Harbour directory

"Nonesuch" and barge "Asset #1"

Listed by Black Shoe ·

Specifications

Boat Length
58" (147.32 cm)
Boat Weight
219g (8 oz)
Motor Type
Brushed
Drive Type
Direct
Props
260
Battery Type
Lead Acid
Battery mAh
290 mAh
Prop Type
314
Prop Size
331mm
Run Time
1+ hrs

Photos

About this boat

"Nonesuch" is a 1:18 scale typical inland river pushboat found on most waterways in the US. She pushes a scale 75' barge equipped with a boom for hauling snags (fallen trees and other hazards to navigation,) and gear aboard for servicing the larger line boats.
Two wheels, steering and flanking rudders, lights, sound, and the normal clutter found on these vessels.
The towboat can be operated independent of the barge.

Comments

  1. jbkiwi
    Fleet Admiral
    Very nice work👍 almost looks real, great pics!

    JB
  2. Martin555
    Fleet Admiral
    Hi Black shoe,
    Now that i do like.
    Very nice work.
    Well done.

    Martin555.
  3. ToraDog
    Commodore
    Having had the immense pleasure of seeing both NoneSuch and her dock up close and personal, I can say the pictures do not do them justice. They both have animation effects that are a delight.
  4. Newby7Bronze
    Fleet Admiral
    Thought the first picture was real until I saw the rest of the pictures.Well done .
    Did you purchase or make the figures.If purchased were did you find them.
    Rick
  5. Martin555
    Fleet Admiral
    Hi Will,
    Could you tell us was this something you had designed and scratch built your self.?
    Or did you have some plans to work from.?

    Martin555.
  6. bruce1946
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Wow love the detail it looks great. Where did you get your figures? you did fantastic job painting them. Did you 3D print them?
  7. Black ShoeBronze
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Thank you all for the positive comments! I'm truly flattered.
    Nonesuch was one of those builds that I started a long time ago then lost interest and shelved for a couple of years. I can't say what prompted me to revisit it, but one day decided to follow through. She's totally scratch built (as is the barge,) just from memory and known proportions for this style of boat. I worked on this type of boat in the '60's and '70's on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
    What may disappoint some is the boat and barge are both built from the 2" thick blue rigid foam builders use to insulate foundations. After building up the block (much the same as the bread and butter builds with wood,) the basic hull was band-sawed out, finessed with a rasp and file, smoothed, then fiber-glassed with epoxy. The inside was hollowed out and the interior was lined with plywood to give a firm glue surface to fasten the equipment mounts. The same procedure was followed for the barge, but only under the deckhouse. The deckhouse is styrene and the pilot house is furnished with the forward console, "lazy bench" and misc. items found in "Cap's Office". The window sashes are functional.
    The figures came from "American Diorama" on US Ebay. They are 1:18 and 1:24 scale. They're designed for the automotive industry, but a little "Plastic Surgery" helps pose them for our purposes.
    Thanks again!
  8. Ronald
    Fleet Admiral
    Amazing and it still took awhile to get it just right.
  9. Black ShoeBronze
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Thank you Ron.
    My boats all seem to be a work in progress. I'll be looking at one and an idea may come to me that I hadn't considered before, so I'll mull it over for a while and if after a few days it still seems like a good idea, I'll add it to the boat. "Nonesuch" didn't get the window AC unit until last summer, and she's been underway for a couple of years now😊
  10. RNinMunichBronze
    Fleet Admiral
    Brilliant stuff Black Shoe👍
    Particular like the details such as working sashes, freight palettes and the gear box.
    Did you scratch that as well?
    Would like to see how you did the sashes cos I've been pondering how to do that on my Sea Scout, but for curtains or blinds rather than the windows themselves.
    Cheers, Doug 😎
  11. Black ShoeBronze
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Thank you Doug,
    The pallets are scratch-built. I measured a full sized one and "downsized" it. The transmission on the pallet aft came from the same plastic model truck kit that the third member (differential) came from on the barge. The "theory" is the diff. is chain driven through the pinion from an electric motor within the box. With a drum head on either side of the axle housing, one is for the boom halyard, and the other for the whip. By braking one side, only the other one would turn. Releasing the brakes would allow both sides to turn, so the operators would have to slack the tail lines and allow them to slip. Current day OSHA and safety officers would probably frown on the operation.😊

    The sashes are pretty simple with a large enough scale (these are 1:18) I've included some images that I hope match the narrative. With the frame made up square, I set a jig to cut the plastic channels all exactly the same size. Four per window. Another jig that doesn't show allows the channels to be glued into the frame at the exact depth (front to back) for all the windows just for consistency. Once these are in I cut the window "glass" (this is usually plastic from a hardware item blister pack, or any semi rigid plastic wrapping whose thickness will fit inside the channels,) to just fit the channels from side to side with just a slightest resistance on the ends to make a light friction fit. (so they stay open, but still move without distortion.) The beauty and fingernail salons over here have some 1/64" pin-stripping tape that I used to simulate the top and bottom frames of the "glass". Then, slightly bend the "glass" enough to let them into the channels, and your windows are in!
  12. Cargoman
    Chief Petty Officer 1st Class
    You had to be from the States to get that look of a pusher and the rudder detail, so little info in the UK about these boats, great photos.

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