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RAF crash tender refurb

Listed by Trident73 ·

Specifications

Boat Length
30" (76.20 cm)
Motor Type
Brushless
Drive Type
Direct
Props
Single
Battery Type
LiIon
Battery mAh
286 mAh
Prop Type
312
Prop Size
327mm

Photos

About this boat

Hey folks, I know this subject has been done before but I thought I would share some images of a refurbishment I am undertaking of a 34” RAF crash tender (maybe Aerokits?). I am doing this one for a friend of mine and I picked up the boat about three weeks back. It wasn’t in terrible condition to start with but the paintwork and installation layout did leave something to be desired. The previous owner was also clearly a fan of milliput as well but this was not up to the job of holding the propshaft in as I discovered the hull filling with water when I floated it 🙂

So far I have:
Stripped the hull back to bare wood
Fully glassed the outside
Resin coated and painted the inside
Made new motor, battery and servo mounts
Reset the propshaft and rudder
Added new spray rails
Am building new cabin roofing
Primed the hull exterior (pics showing it fully painted were before I went to work on it with Paint stripper, which was a horrible task!)
Some of the hatches have been made
Cabin roofing painted
Have started repainting the hull

Will add more pics as it develops in the coming weeks…

Comments

  2. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    having said earlier this week that it would be November before I could test the crash tender, I managed to get out today. All was well and she stayed dry inside the hull… phew 🙂
    Liked by AlessandroSPQR and PeteJev and
  4. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Well I think I am pretty much done now. It will be November some point before I am able to deliver her to my mate who owns her and asked me to do the restoration. At that point we hope for some decent weather for the test run and then I will post some video. Thanks for your interest so far folks!
    Liked by PeteJev and DaveWhittaker and
  6. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Whilst I am waiting for the paint to dry on the forward cabin roof 😴. I made the searchlight functional. A prewired smd micro LED (6v) from ebay drilled into the searchlight and fixed with CA glue. I will line the back of the light and the insides with self adhesive foil tape from a hardware store to act like a reflector.
    Liked by PeteJev and Scratchbuilder
  10. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Added the roof and also the mast I made earlier in the refurb. Also made a few small cleats from glassfibre sheet which will ultimately help keep the RAF standard hoisted. I was going to try and make a folding mast but it all seemed a bit fragile so it is fixed instead.
    Liked by Colin H and PeteJev and
  11. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    I agree, SLEC is a good bet. Also for portholes, railings, nav lights and various other bits then modelboatbits.com is where I shop. I also notice that the shop on this very site carries many parts.

    I was talking to the guy at the Slec stand at the southern model show this year. He said if you need just specific parts cast from the fittings kit then to give them a call.

    For modelboatbits see: https://www.modelboatbits.com/
    Liked by DavidW3 and PeteJev and
  16. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Been busy this weekend and it is really starting to come back together now. I feel like I am on the home straight…
    Got to work on fwd cabin roofing next weekend…
    Liked by DavidW3 and Colin H and
  17. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Not sure if this is going to work but I have started chopping up some fibreglass sheet with a view to making the mast for the crash tender…
    Lots of tiny parts held together with cyano and accelerator.
    Liked by DavidW3 and Colin H and
  18. RNinMunichBronze
    Fleet Admiral
    "Not just models tools and all sorts of other junk as I'm now 73. "
    Tell me about it BOATSHED!
    At just turned 72 I've got a cellar and half a kitchen/workshop full of the same mix plus a stash of over 60 kits🙄🤔
    Don't have anyone here to flog it to. Only MBC in the vicinity went the way of the Dodo about 20 years ago.

    😎
    Liked by Trident73 and Colin H and
  19. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Was trying to figure out how to make a passable representation of a chain pipe for the anchor chain. I decided to solder some brass tube to a brass washer, drill a hole it it and then build up the top with p-38 filler and round it off by rubbing down….
    Liked by DavidW3 and Doogle and
  20. BOATSHED
    Captain
    Only just seen your post. When I joined this site it was a RAF Crash Tender site. Then it changed too all types of model boats so it's great to see a Crash tender being shown again being refurbished. I will be watching your rebuild with baited eye's. I was first started on model boating on my 9th birthday in 1959 with an Aerokit's model for my birthday, and they have been in my blood ever since. I have several Aerokit's models but sadly no Crash Tenders now. But I do have a 27" shrunken version that I have done from an original on that I sold recently. I am getting het from my family that I should be selling thing off as I am getting too old now as my collection of things is bulging in my sheds. Not just models tools and all sorts of other junk as I'm now 73. I will be watching your build though. 🤓🤓
    Liked by RNinMunich and Scratchbuilder and
  23. dave976
    Captain
    Hi Trident73
    Here are a couple of pics of the Vosper original drawings showing the details you seek
    dave976
    Liked by RenatoS and DavidW3 and
  28. Colin HSilver
    Fleet Admiral
    Here is my original aerokits 34" crash tender. Built it with my dad 59 years ago.
    Rebuilt twice, but still my most cherished boat and always a favourite for the kids.
    Cheers Colin
    Liked by DavidW3 and DaveWhittaker and
  29. PeteJevBronze
    Petty Officer 2nd Class
    Hi Trident re the port holes on early kits - below is the original Aerokit box cover which clearly shows the portholes. However the plans and elevations only show the location of one porthole on the side of the wheelhouse. I have installed the full set of portholes using preformed brass/glass units to the correct scale. Hope this helps. Pete
    Liked by Mick2435 and DaveWhittaker and
  31. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    @davidk that is interesting to know. I had wondered why there were no portholes. I am planning on adding some though. I had a feeling this was a pretty old boat as I suspected it had been partially refurbished at least once before judging by the two layers of painted markings I discovered as I was stripping them off at the start.
    Liked by BOATSHED and PeteJev and
  32. StephenT
    Recruit
    I recently acquired a 34" crash tender. AUD40 on facebook and identical to one I built as a kid 55 odd years ago. Its pretty rough with several of the bulkheads completely delaminated and its going to be a major project to bring it up to an acceptable standard. Once I get going I'll start posting.
    Liked by DaveWhittaker and BOATSHED and
  33. davidk
    Recruit
    Dave Keech of Ellesmere Port. I refurbished an RAF Crash tender 10 years ago and it was almost a total wreck. It was the 34 inch model dawbed in yellow paint with most bits missing apart from the hull and part of the superstructure. The one Trident has just refurbished is actually one of the early ones like mine and if you see the area just below and also on the front of the bridge you will see that there are no portholes. This indicates it is one of the early models from Aerokits possibly late 1950s or early 60s.In those days most of the kit parts were cut out by hand.

    😀😀
    Liked by BOATSHED and Colin H and
  35. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Just rested in place at the moment, but not too shabby if I say so meself 🙂. Used a bamboo bbq skewer for the rail and the fixing points are from scrap basswood left over from a past kit.
    Liked by DaveWhittaker and BOATSHED and
  36. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    These are a pain to make… only need 16 😀! They will be the fixing points for the rails on the rear cabin roof which I think were used to hold scramble nets. I don’t have an actual plan to work from so I just want to say a universal thank you to everyone who has at some point posted a pic of their own crash tender on this site as your pictures are a great reference source.
    Liked by DaveWhittaker and BOATSHED and
  37. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Thanks for all the likes folks. Got to admit this one is growing on me. Until this came up for sale and my mate asked me if I would sort it out for him I hadn’t considered a fire tender before but I love the lines of her and it is a real joy bringing her back to life to sail again.
    Liked by BOATSHED and Scratchbuilder and
  40. flaxbybuck
    Captain
    You've made an old man very happy seeing the love and care you are giving this boat. The transformation is happening in front of our very eyes, thanks to your great collection of progress photos.
    Keep up the good work, and keep us informed please.
    😉
    Liked by Colin H and RonBMK2 and
  43. PeterJ
    Chief Petty Officer 1st Class
    Nice to see an old style build coming back to life.I have the 46 inch version that I am very pleased with (looks good on the water with working fire hydrents)
    Liked by DaveWhittaker and Colin H and
  44. Trident73
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Just an update with a top tip I discovered…. To strip old paint off the white metal fittings I tried soaking them in Lidl’s Parkside brand universal thinners. Worked fantastically well. One of the images above shows the fittings after that treatment. And a couple of them have been re-primed as you will see in the picture
    Liked by RonBMK2 and Colin H

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