Forum

YouTube clip

Tried to post the link but for reasons wouldn't work ,go to you tube and put in fourteen-hundred -Zulu a brilliant short RN documentary, something for everyone. cheers Marky👍

5 years ago by marky

Forum

Emma C. Berry

I know more about full size sailing vessels than I do models but Steve-D is quite correct in saying you need momentum in order to come about. The usual practice with a vessel with a long straight keel would be to let her pay off a little to get a bit more weigh on her, then sail her round slowly rather than putting the helm hard down. if she still got into irons, backing the foresails would help to bring her round. it wasn't for a hard headed ship to let her pay right off, gybe her round, then come back on the wind on the other tack. I hope you won't have to resort to that.

5 years ago by Nerys

Forum

Help! identifying a small ferry

I have been given a Ferry to restore/finish to working order. It was built by a gentleman who has since died and reflects a ferry he regularly used on holiday in Devon. He named it after his wife so the name is not right and I was assured it was a Brixham ferry which is not right. So I have an name and crossing location but I do have you wonderful people who managed to help with the seaplane tender. All i can give you is some photos of the model.

6 years ago by Bryan-the-pirate

Forum

RC....mixers? And other s..

I recently tried 2 ESC(s) into one battery connection then into 2 channels of the radio. Received wisdom said that one of the red leads to the radio should be disconnected. This I tried and one ESC ceased to function. So to prevent unwanted feeding on the positive lead from one ESC to another I fitted a diode to each of the ESCs. if you were to do the same I think your setup would work. However if your TX has mixing capability then why not use that ability to mix rudder with the 2 outboard motors so you have the added steering of the 2 outer motors? Any how fit the diodes please this should prevent the ESCs damaging each other its a simple job https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20x-1N4007-rectifier-diodes-DO41-1A-1000V-not-4001-4002-4003-4004-4005-4006/131111242950?hash=item1e86d6ccc6:g:ZFcAAOSwczhbVMNh:rk:11:pf:0 20 diodes for £1 the silver band is positive so goes towards receiver plug.

6 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

RC....mixers? And other s..

Ok... Currently trying to build a Itaieri Schnellboot, ...but am questioning if what little I think I know to be correct/ workable... I have amassed the following : 3- Hobbyking ST3007 1100KV brushless motors each direct drive to 32mm plastic props.... (2 right hand drive and 1 left hand drive props... swapped over leads on on motor to get it to run as yet untested the left hand prop) 3- Turnigy nano tech 3s 3000mh 25-50C Lipo ( Have got a balance charger and board , flame proof charge bag , battery voltage check/ alarm units, and will check and charge them await the only local help I have in RC / lips battery a helicopter flyer who has no experience with RC boats ) I just read the post on WTail mixer and wonder if I need that or if my current unkowning idea to just connect all 3 ESC ‘s together to one channel on the radio , again was give Eflite Blade SR HP6DSM 2.4GHz to try out ,Will this unit work or do I need something else , currently will/ can use all 6 channels but would / could use more if I had them ... last time I had anything to do with RC was a a kid/ teen and back then you had ground radios and flight radios and the two should not be mixed .. Ok please advise , how far off am I or am I still within range of keeping it simple ? Thanks All Bill

6 years ago by BW3

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hello, Doug! I’m happy to report that my eyes are finally healed & I’m ready to get cracking on my tug’s LED lighting improvement project. Needless to say it’s so fantastic to be able to see again. The infection was so bad that I had to move around the house for weeks with at least one hand on the wall or I was in danger of falling or walking into the china cabinet. I lost what’s called “stereo vision” & had no depth perception. it was a nightmare to say the least, especially considering that the source of the infection remains . But I just had a checkup at the ophthalmologist‘s office & I was given the happy news that all traces of the infection are completely gone. Hallelujah!🙏🏼👁👁 BTW, did you complete your tug’s mast LED lighting project? I recall that you had finished up the mast itself & had its LEDs working. Were you able to reinstall the mast in the pilot house roof & get everything back together without any problems? At one point you had mentioned possibly making a plug & socket arrangement for the mast so that it could be removed for safer transport to the lake. Were you able to follow through with that plan or was it just is easy to simply re-install the mast? finished for your dog? if so, how did it come out? I hope all is well with you & that your many projects are all turning out successfully.

6 years ago by PittsfieldPete

Directory

(Pleasure Craft)

Hull bought for £10 at club AGM bring and buy (9/10)

6 years ago by Rex3644

Forum

Cheap motor for a quick fit, but what prop gents?...

Hi, Lots of factors to take into consideration, 1 specification of motor 2 voltage to be used 3 size and weight of the boat 4 speed you wish to achieve 5 Current limitations (20A) Besides the above if it is a brushed motor and your limit is 20A I would opt for a propeller of 30mm to 35mm (low pitch). The old rule for Brushed motor is do not use a prop any bigger than the diameter of the motor. the bigger the prop/pitch the more current and a hot ESC. Act with caution, put a 15A fuse in line just in case to protect your ESC. It is difficult to give advice there are lots of s.

6 years ago by CB90

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

Mornin' John (aka Sleepless in , UK, 😉) That's exactly the jig I found recently for the batch of XT connectors I bought when I finally went LiPo (better than NUTS!). Ref. your 'wall wart' (horrible expression, must have come from our 'colonial brothers. Sorry Ed!)- If the resistor burnt out I'd be very surprised if the rectifier wasn't also damaged. Check the voltage with your multimeter in both AC and DC ranges and let me know the results. Also give me the data of the 'wart'. Input voltage, W or VA rating, output voltage and current. Should all be embossed on the thing somewhere. Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Seems there were quite a few 'flying tugs'! Mind your heads chaps!!! 😲 http://www.tynetugs.co.uk/TugsF.html 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Looks like it could be a Thames Steam Tug, I'm not sure ! I have just acquired this lovely hull and I am not sure of it's build or origin. It is fibreglass and is 57" (1450mm) LOA X 14.5" (370mm) Beam. It has a very basically built superstructure which I don't think is appropriate. I would be very grateful if anyone has any idea what she is and any other information as to weather it was a kit that has been modified. I would love more information as to scale etc. Regards your shipmate. Ballast AKA Alan.

6 years ago by Ballast

Forum

I do remember that there was a number of variations of this type of tug that used the same hull but with slight changes on deck but I can't think of there names at the moment, they were all called flying ..... it will come to me when I stop thinking about it 🤔

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Forum

Hull looks right, but s/structure / funnel don't 😲 http://www.tynetugs.co.uk/flyingkestrel1913.html 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Thanks for that buddy, I will give that alley some research.👍

6 years ago by Ballast

Forum

If I'm not mistaken it looks like the flying kestral steam tug that if I remember correctly it was a free plan in model boats magazine

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Forum

Tempory computer

Hi Ron, Thanks for your comments. The small Tug (EMANUEL) is 16" long, scale . No crew as yet, but will try some of my model railway figures. The larger Tug (VALIANT) is 48" and is 1/32nd scale. But using 1/35th scale crew. As for your Gipsy yacht. I'd love a copy of your plans, could it be possible to copy and email. if yes I'll pm you my email address, it's quite possible I have a suitable part built hull that was donated to me at a show last year. Cheers Colin.👍

6 years ago by Colin H

Response

2 s

Lovely looking boats and you sound as if you had a great time in Plymouth too.

6 years ago by Baggie

Media

2 s

Two models seen at the Plymouth Gin Factory in the Barbican. Whilst there I had to sample the product and chose the Plymouth Navy Gin, which is gunpowder proof at over 57% and like drinking a single malt compared to a blend. Recommended. We were in Plymouth for the IMASS shipwreck conference the next day, which ranged from Byzantine to WW1 Naval shipwrecks, including HMS Hampshire and HMS Vanguard.

6 years ago by SelwynWilliams

Forum

Strange Email

This type of "spam" is not , in that you can be hacked and end up sending out Spam to all your contacts. it has happened to me before and to some friends. As advised, check your security and change your password.

6 years ago by Wingcoax

Blog

Blue Pearl (sailing barge)

Not quite a build as I found it on Ebay but I have added to it. The barge was build in the 1970's and was very well made. Design is to me but I first assumed it was a thames barge based on the sail layout. I was so convinced I dyed the sails red and built some false side keels. Then I saw another model thames barge, it was longer and narrower with a slightly different sail set up. So here I was a sailing barge with red sails that wasn't what I had thought it was. What else do you do apart from making it fun.

6 years ago by Bryan-the-pirate

Forum

rotating radars off mast

Thanks Dave, you've set me off on another adventure into the but I think I'm learning....do I need the Arduino UNO controller and could I control two motors off it (it doesn't matter if the speed is the same ) . If I don't need the controller ,could you explain a bit more about using the POT (presumably a potentiometer?)

7 years ago by seafarer

Response

NAXOS - Fishing Boat

Speaking of plans - here is what I have managed to dig up. Obtained online and bearing no copyright marking, i am hopeful that I am not subject to copyright infringements...if I am, they will be imediately removed. Lots of reference numbers, but no key to let me know what they refer to. Plans are in language to me, but I suspect Slovak.

7 years ago by hecrowell

Forum

How do I find out the voltoge of my motor without it burning out

Hi Chris I know of no easy way for you to determine the voltage. However motors do have a coil resistance value measured across the terminals. Also if you can see the coil windings a thick wire usually indicates a motor designed for high speed and current. A thinner wire may produce a motor with lower speed and less current and more tork. If you check the Graupner and look at the windings this may help you identify the other two. In my experience it's usually too low a voltage that's the problem resulting in slow revs and little if any tork. At the other end of the scale too high a voltage will result in very high revs and lots of sparks from the brushes. in this case if you continue to apply the volts you will damage the motor. Many electric drills were powered by motors rated at 9v and did indeed have an impeller cooling fan. That said Mabuchi and Johnson produced a vast range of motors all looking similar on the outside but wired very differently inside depending on the ultimate use. I suggest you try with progressively higher voltages and assess which is best for the two s. Finally most motors are designed to work over a range of voltages so I usually measure both the upper and lower values so I can select the right motor for a particular model.

7 years ago by Dave M

Forum

How do I find out the voltoge of my motor without it burning out

I have several motors that all look very nearly the same. One I know is a Graupner Speed 600 which is 8.4v but of the other 2, one is said to be 12v(was working with an 11.1 lipo) and the other one is . It has a built in cooling impeller so probably came from an electric tool of some sort. Neither of these 2 have any markings or labels. Is there any way that I can test them for their normal working voltages without endangering them? Chris

7 years ago by octman

Forum

Unbekannte Flitze. A very flighty girl

By the way Allen, 'kiss it' or 'Spunky' (?) was closer to the mark with ' Streaker' than he knew! Streaker is another colloquial meaning of Flitze or Flitzer if male! Cheers Doug 😎

7 years ago by RNinMunich

Media

Name

These two boats were tied up at a dock on Lake Coeur d’Alene, idaho. My nephew sent me the pictures. Tomorrow he will try to get the names of the boats and maybe information. Do these look familiar to you? Try: http://cdacustomwoodboats.com/boats/coeur340/

7 years ago by Ronald

Forum

Help! What's this?

You know, considering some of the thoughts above, you could call it " streaker"! Ha! Ha!

7 years ago by kiss it

Forum

1st time RC

thanks Doug ,the RAF tender is only my second boat ,the radio control thing might be fear of the

7 years ago by marky

Response

Decks

Hi again, here the best pic I have of the port side, date . Shows your two platforms but no weapons discernable 🤔 The round one may simply have been a refuge for deck crew when things got hectic or they were under attack. Saw such refuges on the old Colossus class carrier in Brazil, also used one once😲 It's now past midnight so Goodnight from Munich, Cheers Doug 😎 Forgot to mention; the build is looking very good, such a shame she'll never move 😱

7 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Police Launch

It was not for swans to 'get lost' and land on the road on Worcester river bridge. We were told that if this happened we were to grasp the neck just behind the head and put the free arm around the body to stop the wings flapping. As I had a mortal fear of all things flapping - hence taking refuge under the sheet with the body - I prayed I would never come across such an incident.

7 years ago by cormorant

Forum

Mersea island boat

Yes the Dubarry looks very similar and it says it was based on a thorneycroft.These were diagonally planked as were the full sized ones in the pics.Did not realise they were twin screw as they were afloat!.The chine hull was easier.The engine (A Westbury hybrid with bent pushrods!)is not very powerful but still gives more than scale speed.The bottom end is Westbury mated to an top end,spark is by a car coil and 6v battery and allows a really slow tickover you can almost count the revs and a reliable pick up but seems to be flat out at 3500 rpm so with a bigish prop seems a good motor for the boat just wish I could stop it leaking oil!(crankcase pressure even with a 1/4" breather!)

7 years ago by philpjuk

Forum

bargain of the day

They were also selling soldering bolts (price )a Dremil type tool for around £25 and a large set of different tools for it at £ 7.99 and it had a 3 year guarantee , may nip back in tomorrow and get one

7 years ago by marky

Blog

Gentlemans Cruiser

Just a note about the Bulkheads, There are 1/4" x 1/4" Stringers and 3/8" x 1/8". After the bulkheads were all marked out, remembering the old rule measure twice and cut once. Picked up a piece of 3/8" x 1/8" Obechie and placed it onto the bulkhead checking the marking out, whoops something was wrong the marked location was to small, wishing to return the next day and start cutting at first light, they were remarked, but when i did four from the Transom, for some reason i decided to measure again.. The air was blue..... I had by accident picked up a piece of scrap of 1/2" x 3/16".. A long pause and "to ponder" what to do next. Scrap the bulkheads and start again or make do and mend, 5mm marine ply aint cheap, in other words apply some modelers license.. Modeler's license won, as it usually does. So the stringers were "Shimmed", maybe not pretty, but it worked and hopefully does not make the structure weak..And now its been skinned, who knows about it..!

7 years ago by muddy

Forum

How many is to Many

Well. Having listed my fleet earlier, I bought a couple of "to do" Veron Police launches on eBay earlier in the week. When collecting them, Ross said "I have a few more to get rid of for a friend of mine", and that, as they, is history. I left there with, and added to my fleet... 2 x Veron Thames Police Launch. 1 x 34" PT 109 (scratchbuilt). 1 x Vosper RTTL (kit ). 1 x 46" Aerokits RAF Fire/Crash Tender. Those of you who are paying attention, will not I have just doubled my fleet. And with another 46" fire tender on the horizon, my total will be up to 11 now (only actually 3 in sailing condition), but lots of projects and "to do's" in store. Best wishes, Dave W. 😊

7 years ago by rolfman2000

Forum

Using old motors

Well, I know I said I would be using older motors, but I think keeping them for older (non speed) boats is maybe the sensible thing to do, but the main reason for what I'm sure you'll all consider to be the obvious answer is that this weekend, my NiCad powered drill gave up the ghost, or rather its ancient batteries did, and to me so did my son-in-law's! So suddenly I had 2 big ol' brushed moderns, but more than that, ESCs correctly matched to the motors as both drills have speed controls AND forward, neutral, reverse switches (and little finned gizmos which I take to be heat sinks) so what defense have I now against the "use modern stuff" brigade? I shall keep my older Taycols, SELs and Basset-Lowkes in period correct hulls. So, the question is.....is there any reason why I shouldn't use the speed controllers that come with the drills and is there any harm in running the motors at less than the voltage they run at in the drill function? After all, I won't be doing up any 3" screws with these boats! Cheers, Martin

7 years ago by Westquay

Blog

Wheelhouse roof detail....and a paint problem !

Because of the curvature of the wheelhouse roof the searchlight, mast, aerial and other fittings need some shaped wedges to sit on so that they sit vertically, this is particularly important for the searchlight as it is designed to rotate. I cut and shaped some plasticard for these and when I was happy with the angles I superglued them in place on the roof and used a small amount of filler to blend them into the roof profile. Similar spacers were made for the anchor where it sits on the forward cabin roof as well. After masking off the surrounding areas I sprayed a coat of Halfords white primer on the roofs and immediately noticed that the paint ‘crazed’ very badly for some reason. I had used panel wipe to clean the roof before painting and was spraying over previous coats of the same primer so this was really disappointing to see 😭 I had to leave the paint to harden for a couple of days and set about stripping it back to the base coats as much as possible and then re-masked and sprayed again….only for the same thing to happen again 😡 This was despite pre-warming the can and shaking it thoroughly for the prescribed two minutes. To cut a long story short I discovered that the new can of white primer that I had recently purchased was faulty and it was spraying considerably more solvent/carrier than pigment and this heavy overload of solvent was the cause of the problem. Halfords replaced the paint without argument but I had to wait another couple of days before I could remove the paint and start over again for the third time. Happily the replacement paint was OK, the re-spray was successful and the final gloss coat is to a reasonable finish but the whole process set me back a couple of weekends and was a very frustrating experience 😞 An isolated case I’m sure but after previously stating that Halfords paint was OK, I now reserve my judgement and remain cautious with their paint, and I now do more test sprays just in case…..

7 years ago by robbob

Response

original paintwork

You can paint laquer over enamel ,but I would suggest going back to the base wood.Use a primer sealer to seal all the other paints out then go from there.I know what your talking about,happened to me till I figured out how to deal with it.Ive even gone as far as to brush on a couple layers of 30min epoxy deluted 50% with denatured alcohol to use as a sealer then start my primers to get smooth.Do Not Paint Enamel over Laquer,the enamel takes a long time to dry which attacks the under layment of any paint/primer.This is why the bubbles form under the paint you just put on

7 years ago by chumbucket

Response

Hi Brian The hull is very similar to the Tarpon produced in the 1960's, especially the four portholes on the raised deck. The cabin is different but this could be a later addition/modification. I did think it may have been a Dumas kit but I have scant knowledge of their range and was hoping one of our American friends would comment. It certainly looks the part and I hope you have many hours of happy sailing.

8 years ago by Dave M

Response

It looks hand made from experience of being at sea ie royal navy.

8 years ago by brando

Media

I recently acquired this lovely boat off eBay,...she cleaned up nicely, and runs quite beautifully since I re engined with a Torpedo 850, on 14 volts. Now, I would love to know is this is a one off, or a kit? The build quality and layout would suggest a kit, but what do I know? I'm sure the massed wisdom on this site can provide me with a clue... Overall length; almost 50" Any ideas? Brian.

8 years ago by misterbee

Forum

receiver voltage output

I have an Rx No name on it but could be Sanwa. it is marked 35 Mhz. My prob is how do know which is the battery connection? it's 6 channel if that matters .also are the outputs Preordained or can I use whichever for whatever? Sorry to ask such a basic question but I usually have had the info on this up to now. 😯 🙄 Thanks for reading peeps. Best wishes John

8 years ago by onetenor

Media

Serenity

This is Serenity (AKA) Jersey City, she is a reworked and renamed 1:32 scale Tugboat. she measures in at 36" X 9"or 915mm X 229mm her weight is (?) but I estimate it at about 7.5lbs to 9.0lbs give or take some ounces. Serenity is named after my Grand Daughter who is my pride and joy!

8 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

Eezibilt

Boatshed, What is the address for the plans of Ezeebilt models? There used to be a web site with all the ezeebilt models on there and a few updated models of a larger size. For some reason the site just vanished? Modbot.

8 years ago by modbot

Response

Side Pieces Cut

HI I think I'll give the plasticard a go but I can imagine it to be very tedious like you say. Probably best for me to take a couple of templates whilst the sides are off and try making them after I've got it looking like a boat again. I would have a go now but don't want to add more s and give up like I've so many times to date he he. I'll give Stephen ago on the off chance though. Thanks Neil

9 years ago by neilmc

Forum

Motor Size for Vliestroom, Model Slipway Buoy Vssel

From the info you have provided it would appear one motor /prop shaft is running tight. Turning the prop of each motor should feel free. if one is tight then it's likely your lock nuts at each end of the propshaft have become loose and tightend on the prop tube. Releasing the coupling and slackening the prop shaft should solve the tightness, if it's still stiff then you possibly have a problem with rust etc in that shaft, which will need to be removed and cleaned with wire wool. Do make sure the locknut at the prop end is tight to the prop, the adjustment is made at the coupling end, and there should be a washer between each locknut and the prop tube. Play should be minimal, we used to use cigarette papers but as long as its free all will be OK. Too big a gap will allow water seepage. You can check the motors by disconnecting the ESC and applying the battery direct. Both motors should give similar performance. Haverlock has explained how you can check each ESC but please do heed his advice about disconnecting one of the red wires from the receiver plug. Each ESC has a built in BEC circuit and you will experience some strange results if two are connected to the same receiver. As a matter of course I usually test all me new ESCs with a small motor outside the model to make sure it is working OK. it was not in the past for ESCs to fail out of the box. it doesn't happen often and I have always received a free replacement but it's easier to find out before installing. if you do have a damaged motor perhaps you could provide a picture so we can advise as to a suitable replacement. A 50p coin included in the pic will help gauge the size.

9 years ago by Dave M

Media

R.A.F Vosper Fire Boat

An ebay buy now fully restored custom made and commercial fittings. Power unit Electric manufactyrer and voltage it will soon be time to test it on the water

9 years ago by silverfox

Forum

Twin Electric Set Up for Marx Chris Craft Constellation

Forgot to mention, some chinees ESC have odd values! Chinees amps sometimes dont match UK amps, if you are buying an or un marked ESC of ebay, double the amps that you want. IE 25 amps buy 50 rated. Some are brilliant some not so Mark

9 years ago by jarvo

Directory

(Working Vessel) Grace Of Harwich

Thames Sailing Barge date of build though believed to be at least 25 years old. Builder . 1/32 scale (10/10)

9 years ago by 15Weyb

Directory

(Naval Ship) Bismarck

One of my First boat after regaining my interest in boating in 1980's. Very first was a Sea Hornet back in the '50s. Based my Bismarck on a 600th scale Airfix plastic kit, built it as a 1/200th stand off scale scratchbuild R/C, sailed well for many years, bravely sending her out in gale force winds, rarely took on any water even thought compared with today's model didn't have many if any buoyancy aids, superstructure plug in, rather than onto deck. Unfortunately left in a shed that was to me was leaking and rotted away the hull, so no more. (ESC: Bob's board) (4/10)

10 years ago by Peter47

Blog

Aerokits 46'' Fireboat twin screw brushless conversion

Not all went to plan with this build, remember me throwing the can of plasticote!, I actually lost some fittings and had to buy again, on the first water test I had virtually no steering, didnt show the pre-edited video of slamming the wall a few times, and quite a few other calamities!, here is a big one....... After all the testing with cheap plastic "x"props, various sizes with a data logger, I took all the readings to Simon from propshop, explaing I wanted good quality 3 blade brass props. My feeling was, after all this work, they would look pretty, and why not have the bit that actually propells the boat to be a good quality. Simon and I decided we would have counter rotating, this would help stabilise the boat, particularly under acceleration (stop torque roll) and under deceleration. The data logging (eagle tree data logger) gave Simon revs, gps speed, amps, volt drop, mah, so as he is like me, a statistics nut, he was able to suggest an answer to what I wanted. I would give up some top speed, for a longer run time, but my goal was to stay over 20mph. It was a bit territory, a large heavy scale boat, not the best handling, but ridiculously over scale speed, everything running at max really. The motors were certainly budget, as I still didnt know if it was going to work properly. The lightweight plasticard build had now certainly put some serious weight on. The 4 x 5000mah lipos alone weigh in heavy. Simon made up some real nice props, and I had an understanding, if they didnt work he would part ex back for something else. When fitted they really looked the part!

11 years ago by pmdevlin