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    Blog
    Mast assembly
    The supplied mast is of white metal and although OK it has a number of minus points for me. 1- The mast does not lend its self to being hinged. 2- It really needs navigation light on top and the supplied casting is not suitable for this. 3- wiring needs to be hidden, not easy with the casting 4- it’s quite heavy Having said all that it’s ok if you don’t want my wish list. So on with the manufacture of a replica, I chose brass as the preferred material because it’s easy to silver and soft solder. The main legs are made from 6mm round tube, which I squeezed in my machine vice to an oval shape to look like the castings, each of the ends were then squeezed again at 90 degrees to allow then to join to the cross mid-section. I made some brass inserts for the hinged end from 2mm brass sheet, which are bent by 25 degrees to allow the hinge mechanism to sit at 90 degrees to the cabin roof, these are drilled and tapped 8BA. These pieces actually block the end of the oval tube and need to have a 2mm slot milled in them to allow the wires to exit the tube; these are soft soldered in place later. Two feet were made from two pieces of 2mm brass plate the base plate being slotted to accept the upright and finally silver soldered together. (A point here for silver soldering is to use as little solder as possible and allow it to flow with the heat around the joint this means that no filing is needed. I find it’s also good practice to quench the part when nearly cool to break the glass like residue of the flux then just steel wool is required to clean the parts). The feet upstands were then drilled 8BA clearance and the base fixing holes drilled the same size. The cross mid-section is made from 1mm brass sheet and is bent through 360 degrees whilst placing a 6mm round bar in the centre to create a hole for the top mast. A small wooden
    former
    was used as the piece was pressed together in the machine vice, this was then silver soldered to give stability and then filed to shape. This piece has to accommodate the wires passing through, so again a 2mm slot is milled from each leg location to the centre to create passage up to the top mast. The top mast is just stock tubing which then has a turned top with four 5mm holes machined at 90 degrees to accommodate the LED. This is a 5mm Flat top wide angle LED this will direct the light out of the four holes. Finally the cross piece, again stock tube with small ball finials at each end soft soldered in place and tapped 10 BA for the pulley blocks. All pieces now made, it’s time to assemble the parts using a combination of soft soldering and epoxy resin. The wire that I used was silicon sheaved, and when I soldered the legs to the mid-section and lower hinge piece I made sure there was enough wire to pull through to check if the process had damaged the wire, but it hadn’t. So having soldered the LED, the top was epoxied to the upper tube and the tube epoxied to the mid-section. Finally the mid-section was filled using Milliput but first putting some Vaseline on the wires to avoid them being stuck should I ever have to rewire the unit. Next the cross beam was added and epoxied in place. The bottom of the legs looked plain compared with the cast version so I have made some thin gauge brass covers with mock bolts as per the original. The whole assembly was cleaned up ready for a first coat of etch primer, and white primer, followed later with a final coat of appliance white
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Forum
    Shroud for Model Air Boat
    Copper will solder well (though it will take some heat!). But unless you use a very light and flimsy gauge it will be very heavy. Brass will solder well - don't know the size of prop you want - may be a bit expensive. You can bend thin sheet round a
    former
    to make any diameter shroud. Aluminium tube should do, if you can get an off-cut the size you want. Don't play around with aluminium soldering, which is a specialist job - but small pop rivets will work perfectly... We don't know the size you are interested in, so it's hard to advise on materials. But if your boats are static models, card or thin plastic sheet will be fine. A slice from a plastic squash bottle may fit the bill?
    5 years ago by DodgyGeezer
    Blog
    The bow blocks & outer keel
    The bow of the boat has a compound curve and to create the shape a single block of hard balsa is supplied in the kit, although in my pre-production prototype this had to be formed by laminating some pieces of thick balsa together to the required size. Rather than laminating up a single block separately I did the laminating and glueing in situ on the hull to ensure a solid tight block, and after the glue had cured I set about shaping it. Initially I used a razor saw to roughly remove the surplus at the sides and bottom and then began the process of shaping it to the final form. My sanding plate proved invaluable for the final stages of making the block flush with the hull sides. The underside of the blocks were very carefully shaped with a combination of the sanding plate and abrasive paper around a series large round
    former
    s. I was careful not to just use abrasive paper over fingers as this can create grooves and unevenness in the soft balsa. I had already created a concave shape in the bulkhead
    former
    F1 and with the ply bottom skins in place it was relatively easy to extend the contour into the bow blocks being very careful to ensure symmetry on both sides. A line was drawn on the blocks that extended the curve of the hull strakes to define the shape. I also used the outer keel as a template throughout the shaping process to make sure that I was not removing too much material. it would be very easy to remove too much material so it pays to do this slowly and carefully, checking all the time for symmetry. Finally when I was happy with the shape I formed a slight flat on the blocks for the outer keel to sit on, using a back light helped greatly with this, and the whole hull was given a light sanding with a detail sander. The prototype kit was supplied with keel components made from thick balsa which would easily be damaged in use so I recreated this in thick ply laminations to the required thickness and shaped it so that it was completely flat and square on the inner edges and with a curved profile on its outer edges. The keel was checked for fit on the hull throughout so that only a minimum amount of filler would be required to blend it to the hull. It was fixed in place with epoxy adhesive and firmly pinned until it fully set and very little filler used to finish it. The kit, which is available now from VMW, includes a single piece bow block and ply keel parts as standard, which makes construction much quicker and easier. I’m glad that bit is over and I’m very pleased with the result. Next stage will be glass fibre cloth and epoxy resin….
    5 years ago by robbob
    Forum
    Book on Sailing Barges
    There are many excellent books on Thames Sailing Barges, but for the modeller, I think 'Handbook of Sailing Barges' by F.S.Cooper and John Chancellor is one of the best. Fred Cooper was a well known Barge Skipper, John Chancellor, a
    former
    Merchant Navy Officer, lived with his family on the sailing barge Viper for many years. An accomplished artist, he illustrated this book with excellent line drawings of every aspect of the rig, deck fittings and construction details. There are usually copies for sale on Amazon and Abe Books. Nerys
    5 years ago by Nerys
    Forum
    Mamoli Puritan yacht plans
    What-ho chaps, hope you all had a merry one. I appear to have become the 'proud' owner of a Mamoli kit for the Americas Cup cup boat 'Puritan'. Everything is in the box with the exception of the plans, instructions and the keel and
    former
    s to build the hull. There is evidence the the owner had started to build the boat, some of the detail parts have been assembled, companion ways and the like, but all the hull planking appears to still be in its pack. I suspect he took the missing parts out to start the hull but got distracted. Sadly he died earlier this year but the kit is a few years old. Now this is where you come in, hopefully. Has anyone out there built this now out of production kit and still has the plans that came with it? If so can you send me a copy, I'll pay the copying and postage costs, or can you send scans of the plans?. The interweb has yielded a set of lines and I think I can get them into scale, having found the basic dimensions of the boat, but the actual plans might yield information to ease the build. Either way I hope to produce a build blog along the way - but I've set out to do that before and failed on a Type 21 frigate HMS Active built from scratch, got carried away building the boat. Thanks in advance Graham 'smiggy'
    5 years ago by smiggy
    Blog
    Plumbing the water-cooling for the ESC
    The HobbyKing ESC I’m using has the facility for water cooling and as it will be in an enclosed location without any free ventilation it seems sensible to utilise this feature. To keep the water circuit as short as possible I will put the pickup just behind the propeller and the exhaust on the stern but as the boat has a bulkhead just in front of the stern skin I need to make an access hole through it to allow me to secure the nut on the stern skin. I made a hole through the bulkhead large enough to get a socket on the nut and reinforced the hole with a ply plate, similarly I reinforced the inside of the stern skin where the outlet passes through it. When I was happy that the arrangement worked and I could attach the hoses and securing clips easily I glued and pinned the stern skin to the hull. The water pickup is a standard one that is readily available but it’s supplied with overly large and ugly fixing nuts, the inside one is of no consequence but I thought that the outer one needed smartening up so I put it on a threaded rod and locked it in place with another nut and put that into the chuck of a drill and used a file to re-shape the nut to a pleasing taper….who needs a lathe......😜 I had to reduce the height of the inner keel
    former
    as the pickup tube is not long enough to get a good fixing with the internal nut, as the inner keel is balsa I fitted a ply reinforcing plate to spread the load. The last β€˜photo shows the location of the ESC, main battery fuse and receiver. The hoses will be secured to the ESC with spring clips throughout. I found that the silicone tube I use tends to kink rather easily if the radius of a bend is too small and I found it necessary to form a tight spring coil around the piece that loops the water back through the ESC to prevent this happening.
    5 years ago by robbob
    Blog
    Internal wiring & bottom skins
    Because I am keen to conceal as much of the wiring as possible I have decided to place the battery at the bow and the operational equipment at the stern, the engine on the original boat was central and covered with a soundproof box and this is convenient as the motor can be positioned and concealed in the same way. This means that some of the wires will have to run the full length of the boat and the easiest way to conceal them is to run them beneath the β€˜box’ around which the hull is formed, and this needs to be done before the bottom skins are fitted. Holes were bored through the bulkhead
    former
    s under the port side of the hull and battery cables were run to the stern where the ESC will be and three motor wires from the ESC run to the centre, emerging near the motor position. For good measure I put in a servo cable and a separate draw wire just in case I needed to put more cabling in for any additional features, perhaps working navigation lights? Satisfied that I had all the cabling in place I was able to fit the bottom skins starting with the starboard side first. Before doing so I put a very slight 'hollow' in
    former
    F1 which should help blend the shape of the the hull where the ply skins meet the balsa blocks that will to be carved and shaped to form the bow. This can be seen in the last picture. The process of forming and fixing the skins is the same as for the side skins but in addition to the pins holding the skins in place I used some brown polythene β€˜packing tape’ to pull the skins tightly against the bulkhead
    former
    s and strakes. The packing tape has a very high tensile strength and is ideal for this, and of course cheap and easy to remove. Once the aliphatic glue had set thoroughly overnight I removed the excess from the skins with a small block plane and finished them with my sanding plate. Before I fit the skin at the stern I will have to arrange the water cooling for the ESC, with the pickup just behind the prop and the outlet on the stern. I’ll cover that aspect in the next update.
    5 years ago by robbob
    Forum
    flue
    Double thickness of tinplate formed by folding along it's length shaped round a
    former
    and soldered in place. Epoxy if on alloy .If you want lugs just fold and pinch in a vice or pliers.Drill holes as required for stays. Or just solder on.πŸ‘ Takes patience but very effective.
    5 years ago by onetenor
    Blog
    Fitting the side skins.
    The side skins are made from 1.5mm ply and require a slight curve towards the bow and I found that this is best achieved by gently warming with a heat gun, which seems to relax the glue between the laminations, so that when bent to a gentle curve and allowed to cool will set the shape very easily. The skins are supplied are slightly oversize and when the skins have been bent they can be roughly clamped to the hull and then marked for trimming, also while the skin is clamped in place the positions of the bulkhead
    former
    s can be marked on the skin. Back on the bench the skins were trimmed with a craft knife (with a fresh blade) and then drilled with a 1mm bit to allow pinning through into the
    former
    s and strakes. Aliphatic glue was applied to the hull
    former
    s and strakes and the skin positioned so that the drilled holes were in correct alignment with the
    former
    s and then clamped and pinned in place. Because the skin was pre-formed to the hull shape the clamps and pins are not under much tension and the hull was set aside while the glue set. When the port skin had fully set overnight, the pins and clamps were removed and the skin was finished with a plane to remove the excess down to the strakes and the F1
    former
    at the bow and the sanding β€˜plate’ used to finish it all off. Where the side skins meet at the prow there needs to be a wide flat area for the external keel to butt to and so the trimming and sanding there will be done at a later stage before the bow blocks are fitted and carved. The process was repeated for the starboard side skin and while the glue was setting I gave some thought to a means of concealing some of the wiring that needs to run the length of the hull πŸ€”.
    5 years ago by robbob
    Forum
    flue
    Depends on the size. I have used copper plumbing pipe. 22 & 28mm. Or beer cans cut off top & bottom slit down the length, bend around a
    former
    , solder joint. I have used all these methods.
    5 years ago by hammer
    Response
    Stern & keel
    former
    s
    As Doug has said, thanks for some excellent tips and tricks. The hull is coming along nicely now, and I will assume that skinning is not far away now. Keeping my fingers crossed for one last update before Christmas. Thanks very much Robbob. Looking forward to the next chapter. Best wishes, Dave W 😊
    5 years ago by rolfman2000
    Response
    Stern & keel
    former
    s
    Good stuff Both, excellent tips n tricks πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘
    5 years ago by RNinMunich
    Response
    Stern & keel
    former
    s
    I have found as you have that gluing your abrasive paper to a wooden block is far better than wrapping and making sure all the bulkheads and other skin supports are at the correct angle can make a real difference to the line of the hull, only noticeable when looking down the length of the hull when painted and that's too late to change things. I also make a number of different shaped sanding blocks/sticks down to using the coffee sticks with abrasives stuck to then for getting into difficult areas.
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Blog
    Stern & keel
    former
    s
    Various small pieces, S8 & S9, are added to bulkhead
    former
    F7 that create the curvature of the stern which in turn support the outer skin, in addition there are some pieces that are fixed either side of the keel as laminations to add strength and to support the bottom skins where they meet the keel. The prop shaft has yet to be delivered so I used a length of 8mm plastic rod temporarily in its place so that I could fit the keel laminations K5 around the shaft. I chose to fit additional pieces on either side of the keel between the bulkhead
    former
    s to support the bottom skins and some extra pieces of balsa were fitted at the stern to support the outer skin, and in a similar fashion some extra pieces fitted either side of the keel
    former
    s at the prow. Once all these pieces were firmly set they need to sanded to the profile of the hull, and this is best done with abrasive paper around a sanding block. I made a sanding β€˜plate’ from some 6mm MDF with a sheet of 120 grit aluminium oxide abrasive paper glued to it to form a perfectly flat sanding surface and this was used to chamfer and flatten the bulkhead, keel and chine
    former
    s so that the outer skins would lay as flat as possible across them. I also fitted some pieces of ply under the centre section of the box around the keel to reinforce the area under where the motor mount will be as I don’t think the balsa base of the β€˜box’ will take screws firmly. The next step will be to fit the side skins and then the hull will really take shape.
    5 years ago by robbob
    Blog
    Upper & Lower Chines
    The next stage is to assemble and fit the upper and lower chines to the bulkhead
    former
    s. Each chine is made from three parts that are step jointed together, the instructions recommend using the plan to ensure correct alignment with a protective transparent paper between, however the cutting accuracy of the parts is such that having checked the alignment over the plan I was confident that assembling and glueing them together on the cutting mat would be OK. The upper chines were assembled first and when set were glued and pinned to the tops of the bulkhead
    former
    s with the fronts butting against the K1 keel
    former
    at the prow. The lower chines were assembled in the same fashion and when dry are glued and set into the slots in the bulkhead
    former
    s. Finally the stern
    former
    F7 is added and the whole assembly set aside to dry. The hull is quickly taking shape now and even at this stage is very rigid and yet remarkably light.
    5 years ago by robbob
    Response
    Assembling the keel & adding bulkhead
    former
    s.
    Now Plank on frame really sets my imagination going, I have to say that i am a builder rather than a sailor and get immense pleasure from problem solving and just creating structures. I will be looking for a suitable subject after the Crash Tender which at the moment is taking some time with fiddly bits that don't seem to advance the the overall vision of the project so apologies for the lack of "blog" Any suggestions?
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Response
    Assembling the keel & adding bulkhead
    former
    s.
    Hi Mike. The majority of Phil Smith's Veron designs were around this principle, just as the Aerokits/KeilKraft designs were based on the 'egg crate' method. Both methods are very successful and popular over the years as many modellers will attest, and the hull can be completed really quite quickly. 'Plank on frame' is probably as common if not more and a great deal more time consuming but far better able to reproduce complex hull shapes. Never tried the latter..perhaps one day.
    5 years ago by robbob
    Response
    Assembling the keel & adding bulkhead
    former
    s.
    Looking good although I had not seen the method of building round a box before, it takes some time before the shape of the craft can be seen.
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Response
    Assembling the keel & adding bulkhead
    former
    s.
    Coming along nicely Robbob. As the saying goes "Don't talk to me about balsa bow blocks" πŸ˜† And yes, you don't have to do those yet lol. I may just follow you with one of these to run alongside my original Veron one from 1966/7. Hope they have them for sale soon . Best wishes, Dave W 😊
    5 years ago by rolfman2000
    Blog
    Assembling the keel & adding bulkhead
    former
    s.
    With the box assembled and the glue fully cured the next stage is to glue the inner keel parts together and fix it to the underside of the box. The keel consists of four pieces that need to be jointed whilst on a flat surface, the instructions suggest that the parts are best assembled whilst laid over the plan with a transparent protective sheet between to ensure accurate alignment. A gap is left in the keel for the prop shaft and this gap is laminated over by some additional keel pieces on either side. I chose to deviate from the instructions here and fit these pieces after the prop shaft was in place to ensure a snug fit, I have it on order from Model Boat Bits along with the prop and rudder. The assembled keel is glued in place along the centre line of the inverted box and when dry the bulkhead
    former
    s can be added. The positions of all the
    former
    s are clearly marked on the box and the underside
    former
    s are added first followed by the side
    former
    s and lastly the bow
    former
    s, and the assembly set aside to dry. I’d almost forgotten how easy it is to work with balsa, it takes glue and pins readily and assembling this model is a joy, however, shaping the solid balsa bow blocks to the correct profiles will be an interesting challenge. But I don’t need to do that for a while yet.
    5 years ago by robbob
    Response
    Elizabeth
    Sorry chaps but canna remember how far into this build we progressed.. But hoping not to bore you, the decks were added, in Walnut planks 5mm x 3mm, edges lined with beech, ( this I named Bendy Beech ) it has been treated and one can tie this in a knot, no need for steaming or water soaking just apply glue and tack it down or clamp it until glue dries. BUT-it aint cheap.. Made a start on the cabin upperworks, this is veneered 3mm ply. Basic innards construction with
    former
    s trying to make it as light as possible. More to follow.. Muddy..
    5 years ago by muddy
    Forum
    My other hobby
    Good to see other PPLs and
    former
    PPLs on the Model Boats website. I took mine at Liverpool Airport known now as JLA (John Lennon Airport) in June 1984 and completed it in January 85. Trained with Liverpool Flying School aka Keenair in Cherokee 140s and a PA 38 Tomahawk. Later I moved into Air Nova which was also a Liverpool club and the actor Lewis Collins was also a member of that Club. At the time I was a member of Merseyside IVC (Inter Varsity Club) thus had plenty of passengers. One of them was Victoria Field, my
    former
    psychology lecturer who later became famous as a psychologist and writer. Eventually Air Nova moved to Hawarden Airport near Chester but the Club folded shortly after. I then joined the in house Club based at the field and I ceased flying in November 2016. Best flights were going over Snowdon VFR and down the Dee Valley. I also flew over Colwyn Bay to have a look at the boating lake though I haven't sailed there. I also saw the lakes at Llandudno West Shore and LLanfairfechan. The latter I am considering for sailing my fast electrics. Downside to PPL flying was the crosswind component of the aircraft being 17 knots , At Hawarden there is only one runway the 04/22 and Liverpool the 09/27. I did have to cancel many times due to this. Thankfully sailing model boats is much more enjoyable as we don't have that many snags to deal with and if the motor stops we don't have to do an emergency landing.😎😁😁 Boaty
    5 years ago by boaty
    Blog
    Constructing 'The Box'
    Phil Smith, the original designer of the Thames River Police Launch, based the construction on a rigid box structure around which bulkhead
    former
    s are fixed to give the hull it’s shape, a design feature of many of the Veron kits. In the Vintage Model Works kit all the components of this box are laser cut and require no additional trimming before assembly, I have used Titebond 2 aliphatic glue throughout the construction as it bonds wood very firmly and dries quickly too. I started by joining the edges of the two sheets of balsa that form the base of the box, these were held firmly together with some scrap wood and weighted down on the cutting mat and left to dry. Meanwhile the box sides were similarly glued together taking care that the two pieces that form each box side are in perfect alignment using the laser etched vertical lines that mark the bulkhead
    former
    positions, these were also wedged together and weighted while the glue set. Once the bottom and sides are dry the ends can be added to complete the box construction, a try-square was used to check the box for accuracy and everything was held together with some β€˜push pins’ while the glue set. As this box forms the foundation of the hull it’s essential that there’s no twist or anything out of square. This was all done in one evening, clearly the assembly of this kit could be completed quite rapidly if you really wanted too!
    5 years ago by robbob
    Forum
    PS Waverley
    Doug I will PM David. Been busy all day dealing with casting problems on the wheels of the Vincent and making dozens of dummy nuts'n'bolts. I would have thought you'd have used Modelling Timbers for pre-drilled stanchions. His prices were so low, but now, alas, he's gone. I would probably make a little jig to drill the cast stanchions. I think boredom would set in before I broke a drill, but you're bang on about hand held minidrills. They go too fast and cannot be held really firmly. I use mine for cutting and grinding, shaping and polishing. I have a very small pillar drill with a buggy motor adapted to hold a small Jacobs chuck and run off a variable trans
    former
    . Today I drilled 40 1mm holes in the pattern for the Vincent rear wheel to assist the mould maker. All went very well. Cheers, Martin
    5 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Voltage increasing via regulator
    A somewhat confused question if I may say so Eric!😲 You can't 'regulate up' only down. The regulator's job is to produce a constant lower voltage from a range of higher voltages. I often use one to produce 5V for the RX and servos from a 12V SLA drive battery. A little 3 legged device (type LM7805) which looks just like the power FETs in a high current ESC. My version of a UBEC! πŸ˜‰ What is this 'regulator' you have? Type number? Manufacturer? Photo? To get 12V from 7.2V you would need to use a Voltage converter (also known as an inverter). This works by converting the DC input from the battery to an AC voltage which can then be increased using a trans
    former
    . More elegant (and expensive!) versions use a transistor oscillator and amplifier. This uses hi-power transistors instead of the trans
    former
    . The AC output of the trans
    former
    (or amplifier) is then rectified back to DC. All this is very inefficient which is why it is normally only used for very light currents, where the losses are not so significant, and when there is no other alternative, not often the case! You can't beat the physics and you will never get the same power out that you put in. This leads to a basic design question:- What is the total current consumption of the load? I.e. the motors. A simple example:- Let's say that at 7.2V the motors draw 10Amps total, i.e. 72W (or VAmps). Assuming a utopian 100% efficiency at 12V this would equate to 6A. Due to the three stages of conversion; DC to AC, transformation / amplification of AC to 12V, AC back to DC, you'll probably be lucky to get an efficiency of around 60% to 70%. Thus if you stick 720W in you'll get around 430 to 504W out. Not much of a gain is it!πŸ€” Your battery would be exhausted in about 2/3 the time it is now 😑 If your motors draw more than 10A the problem just gets worse. So what is it you really want to do? If you just want to up the volts to your motors stick a 12V SLA or an 11.1V LiPo (3S) in and hope that you don't cook your motors! Frankly I don't really know why you're bothering, tugs aren't sprinters! If you want more pulling power with the existing setup try experimenting with prop sizes and pitch. Will probably achieve much more than fiddlin' about with voltage converters. BTW: All this assumes that the RX has it's own separate 5V battery supply or from a BEC in the ESC. Some clarification needed from your side. Cheers, Doug 😎
    5 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Styrene Allergy?
    Styrene fumes? You'll only get fumes if you heat it. My chum works a vac-
    former
    to make model car glazing and he thoroughly washes every sheet of PVC before forming it. Stops micro-bubbles forming. I use blue nitriles when epoxying. I always found latex melted on contact with most of the things I used, like enamel paint, Marineflex, etc. Nitriles stay put. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Twin Motor Perkassa
    I attach some pics of my 34" Perkassa. It uses two large water cooled brushed motors (650?). Two Mtronic 25amp ESCs with one red wire disconnected. You can see the ESCs on off switches over the
    former
    in the next to last pic. Presently has a Planet Tx/rx and I use 9.6v or 8.4v NiMhs of 3 to 5 amps. Not fused (naughty). The battery sits between the prop shafts towards the stern in a tray. I control the motors on the left and right sticks with the rudder on the right horiz stick. The left stick has a ratchet so I set the speed with that and use the right sticks to keep straight and steer. As an ex flyer this is an easy set up for me. Run time is about 10/15 mins but that's long enough for me and the other models on the lake!
    6 years ago by Dave M
    Response
    Speranza 03
    Hello Gerhard, and thank you for the interest. Unfortunately Speranza is on hold and no building has taken place since the last photo update. The reason being i foolishly did not follow protocol with the Spruce chine stringers, and fitted or attempted to fit them as a solid, instead of laminating. A short while after they were pinned and glued they sprang and cracked on the bow
    former
    s. This will be repairable with a laminate behind or inside the stringer then shape as drawing. At the moment i have near completion a Gentleman's Cruiser named Elizabeth.. There is a blog on her.. Speranza is a nice build and should be a good all weather sailor. If you are building her, good luck and please send in photographs.. Regards Muddy
    6 years ago by muddy
    Forum
    A return to the hobby!
    SLEC do have a good reputation and its great that the classic kits of old are back in production. The Sea Commander is one of my favourites as I restored one many years ago but foolishly sold it to fund my karting activities four years later. However in 2011 I found another one and restored that. This one I am keeping along with the 34 inch Crash Tender of 1962 vintage that I restored in 2014 being one that the
    former
    owner was about to place in a skip. I am interested in a Sea Rover as its a boat I never had. in the early 1960s when we lived in Liverpool, dad would take us up to Fleetwood to see the Aerokits display and watch the steering event on the big lake. Nostalgia aint what it used to be. BoatyπŸ˜†
    6 years ago by boaty
    Response
    Pilot Boat
    Thanks Ed. I will have one more go and if that fails I will ask Cormorant.😊 mturpin013, The kit comes with a hull assembly base plate which aligns all of the
    former
    s in the correct position. I will add a picture with the hull in place tomorrow. I would like to see your picture though as I hope to do a scratch build in wood next year.😊
    6 years ago by MouldBuilder
    Forum
    That's a HELL of a lotta Chinese /Japanese nosh!!
    😲 Another one for the 'Woodies'? "A
    former
    city employee in the Fukushima prefecture town of Koriyama has built a 4-meter (13-ft) long canoe from thousands of used disposable chopsticks recovered from the city hall cafeteria. Bothered that perfectly good wood was going to waste after a single use, Shuhei Ogawara -- whose job at city hall involved working with the local forestry industry -- spent the last two years of his career collecting used chopsticks from the cafeteria. An experienced canoe builder, Ogawara spent over 3 months gluing 7,382 chopsticks together into strips to form the canoe shell, to which he added a polyester resin coat. The canoe weighs about 30 kilograms (66 lbs), which is a bit heavier than an ordinary cedar canoe, but Ogawara is confident it will float. A launching ceremony is planned for May at nearby Lake Inawashiro." Three thousand six hundred and ninety-one number 29s with special flied lice please waiter! 😁😁 Oh yes, and a thousand gallons of Tsingtao to wash it down please πŸ˜‹ http://pinktentacle.com/2008/04/canoe-made-from-disposable-chopsticks/
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Blog
    Cabin
    Continuing with the cabin, trying to keep it light in weight. The sides and inner
    former
    's made up, started on the front windscreen's. Forgot the procedure about cutting the windows and then fitting the veneer, fitted the veneer and had to cut out the windows veneer and 3mm ply all glued up. Once the apertures were marked out, purposely drilled though from the veneer side just trying to avoid any splitting of the veneer, it worked. Fitted the front screens and reinforced the framework with 5 min epoxy, a quick sand down and all was well. Next item was the roof, as i wanted a light as possible upper works decided on .8mm ply, it looked and felt a little fragile, but once the Titebond glue was applyed all held down with elastic bands, also using 3 strips of 3/8" x 1/8" Obechie longitudinally down the top of the cabin roof to help stop ant edge "Barrelling" at
    former
    s. Regards Muddy.
    6 years ago by muddy
    Blog
    Cabin/Superstructure
    Upperworks, this launch has a long cabin and a well deck ( Gin Parlour ).. Sides were traced out and cut from 1.5mm ply, internal
    former
    s are 3mm ply, spacers and struts Obechie, the cabin front is formed with Balsa which will be covered in 1.5mm ply, all the external faces have been veneered in Mahogany, except the roof which will be probable a piece of ply. The old favourite 1 inch ring saw came into play again for the cutting out of the windows. Applied the veneer after cutting out the windows, have found this easier and it tends not to split and crack the veneer, so one has to recut the window openings but its a very quick and easy job if you use a 1/2 inch drum sander in something like a Dremel hobby type drill. I,m afraid we have the oposite of Rain stopped play , its Sun stopped play at the moment.. You may notice the "Old Batteries" and cans, used as weights to hold down / compress the veneer, also the Jig saw, bolted to a piece of ply and then clamped into the B&D Workmate, I aint got room for a bandsaw which i would love, so this lash up has done me proud for a few years. Regards Muddy....
    6 years ago by muddy
    Forum
    Spektrum, new, useless...
    Martin, Please note that your comment about "no insurance" is misleading. All model flyers should be insured and proved competent by passing at least the BMFA "A"test. This is speaking as a
    former
    instructor and "B"certificate holder.
    6 years ago by Wingcoax
    Forum
    Windows, stoopid question.
    Hi Doug, I dread to think what a Proxxon version of a Jacobs chuck would run to. They seem to be outrageously expensive things. I only have a Proxxon drill because it was on a deal too good to miss, but the electronic speed controller went nappoo after a few weeks, so I cut it out and wired it direct, so it's flat out all the time. Having said that it has tolerated that for literally years since. I also use the Proxxon trans
    former
    to power my other mini tools, which are all the much missed and very reasonably priced Mini(Maxi)craft stuff. I have a circular saw, orbital sander and disc sander and all are plugged into the Proxxon power box when required. The circular saw must have cut miles of deck planking by now! Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    aerokits swordsman scale fittings
    Hi Martin, the one on the far left in the pic is made to the same recipe as
    former
    ly issued on RN ships! 😜 Pussers (Purser's) is the nickname the Jack Tars gave it. πŸ˜‰ Having worked often in S. America Cuba Libre is my favourite way of 'lengthening' rum. SaΓΊde! πŸ‘ Cheers All, 'Down the hatch' 😁
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...
    "Heat getting ridder" Just what you don't want your craft to do "SINK" Wall wart is usually used to describe any plug-in charger or trans
    former
    i;e;crimbo lights.
    6 years ago by Wingcoax
    Response
    Wheels
    May be someone may want to make paddles using this method. if you do & you have a lathe should be no problems. First turn wooden blanks & mark centre & number of spokes required. Rap strip brass around the
    former
    cut & join to a tight fit. it is important as this will keep them the same size. Align the drill accurately to the spokes. Drill one & pin it with a short piece of spoke material, so the strip doesn't move wile drilling rest. The centre hub was divided in the lathe. On assemble three spokes in my case immediately aligned the rings, that is if the holes are right. if not fettling is the order of the day. I soft soldered mine as the structure is inherently strong. Note soldered away from the marks on blanks, to preserve them. The dishing can be seen on the finished upright wheel. This was achieved by a thick washer under the hub, & clamping the outer ring down on to the
    former
    . I did try bending the spokes before fitting. But had trouble as the rings didn't align automatically. Clean up by hand. Only Three more to make.
    6 years ago by hammer
    Blog
    Wheels
    I though I had posted about wheels but cant find it. so am repeating. I have cut wheel from aluminium plate in the past. This is a waste & a tedious job. This time I am building them up with strip & rod. Wooden
    former
    s turned up for inner & outer rims. Strip raped around & Joint soldered. then holes drilled for the spokes. A hub tuned & drilled, the accurate holes have aligned every thing in the right position. One ready for soldering. inner wheel almost flat. Outer dished to stop lateral movement. Spokes marked in red from board for bends.
    6 years ago by hammer
    Blog
    Gunwhale rubbing strakes
    Gunwhale rubbing strakes As these pieces will be under stress they need to be steamed into shape prior to fitting so out with the wallpaper stripper and modified tube (1/4 BSP fitting in the bottom of an old piece of IKEA cloths rail).For the gunwhale strakes I used the same
    former
    as I used for the stringers so 20 mins in the steamer then into the jig for 2 days drying. The chine rubbing strakes will need a different jig but this time a left and right hand version as not only do they bend round but also up at the bow. I was however disappointed with the quality of the 3/16 square obeche as the grain was nearly at 45 degrees to its length – it snapped before I started to bend it, just pushing it into the jig I bought some better pieces from the local model shop. I temporally fitted the gunwhale rubbing strake slightly proud of the deck level in order to drill all the pin holes then remove and mix up some epoxy, coat the length and hook into the brass bow and start tapping in the pins along the length of the boat, repeat on the port side. Chine rubbing strakes are still in the jig!
    6 years ago by mturpin013
    Forum
    Sloop Gypsy
    Improvements: Added weight to keel Removed all silicone from deck and port holes Cut off
    former
    cabin and replaced with fully tape sealing cabin Changes to sheet line exit Plus more
    6 years ago by Ronald
    Forum
    Calling Devon boaters. Help!
    My 95 year old uncle is a
    former
    MTB captain living in a care home in Exmouth. His brother, my late father, built a nice Vosper MTB model in the fifties that has not run since 1962. I have recently restored, upgraded and recommissioned this model and I would really like to show my uncle her running on a lake. Unfortunately, the lake at Exmouth has been filled in recently and the nearest alternative that I can find on the net is about 45 miles away which is too far for him to travel. The model is now electric and so is quiet, about 40 inches long and a fairly hot per
    former
    at full chat. If you are active in this area, I would be most grateful to be informed of any suitable closer waters and the requirements to access it. Thanks guys.
    6 years ago by wunwinglo
    Blog
    Bits n pieces arrived / Aft Deck Mk 2 built ;-)
    6mm lime wood planks from Krick and 4mm tap from Conrad arrived on Wednesday so Full Speed Ahead. This time
    former
    s were made from the 6mm lime so no bending or slitting required, new piece of mahogany cut so that this time no inserts left an right were needed. 😊
    former
    s attached using Rocket cyano and a bag of clamps and left overnight. The 'Riva' tank filler caps were tapped 4mm and appropriate holes bored in the deck piece. Neodymium magnets attached to forward edge. Deck fitted and trimmed in situ for flush fit all round. Transom got scratched during this process so will need a resprayπŸ€” Underside sealed with two coats of EzeKote and sealing / varnishing / lacquering process started on the topside. Last two pics show current status; So Far So Good.πŸ˜‰ Next step; fit windows made of 3mm green tinted acrylic 'glass', which also arrived Wednesday. Will now have to start thinking about what to do in the cockpit 😲 All I have so far is a 25mm ship's wheel. Furniture building is not exactly my Forte! First time for everything I suppose! Suggestions gratefully received!! Ciao for now, Doug 😎 Almost forgot! While waiting for varnish to dry I tackled an old problem with the rudder. Namely; asymmetric rudder throw caused by the rather bulky connecting rod binding on the rudder arm! Suddenly remembered I still had some E-Z Connectors from old aircraft days. Been hanging around for 35 years or so waiting for something to do! So replaced the old plastic linkage with 1mm spring steel rod and two E-Z connectors. Works a treat 😊
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Response
    After Deck / Hatch - If at first you don't succeed ...
    Evenin' MT, Go to the Top of the Class! πŸ‘ I came to the same conclusion so I built Mk2 like the Proverbial Brick S..t House 😲 Pics 1 & 2. in the meantime my 6mm lime boards had arrived from Krick so this time I cut
    former
    s and didn't bend or slit anything so it's good an' rigid 😊 Pic 3 clamping, Pic 4 trial fit prior to final trimming, Pic 5current status; 3 coats pore filler, 2 coats Lord Nelson gloss varnish flattened with 3000 grit. Still a little way to go, CU tomorrow, Cheers Doug 😎 BTW: had never thought of filling the slits, πŸ€“ damn good tip, must remember that πŸ‘πŸ‘ Could come in handy on my HMS Manxman build - last pic is from the the Deans Marine instructions for the hull preparation! Reckon I can do it a bit neater πŸ˜‰
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Response
    Roof Skins
    do it!! I regretted it the minute I had finished my 4 footer. So this is a 3 foot boat, glass hull (cant remember where it came from) the rest is scratch. Superstructure plastic, with ply
    former
    s etc, virtually all fittings hand made from brass. Davit worked, windows opened (inc rear ones) and so on. Sadly he passed away prior to paint, so I finished it, and returned to his wife in a glass box.
    6 years ago by pmdevlin
    Blog
    Roof Skins
    Having sorted the windows out, they can now wait until the detailing is finished before final fitting. The roof skins are all compound curves so they will need to be steamed and formed before fitting as they will definitely have to hold their shape as there isn’t as much to fasten them to in terms of framework. After final fitting I will glass both inner and outer faces which will ensure the shape is retained and also help strengthen them to withstand any bumps /knocks during its lifetime. I made
    former
    s out of some softwood to match each of the roof profiles. Each piece was then soaked in hot water for around 5 mins and then clamped on the
    former
    s and left to dry for a day or so.
    6 years ago by mturpin013
    Forum
    HMS HOOD by Trumpeter
    Hi Peter, 'Hellgrau' is German for light grey. And DKM means Deutsche Kriegs-Marine. UA603 /DKM50 is in the Set 1 that you have. I also have the Lifecolor Set 1 (Surface Ships) and also the Set 2, Cammo colours, these are for my U-Boat. Attached is a colour chart of the
    former
    White Ensign Colour Coats naval paints, now sold by Sovereign Hobbies in UK. See 'KM01 Hellgrau 50'. So if the Lifecolor set runs out you can restock from them πŸ˜ŠπŸ‘ Happy spraying, cheers Doug 😎 BTW: Re 'Collection'! that was only the half of it😲 I've started an Excel 'Stash Log' to keep track, I should live so long to build them all - I've come to regard some as an investment as many are originals and rare πŸ˜‰ Did I mention Cambletown, German Narvik destroyer, T45 and Illustrious in 1/350 and a Fletcher class at 1/144, Scharnhorst at 1/400 ?? 😁 NTM the original Revell 1/72 Flower Class, and a whole box load of PE to go with it - much more than is in the later 'Premium' version πŸ˜‰
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Place
    Thanks for a warm welcome
    I Have just joined the Darlington & District Model Boat Club on Wednesday 14th March 2018. What a great bunch of lads. The club house is on the sites of a Victorian
    former
    reservoir which is about 88m x 85 m and about 2m deep. The water is accessible all the way round and has launching area on one side. The club house is a brick building with a meeting room, toilet, storage area and a building/repair area. Sailing/meetings are on: Wednesdays 9.00am -16.00 Sunday 8.00am - mid day. Membership fee is Β£50 Per year adult and Β£5 for a junior. This includes Third party public liability insurance very important and often overlooked. Location The Waterpark, Middleton St George, Darlington, Co. Durham DL2 1JG
    6 years ago by CB90
    Forum
    WTF
    Thinking the
    former
    lol
    6 years ago by Skydive130
    Response
    Devil in the detail!
    I'm with you there Skydive πŸ‘What Boatshed means is the part of the rudder in front of the stock. Thinks: are you building an Offshore Power Boat or a scale Lifeboat? If the
    former
    then follow Boatshed's recommendation. If the latter and the rudder is 'scale' then leave it alone. Any braking effect, which usually is only significant in a fast racing boat model or other fast planing types, can be diminished by reducing the rudder servo throw at the TX. One should also consider how the original behaved, maybe they did 'dig in' maybe not. There has to be a reason why such rudders were developed, and surely not just to annoy modellers 😁 One more minor point that struck me - Ouch 😭 Your prop struts! "not that it provides a huge amount of support but adds to the scale appearance." Even in a model they can be important. To help reduce potential whipping of the propshaft, especially if the model is overpowered. Actually in the originals they were vital, especially in larger vessels. The purpose of these struts, in larger vessels 'A' frames, is to provide support to the end of the shaft which carries the prop weighing several tons and, more important, to carry the bearing for the outer end of the shaft! Actually in the originals the shaft tube, or 'Stuffing Box' would not extend significantly beyond the hull. Thus the strut or A frame was vital for the shaft end bearing, fitted immediately in front of the prop for maximum stability. Attached pics of my HMS Belfast (sorry don't 'ave nutt'n smaller with this featureπŸ€”) show the arrangement. Have witnessed such construction in various shipyards around the world. Last one in UK was the first T45, quite an experience! 😲 In the end she's your boat, if it feels good do it! πŸ˜‰ I would leave the rudder alone if it is 'as fitted'. πŸ‘ I make my struts and A frames from brass sheet and tube. Cheers Doug 😎 PS Stick with the brass Donnie! πŸ‘
    6 years ago by RNinMunich


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