Blog

Constellation

Made the framed glass portion of the skylight. They're hinged so I can get a finger inside to flip the power switch on or off. They're made from clear plastic from some packaging, basswood, and brass wire.

5 years ago by Jerry Todd

Blog

20th Scale ELCO 80ft PT boat part 1

Just starting a scratch build of a 20th Scale ELCO 80ft PT boat most likely PT 109 at just over 48ins long and a beam just over 12in. Will try to construct with a combination of chine and planking construction (planking towards the bow) still need to finish of

5 years ago by CB90

Blog

Arctic Convoy

While everything on HMS Bustler is trying to dry/harden in the sub tropical heat here in Scotland I thought I would put something else onto the slips ,decided on a cargoship /tramp steamer from the 30s-40s will call it Arctic Convoy as a tribute to the gallant men who endured so much. Started with the main decks and boat deck that I can do in the warmth of the kitchen,the drawings showed steel decks but being a true Scot if I spend a couple of pounds on a 1000 coffee stirrers then I'm going to get my moneys worth, so decided to give the ship wooden decks. Hull are marked out ready for cutting will post pictures of the Hull later on .

4 years ago by marky

Blog

Command Boat 90

Scratch built at 12th scale from pictures and profiles of the internet. The boat was originally built in Sweden a class of fast military assault craft originally developed for the Swedish Navy by Dockstavarvet Speed: 40 knots (74 km/h) Draught: 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) Length: 15.9 m (52 ft) Overall; 14.9 (48') Complement: 3 (two officers and one engineer); Up to 21 amphibious troops with full equipment Armament: 3 × Browning M2HB machine guns; 1 × Mk 19 grenade launcher; 4 naval mines or 6 depth charges . The Model I was attracted to this boat due to its great performance and maneuverability, this was mainly due to the use of twin water jets as the main propulsion, this is a trade off with efficiency. So my start point was to collect as much information as possible about the boat this involved collecting pictures and profiles of the craft from various sources. http://www.dockstavarvet.se/products/combat-and-patrol-boats/combat-boat-90-h/specification/ Eventually I found some plans of sort :- http://laurell.today/boats/combat/plans.html My Dad was a boat builder in the days of wooden yachts, and had showed me how to make plans and from a line drawing. I went about this first by creating a prototype about 24 in long out of light ply. I then created full size plans of the model to be made. Pictures of small prototype finally painted plain green. The Main model Used my computer to print out the onto paper, cut them out and used them as templates for the ply ribs. The construction was simple chine style, with 1.5 mm ply. I tried to build jet drives but failed to produce a effective unit. So reverted to propshafts which worked out well with better control and the boat can spin on it own axis by putting one engine in reverse the other in forward and adjusting the twin rudders. That it for now, hope it was of some interest

6 years ago by CB90

Blog

40'' Seaplane Tender, new build

Just started a 40" model of a 41'6" seaplane tender. I have been wanting to do one for years and now that my 36" 100 series 64ft HSL is done I was getting itchy fingers. Started with drawings from the 1976 Model Boats mag (part of the series on ASRs they did back then) which show frame shapes and positions, and enlarged them to 40" (A-O paper after rearranging the images on the A4 primary enlargement used as printing 'pattern' to enable max size on A-O. ) I did the same with the HSL and with a bit of fiddling got all the to line up nicely to shape. You have to be a bit inventive building this way regarding framing material etc, but it's possible if you have previous building experience. I found with these particular drawings that the were not drawn with identical profiles (left and right sides) so I had to create 1 side and flip it for the opposite side. I also had to create an extra frame between 2+3 as there was no real support for the stringers without it. The front top deck frame is cut from 3mm ply, as are the ,-(ply is from packaging of a big Toyota Landcruiser axle recall which was done during my time at Toyota, which is 3 ply, very light, and perfect for this type of job, and not to mention, free!) I borrowed this frame method from the old 60s Vic Smeed MTB plan and it makes a good strong bow section to work with (used it on the HSL also.) Ply longerons are run through from transom to F2 with hardwood stiffening between transom and F4. Chine, gunwale and mid stringers are 4mmx2mm Beech, bottom stringers are 3x3 beech with mid stringer doubled. I may have to put extra stringers in the sides but that will depend on how the planks lie in the flares. planking will be 1.5mm balsa as the flares are quite pronounced especially in the bow area, and you just can't get sheets to go round the compound curves. Hull will be glassed and faired when finished and sealed with thin resin inside once everything is ready. Cabin is reasonably easy but takes a bit of working out and fiddling with due to lack of any plan, but it seems to be working out reasonably with the use of photos etc. The model is going to be a representation of a tender which was imported privately in the 50s by a doctor in the Milford sounds area here in the South Island of NZ, to enable him to visit patients, due to there being water access only in many of the remote areas. I have modified the drawings to represent this boat, which included changing the mast and removing the rear oval port and replacing it with a small round port, (not sure why this was changed, maybe an interior modification made the large port unnecessary ?) The boat ended up in Auckland at some stage and was owned by a family not far from my place for a number of years (pic is on the hard at our local yacht club in the 70s, - colour pic is from a friends super 8 movie taken from his boat, on an outing together with Jaguars owner 60s/70s). It is now apparently back in the South Island being restored. The model will use brushed 540 motors with twin ESCs etc but still a way off yet. I have to work out a way to make the cabin removable either with or without the rear cockpit, but more likely it will be a 2 piece job. It's a bit of a make it up as you go project. Model Boats boat sheets Landcruiser motors ESCs 👍 Like 💬 Comment 🗣️ Share 5

4 years ago by jbkiwi

Blog

Egret Cabin Cruiser

I forget to post build updates until it's to late but my progress coming along built rudder , windows , fiber glassed hull , primed , still need more work on hull , Windows took a while brass & plastic windows , Electronics & servos need to be installed also later on

4 years ago by GARTH

Blog

Hull

Donned the fingerless gloves and the furry hat and braved the cold shed to cut the (wife wouldn't let me bring the wee bandsaw into the kitchen) all cut and sanded ,the base should be 1" balsa ,I used an old shelf of light wood that was the same thickness , glued in place and deck supports added,did some work on the chart room and flying deck.

4 years ago by marky

Response

Re: The Start

Hi Martin There is a notch at bottom of the A frame which is glued into a slot between the keel and the rudder skeg. (Magnified in the picture) The top of the A frame is glued directly onto the hull and further supported with the rectangular collar. (Red circled in the picture). The A are not load bearing as the prop tubes are firmly secured in the hull with Isopon. I used epoxy resin to attached the A , as recommended in the instructions. Hope this helps. Steve

4 years ago by cormorant

Blog

The Start

(Apologies for the lack of detailed photos at this stage.) A 44 page instruction manual, three full sized scale drawings and a double sided A4 sheet of photographs should give me enough guidance. Construction starts with making the stand. However, I was soon to find that 8.5mm ply, although fine for displaying the boat without ballast, is useless when the model is in sea going trim. A stand from 20mm softwood solved the problem. The next job was to remove excess (approx 10mm) grp from the top of the hull down to a marked line, which gives the correct bulwark height. I found it advantageous to highlight the line with masking tape. My trusty Dremel took off most of the excess followed by careful sanding with a block. The kit does not come with motors or props (due to the steam or electric option), but it does come with prop shafts. The centre of the holes are marked on the hull and as with all holes drilled in grp, I started off with a small drill and enlarged the hole with a round file to prevent the gel coat cracking. Lining up and positioning the prop shafts parallel to the hull is simplified with the A . I then 'tacked' the shafts into the hull with superglue, which allowed any final tweaking, before securing them with Isopon P40 (this is the one with short strands of fibre and seems to give a stronger fixing than the smooth P38). Drilling and fitting the rudder is straightforward. Two rudders are supplied, an exact scale one with skeg and pintles and a more robust one, which is recommended for "frequent radio control use". I fitted the second one. So far so good!

4 years ago by cormorant

Response

Re: Offshore Crane Vessel Bokalift 1, Build by Dutch sailing group Mail-line

Hello, the are lasercut by the dutch company Snijlab.nl, it was a great idea to get simple perfect and so on also a perfect total frame. After a building stop of nearly 9 months we we restart building in november. We will build in the bow and stern thrusters and we hope to made the first test sail in may 2020. But what offshore are you building in scale 1/25?

4 years ago by maersk-topper

Response

Re: 40'' Seaplane Tender, new build. mods and improvements.

Re - I must of mist this earlier, sorry. They are designed to have full standing room in the aft section, but it might be the angle making it look short and high. This hull was designed for a jet unit but I braced the transom and fitted a stern drive as mentioned. You can also build them as a partial cabin (aft top section removed and screen about where the back of the lower window ends) and the design also allowed you to lengthen the hull by adding extra . Hartleys were a very common design in the 60s through 80s , along with Pelins . Still a lot around today, (my 12ft dinghy which I have rebuilt, is a 70s Pelin 'Nomad', which has a very stable 'gull wing' hull. JB

4 years ago by jbkiwi

Blog

Wheelhouse

Having completed the basic hull repaint, it was time to get on to some of the more interesting details. Many of the deck fittings, ventilators, Samson post, etc were sourced from the shop on this website. These plastic fittings were primed with a grey etch primer and then top coated with Tamiya Gunmetal or Humbrol white enamel as appropriate. Being the 1/16th scale Crash Tender, I don't have the benefit of having a set of white metal fittings. I wasn't able to find many off the shelf fittings in 1/16th scale so decided to scratch build them instead. It makes the job more interesting, if a bit fiddly, ....... and very time consuming! The first task was to replace the fixed wheelhouse roof with a removeable one. This gives access to the interior of the wheelhouse for fitting lighting, new windows, and the searchlight servo. The window were cut from 1mm plasticard and painted silver. The mast was built from brass, including making the pulleys. A 5mm white LED is fitted to the top, with a little white painted brass cap to make it look the part. Rigging is 1.5mm elastic cord. I think this is a little thick and 1mm might look better. I still have to source the ensign to fly from the mast. There is a pulley in place ready for it. The port, starboard and wheelhouse roof navigation lights were all constructed using plasticard and fitted with 3mm LEDs. The aerial on the roof of the wheelhouse is made from brass based on the details given by Mike (mturpin013) in his blog. The boathooks were also scratchbuilt from brass. I thought they would look better than the white metal ones available on eBay. For the "shepherd's crook" hook, the brass rod was first tapered by filing and sanding before being bent to the appropriate shape. The other hook was formed by silver soldering a brass cross piece onto a tapered shaft. Both hooks were formed on the end of a long length of brass rod to make it easier to handle them. Once complete, a short section of rod behind the hook was turned down to 1mm dia to form a spigot for mounting on the poles. The poles were carved from mahogany. With all these details in place it is really beginning to look the part. Next up the rear deck.

4 years ago by Graham93

Blog

Windows and

Nothing earth shaking tonight, I installed the skylights in the cabin roof, and the window in the cabin proper. I didn’t paint the , they’re molded in with, some guys paint them, some don’t, I elected not to. The windows supplied with the kit are tinted and laser cut, but still have to be trimmed as they are a mite oversized. Going to see how they fit in the window , if I don’t like how the fit I’ll cut windows from clear and make my life a little easier to boot. By the way, I use RC56 to do all my glazing, it’s designed for plastic canopies and dries crystal clear. It’s not waterproof but it is water resistant, had several planes get pretty damp flying in misty weather never had the glue let go.

4 years ago by Cashrc

Forum

first builds

Andrew are you building on a board with the fastened to it or gripping by the keel?. You need to hold the firmly and find a nice narrowish piece of flexible plastic/wood whatever and bend around the lengthwise. That should give you some idea of how much out they are. Trouble with old plans is they are very rarely accurate and sometimes are shown with planking sometimes not . if you pm me I can help - we are at least in the same country.

4 years ago by redpmg

Forum

first builds

Sounds as if you'll just have to trim the down until the planking does lay fair across the length. I wouldn't worry, I don't think it is too unusual a problem in scratchbuilding unless you are an expert. Interesting boat for a first build, is she a sailing or motor Fifie?

4 years ago by Nerys

Forum

looking for plans

Many boatbuilders will say that it is easier to build clinker than carvel. A clinker built boat is built up the right way around temporary moulds. Each plank is rivetted, copper nails and roves, to the previous plank, usually about every four inches. A tedious job, particularly for the apprentice who is underneath the boat holding a 'dolly' against the head of every nail as it is rivetted on the inside. When planking is s complete, the moulds are removed, the timbers are steamed, pushed into place and held with copper nails, then rivetted. A carvel built boat is built around the permanent of the boat and the planks fastened to them, planks have to be cut very accurately. I think it's a question of what one is most used to. Knowing your ability as a model builder, Ken, I do not think you would have any difficulty with building in clinker. I know how well you can think things out. Please finish Veronica first, but you could always build her barge's boat.

4 years ago by Nerys

Response

Re: WTC construction.

Hi Martin. I have a 3mm gap all around the tube. I have not thought as far as the connection between the forward and rear planes yet. I will stumble over that one later. I am still considering having a tube through the centre or near the top for wiring. I will see how it pans out. (Wish this spell checker used proper English and not US English). The inner tube is a nice slide fit inside the WTC. My plan is to get the servo, battery and motor to hold it in place. The length is only a guess at this stage and if only a small amount of water is needed to submerge the submarine, then I will probably shorten it. I have used 4mm wall section tube for the ballast tank and I am going to tie rod the caps in place using brass bolts with SS threaded rod between. I will modify the bolts with M4 internal threads and o rings under the heads. Should work a treat....I hope.😊

4 years ago by MouldBuilder

Blog

HMS Cottesmore in 1/48 scale.

Hi Guys, I have been asked about a build log for HMS Cottesmore. Well this is a first for me as I have not done this before, so if I get things wrong please tell me. I worked in a shipyard for 25 years and it was there that I first saw an MCMV being built. There was something about her that made me say to myself " one day I will make a model of her. Some years later I managed to get hold of some plans and attempted to make the hull without much success, so the idea was put on hold. About 3 years ago I was looking on the web I discovered a fibreglass hull at 1/48 scale, that then started me of again. So I purchased the Hull and running gear from Fleetscale and made a start. The first job was to install the bow thruster using two part epoxy. Then laminated some strips of plastic card for the bilge keels,shaped them and attached them with some small self tapping screws and epoxy glue. Then the two prop shafts and A .

5 years ago by Martin555

Forum

Veron Huntsman 28 riding the white horses!

Sorry Martin but NO WAY!🤔 I recently tried a 2 part "chrome paint" sold as "ideal for plastic RC car / buggy shells". Tried it on primed 0.5mm ply and on raw alu. Came out looking like Hammerite Silver-Grey ☹️ Haven't tried it on plastic yet! Back in my scootering days (Vespa GS160) I used to use chrome tape which really did reflect and look the part. If I fit window to my Sea Scout I will go the same way as Paul - polished aluminium. Chrome looks too "pimped up" anyway 😝 Cheers, Doug 😎

4 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Veron Huntsman 28 riding the white horses!

Last time I refurbished or at least tidied the boat up, about 3 years ago, I realised it was impossible to find chrome parts or a rechromer who would do small parts. I stumbled across a northwest company called chrome illusion and after some badgering he agreed to put all my small parts in the paint booth next time he was doing chrome paint. It's a treatment he has patented and its paint but the prep was the key. Over time the metal parts have remained beautiful but the plastic parts such as the window have suffered, mainly due to water Ingress getting under the paint. When I tidy things up I'm going back to a stainless finish on the as I think they look more subtle and less like bright silver paint

4 years ago by pmdevlin

Forum

Workshop

Thanks for the comments. For safety as our grandchildren play here I used 4mm polycarbonate safety sheet direct from the manufacturer cut to the sizes of my window . Cheers Colin.

4 years ago by Colin H

Blog

Offshore Crane Vessel Bokalift 1, Build by Dutch sailing group Mail-line

Hello As a member of the Dutch modelling group Mailline I will start this topic on the construction of the offshore crane ship BokaLift 1 in the coming period (total construction time probably 3/4 years) through many photos on this forum. In 2005, Mailline members purchased a model of a tanker from about 385 cm long as a large towing object. However, there was a desire to make the tanker a more functional model and so the tanker was converted in 1 winter time into an offshore crane vessel called MailLine Lifter. The crane was fully functional including a special ballast-, and anchor system. However, in September 2015 the trailer, including the model of the Mailine Lifter, was stolen from the storage location, and so far never found again. The lack of the Mail-Line Lifter caused a great demotivation among the members and it took until 2018 before we had the motivation again to start a new group project. In 2017, the Dutch shipping company Boskalis converted their semisubmersible heavy transport vessel Finesse into a large offshore crane vessel named BokaLift 1 A 3000-tonne Huisman crane was placed on the deck during the conversion. Partly because many members already had tugs from shipping company Smit, the decision was made to build a model of the BokaLift 1. (scale 1/50) During a construction meeting in spring 2018, the members decided to build the model in modules so that everyone can make their own part at home in their own workshop. The dimensions of the model are 438x86 cm with a maximum height of 270 cm The water displacement will be approximately 580 kg The construction of the model is therefore divided into the following parts: Hull Propulsion Crane / Boom Crane technology Stabilization system Accommodation Helideck / construction Boomrest Deckwinches Rescue parts (liferaft / boats) Deck detail Electro / electronics / RC Anchor system I started building the hull in September 2018 and the hull is built in 2 parts. The hull was drawn with a 3D drawing program (Delfship) and then in SolidWorks futher adjusted to a body plan to create the largest possible usable space for all components. The are laser cut from 10mm poplar plywood Then glued together and covered with 3 mm thick pinewood slats in different widths I hope the many pictures say more than my limited English writing

4 years ago by maersk-topper

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

Hi Nerys . agree with Martin - its a bit complicated because its a very different hull with two chines top & bottom. Once thought through it should be a doddle from there .In a way the normal multi chine hull would be easier. Once DG really gets going you will see how uncomplicated they are as properly designed they are self aligning Hi Martin looking at the back can see the problem - it might be simpler to include the both chines on the cross members of the box as it appears to be a flat bottomed hull. The box then runs vertically from the bottom to the deck - so forming the hull bottom and sides itself . Small side can be utilised where needed inside the box to cope with the hull shape. Dodgys worried about the amount of balsa - so that should help. The 3 keel idea at the bow with cross members should do the trick and those together with the vertical throughout can locate the deck.

4 years ago by redpmg

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

Martin, tables of offsets are rather like a land surveyor writes down. Because a boat is generally a curved shape in every direction (even more so than some aircraft shapes) it is necessary to divide it up into regular sections and then measure those at equally regular spacings from a datum. That way you get a frame shape which is effectively the shape of the boat in cross section at every regular spacing. 1 or 2 feet from the stem head, all the way back. As long as the boat is set up level, you can take measurements from a fixed datum (say the centre line through the length of the boat or a wall that is parallel to the keel) to any major point such as the deck edge and chines. You need a vertical measurement too which would usually be the floor. Where these measurements cross is where the dot goes. Eventually, for each section, you join the dots, so to speak and you get a shape, per section. On the Thames Slipper launch, Freebody's boatbuilder, who had worked at Andrews (where slippers originated) lent me the original table of offsets, from which I was able to make . Despite the svelte look of a slipper they are actually all straight lined sections/, except frame 1 because you can't twist the plywood quite that tightly so there has to be a slight curve in that frame. Also frame 2 is 1 1/4" out on the starb'd side! and every boat they build has an extra bit of oak added! As indeed I had to on the model. When I asked the Freebody kids who now run the firm since kindly peter died if I could borrow them again they abruptly refused, proving the son is so very often not what the father would have hoped. Martin

4 years ago by Westquay

Blog

sea princess ie a small commander

built this my first attempt at a total build cutting all and planking the deck its only 23" long

4 years ago by jacko

Forum

water is wet and so was I.

Hello Martin Thank you for that, I’m not sure yet, I may end up using the supplied with the model although they are very thick. Not sure either how to tackle the windscreen surround.

4 years ago by Brianaro

Forum

Aerokits Plans

Rookysailor wrote .....Your quite correct there Doug, this blog has been here months ago, and there were lots of moans about the plans being wrong, I never had problem with them, but have been building years😌 I think Don will be pleased as I have just been on his website, and he has the plans for both the Sea Nymph and the Sea Urchin, which Don said he was after.😐 I also found his plans were fine , they photo copies of the original, the problem was the hand drawn which he said were accurately drawn , they were abysmal , Stevie Wonder could have done a better job , but as the Urchin is so small I have ordered a set of plans from him and will loft my own from the plan and side views

4 years ago by donrecardo

Forum

water is wet and so was I.

Hi, I have just been looking at these photos again admiring the woodwork. Excellent job. How do you plan on doing the chrome window .? Perhaps I should wait and see. Martin.

4 years ago by Martin555

Blog

40'' Seaplane Tender, new build C

Hull planking and fairing finished, but had to drop the up-sweep of the chine at the bow by about 1/4" (using filler) as the 1+2 chine positions shown in the drawing were too high. The bottom faces of the 1+2 need re shaping to bring the chine down to the correct progressive curve. Bit late now but is looking ok, apart from a slight hump at frame 2. Once glassed I'll work it a bit more. Always hard to see what the hull shape will be till you cover it. 👍 Like 💬 Comment 🗣️ Share 1

4 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Hull

The are of 4mm ply ,I use this because I can get lots of scrap off cuts from the place I used to work before I retired, I go in once a month for what my wife calls "my red cross parcel".😂

5 years ago by marky

Blog

RAF Crash Tender (46”) by Vintage Model Works

Well here we go... I have made a start on this great kit by VMW. This all started about 15 months ago, when I saw a completed model at Alexandra Palace model engineering exhibition. I talked with the builder/ owner, Rob, who has extensively posted on here his build blog ( and very useful reading it has been!) So eventually I got round to buying a kit last autumn ( other boats being built) and... went to the model engineering exhibition this year, and talked with... Rob, who said I “ should get on with it...” So I have. There are a few other members of this great website who have built/are building this model and I have read several blogs & looked at pictures which are a fantastic resource, but a bit worrying as I’m not sure my modelling skills are as good 😉. I don’t know what new ideas to show, but I will try keep a regular update of progress on the boat. Having made a sturdy building board, it seems sensible to work from the bows backwards, as once the bow structure is glued accurately everything else should follow. Having dry fitted all the to the keel and measured for alignment, I was nervous that a mm out anywhere could accumulate errors, so I decided to steam and bend the gunwhale stringers and dry fit them as well. This will help prove all the correct height port & starboard before I commit to glueing. It looks OK eyeballing it but I’m also constructing some right angle brackets to clamp the to while the glue sets. Just in case! I’ll be working on the boat most days, but That won’t always be reflected in much progress in pictures! And unlike previous blogs I’ve done, where the boat has been nearly finished before writing anything,this one is going to be ‘realtime’.

5 years ago by Harvey Kitten

Blog

Fitting of Sponstons and bulwarks

After cutting the hull free from the former using the prepared slots sanded the top of the , etc . I made up two sponsons for the paddle and secured them to the side of the hull using blocks and brackets. My attention then turned to fitting the bulwarks. Using strips of lime I bent one piece round a former to form the stern. It was softened using hot water. Clamped to former and allowed to dry. This was then glued and pinned to the hull. Note:- When planking I allowed for a space below deck level to allow the bulwarks to secured to the deck edge. The foredeck bulwarks were easier due to the curves of hull. I coated the interior of the hull with isopon epoxy resin to waterproof the interior and to strengthen the hull.

5 years ago by Hillro

Blog

Preparing the for the hull

The drawings came with the hull profiles to scale so I photocopied them enough times to when cut out gave a template for each one. I decided to build the hull upside down so I marked out the templates to allow for this and to allow the to be cut when the hull is complete. The were made from 4mm Birch Plywood. Templates glued to the plywood and cut out using a scroll saw.The interiors of the frame were also cut out where there was sufficient material to allow a 10mm web. A 50x75mm batten was marked out from the drawing for the frame positions. had blocks glued to them to allow the fixing of them to the batten. The keel was also cut out from 4mm plywood and glued to the .

5 years ago by Hillro

Blog

Enclosing the controls.

The original boat had a wide and deep seat at the back of the well deck and this is an ideal place to conceal the fuse, ESC and receiver. I started by setting out the components and marking an area sufficiently big enough to accommodate them all with room for the associated wiring and plumbing (water cooling for the ESC). A framework of obeche strip was formed on the floor and sides in such a way that the top and front panels of the cover would be flush with the frame, the side were also built out so that the cover would be narrow enough to clear the coamings on the sides of the well deck. The rear panels and floor of the enclosure are 1.5mm obeche panels, the rear one with cut-outs for the wiring to come through, both were given a coat of Teak stain before being glued in place. The cover ‘seat’ was made from a framework of obeche strip and panels with bracing pieces at each end to add rigidity and it fits neatly into the frame, some finishing detail was also added to this. This was also given a first coat of Teak stain. The cover will be held in place with small neodymium magnets.

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

Paddle Tug Iona - the hull

So... here is a compressed build blog of my paddle tug Iona... and I'm playing catch-up as the vessel is 95% complete and has been sailed already, but there may be some interest in what I've done. Iona was scratch-built off plan and has turned out to be the cheapest build so far out of 3 I've made, mainly because I was able to source materials from the leftovers box! it's a 'mixed-media' boat 😜using traditional methods of plank on frame hull, with paddles made on my 3D printer, and other parts turned on the lathe. So starting with the hull, were drawn out, transferred to some scrap 9mm ply and cut out on my bandsaw, along with the keel. These were assembled on a build board with some right angle brackets / measuring tools and test fitted before being stuck in place with epoxy. This was quite difficult as the shape of the hull is critical and comes right at the start of the build. I did remake 1 frame to correct alignment. The deck stringers need to bend in 2 directions, so some steaming with a carpet steam cleaner attached to some tubes worked and the wood clamped in place to dry. Outboard sponsons (?) were fitted to make a frame for the paddle boxes to fit on. Then a large sheet of ply forms the bottom of the hull, and the only job left to complete was the (tedious) planking. This was my 1st plank on frame ship... and it took ages. I think it came out reasonably OK but I'm not a perfectionist and I know if I'd spent more time it could be better... but I didn't! Next blog will feature building the paddle boxes and superstructure.🤓

5 years ago by Harvey Kitten

Blog

PS Iona - ballast

Well I said in blog 1 this was a mixed media ship... I forgot to mention the concrete. The bathtub test showed that the ship sailed ON the water rather than in it, so some serious ballast weight needed to be added. As I don't have any spare lead, and buying the amount needed would be expensive, I discovered an old bag of cement in the shed. Excellent! I roughly calculated how much to use to infill the base of the tug - about 1 inch depth distributed bows to stern, up to the level of the , so I could fit a wooden floor to mount the motors / electronics onto. Luckily this came out about right, and the paddles would sit in the water correctly🤓

5 years ago by Harvey Kitten

Response

glued up & water test.

Very nice -

5 years ago by Puddle-pirate

Blog

glued up & water test.

Just a couple more photos of the fishing boat & sealed hull with gorilla wood glue then a coat of 2 part finishing epoxy in the inside . The boat is small enough to float in the kitchen sink

5 years ago by GARTH

Blog

Keel

Printed out the /ribs drawings and outlined each in orange so I could easily see the correct lines. Cut those out and pasted to some plywood. The plywood is Baltic Birch 1/4" -5 ply, very nice quality that I get from a local woodworking supply store. it's a bit nicer than from the local warehouse hardware lumber yard, but that would work also. Used some spray rubber cement, sprayed only the paper back and stuck on the plywood. Spraying just one surface allows quick removal of the paper once cut. I don't have a bandsaw of scroll saw, so I use a sabresaw/hand jigsaw mounted upside down on a surface that secures to my drill press. Works pretty good. My shop is so tiny that I just don't have a space for larger tools. Maybe someday. Keel board was glued up, will show more tomorrow on that. Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Forum

Fairmile D 1/24 Scale Build

I have the hull. I have the fittings from battlecraft and excellent they are too. I also have 4 brass props plus the A . All i need is the time a space to start this build. First i need a larger shed. Too much work and no play! makes Jack a dull boy😊

5 years ago by andyhynes

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Fairmile D 1/24 Scale Build

Sakibian, My friend Graham built his E-boat with a fibreglass hull but scratch-built everything else. He does magnificent detail work. For you to build this hull you first need to get the plans to the scale you want to build. 1/24 is good for these models. The cross sections are essential. You need to determine how many bulkhead you will require. You won't require as many as shown on their plan and photos - maybe less than half - as many as will enable you to support the stringers to give you a shape of the hull on to which you can fix the planking or skin. The you choose need to be at or very close to cross sections, so you can use them to mark and cut your . I use 5mm plywood. There is a photo of my Fairmile D frame earlier in this series of posts. One of my earliest posts on this website was a Youtube video with the E-boat and my Fairmile D in action with sound effects.

5 years ago by reilly4

Forum

Fairmile D 1/24 Scale Build

Hi Sakibian, The PT boat site now sells stuff too, but was originally a site where the author John Drain described how he was building his PT boat and then the E-boat. There are good plans and examples of how he has constructed these boats. My Fairmile D was made from plywood , pine stringers, planked and skinned with balsa and then fibreglassed. it was a very interesting and difficult shape, but very satisfying once completed. it sails beautifully in the most difficult conditions. I have also included a few more pics of my friend's E-boat with the newer camouflage for further inspiration.

5 years ago by reilly4

Blog

Decks & hatches.

Because I need access to the wiring at both ends of the boat I formed the framework of an opening at the bow to make the dummy hatch into a real hatch. In a similar way a hatch was formed in the rear deck which will give me access to the wiring, rudder servo and the ESC cooling. It’s going to be quite tight to get all that into the cavity under the rear deck but I’ve done a test fit and it will all go in but will involve some ‘keyhole surgery’ through the rear hatch opening when I get to the stage of installing all of the running gear…🤓. Both of these decks were glued and pinned in place and some packing tape used to pull the decks firmly onto the . The side decks were also trimmed for best fit and secured in the same way and when all was dry and set a small hand plane was used to trim them flush to the hull sides. The next stage will be to fit the balsawood blocks at the bow and shape them to the hull…..it’s the tricky bit I’ve not been looking forward to…😟

5 years ago by robbob

Forum

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.

Hi sea queen and Aerokit plans Biro pens and popular ply aside A Very merry Xmas to you Forgive me it is the wine too much of Cheers Ian T

5 years ago by TOWN3810

Forum

Sea Queen

"I wish I had never said anything or about Biro pretend deck planking Cheers Ian T" You weren't to know he was selling such crap! Are you sure it's the same guy you got yours from? I can't believe he was supplying first class drawings years ago and is now supplying rubbish. Why bother drawing (well trying to) around the etc. when you already have good drawings?

5 years ago by ChrisF

Forum

Sea Queen

Hi I was lucky enough to be given a set of Sea Queen plans by a member on this forum but of course the plans dont show the and they need to be drawn up from the lines on the side and plan views . Its not that I cant do it but it seems silly re inventing the wheel if someone has already done it . So if any one has drawings of the for the Aerokits Sea Queen 46" I would be very grateful for a copy Cheers Don

5 years ago by donrecardo

Forum

Sea Queen

Whatever floats your boat Don 😉 Merry Christmas, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Sea Queen

Town3810 wrote I wish I had never said anything or about Biro pretend deck planking Cheers Ian T I'm lucky in as much as I have a laser cutter so by turning the power down I can burn the lines into the deck then turn it up to cut the deck outline

5 years ago by donrecardo

Forum

Sea Queen

RNinMunich wrote Hi Chris, If 'HE' "is blatantly copying the original kit drawings with Aerokits on them rather than redrawing them" why are they such 'freehand' rubbish? Surely the 'original kit drawings' were not! No, you misunderstand , the original drawings are great, but aerokits never included with their plans as the were pre cut in the kit "HE" blatantly copies the Aerokit plan then hand draws the which are Crap. The side and plan view are excellent copies , but his selling point is he is the only person who includes the with his plans which he says are drawn to a high standard. in fact he says just put the frame drawings on the wood and cut out . That would be fine if you want a twisted boat . You cant make a straight boat when the two sides of a frame are not mirror images of each other Don

5 years ago by donrecardo

Forum

Sea Queen

I wish I had never said anything or about Biro pretend deck planking Cheers Ian T

5 years ago by TOWN3810