I use sharp brass tacks to secure the skins to the keel and the bulkheads - sometimes supplemented by clamps on the outer stringers when fitting pairs of bottom skins - if required.

When the glue has dried, I chop off the heads of the brass tacks and drive the shaft down into the skin to give a mechanical as well as an adhesive fixing.


Bob.

I couldn't see any means of clamping the the skins to the keel if I fitted both together. The instructions do suggest fitting the deck hatches into their location (without glue)to keep everything straight. Seems to be working so far.

I usually try to fit the bottom skins in pairs Dave, rather than just fitting one side at a time, just in case it causes any distortion to the frame of the boat as the single fitted skin dries on one side the frame.

This is probably a lot more important when skinning a lightweight construction, but old habits die hard (as they say).

For the same reason I try to fit the side skins in pairs, although with the bottom skins already attached distortion is a lot less likely - unless the model is being built with a lightweight construction.

Bob.

I have several boxes of balsa and ply offcuts - and I do use pieces from them now and then.

I was planning the keel and chine stringers ready to add the second bottom sheet of ply to my Arrow and realised I was was carefully collecting up the shavings and putting them in a bag - they will contribute (very slightly!) to heating our house in the winter when I burn them in the wood burner. Very little gets thrown away.

Yup - been there and got the badge Dave !

Not so much with plastic bags, but especially with off-cuts of wood that are “too good to throw away” as they are bound to “come in handy one day”.

I have got quite a big box of these really valuable small off-cuts now - they take so long to sift through and sort-out that I often just cut a fresh piece of wood anyway as I don’t have the time to search for the one piece in amongst all the others that may be suitable !

I used to save the packing plastic that so many things come in these days, but I tested a piece in a bucket of water and left it in there by mistake overnight.

When I came back to remove the lump of white foam the next day, it had dissolved !

Without this accidental test, several of my Classic Model Power Boats could have been relying on this self dissolving foam to save it in the event of an emergency!

I now know to avoid this type of white polystyrene foam and only choose the (often) more yellow coloured “closed cell” type that most defiantly is water-proof…and buoyant !

Recycling can be waste of time sometimes when we choose to keep things that really don’t have a use for at all !

Bob,

Recycling old plastic bags can become an addiction - especially when you start saving even more of the “better ones” as being perfect for storing all your other plastic bags in….😂"

I think this a disease that affects most modellers, it is a sub-set of the the 'that'll come in useful some day' syndrome.

The main problem is that when we need that thing you carefully saved the odds are we can't find it, or suddenly remember that we threw it away a week or two ago, which is something we fail to admit to and still turn the place upside down searching for it!

Some of my less successful eBay purchases have given me a decision to make straight away Doug - do I re-cycle it or throw it away?

Fortunately I have chosen to recycle every time……or as I like to say - restore it !

My Classic Model Power Boats fleet mainly consists of recycled (restored) models that were either delivered broken, given as unwanted, worn-out, or broken.. or even rescued from a skip!

Regarding the recycling of foam packaging, this stuff always looks tempting to add as buoyancy inside the hull.

…but some of the expanded foam packaging needs to be “tested” before being used as buoyancy aids, because a lot of the most popular hard white coloured foam packaging actually dissolves if it is soaked in water !

Recycling old plastic bags can become an addiction - especially when you start saving even more of the “better ones” as being perfect for storing all your other plastic bags in….😂

Bob.

Under my 'It might come in handy someday' inventory I have a 60 litre rubbish bag (that's trash sack for you unfortunate subjects of King DJT the First) full of expanded polystyrene or corn starch 'peanuts' salvaged from various deliveries. Haven't used any yet ... but you never know😁

Also from packaging; several slabs of 1" thick expanded polystyrene, some about 1' square.
Very useful for insulating plant pots on the terrace from subzero ground temperatures in winter.
Also for making simple lightweight boat stands and frames to hold batteries and other odds and ends in place inside the model😉
Recycling is King guys an' gals👍
Cheers, Doug😎
PS Some thirty years or so ago I read the following model boat builder's motto in 'Modell Werft'. (Model Shipyard).
Translated it means:
We never throw anything away which won't begin to stink in a week or two.🙊

'Will be packed well'
I think some peoples idea of packed well and protected differs hugely, and have received one or two of mine in similar packaging, and lack of protection.
It's bloody annoying.

Some people are just stupid! 🙄

My used Sea Queen arrived in this soft box after I bought it on eBay.

Unfortunately it suffered some damage in transit so it needs a little restoration before I fit a new M5 prop shaft to replace the pathetic 17 inch long M4 prop shaft that comes in the kit!

I like my models to be built strong and durable and able to go well (make white water), so I have to say that I think fitting such a long prop shaft with a thin 4mm shaft is not the best idea!

…..just my thoughts…….



Bob.

I still enjoy watching F1 racing Will but I can see the comparison between watching it now and driving a Classic Model Power Boat with a brushless motor rather than an ic engine.

Both modern versions are faster and more efficient - but both have lost their soul 😎


Bob.

I fitted a sound generator into a large ODIN tug that I enjoyed driving for a couple of years or so, and if a large enough speaker was used and a sealed chamber could be made to make a sound box it did sound really good.

I kept this sound generator when I sold the tug because it had quite a good selection of different sounds that could be “called-up”

I used the V8 petrol engine sounds on my MTB and MGB coastal command boats to great effect, but having a shallow draft meant that they did not give the same opportunity to make a sound box that had much air volume inside it.

One of the engine sounds could be good for one of my Classic Model Power Boats - something else for me to play around with ….when I next get some time at home!

Bob.

Agreed, a sound generator can make a huge difference to the realism of a model, be it a boat, car, truck, tank etc.
Add to that a small water pump, that spins up just after audible engine startup, and that's just another thing to add to the overall experience. I've seen it done by someone to a Riva style motorboat, and it did add that bit extra.
Whether I'll ever go quite that far with things, who knows.

Will

I know you won't be able to hear it over the sound of the brushless motor at speed but I'm going to install a sound module in at least the Swordsman to provide engine start up and lower speed engine noise as I think when just pootling around it brings another dimension to the model. But otherwise like you I'm more interested in how the boat looks and performs. Good job that brushless do make some noise, even if inaccurate as complete silence would be a bit odd.

I can't, and don't disagree with anything you've said there Chris.
Modern Formula 1 doesn't interest me so much either, not since the days of V8s, V10s, no driver aids, ABS, traction control, etc etc.
Many of the drivers these days know the circuits, how hard they can push, and where.
Having seen and heard ic powered model boats in the past, and in videos, I can appreciate their source of propulsion, but personally, I'm more interested in the boat itself, how realistic/scale it can be/look than how it sounds and smells. Plus as you say, you can stop, go astern, don't have to rush to get it into the water before it overheats etc. So for me, electric, especially brushless, wins.

Will

Going to be controversial here! Whilst I hate full-sized electric racing vehicles e.g. Formula E (yawn) brushless motors in model boats do make some noise and sometimes quite loud and when running fast aren't too dissimilar in sound to a diesel or glow-plug motor without all the mess and you can reverse!

And whilst motors might sound OK in a race boat they don't really sound like the engines in most full-sized boats especially if they have a nice burble to them.

Takes cover and hides! 😀 PS. I do have a diesel engine somewhere I bought for a plane when I was young.

Chris

I briefly entertained the idea of finding a marine OS 61 four stroke to put into a Sea Queen, but it became apparent that I wouldn't have been able to sail it anywhere. So the big brushless and a pile of soulless Lipos it will have to be.
On the plus side, I won't have to clean all the spilt fuel and oil that inevitably gets everywhere.

Sadly the days of the glow plug engines in model boats are more or less gone Dave.

…shame really, I loved the whole procedure of fuelling-up, starting and adjusting the carb etc and the smell, smokes and sound too!

I too had a Merco 61 for use in my Aerokits Swordsman.

Mine had the twin plug head, and I bought the engine new to upgrade the OS40 marine that I originally fitted.

To be honest, the OS 40 Marine probably had almost as much power as i could not really see much difference after the “upgrade” - but any excuse to own a nice shiner new 10cc engine was not to be missed !

I really liked my water cooled marine engines and wish I still had them all now….but probably only to look at!


As I have said plenty of times before, the new brushless motors have no soul - but they are much easier to live with, clean and easy to use and have more power too!

Bob.

Oxford-Dave, I've got a to be built/repaired shelf, well, loft 🙄
The Sea Queen is a big old lump, but could have good presence on the water i would say.
If you have a the kit, and a suitable motor, then i really think you need to build it 😁

Will

I have an unstarted Caldercraft/Jotika Sea Queen kit on my 'to build' shelf. I think I even have a big brushless motor to go in it as Merco 60s are frowned upon in most clubs these days.
One day, I might even build it!

We don't have any Sea Queens on the Classic Model Power Boats blog yet, and yet it has been a very popular and long running Aerokits favourite.

Bob.

blogs/156760

Of course you “need” yet another big model Will…..and it is a nice colour 😂

It also has the lay-over window frames, so it could be built from a more recent “copy” kit rather than being an original Aerokits?

…..and that could explain why it has not suffered from the usual Aerokits delamination syndrome…

Bob.

No, it's not too bad Bob. It hasn't suffered the delamination that some of my other Aerokits boats have. It sure is a lump though, and like you and Chris have said in the past, a big boat to transport, launch, and recover easily.
I may end up letting it go.
I have my big Huntsmen 42" and 48" and the Perkasa at 49 1/2", so do I really need yet another BIG model? 🤔
Will

That looks like a fairly “straight” example Will - not too much work needed to get that one on the water.

Very nice 👍

Bob.