The boat was originally painted in my black and white “lock-down” scheme as they were the only tins of gloss paints we had in the house - and we weren’t allowed out to go shopping!
Grey primer was used for the interior for the same reason.
When the Covid restrictions eased I bought a tin of red paint to give it the colours it has been running in since then, but the interior is still in grey undercoat - maybe when it has its next overhaul and everything is removed from the hull I will give it a long overdue coat of gloss paint !😌

I preferred to make a wrap-around “mask” style of windscreen as I did not like the kit screen idea too much.
I also added a roof frame so I could fabricate a removable cabin top - the original top was just a glued on skin that didn’t look too good.

I just found some early pictures of my Rapier restoration after I had replaced some bulkheads and straightened the hull.
The new cabin sides had just been grafted on and some grey primer has been added here and there.

Good to know Spooky is back on the water again Harry.

The LesRo Rapier and your LesRo Javelin (Spooky) share exactly the same hull as each other.

My own Javelin is 99% complete so I must see if I can squeeze it in between finishing the Sea Commander and get it on the water too!

One of the few areas of the Rapier that I did not restore or refurbish was the void that was hidden under the long front deck.
Being built in the 1960’s I thought I should take a look to see if this hidden area of the hull was still in good health, so I took the razor saw to the foredeck and cut a hatch.
I was pleased to find everything was OK - better than expected, so I added some buoyancy foam and a working hatch so I could use this space to add ballast to adjust the boats attitude in the water when at speed.

My Spooky is back in the water !!!!
Canabus

https://rctoystasmania.com/forums/topic/a-fine-spring-day-the-canal/

Thanks for your comments about the cradle RodC

Whenever I start a new project or restoration I always start by making a simple but sturdy stand to hold the hull steady as I work on it.

These are always made from scrap or left-over offcuts.

At some stage I actually paint the stand to protect it from water ingress as it is put to use after the build/restoration is completed and it becomes a transport cradle and is used to stand the wet boat on after each run.

Better builders than myself spend hours making beautifully designed and detailed ornate stands that can only be admired.

My simple “orange box” shaped stands are crude by comparison, but they are tough and can also be used to carry the odd spanner or spare propeller.......and some that I made over 60 years ago are still going strong!

You've made a lovely job of her 😉

When I sailed this restored Rapier for the first time it was fast and furious - too fast, and too furious, as owners of fast plastic "fatties" were getting "out-dragged" by this vintage Classic Model Power Boat......they simply could not keep up with it!

Quite impressive, but nerve racking to drive and quite unrealistic ......and each 7600mAh LiPo could only give a 7 minute maximum time run from being fully charged!

A less powerful out-runner motor was fitted and the boat still "picks her skirt up" and has a nice turn of speed and makes some nice "white water", but the speed is much closer to being realistic and it is still quite "nippy" for a 39" long (heavy) wooden Classic Model Power Boat.

The pictures show the de-tuned Rapier at play on the Southport Club lake earlier this year.

This Rapier has impressed most people that have seen it perform and it has encouraged some to start work on making (or restoring) what was quite an unpopular model boat kit when it was first manufactured by LesRo in the 1960's👍

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A real beauty. And a solid piece of furniture made for fun

So cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm impressed with your cradle !!

One of the unexpected problems that I encountered as I restored the Rapier hull, was that it was not possible to buy triangular section hardwood any more!
I wanted to add some strakes to the underside, so I had to make some from square obechie hardwood strip.

The boat was not put together too well originally as it's hull was twisted and needed some serious surgery to cut and remove some of the deck (and one side) to re-shape and remove the twist, reconstruct some of the bulkheads and make new cabin tops, skins, etc. It would have been much quicker just to cut new wood and make a completely new Rapier from plan, but it was a challenge and gave me lots of interesting problems to resolve when we were unable to go out so it gave me something to do!