All donations are securely managed through PayPal. Amounts donated are not published online.
Many thanks for your kind support.
Model Boats Website Team
Donation History
February 2019: 10 people January 2019: 16 people December 2018: 6 people November 2018: 11 people October 2018: 9 people September 2018: 13 people August 2018: 5 people July 2018: 8 people June 2018: 8 people May 2018: 7 people April 2018: 7 people
Speed line kit completed a year ago. Sails well and is fun to handle. Has done many hours on the water and is still in good shape considering the conditions I have subjected it to.😎
Excelsior has a very active life giving youngsters a taste of the sea with the Trust and does get about around Britain even taking part in the odd Tall Ships events. Been aboard with my camera at her home base in Lowestoft but but not sailed on her yet.
I was going to do a day sail on her in Weymouth Bay but came down with a bug before I could. Quite reasonable terms too. Crew were very friendly. Not sure if they were in Weymouth for part of the Dunkirk film filmed in Weymouth Harbour, we had three such old trawlers and drifters anchored in the centre of the harbour. Great sight.
I was given a copy of Dunkirk for Christmas but not got around to viewing it. You might spot some modern buildings and modern boats in the background at Weymouth.
Here is the last of the Lowestoft sailing trawlers. Model built using working drawings kindly supplied by the Sailing Trust. Model about 12 years old. I got a little carried away on detail! As expected she sails and handles well as all the old work sailors do. Drop keel and rudder extension added when sailing. I was intrigued to discover that the deck winch was steam powered,no doubt to help with taking in the trawl net.
Hello, Just spotted your boat, I love the gaff-rigged working craft. Built one, a Falmouth fishing boat, and I plan to do more. Your boat is very impressive, nice quality workmanship and attention to detail.
If you don't mind I am curious about a couple of things. Is it plank on plank? Did you fiberglass over the hull or just paint. What kind of wood do you use for planking.
I to, work from old drawings plans with lines and offsets.
Hi Joe, In answer to your queries, Hull was built in the bread and butter system using deal sealed inside and out with coats of yacht varnish and painted using acrylic. Subsequent models of Wherries and Chinese Junks were plank on frame using 1/8” balsa strips sealed with resin,varnish inside and out, with again acrylic paint. Balsa easier to work with to gain experience - reasonable effectiveness both in carvel and clinker planking. All the best and good sailing. Gascoigne
I’ve never seen such a motley crew ... other than on my tugboat. Photo to follow. Ha! In addition the Junk is really a sight to behold and enjoyed by members and the public alike.
The seats are all installed and soon it will be time to sand, but with temperatures of -21C in the garage shop area where the power belt sander is located, the job of sanding will wait a bit.
Does anyone have a suggestion for a small outboard motor?
Hi Granpa, There are 3 dealers in Canada (see first pic). Aero-naut has 7 model outboards. The pics show the 2 smallest, with part numbers. Please note: They are sold without props or motors but with coupling for 4mm shafts. Here you can see the specs / dimensions of all variants http://www.aero-naut.de/produkte/schiffsmodellbau/schiffsant... The 'Retro' versions on this page come complete with in-runner motor and water cooling. The Aqua Race mini complete with motor and prop is probably the one for your skiff! Happy hunting, cheers Doug 😎
After drawing on my AutoCADLt it needed to be plotted. According to the book I was using the author said if you were making the model version instead the full size, to use 1:1 1/2” if this is the same as 1:8 good.
My computer software gives many choices to plot (printing) and one is 1:1 1/2
QED👍 I simply saw your other thread with the '12 Foot Row-boat' plan and your model with a tape measure showing 18 inches. More important: did you notice my info on Canadian sources of model outboards? The Aero-naut Aqua Race mini seems ideal and not expensive. The others are more for power boats. I have something similar in an inflatable boat. (Now looking for flexible paint for it!!) Happy New Year and sailing. Cheers Doug 😎
Hi Doug ,hope santa was good to you ,at the work we use plasti dip for painting rubber parts unlike what the name says it is actually a spray and not a dip. Cheers Marky
Hi Mark, many thanks for the Plasti Dip tip!! 👍 Just found a Dutch and a German distributor so will be ordering soon.😊 The inflatable I want it for is basically a 'toy' about a foot long that I picked up for p-nuts and of course I thought it would be fun to convert to RC 😉 But I MUST do something about the original gaudy design😲 Have a happy and Healthy New Year, cheers Doug 😎 PS Santa brought me three of my favourite single malts!!! 😜😜😜 Lagavulin, Jura Superstition and Glenfarclas 😊
So glad to have this scrollsaw in the shop which has made cutting the bottom boards a very easy task. I cut the chines from Ash using this saw too with a fine blade. Look closely and there is a plexiglass cover on the table to give me a zero clearance around the blade hole, thus keeping small parts from falling under the table. A shop vac is attached to draw away the fine dust that this machine produces. My lungs are greatful too.🤓
