Forum

1940 Chris Craft

My wife and I were in Gig Harbour, Washington State today where we were invited onboard by the owners of this beautiful boat. They told us, it is on the water most of the year in Seattle. The boat is ed every two years. It requires continual care as the salt water is corrosive. Also seen was a nifty outboard; even the outboard motor cover is made of wood. A group of friends were seen enjoying a dockside luncheon. They said “Please take our picture” Very nice inboard Runabout.

6 years ago by Ronald

Forum

Motor Anti-Submarine Boat MA/SB

My latest project, a 1/24 scale MA/SB is currently taking shape. The vessel is based upon the 63ft BPBCo launch and I understand some had planked decks. There is nothing I like better than planking a deck but I can find no reference to MA/SBs having anything other than metal decks. My recommended reference book is Caostal Craft History Vol.2 which only tells me that planked decks were usually ed whilst metal decks were usually painted grey. Can anyone assist please? Steve

5 years ago by cormorant

Response

Hull finishing touches

Stuart - as you can see from the article in Model Boats, Colin has fitted a contrasting timber to the perimeter of the hull and up the centre of the bow and then infilled with planking. Another method is to veneer the deck and just it or drawn lines on it with Biro or pencil before ing. SLEC do laser etched ply but the planks are straight. Really it depends on how accurate you want the result to be and how much time you want to spend on it. With my Huntsman 28 build I'm just using birch ply and ing it whilst with my larger Swordsman 33 (but same scale) I'm going the whole hog and planking it. Chris

5 years ago by ChrisF

Response

funnel mounts and deck hatches

Nice work, can I offer a very simple but effective improvement to the Cowl Vents, just cut small circle of black card and stick it in the red area and it looks as if there is a hole to the interior, then just paint with a matt . I did mine and I think they look good

5 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

funnel mounts and deck hatches

Fitted the "legs" to the wheel house so now at correct height when on the deck. Funnel mounts done (just need to finish the funnels, workout what holes to drill and then mount the funnels to the mounts) so we added 2 hatches to each mount, painted white with brass hinges. the one placed between the Cowl vents is open, the one at the back is closed. as we only had "closed" hatches put a triangle shaped bit of plastic under the "open" hatch to prop open. When dry mounting the Cowl Vents found an issue with the rear vents as they are suppose to be higher than the wheelhouse and the ones i got where not, so found 2 wooden cotton reels the right height and turned then down to the correct width using the pillar drill as a lathe, painted them up and then placed the Cowl vents on those. also painted the "flat" vents chrome and stuck those to the mounts as well. to finish off these all we have to do is fit the breather pipes and ladder to funnels and fix the funnels to the mounts (allowing for the front funnel to have the hole for the smoke generator. Started work on the 2 deck hatches using 1mm plastic sheet. Made the 2 housings up and the planked and ed them ready for the hatches. found out i had only enough hatches to do 1 housing, so drilled a 7mm hole in the hatch for a 10mm brass porthole, painted white with brass hinges. once dry stuck them on the housing ready to go. (ordered some more hatches to i can complete the other housing lol) one last thing was to start on the wheel box. Found in "The Works" in town a heart shaped box which was almost perfect for a mold for the thin wood that was steamed to shape and then held on the heart to fix the curve in place. next to do is to make up the front and back of the wheel boxes and stick the "curved" wood to that

5 years ago by barryskeates

Forum

Planking

Hi Dave, I was faced with the same question last year when renovating and restoring the hull of an ancient Billing Boats Fish Cutter 'Gina 2' that I had inherited. The Blog gives blow by blow account of how I stabilised and waterproofed the hull. https://model-boats.com/builds/view/43305?goto=43306 Otherwise Haverlock is quite right too👍 I would have liked to have had a ed wood finish but the original hull construction was so bad I had to fill it (after applying glass-fibre tissue to the inside) and the green filler gave it a tortoise shell effect!!😲 have fun. Cheers, Doug😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Planking

What type of boat/ship if its purely a sport boat you can cover the planking with tissue and dope then high build primer. Sand it down and paint with whatever takes your fancy. On the other hand if your wanting the planking to show ( scale type model) you need to seal the wood on the outside and inside with a decent that should provide all sealing you need.

5 years ago by Haverlock

Blog

PS Enterprise

The bow section of the top deck is made and is now ed, some pins as rivets on the bow, the Rudder shaft supports with pins as rivets and now the top deck stern section needs to.be made. The stern section has gaps in the wood.

5 years ago by rcmodelboats

Forum

1950s sea commander refurb.

Thanks for all your comments and input. What i really need now is a copy of the templates sheet so that i can cut some new parts to replace some of the missing ones . I have ordered a new rudder, and new plexi glass for the windows. Already in hand is an Mtronics Viper marine 25 amp ESC. 12 volt 7ah battery, Futaba 27 or 40 Mhz RX. Futaba servo. Just awaiting the motor from Doug (RN in Munich). We are going to repaint the Hull in White, Cabin sides in Dark Blue, Cabin roofs in White. The decks will be left as my dad made them, just cleaned and a fresh coat of . the inside of the hull is well sealed already with bitumen (original) which is still allright. Next stage start rubbing down the hull ready for the glass cloth and Ezekote resin. at least i can do this indoors in the warm, workshop too d*** cold. Thats all for today shipmates, more to come, Cheers Colin.

5 years ago by Colin H

Response

Sports cruiser ''ALI''

Hello, Looks good! I use PVC for all my wood. CA is not very water resistant. if you can get the waterproof type PVC, use that. if not, if it is just a white glue, make sure all glued areas are covered with a waterproof coating. Such as or paint. When I glue wood, I put glue on each joint, let it sit for a few minutes while it soaks into the wood grain. Apply a bit more glue and press together. Clamp or somehow hold the joint securely while it dries. Most PVCs take at least 30 minutes to set. Depending on the joint, I usually will come back a day later and fill any gap that may appear. PVC creats a joint stronger than wood. CA is brittle and the joint can snap. Give it a try and good luck to you. Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Response

Sea Queen

Roger.com, I am not so sure about being less detail on a Norfolk Broads Cruiser. I have a small 21ft fibre glass hulled boat in Potter Heigham on the Broads. But when you see the older wooden Broads Cruisers they have lots of detail especially the ones that get cared for as they should being wooden built. Some of them are so beautiful and well ed polished brass, Chrome fittings and well groomed. if I could afford a wooden cruiser and be able to keep her in the fashion she should be kept then I would. But if I win the lottery then I will have one. Even the old wooden sailing yacht's are kept in wonderful condition and lots of detail brass etc.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

Blog

Cabin detail part 3 (instrument panels)

After the Christmas break its back to the cabin to finish some of the instrument detail. You may recall I detailed the cockpit with some ply constructions to represent the general layout; I also intend to detail the compass, throttle controls, steering wheel, panel lighting, and instrument panel. The instrument panel was copied and scaled from various drawing and pictures and I came up with a three-panel unit where panels 1 & 3 are identical as they are for the two-engine managements system the centre panel deals with electrical things. I intend to make the panel out of 1.5 mm aluminium cut to size on the guillotine I then attached this to a hardwood block with some strong double sided tape this will be more than strong enough to hold the piece for the drilling/light milling operation. I worked out the hole positions using an absolute datum (same as CNC work, if only I was still working) This does take some time using my rather old milling machine making sure any backlash is taken out during the 28 linear movements. I used various sizes of centre drills to produce the holes as they give not only accurate size but also perfectly round holes on thin material and the only ones that needed to be a particular size (6mm dial holes) the others are for switches and LEDs which can all be a 3 mm location hole. Each hole was drilled and then chamfered to simulate a bezel on the dials. Finally, I milled a shallow groove (2mm x 0.3 deep) to simulate the separate panels. I have copied a number of different marine dials from the internet and using PowerPoint I aligned in a complete group and then printed and laminated them, this will be placed behind the aluminium plate using double-sided tape. Having fixed the dials in place I drilled through the holes where LEDSs will fit. The LEDs will be shortened and polished so they are flat to the face; these are then stuck in place. Next, I made all the switches from brass bar with a fine brass pin glued across its face to simulate the lever. These were painted gloss black and the centre pin picked out in red, they were then glued into the 3 mm location hole. The black knobs/pull switches were turned out of black Perspex and polished; they were then glued into the location holes. The whole instrument panel is then pinned on to the wooden framework which has been left in natural wood finish (ply) as it looks like the original boat was just a ed ply finish.

5 years ago by mturpin013

Response

aeronaut classic

the is a type i bought from the web but the seat is the kit version just wood frame with some foam and a pliable vinyl cover glued in place ,, the white bead is , nylon cord

5 years ago by sandgrounder

Response

aeronaut classic

Nice 'shiny' build SG 👍 Love the woodwork 👍👍 What did you use ? Did you buy or build the seats? if build - How??? Been pondering how to do that for my Sea Scout🤔 Happy 'Wetting' in 2019, cheers, Doug😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

riva

Given that the inner core of the riva is some sort of plastic (onto which the planks are laid and glued), and given that the one shown has some 15 coats of clear epoxy and , it is quite well sealed. And stable in our experience. I should have mentioned that you may be carving out space for the electronics and motors as well. (I say "may" because it has been a few years, and my memory is not photographic...)

5 years ago by bustedknuckles

Response

Excelsior

Hi Joe, In answer to your queries, Hull was built in the bread and butter system using deal sealed inside and out with coats of yacht and painted using acrylic. Subsequent models of Wherries and Chinese Junks were plank on frame using 1/8” balsa strips sealed with resin, inside and out, with again acrylic paint. Balsa easier to work with to gain experience - reasonable effectiveness both in carvel and clinker planking. All the best and good sailing. Gascoigne

5 years ago by Gascoigne

Response

Anteno 2 tug

Lucky man to have access to a full size booth Dick👍 Your hull looks very good, even though it's a bit of a shame to cover up your super woodwork! I used 2pack on my Sea Scout as well😊 Then polished with fine (anti-hologram) cutting polish. The lacquer gave her a beautiful hard, smooth finish. And is UV resistant as well, which is good for the deck 😉 have a great Christmas, cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

Net bins

The boat is nearly complete now, the final part is to fill the deck with fill nets! I have found that the Heinz snap pots for baked beans are the perfect size! Top removed, sprayed and weathered and then a body buff has been cut up and stuck inside along with some twine. I’ve then painted the net to make it look dirty and some to give it a wet look.. 2 down 1 more full one required and then a stack of 3 empties... but first dinner, and yes, it’s beans on toast for me!!!

5 years ago by GrahamP74

Response

aeronaut classic

Hi Simon, I used the lacquer on the blue and white as well. it 'flattened' the paint and made it real hard and smooth 😊 The whole time consuming but satisfying process is described in incredibly boring 😉 detail in my blog- 'Jessica - Sea Scout restoration' (or was it renovation ??😲 Go easy with the lacquer on top of the , not too heavy in one coat, or it may cause hairline surface cracks as it dries due to surface tension. 😡 Motor is a Propdrive 2832, 1000kV driving a 35mm 3 blade brass prop from Raboesch. Running on a 3S Lipo using a Quicrun 30A ESC and Turnigy iA6 RX. Pic attached of 'Engine Room'. Link attached to videos of the sea trials in May this year, Ostpark Lake and Biergarten, Munich. https://youtu.be/b0BWJ3duzDw https://youtu.be/zPgYicA0yGw She's 24" LoA with an all up weight of about 1.5kg. BTW: the lacquer is also supposed to be UV resistant! 😉 All the best, Doug 😎 PS Here the link to my Sea Scout Build Blog https://model-boats.com/builds/view/28209

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

aeronaut classic

Evening Sifi, Nice job, lovely woodwork 👍 Tip / Suggestion; to give your decks that 'final touch' how about spraying with a clear lacquer? I use one from the auto branch, e.g. used with touch up spray cans (esp. metallics) to melt/blend in to the original finish. Gives the a finish like glass - sea attached pics of my Sea Scout. Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

aeronaut classic

Thankyou, I ed it seven times and flattened between coats. I’m sure yours will come out fine, just take your time. My Dad has the Diva, he fitted a Brusless inrunner and that runs lovely. They are all great models in that range. I’m going to build another, just can’t decide which one lol

5 years ago by Sifi70

Blog

Elizabeth Cabin/superstructure

The cabin has now been finished off with a well deck, the well deck is made of balsa mostly, and the floor is oly, the well deck floor is lined as planks ( urghh ), firstly scored with a blunt Stanley type knife blade the the plank lines infilled with pencil, the floorboard nail marks are just scored with a sharp pin with a little cyno rubbed in the hole to colour the pin prick, decided to make this as an all in one removal unit, it still has to be glazed and fittings plus furniture, as in windscreen , door's consul etc: .. The deck and all other woodwork has been ed and the cabin roof painted white, awaiting suitable weather to paint the hull, as this is done outdoors.. Muddy....

5 years ago by muddy

Blog

Taking shape!

Managed to fit the gantry and mast and made the sail. To get the right cloth I used and old pillowcase (well I think it was old) and painted it both sides with wood stain / . Happy with the finish. As with all my models I always put a piece that my Dad made on the boat, this time it is the wooden pulley block.

5 years ago by GrahamP74

Media

more money than sense

last pictures l posted l painted the wave princess l changed my mind and decided to go for some planking on the decks and cabin roofs l have also done a little bit of tarting up using some brass welding rod and brass tube l am quite pleased with the out come so far. these piccys are about a month old now so she has had a god rub down and given six coats of clear . l will post more piccys when l have installed the windows and frames.

6 years ago by jimdogge

Forum

Cleaning sails, toy yachts, etc....

Thanks, onetenor. I put a coat of said on today and the repairs almost disappeared. Very pleased. The rest of the day was visitors, so not much done. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Cleaning sails, toy yachts, etc....

I did indeed use an abrasive polish on the cream paint, but as it was a very severe crack or two all along the hull, I injected resin in the crack and clamped it up as far as possible, then Milliputted in to fair it. This was between two strips of tape to prevent the spread of epoxy or Milli further than necessary. I managed to match the cream more or less and once I've put a coat of nice amber spar on it'll look like the original when heeled and won't show at all when on display. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Cleaning sails, toy yachts, etc....

Useful to know about Vanish. it certainly worked on my Star yacht sails. Fortunately the sails on the Ailsa yacht are lovely anyway, just some new rigging cord required. I would say the sails were the same as bed sheets. I used some white spirit to clean the deck on the Ailsa. Most of the dirt being handling muck. Then I waxed it with 3M wax...twice. it's wonderful stuff which I bought for our historic narrowboat's new paintwork. it was a wooden boat and when I replaced the cabins and had painted them with Tra-mar Coatings hand made enamel paint, I waxed them with 3M's wax and they went another 3 winters before I sold the boat, with the rain still rolling off in beads. The Ailsa is now waiting for some spar over the repair's creamish paint. I couldn't match it perfectly, but I didn't want to repaint the whole hull. All the repairs are under the waterline so it shouldn't show. The Star...I never heard of them using aluminium for masts. How would they have kept the rigging eyes in place? Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Pretend deck planking

May be too late, but have you thought about real planking? This was my first attempt following advice on various youtube videos and studying pictures of the full sized boat. Planks supplied by Jotika. They have various sizes and woods and worked out to quantity when I gave them the deck measurements. I used cyano to glue to a plastic deck and sealed with a proprietory outdoor satin . I found it very satisfying and was pleased with the end result. Ps. Please excuse the black dots of fly sht. on the deck in the first picture. Steve

6 years ago by cormorant

Forum

Transfers

its even better if you can get a hold of a laser printer since the "ink" is waterproof so no need to before doing the waterslide.

6 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

Pretend deck planking

Hi Biro is good just rolls along less effort than pens or pencils it also indents the wood slightly and gives a very good effect Tung oil is also good The first deck I did I used and the Biro faded but not so with the oil I like to think I invented the method but thinking can be dangerous Cheers Ian T

6 years ago by TOWN3810

Response

Spraying Again.......

Mornin' Peter, Red primer can be a good match for some anti-fouling paints. If you are happy with the colour - fine. BUT!! Seal the primer paint with several thin coats of matt or silk clear for the reasons mentioned to Neville above! Primer is porous!! Flatten the primer with 1000 / 1500 wet n dry until your fingertips tell you the surface is good. Apply the in several thin coats, flattening lightly with 2000 / 3000 w&d between coats, until you have a good sealed surface. The (or lacquer) will also give some extra protection against knocks and bangs 😊 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Pretend deck planking

"Danish oil is a hard drying oil, meaning it can polymerize into a solid form. it can provide a hard-wearing, often water-resistant satin finish, or serve as a primer on bare wood before applying paint or . it is a "long oil" finish, a mixture of oil and , typically around one-third and the rest oil. Rags used for Danish oil have some potential risk of spontaneous combustion and starting fires from exothermic oxidation, so it is best to dry rags flat before disposing of them, or else soak them in water." 😲 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Pretend deck planking

Hi I seal first one coat of Danish Oil then i use Biro pen and finish with several coats of oil The Biro does not fade over time but it does if is used Cheers Ian T

6 years ago by TOWN3810

Response

Spraying Again.......

Hi Neville, Check out my Sea Scout 'Jessica' renovation blog for how to achieve good paint finish! 'Wet n dry' is the ONLY way to go. Right from the priming stage. it stops the 'riding' you describe and the generation of flying dust which is anathema to any paint or finish, but you do have to clean and re-wet the paper and the object you are sanding from time to time!!! Any mistakes at that stage will carry through to the top coats and still be visible 😡 Don't quite understand how you created 'mouths'. I'm wondering if you sprayed too close and/or too heavy!? Your apparently exorbitant paint consumption seems to hint at this🤔 For the record; I started with 240 on the primer/filler for my Sea Scout and worked up through 400, 600, 1000, and 2000 and 3000 for the final top coats and deck . All 'Wet', with a few drops of liquid soap added at the top coat stages, i.e. from the 1000 stage. At the end I polish with a mild cutting polish 'Anti hologram' they call it here, from the auto industry. Tedious I agree and a generous dollop of patience is required (the 'Secret ingredient' I have often mentioned here 😉 But when you see the result it warms the cockles and makes it all worthwhile.😊 Happy spraying, cheers, Doug 😎 BTW; for the blue on my Sea Scout hull I used a 400ml rattle can for several coats (more than three in the end) and there's still some left ! BTW2; For masking I use Tamiya tape for nice crisp edges. Fill in behind that with 'normal' fine masking tape and newspaper.

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Painting

I have a Huntsman 31 model I am refurbishing. The paint is peeling off from age, the muppet who painted it only applied one coat (Me), the Humbrol enamel was probably too thick for the fine grain of the birch ply and spruce. I am planning to start with cellulose sanding sealer as it is nice and thin so should get a good key into the grain. So.. What paint should I use over the sealer? Some parts of the ply I want to look like teak deck planking so first I think I need a stain. Then line in the planks with fibre tip pen followed by what type of ? Some of the spruce needs to look like mahogany so do I stain it or use some sort of paint? Thanks Steve

6 years ago by steve-d

Forum

Painting

Ah, there are motor boats, Doug and then there are woodies! Woodies have ...everywhere, motor boats are a little more utilitarian I think. Perhaps the Fairey tendency to be on the sea rather than freshwater lakes meant they had scrubbed teak decks. If you made the deck planks from, say 2mm stuff, they would curve no problems, but veneers would have to be cut to shape. Nice sharp knife and gently does it is the trick. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Painting

I notice your first picture shows properly joggled planks into the King plank, but Doug's picture shows no joggling on, I assume, a similar boat. Joggling will look so much nicer. Not keen on the ed deck of the boat seen from the rear. Scrubbed teak is the "proper" finish for a deck. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Painting

Steve, I am not an intimate of Fairey boats, but traditionally, motorboats have their deck planking in straight lines, whilst yachts have it following the edge of the boat and joggling into the King plank, so you may only need to mark straight lines, but Fairey might prove the rule by being the exception. Bearing what you say in mind I think the old pencil trick may be sufficient, but once you've done that and put a finish over the top be very careful if and when you rub down, lest you go through to the pencil lines as that will be very difficult to correct. Doug, I reckon our Grandads must have been from the same school of woodwork. His other big beef was people who ed teak. The only time I ever saw him genuinely annoyed was when he and Nan paid an unexpected visit just as Dad had teak veneered an oak gate leg table that Dad'd brother had made years before as a wedding present for Mum and Dad (he was also a cabinet maker). Having sawn the ogee shape off the edges and teak veneered it he ed it and hung the leaves from the washing line to dry. Grandad saw them hanging up and asked, "What the bloody 'ell's that?" "Oh just modernising the table", said Dad. "You don't teak, boy, you oil teak, only bloody railway carriages are ed, and they're all bodge jobs" He really went on alarming. Dad just couldn't bring himself to ever a bit of teak veneer again! KES is still one of the main schools in Lynn, btw. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Painting

My cabinet maker Granddad always said to stain the finish , never the wood, as stain can kill a grain. He would always use shellac/French Polish and then stain over that with a stain filled further coat of french polish. The same is done with real Rivas and no other boat can claim the finish that Riva always got with stain over Epiphanes . I use cellulose sanding sealer on the wood, then a spirit based stain (NEVER acrylic water based muck) on the sanding sealer and then , proper spar to get that lovely glow. I have always used steamed Pear to represent mahogany in scale, but it does need a little darkening and that's how I do it. That way you control the colour, but don't "kill" the grain. Grandad also said , "always cut wood, boy, don't scratch it, make it bleed", so I became a dab hand with a cabinet scraper and use very little sandpaper. Here, as they say, is one I made earlier using exactly these methods. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

St Canute Planking Help?

Hey guys, I cannot thank you all enough for all these suggestions and advice, what a great website this is!!! I am swaying to purchase some blacks of balsa and give this a try, I did the same with my first model of the Billing Boat Norden (much smaller model) but on that occasion the stern block came with the kit. Does anyone have a website that I can purchase these blacks of balsa? I will try my local Hobbycraft store but they are sadly winding down on a lot of items. it is my intention to paint the St Canute the same colours as Billing Boats suggest, so none of the planks will be ed but I will have a lot of sanding and shaping to do. Many thanks again to you all,👍 Kindest regards Richard

6 years ago by Richard7

Forum

St Canute Planking Help?

Hi Richard, Unless you are planning to finish the hull with , to show off the wood, the easiest way is to fit hard balsa or obechi blocks and cut, file and sand to fit. This is the 'way out' I chose on the renovation of my Billing fish cutter. See pics. Pic 1. The mess I started with, Pic 2. Block fitted and shaped, new keel fitted, whole hull then covered inside and out with glass fibre tissue and EzeKote, Pic 3. Preliminary priming prior to final filling (minimal) and sanding, Pic 4. Nearly there 😉 Otherwise you are faced with some tedious steaming, bending and pinning😲 Hope this helps some. Good luck, keep us up to date with progress please👍, Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

more money than sense.

Dat's lookin a heap better (or a better heap😊) already 👍 i might have sanded, ed and re-stained the deck though. Can appreciate what's ahead of you having just done pretty much the same with my Dad's old Sea Scout. Good luck, cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Media

ASR 64ft R/C VID 2

Boat is Scratch built 36" British Power Boat 64ft High Speed ASR Launch which belonged to the RNZAF. The launch was one of the 22 built and was shipped to NZ in 1940. it was the only one of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. Model has twin motors, ESCs, sound units etc. Has remotely switched water pump for water cooled brushless 2000kv in runner motors and remotely switched lighting. Uses 2x 2200mah 2s LiPos for drive and 1 1800mah LiPo for the pump (also a separate battery for the LED lights. Boat is built with strip planked balsa on ply frame and fiber glassed. Deck is ply, wheelhouse is ed balsa. The colour is as it was for most of its time in the RNZAF . Took about 5 years on and off to build and finished it last year. (please ignore the time date - can't get rid of it .

6 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Sadolin

Hi Gardener, Don't know the Sadolin stuff, I use Billing Boats stains meself, BUT whatever you use, esp on balsa, apply a coupla coats of sealer first. Then at least one or two coats of clear satin ; e.g. from Lord Nelson range from Holland. THEN AND ONLY then, apply your stain til you get the depth of colour you want. After that seal with matt, satin or gloss / lacquer according to taste😉 That's the way I did my Sea Scout 'Jessica' renovation, see blog on this site for results!!! Coupla sample pics attached. The whole process is described in the Blog. Otherwise the balsa will soak up all your stain and still not look right 🤔 A 'preserver' as such is not normally necessary if the wood is properly treated inside and out; sealer, stain, etc! Or just EzeKote resin inside. Stain no needed inside of course. Good luck and above all have fun with your endeavours. 👍 Keep us 'up to date' ('on the running' as my German friends would say; 'auf den Laufenden'!) 😁 Cheers, Doug 😎 PS I like Danish Blue meself 😁😁 On the other hand; I wouldn't have used balsa for speedboat deck in the first place. I use a close grained marine ply 0,8 or 1.0mm. Takes the stain better and looks more realistic. Balsa is too coarse grained for stain and on scale speedboats. Thick coat of paint ... OK. On the cabin roof and after deck (which I had to renew) I used 1.5mm mahogany veneer. If I had to do it again I would use a close grained 0.8mm marine ply (birch or pear) and cherry stain (also Billing) as I used on 'Jessica's deck.

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

lastest progress

Hi All here is the last on the schenllboot S100 I have been able to finish the paint work on the hull and she is now ready for final coats of and full reinstallation of the RC equipment , still a bit nervous about that, part of the installation instructions are indicating the red wires on two of the esc,s need to be cut , I think this is the switch wire so the you only need one switch to active the other motors . I will look in to that before cutting

6 years ago by teejay

Forum

Brass bashin' Chris Craft deck fittings...

Just got white metal castings back of the Chris Craft fittings and very nice they are too. They have started to burnish up a treat and will polish well as Paul uses a good quality metal. Nice and hard. Now I have to make the light lenses. Also put the blue bottom on her at the weekend using my one and only pot of Plastikote enamel paint, not the acrylic muck they've turned over to and it went on through my spray gun as smooth as could be. Even my masking worked. Just waiting for a gold pin stripe tape for the boot topping now. The final bit will be masking the deck to paint the covering boards and king plank with the same blue. For those not lucky enough to have a wee pot of proper Plastikote in the paint cupboard, I also got a couple of tins of Rustoleum spray, only 5-25 a pot, enamel (of course) in a nice French blue and a rich cream. These colours will look good on my Darby One Design single stepper "WHO'S DARBY?". Very post War. I think the Oulton Broad One Design single stepper will be Burgundy and the Whippet One Design will be ed mahogany. I know of no other classes of British stepped hydroplanes. These will all be 1/6th scale as they're all around 12-13 ft. long. I'll probably put the same motors in them eventually. The Darby is well advanced and has a Speed 400, but I may go brushless. Any suggestions for a cheap Brushless/ESC combo will be welcome for, say, 3S Li-Pos. it would be good to see these period boats all racing together. I also plan to make reverse clinker Singer cadet and a Percy See Bugatti engined boat for which I have plans. I'm hoping to get a response from the current keepers of Berylla II about measuring that, too, since it also uses a Lea Francis engine, like the Whippet.

6 years ago by Westquay

Response

Range Safety Launch?

Hi Neville, I recognise the 'I want it all and I want it now syndrome' cropping up again😉 Wev'e been down this road before haven't we!? You don't have any "structural' problems. The original builder simply cheated and covered over the 'back bay' instead of fitting it out. And - Why do you want to mess with the cabin tops? To get the boat going for some fun just leave the superstructure like that for now and think about it and fiddle with it in the winter. The deck looks fine from the photos. Just flat off with some 1000/1500 grit wet & dry and give it a spray of medium sea grey and finish with satin or matt . After you've fixed and repainted the hull. If you do all we've said to fix the hull, and apply the fix up to the joint of hull and deck there will be as good as no chance that the deck will leak. When all is said and done YOU saw the boat before you bought it and YOU had a specific purpose in mind apparently. Namely; some quick fun. Soooo - fix the hull, have some fun learning to drive it, and leave the fiddly bits and embellishments until the 'closed season'. Then you can deliberate and decide if you want to restore it as an RSL or convert it into something more exotic. Looking forward to your cogitations on the electrical layout😉 What Action bits are you thinking of using? BTW: if you had a fire at all with the heat gun either you have it too hot, turn it down to about 300 -350°C, or you're hanging about too long in one place. The gun should only be just hot enough to start the paint surface bubbling up. ATB Doug

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Bit of a problem.............

Hi again Neville, Onetenor just posted this response to your 'Bit of a problem' but on the wrong thread😲 "Re the leaking boat problem. I would cut away the section between the stem and first bulkhead/frame. Replace with new wood.Then pour the resin into that space. No need for cocktail shaking ( unless you like watching wife ) just keep turning so the resin/ runs around all the seam/joints in that section until it sets.👍" OK, would fix the leak; if it is in that section and if it's done right. BUT: it would leave a kink in the hull lines cos the wood would no longer have the natural bend between the bullheads. The inserted piece would be flatter. You can see this effect clearly on the port side of my PTB hull in the pic. At the top in the pic. You can 'see the join' quite clearly When I'd cleaned the old paint off I found that there was a separate piece from stem to the second bulkhead. Repairs to the chine line made that look a bit smoother but nothing I could do about the rest without re-skinning the whole side😡 which I didn't fancy. I'll try to disguise it a little with the pacific camouflage paint 😉 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Going quiet for a while...

Re the leaking boat problem. I would cut away the section between the stem and first bulkhead/frame. Replace with new wood.Then pour the resin/ into that space. No need for cocktail shaking ( unless you like watching wife ) just keep turning so the resin/ runs around all the seam/joints in that section until it sets.👍

6 years ago by onetenor

Blog

Chris-Craft Special Runabout

OK, you know and I know that this is an Aerokits Sea Hornet, BUT, with a little reworking, it becomes a very passable Chris Craft Special (sometimes Custom) Runabout. One cockpit, long engine deck. I think it suits the Sea Hornet shape and proportions very well. Generally, I think too much is expected to be going on with a basic Hornet and the deck furniture is too simplistic. Also, don't be tempted to call this one a barrel back They had one continuous curve right over the transom from chine to chine, whereas this hull and the Special Runabout had a break, albeit a small one at the deck level. Anyway, I redecked the Hornet with 1/16th" ply, leaving the engine hatch long. I also had to make a small hatch at the stern to service the tiller and its connection. Then I realised I would never be able to get to the two starboard screws that hold the steering servo in, so a wee hatch went in over them too. That will be held in with a small magnet and just popped up from inside the engine 'ole hatch. Because the hull needed filling and various repairs, I decided to paint it, but veneer plank the deck. many Chris-Crafts were painted and I think this one in a nice off-white with a ed Mahogany and pear deck will look just the job with nickel plated deck furniture, made in brass and nickel silver and plated in nickel to look like chrome in scale. Chrome is a) difficult to get these days and b) too bright and garish on a model. The hull has been epoxied and rubbed down then brush panted heavily with cellulose primer surfacer. This rubs down a treat ready for a sprayed enamel top coat or three. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay