in this craft. This model has had meny trips on Cwmbran Boating Lake and at shows the society attend during the year. Still haven't allowed the tank or half track to run off the landing craft up the lake side slipway. one day I might get it on video. Hope you enjoyed the photo's. Regards GreyWolf

HI Fellow Modellers,
Another model from the RADMC fleet at the fleetshaven workshop and boat yard in Ponthir.This model was built from a Caldercraft Kit, This model came into my possession for the price of 20p, a raffle prize at Bryn Bach Model Clubs OPen Day 2010, when it was built is unknown. The item being made for display use and not finished off, no internal electronic fixtures. Did have a prop shaft and prop that had not been fitted correctly. 50% of all the fixtures had to be removed and refitted before they fell off, some didn't stay in place from the show back home. The model was finised off using a photo of the Milford star on the internet. The fish boxes and figures being obtained off DON one of the Society members who had a mould to make them in white metal, only required cleaning up and finishing off. A graupner 6 volt steam unit is fitted in the funnel and to make the boat a little more realistic on the water,a maplin steam sound system has been used to generate the sound of the engine. A simple mod allows the revs to be linked to the engine voltage. The drive motor is a 550 with the lowest revs I had in MJB's this was married up to a 2.5/1 gearbox I also had in stock. The main motor and steam unit are supplied from a 7.2 volt nicad racing pack. This model has had meny fishing trips on Cwmbran Boating Lake and at shows the Society visit. Hope you enjoy the pictures, Regards GreyWolf.

HI fellow Modellers,
Another model from the RADMC fleet at the fleetshaven workshop and boat yard in Ponthir.This model was built using a Billings Kit, bought for me as a Christmas pressent in 2009. A graupner 6 volt steam unit is fitted in the funnel and to make the boat a little more realistic a maplin steam sound system has been used to generate the sound of the engine. A simple mod allows the revs to be linked to the engine voltage. The steam engine rotates using a stripped down minI servo, fitted under the motor housing on the deck, again linked to the main motor voltage. The two 9.6 volt AA batteries and control gear are mounted under the boats floor, forward locker, a minI servo for steerage is fitted under the rear seat and the receiver is located under the wood pile. Figures are self made from items obtained from the local pound shop. The modal can be seen sailing at Cwmbran Boating Lake or at shows the society visit. Hope you enjoy the pictures, Regards GreyWolf.

HI to all you Fire Boaters,
I have decided to finally bring my Fireboat out of the closet and up for inspection.
This is the first of my many boats I am showing, I will probably show others in the future.
I started to build her back in 2006 after being off work and having a shoulder operation. She was not going to be a R/C boat, just a bit of something to do whilst on recovery.

I have a 34" still in the box unmade, purchased back in 1994 from Aerokits.
I drew round all the parts and then shrunk them on my scanner. She is 27" long I think that's
just fraction over 1/20th scale . She is almost all balsa except the 2 under skins that are balsa laminated with 1/64th ply. The hand rails are 1/4" balsa blocks I cut from a strip and the rail is ally tubing.
The mast is made from plastic strip from packets from the model shop.

When I returned to work she was put into the shed and left unfinished.
I stumbled across the Fireboat website and registered in 2009 when I was off work once again. This then made me think more about working on her again and I decide to turn her into an R/C model. So out she came and I fitted an Electomax Delta 480bb motor and a M3sonik esc.
I also purchased a couple of Robbe fire monitors, put them together shortening the nozzles and cutting the bottom of the base of to try to look a bit moreto scale. I know they are not the correct type but if I want to go down the road of getting them working then these ones will.

Then off I went to Wilkinson's and bought some paint. Then set out to paint her, as I brushed on the paint it seemed to be drying almost as quick as I was painting her. Dragging the paint I had just put on with next brush stroke. What a TOTAL DISASTER !!. I gave up on her and back into the shed she went.

2010 arrived I started again rubbed the paint down a bit and bought some Tamiya spray acrylic and started spraying, underside red, it seemed look all right. I used a nice new roll of low tack masking tape, taped up the underside and the decking and sprayed on the black on the sides. I thought that look all right. Took off the masking tape, which also took off the red paint and the dope from the decks. Another DISASTER. Back in the shed she went once again.

A couple of months went by and I was up in Norfolk on my own boat and watching the workers in the boatyard, ideas came to me and when we returned home, out she came and I repainted the sides
and then with red oxide paint I painted her undersides to make it look like antI foul paint. I used some white stripe to cover the join of the two different paint colours.
I had bought some roundels in Anglia Model Shop in Gorleston and some lettering in a shop in Norwich and after painting put these on.
Not looking fantastic but passable I was a little happier with her, but still not satisfied, back in the shed she went again.

Now after so much nagging from my brother out she has come, I've started again. He talked me into changing and trying a brushless motor and a smaller esc he had in his tool box from his helicopter he was shelving as its rota head was damaged beyond repair.
I have now fitted them and if they work I will change the esc to a forward/ reverse esc in the future at some point.

Sea trials are still away off more than likely in the spring, because the decking has yet to be painted. That will be the next job.

I think that's all for now, as I have probably bored you all to tears. I hope update as I progress further.
Just to let you know I'm Tom (alias BOATSHED).

HI Fellow enthusiasts
The first photo shows the boat as it was bought from an E Bay auction in late February for the price of 14.50, for that price I had to bid on it, even thought I had a new kit of the same model on order from a model shop from the end of December, before VAT went up. The models turned out to be the 4 feet versions some 11 inch wide and now is about 19 inch high. This model turned up several days before the new kit turned up, and was a bit worse for ware than anticipated as the deck had started to part company from the hull. After stripping the deck of all remaining deck furniture the deck was re laminated to the hull, prop shafts and rudder tubes also refitted using plenty of resin and cloth. A rubbing strip was fitted around the deck hull line to tidy up the visible damage. When I was happy with repairs the hull and deck was rubbed down and sprayed. Using the information in the new kit and some photos of actual boats, MJB's (My junk boxes) supplied all the required parts to scratch build 90% of the models fittings as seen, this includes the figures on the deck. These being obtained off an EBay site as 1/24 unpainted train scene figures that required some or may be a lot of adjustments to their appearance. Several items have still to be made and fitted. As I'm working on her sister boat P147, will make extra parts in one go.
The boat has twin electric drives, the motors, MFA 919D series, are fitted with their own 2.5/1 gearboxes and they drive 40 mm three bladed conta rotating brass props. They have independent 15 amp Electonize speed controllers run from two 7.2 volt packs in series. The switching arrangements for lighting has still to be finished off. Don't know if I'll fit a sound system as the boat is for my grandson.
The boat has had several trips on the Society's water at Cwmbran with myself and my grandson at the helm. it seems to go fast enough for him. (The new boat P147 has been built with triple screws.) Can't wait to see both models on the water together.
Hope you have enjoyed the pictures and information.
Regards
GreyWolf