Forum

The London Model Engineering Exhibition

Nice display. Is the gaff on the stand an Aeronaut Bella that's been given a gaff rig instead of the original Bermudan? Interested in the schooner too, is she a model of a real ship? Nerys

4 years ago by Nerys

Response

Re: Oceanic

Hi Martin Absolutely, agree completely. Reuse comes way before the s torches! Ian

4 years ago by ikseno99

Response

Re: Kort Nozzles and Becker Rudders!

A surprisingly different way of producing a rudder profile, despite the work involved it seems to have produced a good profile, one to put in the memory bank. I suppose producing these shapes using a laser is relatively easy as they can be produced very arcuately and quickly with a minimum of programming

5 years ago by mturpin013

Response

Re: Piscataqua river gundalow

BTW Nerys, If it's any consolation - I also used Revel Plastic Putty to fix the final small blemishes on my fish . Quicker and not so much waste as mixing another batch of polyester filler.😊 Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Problems uploading photos

Mornin' Pete, Thanks👍 I'll be mailing Stephen re photos etc when I get my thoughts coherently together! Some tricky coding / algorithm changes will be needed, and we shouldn't forget that Stephen is still a member of the working society! RE "when are you going to start on HMS Manxman?" My problem is that I'm torn between HMS Manxman, a very complex construction, and my AKULA 2 Submarine! At least the AKULA hull is almost complete, only conning tower detail & scopes to do) and the rest is 'just' 🙄 fitting out; dive tank & electronics etc. I've also temporarily shelved the restorations / conversions of my fish and a PT Boat. Diverse interests 😉 HELP! What should I do? I really like Manxman as well, since I built the Airfix 1:600 kit as a kid. I read up on her history and became fascinated. Her build will really take time to be able to do her justice. I heartily agree 'Iconic'. I've seen her described as 'The last ship the RN had that LOOKED like a warship'. She survived until 1972 in various guises! Coincidentally the same year as my other RN favourite H class Destroyer HMS Hotspur, also inspired by the ancient (like me!) Airfix kit and reading her history. Inspired me to scale up the 1:600 kit and scratch build a 1:72 version when I was about fifteen. Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: New Bilde

"knitting 10mm mash is slow" Is that sour mash Catman? Or does knitting it just make you sour?😁😂 Knit one, pearl one, drop one 💥😠😭 What size needle do you use? Joking aside (as if I could😉), nice job, look forward to the detailing cos it could help me with my fish - new ground for me! Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: Billing Boats St Canute Tug Kit

No sweat Richard👍 This site is full of us bin there dun that guys😉 "l had a problem trying to plank the stern of the St Canute so l replaced planks with blocks of balsa" He he!😁 I did exactly the same on the stern of the ancient Billing fish , Gina 2, I am (slowly🙄) restoring and converting to RC. See pics, there's also a Build Blog on the site. After rough shaping of the block I sealed and hardened the balsa with Deluxe Materials EzeKote resin. Water based so no hardener, no pong and easy to clean the brush with warm water😊 Then used fine polyester filler, the green stuff in the pics, and a rubber sanding block for fine shaping. When done I applied EzeKote to the whole hull. Dried in half an hour outside in the sun. Then fine sanding 240/400 grade, then a coat of grey filler-primer. A little finishing filler on the blemishes which always show up at this stage 😠 gentle sanding with 400/600 wet n dry then on with the white! Patience is the main ingredient though. Good luck and much success👍, Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

What have I got?

Thanks Dodgy👍 Look forward to that. Might try balsa and harden it with EzeKote anyway. Like Martin haven't worked with balsa for years, apart from the new stern for my fish . And a similar technique worked for my destroyer all those years ago😊 Re water ballast - I'll think about that! Was pondering using the load modules as ballast. Cheers, Doug 😎 PS I don't mind doing the cutting out myself, the table fret saw will help there. Besides, I don't know of any equivalent of Maker Space around her.

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

looking for plans

Hi Doug, Always nice when you agree with me, it's good confirmation. Talking of ships lifeboats. I'm going back to the late forties, there was one called Sunbeam that used to dominate the 'sailing cruiser ' class in the local regattas racing with a varied collection of 'proper' yachts. She was 24ft, she'd had a false keel bolted on. No attempt at a cabin, just half decked like a day boat and rigged as a gaff , topsail, flying jib, the lot, but could she sail. Probably the real secret was her owner, a retired pilot. Cheers, Nerys

5 years ago by Nerys

Forum

Work with Balsa wood

Absolutely JB👍 Martin, soon you'll tell the hard from the soft by just looking at it. Hard is closer grained with a more compact surface. In the 'old days' they used to colour code on the ends; green for soft, red for hard. Or was it t'other way round? 🙄 Do they still do that? If you don't like the pong of dope (smells like Pear Drops) you can use diluted (with water) EzeKote. That's what I did on the balsa block I used to repair the stern of my ancient fish . Makes the blocks harder and easy to sculpt for filling in awkward curves at bow and stern. Cutting: the softer the balsa the thinner and sharper the knife (scalpel) or razor saw. Don't press too hard or you'll squash it like a cheesecake😋 Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: HELP needed on a hull.

I have just Googled Bristol Channel Pilot , and there are some very good pictures. I have put the site into my favourites so I can go from there. But it would still be great if I could get some sort of plan on paper from somewhere. Thanks again.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

Response

Re: HELP needed on a hull.

She looks to me very much like a pilot or similar and if she was mine that's how I'd rig her. Gaff with a jackyard tops'l. Find pictures of a Bristol Channel Pilot and work from those. She could be a very nice boat, I like her.. Good luck with her, Nerys

5 years ago by Nerys

Response

Re: HELP needed on a hull.

Nice looking hull. perhaps something along the lines of a Gaff rigged . Nerys would be the one to ask about this.

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

Wow - was I wrong . In the pictures it looked flimsy. The ones Ive seen here use smallish routers (bigger than a Dremel) running at very high RPM (25 To 30k) and the cross bars are heavy I beams. They make the moving bar on the laser look like a kids toy. Not one I've seen here is recommended for anything less than a 3mm head

5 years ago by redpmg

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

"....but would have to be a bit more powerful/stronger build even for Jelutong....." You can cut steel with a Shapeoko (slowly!) so long as you have the right spindle and . It's designed for a DeWalt or a Makita - I would use a Dremel clone when cutting something like ply - and a stronger tool. But then it would be much noisier. Using a model boat motor is unusual, but I have shown that it works with balsa...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

There doesn't seem to be any complaint about the machine fundamentals in those reviews - their problems are with understanding how to use it, and the quality control and packing. In fact, one said that the quality of the parts was 'very good'. Nothing was said about some of the most important aspects of the machine, which I have extracted below: Max travel distances: X: 160mm Y: 100mm Z: 45mm Repeat positioning accuracy: 0.1~0.05mm (no load) Max material depth: 30mm Something that can only do 4" max dimension parts is very limiting! That positioning accuracy would be ok for load, but they spec 'unloaded'? I know that will depend on the material and , but I would like a better understanding of the stiffness than that... You can get machines with cutting beds of 12" for between £100-200 on ebay - but I think boat modellers would be better off getting a 36"x12" Eshapeoko or similar. Base cost of that would be £300, plus £100 for motors and controller...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

HobbyKing are doing a CNC mill for a ridiculous 85 quid! (or thereabouts). And you can replace the head with a laser if you wish. Beyond that, I know nothing of such alchemy. Martin

5 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Resurrection could be possible.

Grrrrr😠 Just wrote some text, selected the associated photos and ... ALL TEXT VANISHED GRRRRR! So here we go again!🤔 Just downloaded the Billing Instruction Book. Basic construction is basically the same as the Billing fish I am currently restoring and converting from static to RC. So have already learned a few tricks in that respect. Booklet includes all dimensions and details of the mast parts and spars so no problem there either. Masts and spars can be easily tapered from dowels on the mini lathe, or even at a pinch a mini drill clamped in a bench vice. So no insurmountable problems there, I hope😉 All the decoration and twiddly bits is another kettle of steamed fish though 😮 Are the fittings still there? See 3rd pic. We'll see. maybe Colin finds a local taker!? Kit seems to date from the early 80's. Just like my ancient fish Gina 2. Blog of my hull restoration for that is on this site😊 Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

Now we are on the home straight! We have a drawing, a reasonable structure, and we can start pulling out the detail. It's at this stage that I usually confuse myself completely, since I will make numerous slight alterations to put bulkheads and formers in better positions for several reasons - internal layout, better strength and balance.... and I end up with several dozen slightly different hull designs, each of which are slightly incompatible with numerous slightly different bulkheads, and I then lose track of which parts go with which others... However, here are some examples of the output from this stage. The superstructure base(fig32) is going to have to be made from parts as I mentioned earlier. The bulkheads (fig33) can now all be drawn with their slots and tabs, ready for assembling into the classic egg-box on the sub-deck (fig34). The front formers and the keel are taken off the drawing, again with tabs drawn (fig35)... There will be quite a number of other parts to be drawn and made - the transom and other flat sections of the stern, the triangular bulkheads under the subdeck, the trapezoid plates which go to make up the funnel and mast, and other details like the anchor well. Almost all of these parts will be uninteresting rectangles with dimensions taken off the drawing, so I am not going to list them all down here. The full set of parts, however, will be needed when it comes to the cutting stage, because we will be trying to get as little wastage as possible from the balsa, and sneaking little triangular formers into all available gaps on the sheets. I will take a bit of a break now, because I need to get the water-jets delivered before doing the final stern design - and I am running short of balsa, so I will need more of that! I may cut a few parts on a sheet of 1/8" inch as an illustration. To do this you simply arrange the parts you want into a 4"x36" rectangle, load the with a 4"x35" balsa sheet and send a file describing the parts to the over a USB link. We will cover the software used and the stages of converting the drawing file to cutting instructions at that point...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

I thought we were talking Ezebilt. Covering balsa with cloth and other preparations is not Eze. It's a royal faff. Much easier to just use a decent material in the first place like plywood. I have foam aircraft that are immensely stiff and light. Far more so than balsa, although without that rather crude packing tape they get dented like balsa, but are far less brittle so take crashes more easily. But we were talking about what's easy to build for beginners and no kind of coating is as easy as a basic kit, but that model will break sooner rather than later. Doped tissue might work fairly easily as will cellulose sanding sealer. But that's still a faff and sanding sealer has become a very considerable cost. Doug, when you mentioned FG, I understood it to be light cloth or tissue, but it needs to be soaked with another coating to make it useful. More faff. I have no experience of Ezekote although I have heard of it. I covered my mahogany strip planked in epoxy coated cloth, but it took a LOT of rubbing down. But a large heavy boat requires a certain toughness. My other boats are not covered in anything but paint, though they are epoxied internally to allow for water protection. made of plywood and squeegeed with epoxy (no cloth) they are then painted. My old boats of course, are just paint and have never leaked a drip in nearly 60 years, so I am still not convinced by this fashion for encapsulating everything. I fear it might be a cover for poor craftsmanship. I say that as IU rushed the and there were indeed a few gaps, but I am not able to spend the time I used to on projects. If I want an end result I sometimes cheat to save a lot of time. I wanted a model of the boat I'd lived ion, not an exercise in yachtbuilding so I banged the strips on and then covered it. It is now like a rock of course and utterly waterproof for ever. Martin

5 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Propeller direction.

Which is the leading edge?😮 Attached info from Raboesch, one of the best brass prop makers I know. Serve my warships, fish and Sea Scout very well 😊 Cheers, Doug 😎 PS Matches what I saw on various GA drawings during my work on ship comms systems😉

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Directory

Mermaid sport fisherman

Mermaid is built from a fibreglass hull I purchased on ebay. I saw it several times and finally gave in and purchased it. It is from "bhc" and it is a good quality product. They have many types of hulls but no plans so you are on your own. I decided it would be a sport fisherman with a cuddy cabin and outboard motor. I made many cardboard patterns till I was satisfied. I always wanted to try an outboard. Motor shell was purchased from Graupner and fitted with an Astro 05 motor that I had on hand. (I may change that). Haven't really tried it yet, but goes well in the Jacuzzi. It not quite finished yet Graphics are by "Callies" they are an internet company that will make you anything you want at a reasonable price. They were very understanding and cooperative. I highly recommend them. It was much cheaper and easier than buying your own vinyl

5 years ago by Commodore-H

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

A strong magnet would work - but in fact I have found that: - cutting 1/16" and 1/8" balsa sheet - using a 0.5mm cutting tool and a 12v boat motor the sideways cutting forces are sufficiently small for a simple raised lip around the cutting table to hold the sheet in place. One difficulty with passing round files of 'cutting instructions' to people so that they can create their own kits is that the cutting machines are all different. They will all accept 'G-Code' of some kind, but that code effectively says things like 'Go to position 25"x2" and cut a circle radius 2 inches'. Now, if you have a machine that only has a 10" cutting bed, you can't do that. You have to reposition the part so that it fits onto your . So I've passed a DXF file to Nick - this is a CNC file with the shapes drawn on it. He will have to take each shape and position it on his machine where he want to cut. I have designed my machine to be able to take a standard sheet of 4"x36" balsa, because I expect to do most of my cutting that way. If other people have cutting beds which can do this, i can pass them cutting files directly. Another difficulty with cutting everything out of a single sheet is that one part may fall out of the sheet while cutting is going on in another part of the sheet. The best way I have found to avoid this is to not cut completely through the balsa sheet - leave a small gap of about 5 thou. Then you can easily push the shapes out later...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Hintsand tips - Decals made easy

"....It's a lot easier and cheaper then buying a vinyl and learning how to use it. It might not cost much more than a pack of decal paper...." I can't report on the 'learning how to use it' part, since I haven't started, but having a CNC machine means that you can add all sorts of tools onto the cutting end. At the moment I just use a small router to cut balsa - I would use a bigger one or a laser to cut ply - and I have just bought a 'swiveling knife' set to cut vinyl. Cost of a mount and 15 blades - £4.37. Should let me cut any size or shape character out of vinyl (or anything else) sheet...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Hintsand tips - Decals made easy

A really good way to get nice graphics is to order vinyl graphics from a web company called "Callies". Vinyl graphics are much sturdier than decals. They are very understanding of the needs of modelers. They will make whatever you specify for very reasonable charge. You deal with the company by email. You can get images and text; of whatever you need and specify colors, size, font etc. It's almost too good to be true. After you contact them with a request, you will receive an email with a price. They can easily produce replicates, so you can get some spares in case one is damaged or you want to stick some on your transmitter, boat stand or toolbox. It's a lot easier and cheaper then buying a vinyl and learning how to use it. It might not cost much more than a pack of decal paper.

5 years ago by Commodore-H

Blog

New drive Train and Oiler

Most of this actually took place last August / July! Regular readers may have seen that when Dad built this boat in the 60s he put a Taycol Target field motor in it. About 25 years ago I put a Decaperm and 'modern' transistor ESC in her to provide forward and reverse. Performance was sedate to say the least. I have since modified the Taycol (see below) so it can be run forward and reverse and decided to put it in an ancient Billings Boats Danish fish (Gina) that I inherited from an Aunt. The is badly in need of renovation (see pic 1) and the Taycol will be more suited to her performance requirement! On advice from Canabus in Hobart I obtained a Propdrive 2830 1000kV brushless motor, appropriate ESC and a 35mm 3 blade prop from Raboesch. Pic 2 shows the old and new motors. Next step was to trial fit new motor mount, coupling and prop. Pics 3 &4. While doing this it became obvious that a new shaft was in order, as mentioned in last update. Soooo, - appropriate stainless steel rod, thrust washers and set ring were acquired and back to the workshop. After cutting to length to accommodate the new coupling type a 3mm thread was cut a the prop end. At the inboard end I milled recesses for the grub screws in the set ring and the coupling, pics 5 - 7. I don't like to just file(or even mill) flats for the screws cos they have a tendency to slip and work loose😡 Trial fitted the new shaft and found I'd boobed a bit with the measurements and need extra thrust washers to make up the difference. 😲 Pic 8. No sweat, they came in a pack of 50 anyway😊 You can also see in this pic that I decided to fit an oiler pipe while everything was in bits anyway.😉 To solder it on in a cramped space without setting the boat on fire 😡 I packed a wet rag underneath and used a gas Kitchen Torch! Known as a 'Gas Gourmet Burner'. Yep, those handy little gas torches like your Missus uses to melt the brown sugar on her Crème Brûlée!! So do I, delicious 😜😉 The torches are not expensive, small, very handy, refillable with lighter gas and can be adjusted to a very small hot flame. ideal for this job. See pics 9 & 10. Pic 11 shows the new motor & mount, shaft and coupling all trial fitted after using a brass alignment tool I quickly made up on the lathe. Pic also shows the trial electrical installation after cleaning up the 'machinery compartment' a little and painting with silver Hammerite. A Quickrun BL ESC is sitting in the bottom in one of the trays my Dad originally fitted for the 2 wet cell (very wet!) 6V lead acid batteries. The home made board on the left carries the battery and ESC connectors, main ON/OFF switch with LED, blade fuse holder with a 20A fuse and a green LED which tells me if the fuse is blown! Stuck on the walls (OK Bulkheads!) with so called Servo Tape are a 6 ch Turnigy iA6 2.4Gig RX and the arming switch for the ESC. Battery compartment is sized to fit 2S and 3S hard case LiPos. For trials I can fit my Wattmeter forward of the switchboard and splice it into the battery supply using Tamiya connectors. Might change these to XT60s later if current drain is more than 12 to 15A. All for now, all this was pulled out again preparatory to cosmetics on the hull, decks, cabin roof and walls inside and out. But that's another chapter so, 'Tune in next week, same time same channel when once again it's time for 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN BUCK RODGERS IS APPROACHING!? 😁 Or 'The Saga of the Cabin Roof' 😉 Cheers Doug 😎 BTW: After drilling the shaft tube for the oiler pipe I flushed it out with light machine oil (pumped in from a big syringe) and shoved a few pipe cleaners through (rotating them on the way) to remove any remaining drill swarf!!

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Reversing Field-Wound motors

That's what I intend to do Dodgy, with my Target. If I'm happy with it I'll fit it to my fish . As you say it eliminates the voltage drop across the diodes, and also the heat generated in the bridge👍 @ Colin-H; if you like I'll send you one to replace the rectifier version you have? Cheers, Doug

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: Puffer build

Hi Dave, You might take a look at the weathering paint and wash sets available from LifeColor. See attached catalogue. It also contains hints and tips for application. See page 10 in particular; rust, salt streaks, deck and detail washes etc. I've bought the Rust set but haven't had the guts to try it yet. Candidates are my Destroyer, U-Boat fish and tug. When / IF I get the hang of it then on to HMS Belfast and Graf Spee. Think I'll practise on some spare plasticard first!! Good luck 🤞 Doug

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: Refit Irishman to Yorkshireman tugboat

" It had had at least 4 coats of paint the latest being done by what looked like a plasterer." Funny that Rogal! I had exactly the same situation with the restoration / conversion of an ancient Billing Boats fish , the Gina 2. Dave-M actually said he thought it looked like it had been plastered! 😮 Pics show the wreck I started with and where I'm at. Paint finish in last pic is actually Arctic White, lighting and camera makes it look very off white!😮 Oh well! She'd been at sea for a while 😁 You can follow my 'trail' in my Build Blog at https://model-boats.com/blogs/43305 I am also converting Gina from the original static model to RC. I restored a period (50s) Taycol Target motor to go in her. Pic 3. The Taycol came from the Sea Scout 'Jessica' that my Dad built in the early 60s. My Blog of restoring her is also on this site. Similar techniques used😉 https://model-boats.com/blogs?q=Jessica Happy restoring, it's sometimes frustrating but in the end very rewarding.😊 I also have an ELCO PT Boat under similar restoration and refit/upgrade. (No blog as yet!) Good luck with your venture 👍 Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: Veronica build. London sailing barge

Hi Ken, First I would sand to shape more so you won't need so much filler. If the filler is too thick it may be more prone to rattling out with knocks and vibration. When I did the 'orrible 'ull on the fish I inherited I first sanded to shape as close as I could. I had already beefed up the hull by applying FG tissue and Ezekote on the inside, just in case it might fall apart on removing the 1/16" or so of ancient oil based paints.😮 When happy with the form I applied wood sealer. THEN filler, then Ezekote resin AFTER the filler was fully hardened and sanded back. This ensures that the filler is fully sealed in and the hull watertight. If you apply the filler over the resin it may be more prone to 'coming unstuck' 😭 Here my Blog so far on the restoration and conversion from static to RC. https://model-boats.com/blogs/43305#43307 Pics attached show what I had to start with 🤔 Current status and how I got there in the Blog. Happy filling, cheers, Doug😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: Pilot Boat.

Most excellent job I couldn't decide if it was the real thing at first glance. Would like to be able to get pictures as good for my two I have one the first rc boat I built the 2 second the raf fire tender courtesy of Marky I have a 1/16 scale sailboat Bristol channel pilot needs finishing but it the setting up of the sail workins that's holding things up and no one for advice. Layers Mick. (Gravedigger)

5 years ago by Gravedigger47

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Aluminium for stables? Perhaps a slab of oak would be more appropriate? I am cutting slices off old oak fence posts for use as coasters and think I can engrave them using the 'boat motor ' - so long as the cut is not deep. A laser would be ideal - but the cost and the danger mean that it needs a bit of thinking about. I must look up the Rumba and mega2560. One issue I have with the Uno and GRBL is that the software does not do 'tool radius compensation'. You have to do this in your conversion, and Dfx2Gcode does not do this either. I do not know if there is a GRBL version running on the 2650 which does do this. Essentially you need a GRBL which implements G41/2 commands, or you will have to do the compensation in your original drawing. I am using sub-milimeter cutting tools for balsa, so the compensation required is negligible and can be ignored, but when cutting ply I may need to worry about it. Your TMC2130s may not need endstops, but the limit switches are also used for homing. You will find that if you want to cut lots of parts out of a single sheet of material, it helps to be able to home accurately. GRBL allows you to have a 'master machine home' and then several subsidiary homes. So, when cutting, I start with the in the master home position in the top right corner, then move it to a secondary home position which is directly over the workpiece top right, then do all of my cutting in relation to that secondary home position...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

You seem to be doing pretty much the same thing as I am! I picked an eShapeoko whose mechanical kits are a fair bit cheaper, which meant I could afford the longer rails initially, but apart from that we are pretty much identical! Oh, and I'm using a different breakout board... You will be adding limit switches? I find them essential for decent control, but also found it a bit tricky to get data on the best way to connect them to an Arduino. Does Ox provide an advised circuit and pinouts? I see you are using DesignSpark. I don't think this accepts .DXF files, which are the standard 2-D interchange format. It will output them, but not import, which seems crazy to me! Which is a shame, because I could send you any of the model boat plans on the EeZeBilt or Marinecraft sites as a .DXF... Most of the EeZebilts can be made on the cutting area you have, and all the Marinecraft. You don't need a powerful router to cut balsa - a model boat motor is sufficient, with a cheap Chinese for a couple of quid. The great thing about that is that there is essentially no cutting noise, just the quiet hum of the motor. A 4" wide plank with balsa edges will hold a sheet nice and firmly. What materials are you thinking of cutting? I am experimenting with cutting ply, and find that old dental burrs (which I got free from my dentist!) will go through 1/8" deal like butter powered by a Graupner Speed 400.

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Response

Re: Z-39 German WW2 Destroyer

Hi Haig, Be a while til I get around to building one. Still at the planning / info & pic gathering stage. For 'practice' I have a 1/350 kit of Z30. Before building one at 1/72 I need to get my fish and PTB renovations finished. Next on the list is the Deans 1/96 HMS Manxman. After that my Akula II kit! Right now I'm occupied sorting out some Brexit issues with the German authorities.☹️ My residents permit needs to be 'Retitled' apparently.🤔 Some detail of your 'modules' could be useful, how about a short Blog or 'How To'?? All the best, Doug 😎 PS Great pic👍 The originals apparently did that as well, too much top weight. On many ships the twin 150mm mounts were swapped for single mounts to reduce this.

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

"....I want one😊....." Easy to obtain! In retrospect I bought one that was a little too wide for model boat use - it has a cutting width of around 15", while the next size down at 10" would have been fine for most purposes. But you really need the length. Perhaps I should have gone for the 55" rather than the 36". This is probably the cheapest way to get a of this size. But I suspect that the prices will be coming down all the time, and I look forward to the time when we can simply pass G-Code files to each other rather than plans...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

The vacuum jig seems to hold items very well - but there is always a danger that something may be nudged by the and then items cut inside it may be out of place... I found that leaving a few thou uncut keeps everything nicely in position. The ragged edges seem to be caused by moving the too fast through the wood when the RPM was low. They seem to have cleared up now that I am using 6-flute s instead or 2-flute. I suspect that when I go to ply I will need to use a beefier drive motor and slower feed speeds - probably multi-pass as well. But I've completed a whole kit now and will put it together before moving onto ply or other hard woods. One thing I would like to do is dump a log on the work area and carve a Streamlinia out of solid. But that will have to wait for a while.... 😊

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

hull trouble on vintage yacht

Why would that be Colin? Suitably flattened off with wet n dry and then primed there shouldn't be any problem! At least I never had any. Mind you, I personally prefer to use the Deluxe Ezekote (Ezecote?) It has several advantages over epoxy:- One part so no messy mixing No rushing about if you put too much hardner in😮 Water based so no 'orrible pong and no rock hard brushes😆 just wash 'em out with warm water😉 Dries and can be sanded and primed in 20 - 30 minutes. That's what I've done with the wooden hulls of my Sea Scout, fish and PTB and it's worked a treat. Cheers, Doug😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

hull trouble on vintage yacht

Hi Jacko, Colin's dead right I'm afraid🤔 If you only seal the inside, to stop water entering the hull, water can still soak into the wood from the real problem outside. The wood will then start to rot! On my fish I used EzeKote (Deluxe Materials) with FG tissue on the inside. The several coats of Ezekote on the outside. I had previously found any leaks or weak (thin) spote in the hull by shining a bright light inside it. Good luck🤞 Cheers, Doug😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

While it helps to be accurate, the final trimming of the work holder is done by the machine itself. Here I am cutting the edges of the holder so that a sheet of 4" balsa will be neatly held. That's about 1.6mm wider than a 100mm sheet, so I will need a packing strip if I use the metric sizes. It's surprising how precise these machines are - I'm moving the in by 0.1mm each pass, but it can move in much smaller steps - one microstep is 6.25 microns, which is about 2.5 ten thousandths of an inch. The balsa will be held between some raised sides made of hard balsa, so that they can be cut easily by the machine if I get a command wrong and move the out of the work area. I expect to put a 2mm felt layer below so that the will have something soft if it goes completely through the workpiece.

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Response

Re: Painting

Hi Peter, sorry for late answer, been a bit distracted lately🤔 I guess it's to due with the pigment used and the fact that being white it doesn't filter out any of the colour wavelengths of light, as coloured paints do. I always use a white primer and/or undercoat. As I did in the white cabin of my Sea Scout, and recently also the hull of the fish I'm renovating and converting. I see that you are using generous dollops of 'the secret ingredient' in your painting👍 Nice work, you must have quite a fleet by now! Cheers Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Bristol pilot mascotte

Hi, Great build blog for Mascotte, and a fabulous end product! Harking way back if I can, to the sail control for Mascotte. I am about to embark on a build of Cariad (or at least a pilot similar to Cariad ). I'm trying to figure out the sail control for the two foresails. The front one overlaps the second, how did you get one to move over the other when tacking? A fellow club member has successfully built a spinnaker control for an IOM which has some of the features needed - treating the front sail as a spinnaker. But i'm open to any ideas. Sam

5 years ago by sam

Forum

Bristol pilot mascotte

Hello all this is my latest build of the Kingston mouldings Bristol pilot 'mascotte' was purchased from a forum friend who no longer had time to build it. Sadly Kingston mouldings has now closed down. The first job was to glue the lead ballast into the bottom of the hull, this was done by using fibreglass resin then a couple of layers of fibreglass to seal the lead shot into the built in keel

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Forum

Old outboard motor...

GRP dinghy, ancient outboard separated into it's halves. The dinghy was made by a company that had done a Bristol Channel Pilot which a friend was working on before he died suddenly. He decided that he wouldn't use the dinghy and gave it to me. I was thinking of using it for a mini steam plant as a river launch, but that's too far in the future. I think I may have a suitable dolly for the boatman. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Bristol pilot mascotte

its our moto isn't it Doug " welcome to the mad house you don't need to be NUTS but it sure helps" 😜 besides we don't do the norm

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Forum

Bristol pilot mascotte

Thanks Ron appreciate that👍 Looks like it'll be a while before I get that far but I'm sure I'll be coming back to you. Not the least because I am converting a (badly built🤔) static model to RC and have an ambition to make the sails work as well. I know, NUTS!😁 But then, aren't we all just a little 😉 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Bristol pilot mascotte

Thanks Doug for your kind words, looks like you have a big job on there Doug and if need help with the rigging I would be more than happy to help were I can

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Forum

Bristol pilot mascotte

Brillo 👍 Hat off Sir 😉 May be asking your help some time about re-rigging the mess of a fish I inherited. Just took her apart and started renovating the hull. Wotta mess 🤔😲 More filler than wood and stern made from a cardboard tape reel 😡 Last pic is roughly what she should look like!

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Bristol pilot mascotte

Have got the main sail finally fitted after some minor length adjustment on some of the rigging Pic 1 shows the hand made curtain rings made using 1mm brass rod. Pic 2 shows mid way through threading the rope along the boom. Ron

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Forum

Bristol pilot mascotte

Great job on your build, lots of patients! I commend you sir!

6 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

Bristol pilot mascotte

I find that when the boat is nearing completion I don't always contemplate that there is something I haven't thought through.Just want to get the boat finished and on the water. You're doing a fabulous job on this boat.Waiting to see it on the water.I have been following the construction.Excellant workmanship.

6 years ago by Donnieboy