Blog

a yacht yet to get a name

As usual it is a long interval since last up date but some progress has been made on the Valsheda and I attached some pics that had to be done indoors as it is a bit wet from the sky outside. I have finished the decking and basic painting of hull also started lime planking of deck fittings to bring into line with decking. Have worked out positions of winches on deck and obtained stock of brass rod at a sensible price from a local scrap yard. I have to produce some drawings of winches and get into production and have found someone who can plate them with a bright finish near to stainless steel. The Management of the Bristol Aero Collection has recently sacked me as a volunteer for being too critical of them so I will have more time to get on with the boat and with rising temperatures the garage is a bit more comfortable. With the warmer coming I will soon have to think about the manucture of the carbon fibre mast, has anyone else made one and can give me some guidance ? I am thinking of a timber core with a woven fibre tube covering. Also thinking of how to attach main sail to mast.

8 years ago by nasraf

Blog

Midwest model kit Boothbay Lobster boat

was great last Sunday so tested out Gumboot Cloggaroo at Spencer's boat Pond in Burlington Ontario

8 years ago by GARTH

Response

Davits and falls

Hi Doug, Happy New Year. Boats all done and lashed down. Dreadnought had multiple aerials slung between the masts. As far as I can make out they were connected onwards to a fitting just about at deck level right at the stern and also I think below the forward jack stay. I would have expected there to be connections down to the bridge or the housing forward of the after funnel. None of the photos I have are clear enough to show all the rigging, so some extent I am going to have to guess. She must have had signal halyards from presumably the main yard, but again where did they come down to. The bridge does not have much open space around the main house, so they must have come down to the upper bridge to presumably a rack? Any ideas? I have fitted canvas dodgers around the bridge, but am not too happy with them. At this scale very difficult. We have good shipbuilding , -12c at midday today. They are ice fishing on our lake. Take care.

5 years ago by Gdaynorm

Response

Thwarts

Hi Norm, sorry for late response, been under the lately🤔 Can't find now where I saw it but I believe the oars were bundled and lashed to the gunnels in some kind of bracket arrangement. Cheers, Doug

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

LED Nav. Lighting

Two days ago I put what I hope is the final paint on the hull, hatch and misc. parts. I like to let it sit for several days to cure, especially in cooler . I took the time to work out LED navigational lighting for my Brooklyn Tug and got that installed. I will photograph that tug later. Back to the springer tug, I had difficulty finding a good mounting spot for the starboard and port lighting so I decided to raise it on a light bar. Photos show the styrene structure in progress which will have the green and red side lights and a single white light on the top center post. Worked out the resistor values to reduce current and work off of my 6 volt supply, then soldered as shown. Fed the assembled LEDs through the plastic rectangular tunnel I created. The one photo I took with the red LED turned on is so bright that the camera just picked up a bright spot. I may have to reduce brightness but will test out in daylight first.... These LEDs are very bright and are 360 degree view! Ordered from "superbrigntleds.com" in order to get the full 360 as the ones at the local store were very limited to 18 to 60 degrees. Ordered red, green and white and they arrivedin about four days, great service. I have used this company several times and am happy with them, good to know. More to come, Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Blog

Power switch location / mount

Continue to mockup exterior a bit, still just rough paint, needs work prior to final colors and finish. Shown in the photos are a Switch Holder made by Dubro, a hobby parts maker in the US. This holder uses a slide switch and allows for through the hull mounting. I use this because I want my switch to be activated without having to remove a hatch. Since my large hatch limited where I could fit the switch, I ended up having to mount it on the bow, not the most desirable position due to bow waves. So I built up a mounting from a plastic pipe fitting, a grommet and a screw cap, tried to make it look nautical. This will raise the top of the rod hole high to further proof it. See picture with rod only, I replaced the Dubro rod with a longer one that I made from steel rod I had, threaded it and it works. Will trim the length and attach a finger bulb on top. LAST PHOTO -- EVER FEEL LIKE SOMEONES WATCHING YOU. Cheers, Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Response

fuses

Thanks Doug and Donnie tried the 15 amp fuses all went well the boat is ready for the lake. and thank you all for the help and advise during this build over the past year I really don't think I could have managed it without your input. the next stage is going to be replacement of the brass rudders and some work on weight saving and some pic on the RC system. and making a suitable box for transportation. that will kept me occupied till the better . So thank you all and have a merry Christmas and happy new year and a good hangover cure and may your god be with you in all your sailing

5 years ago by teejay

Forum

My apparent absence...

Hi all, in case anyone bothered to wonder where I wuz, you may know I was making a master for a 1/6th scale model kit of a Vincent Black Shadow 'bike. I sent the engine casings to Griffin Moulds in the Midlands and they utterly destroyed the masters, sending me back a back of fragments! No phone call, no e-mail, no note in the late-delivered (DPD) parcel. Now they have the cheek to invoice me! So I have been busy catching up with other stuff kept waiting for a while, sucvh as a 1/43rd scale brass master of a Triumph Model H 1915 'bike and a 1/32nd scale Vanwall Transporter. So I haven't even looked a t a model boat since the turned. And likely shan't much before May. Everyone have a nice Christmas. Cheers, Martin

5 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Pretend deck planking

Hi Steve, What went wrong? 😲 1. Drawing on deck planking, i.e. on a veneer or thin ply- Why/how did it go wrong? Surely since the planks are all 'parallel curves' all you need to do is make a curve template in plasticard from the plan. Then at a few strategic points along the plank length mark the widths of the planks. Set the template along these points and 'Bob's yer Uncle - Fanny's yer Aunt' 😉 Mind you; doing it that way the 'curious grain of the planks' would betray the fiddle🤔 2. 'what type of strip wood - Any very close grained type. Possible source- http://www.slecuk.com/index.html 3. How to glue it!? Any thin, spreadable waterproof wood glue! 4. Gap? Max 0.5mm perhaps. Ca 10 to 1 ratio. 5. 'How do you secure the bent planks whilst the glue dries? Modelling pins at strategic points along the plank. Assumes planks are pre-shaped by steaming!! See 6. 😉 6. 'Do I need to steam the planks? - YES! As mentioned above; make a template defining the curve required. From this make a jig of ca 5mm x 10mm in which you can set the steamed planks to cool and set to the shape required. To allow for the so called 'spring back' make the jig with a slightly sharper curve than the actual deck curve. When fitting the planks to the deck it's easier to 'push them out' than to try to increase the curvature. Finally; mark on the deck base the plank widths at strategic points along the plank length as alignment points. Glue planks alternately left/right (OK port/starboard😉) using modelling pins to hold in place until the glue is fully cured. For the 'gaps' There are various solutions in Build Blogs on this site. One that I like is the use of thin black card. When the whole deck is planked and properly cured sand lightly (ca 240 grit). 7. 'ed teak' there are various suppliers of teak stain and also deck ing stains; e.g. Jotika stain, Lifecolor Washes for Hulls and Wooden Decks, set part no. LP04, which includes Wooden deck darkener and Shadower, amongst other useful ing pigments. http://www.astromodel.it Google Lifecolor and you'll surely find some UK distributors. Enough answers for enough questions!? 😁 Hope this provides some inspiration, Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Pretend deck planking

Right ho. Change of plans. Tried some experiments with drawing on my deck planking and screwed it up after only 8 planks worth. I also tried just using pencil but the curved planks are just impossible to draw. So...what type of strip wood is best to replicate a ed teak look? Where to buy it? How do I glue it to birch ply? What gap should I use for 5mm wide planks? How do you secure the bent planks whilst the glue dries? Do I need to steam the planks? Should be enough questions for now, Steve

5 years ago by steve-d

Blog

Vanishing

Hi All Hot , so two coats of sealer and two coats of matt vanish. Deck finished and onto the wheelhouse. Canabus

5 years ago by canabus

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 ed 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 varnish 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, Glad to help😊 I'm just one of many 'Bin there done that' guys on this site. I have no complaints about the Turnigy motors or ESCs. Not too expensive and seem to work 'as advertised' 👍 When you read the blog you will realise that I did not build the kit (and that I have a nutty sense of humour😁). My Dad built it in the early sixties. I 'simply😲' restored it and upgraded it. Attached pics show the Before and After 😊 The original motor was a Taycol Target field coil motor. I decided to convert that to work with a modern reversible ESC and fit it to an ancient Billing Boats fish cutter that I am slowly restoring and converting from static to working model. Last pic shows the initial 'trial fit' of the motor. The motor restoration / conversion is also described in the Sea Scout blog, as are the materials I used for the restoration. Looking forward to your clips, hope the holds up. Whatever you do, however you do it, have fun doing it😁 As my German friends like to say; 'I wish you always a hand's breadth of water under your keel' 😉 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

aeronaut classic

Hi Doug, Thanks for the links, just watch your YouTube clips and she runs lovely. I’ve seen that a lot of people have used those Turnigy motors so I might try one of them on my next build. I’ll read the blog over the next few days. What did you think if the kit as a whole to build, only asking as me and my sister have just purchased the Fire Crash Tender for our Father for Chrimbo. Thanks for all your tips, it’s much appreciated. I might try and get some clips of the classic over Gorleston pond today if the permits lol. Cheers 😉

6 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 varnished and the cabin roof painted white, awaiting suitable to paint the hull, as this is done outdoors.. Muddy....

6 years ago by muddy

Response

HMS BRAVE BORDERER

Doug, you are probably correct and good thought regarding the polarised caps , but I was just thinking that if the battery input was going through a fuse system as it appears in Rowens photos (difficult to see) it may have caused a slight problem. I have seen mentions of up to 12" between batt and ESC being no problem at lower Amps. You might notice that one of the inputs was from a guy from Castle Creations (USA) which I thought would give a bit of weight to the information. I have always gone with the ESC manufacturers suggestions regarding wire length and have never had a problem in boats or planes (mainly in planes,-18 most 'converted' to electric from IC -3 capable of pulling 1200W) it's great to be able to chuck ideas and info around, as we can all pick something out of it all which will solve a problem, or perhaps stop us from toasting an electronic component or whatever. BTW, I saw somewhere that extending the wires could cause stuttering and that was one other reason for mentioning the info, as I know Rowen's had a problem with that. I'm sure it will be ok as is,- if its working fine, and it's not going to be run flat out every day it will probably last for years. Probably me thinking on the cautious side as my personal approach to building is to use the K.I.S.S method (may not be the flashest but usually keeps me out of trouble) Regarding the quality of ESCs, you will find that many have the same internal bits just with different cases and colours, (same with chargers) HK is bad for this. Many I have seen use an Atmega chip and you can tell differences by the programming method (some you have to do 1 step and disconnect power before the next step, others just with stick forward center back center etc. Most boards are made in China (Castle Creations and a few others being exceptions) and what you get depends on the quality of assembly/soldering etc in the plant they are made in (if you want to see how many of these items are made in China check out Made in China.com and search ESCs for example. I have cheap ESCs I've used in my planes for years with no probs which look like the HK Red Brick ESCs (except blue) and they are better than the TGY branded ones at 3x the price, and really let the power through !. Even CC have apparently made boards for HK with different cases as have Hobbywing. it's really a case of "you pays ya money and ya takes ya chances". in saying that you are pretty safe with Hobbywing, Tamya, SkyRc, or Castle Creations (USA) but there are other better non China ones around but a a much bigger price. Hope we aren't overloading you Rowen, you might have to get into the 'anti-freeze' to soothe the brain in that cold . Another site for you to check out which I have found to be very good, with prices to match HK is RCEcho.com (Hong Kong) Have bought most of my aircraft ESCs from them (around 28 from 30A-120A with no probs)

6 years ago by jbkiwi

Directory

(Racing Boat) Joysway Rocket

This is a fun boat, self righting so can go out in all s very fast and handles great !! (Motor: 1700 kv) (ESC: Hobbyking 70 amp) (10/10)

6 years ago by Biscuit

Directory

(Other) Vosper

I always liked the sound of a fourstroke engine so I thought I would replace the brushless motor in this boat with an aircraft Os 40fs which I converted with a water cooling jacket that I turned up on my lathe. I also made a reverse gearbox with a clutch, the gearbox is operated by a servo and works well, I also fitted a water pump so could still cool the engine while ticking over stationary, boat has been ed and is fitted with lights and a searchlight that swivels around operated by another servo, there is also a cooling fan above the engine just to help keep things cool. (Motor: Os 40 fourstroke) (10/10)

6 years ago by Biscuit

Forum

Transmitter-Rain Cover

Actually I am more concerned about how to keep the Transmitter dry in misty wet than warming my hands. Sometimes here in Canada we can be sailing our boats when a sudden squall will pop up. How to keep my transmitter dry under those conditions is my main concern. In Canada we have hand warmers to put in our gloves that work very well. Shrug off the coldest days with these "pocket furnaces." Slip warmers into gloves, pockets, hard hats or between layers of clothing. Shake to use, air-activated. Heats up to 55°C (130°F). Safe, odorless and disposable. Heats up to 10 hours.

6 years ago by Ronald

Forum

HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale

Latest developments aboard Campbeltown. Not at all happy with my construction of depth charge racks especially as they are photo etched, but they will blend in when I have put in more detailing and ing.

6 years ago by cormorant

Response

Spraying Again.......

Mornin' Neville, ."How wet is wet"? Hold the paper under a running tap, warm water, until it goes dark all over. Remove excess water with kitchen roll. You don't have to flood the hull but keep the paper well wetted. For convenience I use the Tamiya sanding sponges. They mould themselves to any shape they are used on which is great for compound curves. Keep a bowl of warm water handy to re-wet the paper or sponge from time to time and to clean of the residue that builds up on the paper. Also regularly wipe off the slurry that builds up on the object you are sanding with kitchen roll or a damp flat dense kitchen sponge. When you are finished wash off the hull (or whatever) with the the flat sponge and clean water. Dry off carefully with kitchen roll or non-linting cloth. DON'T do a bath test with just primer on the hull as the primer is porous! it consists mostly of finely ground chalk dust or similar in a solvent suspension. Wait until you have at least the first top coat on to seal it. You only have to look at a car with a primed wing, that has then been driven around in typical British for a few weeks, to see why!! Don't forget the 'secret ingredient' 😉 All the best, Doug 😎 PS Nearly forgot 😲 Start using a few drops of liquid soap on the w&d from the final preparation of the primer coat through til the end.

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Videos

Thanks, Doug. Peeing down here, so I epoxied the cracks in my lovely old just post War Ailsa yacht indoors and put it in the heat of the boiler room! We'll see how that goes tomorrow. Grotty old day all round now. Curl up ! Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Response

1-35 Scale Schenllboot By TeeJay

Hi all I have been reading the post concerning lathes, my little lathe suits my needs and my pocket its great. I also forty years experience working with manufacturing machines, wood lathes ,bandsaws, milling machines, and metal turning lathes, and more. I was also a first aider most of working life, And what I would advise for people who have no experience in using any of these type machines full size or mini is to get instruction preferably from a time served machinist who have trained apprentice's or a course at further education college. I have had to attend three lathe accidents and all were life changing. you can see what I mean if you Google lathe accidents and good look at the images. full size or mini makes no difference

6 years ago by teejay

Blog

HMS BRAVE BORDERER

The has quickly turned colder, giving an excuse to get back to this model. Stripped out much of the interior and the prop. shafts to replace the nylon propellers with brass. These items all needed removing for painting, so decided to paint the hull before reassembly and then moving onto the superstructure. Fortunately, examining similar naval vessels and several U Tube videos, confirmed the hull as light grey, the deck a darker one of the 50 shades of grey and the lower hull below the waterline black. Used thin Tamiya masking tape to define clean colour separations, followed by regular tape, masked the hull into colour sections and sprayed using “rattle” cans. After the colours applied a light overall Matt coat to subdue any shine. The results are satisfactory. Will now reassemble and move onto building the superstructure and the other fittings. Prior to the season closing decided to experiment with my new Flysky Tx/Rx package, shortly to be fitted to this model. This Tx has a servo limiting function, which was hoping could also be used to restrict ESC output. Would like to make the full speed motor response correspond to full Tx control position. Currently can over power the model; which lifts the stern, causing it to come off the plane and then dig the bow in. Was thinking that if full throttle could be set at around 90% forward control movement and 40% sternwards the model would retain adequate performance, but without being overpowered or very sensitive to control lever movement. As the Brave was not available, tried the idea on my Daman Stan 4207 model. This is brushed motor powered and a good performer. Obviously the settings for the Brave will be different, but at least could try to see if the idea would work – it did! This Tx function is easy to use and adjustments can be made whilst the model is on the water. Once the ideal settings are achieved they can be programmed and then retained in the Tx. Will try this on the Brave when back on the water next Spring.

6 years ago by Rowen

Blog

Electrical

Hi All Refer to attached for motor comparison. I don't like using Cyano so the hull be built using ZAP 30minute epoxy and a proof Alphylitic from Sika. I will more than likely use a polyurethane based glue for the skinning. The hole boat will be epoxy coated inside and out to add strength. By the way the epoxy resin will increase the strength by about 2.5😁😁

6 years ago by Ianh

Forum

A Tragic Tale Unfolds

About a month ago I came across a wooden model of a Side Trawler by the name of ‘Maartje’ dating from what I assume was the Sixties. It is 84 cm long (33 inches) with a beam of 19cm (7.75 inches). The then owner had found it in a poor state and had reconstructed and painted to a large degree, but then turned to model trains. It was not known whether it was a ‘kit’ or ‘scratch’ built but he had however found it was a model of a boat, UK 223, lost with all hands in the North Sea off Texel (NL) in 1967 thought to be registered in Diss UK.. I am aware that such a tragedy is not uncommon with sea fishermen but I had never come across a model of such a boat. I had some time on my hands so I started to make enquiries and I was surprised how helpful people were. I had contacted the Dutch Embassy in UK, the Press Association in Netherlands and the Texel Tourist Information Centre. Within a very short time I had responses not just from those sources but also from others they had contacted. A major response was from the Embassy with the names of the crew of five, some were never recovered and important, was information from the Harbour Master of the Port of Urk, Netherlands confirming the boat was registered there and who then contacted the son of the captain of the ‘Maartje’ and gave him my contact details. I am pleased to say the captain’s son Jauwk contacted me and we are now in frequent communication. So we now know the date of the loss, the sea area, conditions names of the crew and results of the enquiry. Also very personal and emotional information including the fact that two of the crew were father and son and that the captain’s wife was carrying his son, Jauwk at the time of the loss. You never know what this hobby may lead you into. NPJ.

6 years ago by NPJ

Forum

Carry case.

Hi Gregg, something of that ilk was planned for the reasons you give. The thing is a tight fit because that's how the wood worked out, but it just goes in with space for foam protection. I had a clear out in the workroom yesterday in the gloomy and I found the Yeomans fittings kit I so recently cleaned up. I thought I'd misplaced them and clean forgotten where, but they were, in fact, in one of many drawers saying Boat bits. So another weekend sometime soon will be glue the bits on time. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale

Not bad at all Steve. Coming along at breakneck pace! The bridge and splinter padding in particular look great👍 Small tip; you might try to round off the deck edges a bit. I've never been on a warship that had sharp angular edges to the sea deck. There's usually quite a thick round down, even on the oldies. Seen a few of them (Fletchers and Gearings for example) in various South American navies and in Turkey in the late 80s and 90s. (20th century I mean, U 'orrible lot😁) Re the film; heartily agree. A real tension builder. Had also thought of that but somehow had it in mind as 'Incident in the Atlantic'. Might be the German title. Anyway also a good film. Must check if there's a BluRay version. Cheers, Doug 😎 BTW; just noticed, on A gun shield you can elongate the barrel slot upwards. I believe they had an elevation of at least 40 to 45°.

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale

Hi Steve, On my Manxman, a fast cruiser / minelayer, it was used to protect the deck where mines were dragged from the stores to the laying rails in the stern. Otherwise I've never seen extensive use of it on open decks. Mostly just in enclosed areas where there would be a lot of 'foot traffic'. In recent years (decades!?) I've seen blue, yellow and green versions inside the vessel, especially in the so called 'Citadel', a protected area which can be hermetically sealed against chemical or biological attack! 😲 The 'non slip' variants on the decks all seem to be paint / resin mixtures containing some sort of abrasive material. I don't think it is worth the effort you describe to depict corticene!! Cheers, Doug

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Paints

Hmm! Let's 'Cut to the chase'! First; I've never been on a ship, naval or civil, and I've been on a few during my 30 odd year career designing COMMS systems for ships, mostly naval, that used gloss paints OR matt paints. Matt paint, whether for scale or full size, rapidly shows the wear marks where folks tread or grab or where we habitually grab it on models. This rapidly creates a shiny effect, like the seat of your favourite, most comfortable and ancient trousers (which the Missus probably wanted to throw out years ago but you are fighting a REARguard action) 😁 During WW2 the emphasis was on reducing the reflectivity of paints on warships. Gloss on a ship / boat MAY not look any different from satin or matt at a distance BUT; it will reflect sunlight and flash which attracts attention and betrays the presence of the vessel. Furthermore gloss shows the wear and tear marks much sooner than satin. Whether matt paints were available or not in those days I don't know, but even if they were I don't think they would have been used after the initial durability tests on board. Having seen the paint part numbers, all BS381C xxx, specified on the Thornycroft 'blueprints' that Martin sent me, I would say that the paint colours you need Morkullen are RN Light works grey BS381C 676 = Colour Coats M01 RN Dark Admiralty grey BS381C 632 = Colour Coats M16 RN Light Admiralty grey BS381C 697= Colour Coats M23 See page 3 of the colour chart, see attached colour charts from Sovereign Hobbies for their Colour Coats paints, which have been derived from original Admiralty paint chips.. Colour Coats are enamel. If you prefer acrylic try Life Colour set CS33 Royal Navy WW2 Set 1. See page 6 of attached Life Colour catalogue. Happy painting, don't forget to post pics / vids of the results👍 Cheers, Doug 😎 PS have a look at the recent HMS Campbeltown 1/96 thread for further detail of the recent discussion on WW2 RN paints. BTW; if I feel after painting that the finish is still too glossy I give it a blast of Lord Nelson satin, or in extreme cases, matt clear varnish. Otherwise I agree with Reilly's comments👍

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Where's our mate?...

Even batches of supposedly the same colour from the same maker can vary amazingly. I've seen this with my own eyes. The usual trick was to mix batches together so shades varied from ship to ship. I'd just go with whatever takes your fancy as long as it looks ok. Remember ing affects colours strongly so even different parts of decks etc can appear a different shade. Don't be too concerned about the RIGHT colour. Not many people would spot or even know the difference anyway. Regards John👍😎 PS these make a big difference LOL

6 years ago by onetenor

Forum

HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale

Great Steve👍 Will look forward to that, bon chance mon ami, Doug 😎 BTW: 'Life Colour' might be worth a look, they do several navy paints and sets from various eras as well as cammo and ing sets.

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale

Thanks very much Doug. Certainly gives me a lot to go on. I'm building her to RN spec prior to conversion for St Nazaire raid. I am looking to do 'cammo' pattern and also have my first go at ing. I will send you some pics soon. Cheers Steve

6 years ago by cormorant

Response

H.M.S BRAVE BORDERER

A little anecdote to add to this build is that I was used to seeing both Swordsman and Boarderer in both Portsmouth and Portland whilst I was in the RN. (1960 "s} In fact we gave one of them a "lee" ie. got to windward of her in foul and helped her into Portland. She had some sort of mechanical problems. The stories one of them was moored on the smaller, walled wharf that they used away from the big one we on HMS Aurora used. As I said it was another rough night, most were in Portland . A yachtsman had crept during the night and tied up behind HMS Boarderer.( restricted area) Capt. told number one to go get the yachtsman to move his boat. Time was about 0400. Very tired yachty told no.1 to F off. No. 1 came back onboard and relaid to the skipper who went down reraised the yachty and got the same message! Skipper came back onboard and contacted the engine room and as it happened got a 'wet" start on the turbines. The loosely stowed sails on the yacht melted rather well!! Moral to the tale, Never tell a sailor to F off!! Bye the way both these boats had a top speed in good conditions , of in excess of 80 knots and in theory could circumnavigate uk in 12 hours. I remember that the always ran very flat on the water at planing speed. Regards, Nick.

6 years ago by nick

Directory

(Working Vessel) Lobmaster

1/24th scale Ready-to-Run European style fishing boat. Three (3) 'G' scale figures added and 1/24th scale welding rig from Phoenix Mobile Mechanic Series garage accessories. I also added some very subtle ing (mostly rust) to the hull. (Motor: 550 PJ6047 Thunder Tiger) (ESC: Veloci Pro-R Thunder Tiger) (9/10)

6 years ago by Ishmael

Event

York model boat club regatta

This event was scheduled for 23rd but due to bad forecast has now been postponed for a week to 30th Sept.

6 years ago by 2shaws

Forum

Taycol Supemarine Resurrection

Evenin' Colin, Thanks for the offer. I'm going to use some stuff the Martin sent me, called Chrodite apparently, although I can't find any description or reference to Chrodite anywhere! Looks like brass with an extra ration of tin. Supposedly harder wearing. Anyway, stator and frame spacers etc are now finished.👍 So after feeding the inner man I'll start measuring up for the bushes and see what I can do about tidying up the drive shafts. Have just sorted out a 'Live Centre' for the mini lathe which should help. I want to hide the bushes inside the original Paxolin cards and the external end plates which contain the felt oiling pad. So ball races are out of the question unfortunately; too large diameter and too thick 🤔 Needle roller bearings would be nice, but I ain't got none that small😭 (Nah, admit it Doug you ain't got none at all, they're way too expensive😭) Amused myself today polishing up all the brass nuts and bolts! Confucius he say "Polishing nuts - very painful" 😁 should be good for spraying tomorrow so I might fire up the compressor and give my PTB a blast of Pacific Green. 😊 Cheers All, Doug 😎 BTW: where are the pics of your Avanti? Harbour posts without pics are pretty dead 🤔 Cheers, Doug 😎 Oops! This doesn't belong here!🤔

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hello, Doug: Out of curiosity, did you remove the molded-on plastic ladder rungs from inside of the mast to gain more space for wires? Seeing your finished mast has shown me that it’s best to keep the original nav light locations. Having all 6 lights on the main mast will make it look too cluttered. With all of the lights switched on it’ll look like a light saber is jutting out of the pilot house roof. Do you know if there are standards governing the horizontal spacing of navigation lights? There should be, otherwise I’d think the lights could tend to overlap & look like one big light, especially in fog. BTW, the cables you added to the mast antennas look great. The smooth curve of the cables & the boots at the antenna connections add a lot of realism. Well done!👍🏻 Speaking of details, do you know if tugboats carry anchors? if so, what type? As far as I know the US Coast Guard requires every powered vessel to have at least one anchor. I see no reason why tugboats would be exempt from this rule. I’m glad you mentioned using a Tamiya sanding sponge as a means of removing the factory-applied lettering. There’s a model railroad technique I’ve used successfully where an ordinary pencil eraser & window cleaner are used to remove lettering. I’m sure it would work on my boat but I might not live long enough to get it finished. Shortly after I got the boat I ordered a cloth American flag & scale Plimsoll markings from BECC. Sadly BECC has gone out of business. Another good supplier goes around the bowl & down the hole. Sad. Regarding the winch again, your comments tell me that I may have mislead you into thinking that my boat has a winch. it doesn’t, but I did say I’m planning to scratchbuild one. in fact, I’m going to sketch one out right after I post this message. Thanks, Pete

6 years ago by PittsfieldPete

Media

PBR - Patrol Boat Riverine

Proboat Alpha - ready to run, model of PBR, Patrol Boat Riverine, used by US Navy during Vietnam conflict, served 1967 -1972. Images show basic detail, 1/18 scale, with crew. Bow gunner servo is linked to rudder. Comes with Navlights, looking forward to a night sail.....some painting added to craft, as well as painting radar housing a lighter grey....and the canvas roof over wheel house....a little artistic licence with vessel numbers......Brown Navy did'nt always have numbered vessels....but could'nt help myself. Bravo Zulu Chaps😉

6 years ago by POGray

Response

Elizabeth Park!

Thanks Doug, Hope the holds up!😱 Now, where did I put my back brace?😜 Two more weeks and counting!👍 Cheers, Ed

6 years ago by figtree7nts

Response

ellesmere port model boat club

well club days for members are like i said from 9am till 5pm in the summer all wek bar sundays when its 10 am till 5pm in the winter its 4pm we are hoping no closed season permitting our chairman is aldo a duty officer on sight so when he is on duty we can sail till say 8 or 9pm in the summer dont forget we are on a private site so u must be a member to sail on our lake u are allowed to come a sail and see our facilities if ya like it can join , weekends are the most popular time for our members u have to sign in before sailing and when u finish sign out thats about it we have our meeting at the boat musium every second tuesday in the month 7pm at the cafe , so when u feel like it come down a visit us we are a happy laid back club if u are on face book go to our open site ellesmere port model boat club and see our posts regards len

6 years ago by nutrunner

Response

Speranza 03

Hello Gerhard, and thank you for the interest. Unfortunately Speranza is on hold and no building has taken place since the last photo update. The reason being i foolishly did not follow protocol with the Spruce chine stringers, and fitted or attempted to fit them as a solid, instead of laminating. A short while after they were pinned and glued they sprang and cracked on the bow formers. This will be repairable with a laminate behind or inside the stringer then shape as drawing. At the moment i have near completion a Gentleman's Cruiser named Elizabeth.. There is a blog on her.. Speranza is a nice build and should be a good all sailor. If you are building her, good luck and please send in photographs.. Regards Muddy

6 years ago by muddy

Blog

she sails!

I was hoping to get the Wavney on the water yesterday, but the gods put paid to that! Anyway, today was the day, so after adding almost 2kg of lead ballast fore and aft to get her on the waterline, it was off to Needham Lakes near Stowmarket, Suffolk. The initial sailing report is that she looks fantastic on the water despite it being a little choppy in the wind. The motors, ESC's performed perfectly, steering needs no adjusting and and at full tilt looked scale with a really nice bow wave. After 20 minutes of sailing which only dropped the 3S lipo down my 30%, all was well apart from a tiny little bit of water ingress at the back near the rudders. I can only put this down to water ingress from high speed passes as the bow wave created a little puddle of water on the rear deck. I know the hull is watertight as she was sat in the hot tub for an hour this morning and was as dry as bone following that. Will have to look at sealing the removable rear cabin as I think thats where the water got in?

6 years ago by Skydive130

Blog

Fitting

Well, best laid plans and all that. Things have not gone too well. I managed to transport the boat in pieces to Hungary as planned. That is where the plans changed slightly. The plan was to have a trial on the river by the end of my holiday. I was rudely interupted by beautiful so I spent a lot of time in the river myself instead. I have started to assemble the superstructure and completed the radar, which turns rather realistically when under power. I have added coloured LED`s to the navigation lights. I have mostly completed the painting and laquering. I assembled the hand rails but still have to paint them. I started to look into the electrics but had to stop when I found that the pump I purchased was not suitable for purpose. I put the pump under test and it only appears to work if fully submerged. Not really useful for a boat. I will search for a replacement.🤔 Just a small note, I have now found that the superstructure has warped slightly during painting. I fitted it really closely before painting but now it has twisted slightly. Very disappointed but never mind.😤 As I am now home until Christmas, there will be no further progress until then. I may not be able to trial until April as our river is often frozen at Christmas. Well I could not help myself and bought another kit. This next one is different and should be easier. it will be a Pilots boat. At the same time, I will now continue with the PTB refurbishment.🤓

6 years ago by MouldBuilder

Forum

Tarlair Gala 2018

We had an absolutely fabulous day at the boating pool at Tarlair Lido in Macduff (Sunday 19 August) for the Annual Gala day, quite a few boats being sailed and all sorts of other events. Everybody is welcome at our pool (all modes of propulsion allowed); normally around every Sunday at 1330 except when the is awful - if heading North, bring a boat. Nobody bites😉

6 years ago by aanside

Forum

ESC info...

Mornin' Martin, Pure curiosity! Which motor is it? Re LiPos, recommendation difficult🤔 Different Brand names seem to prevale in UK and Germany, unless the ubiquitous Turnigy! Whatever the brand and wherever the shop is you buy from they nearly all seem to be manufactured in southern China, Shenzhen mostly! ( I have kit for a Shenzhen class modern destroyer of the PLA Navy!) The price for the Overlanders looks good, and if the shop values it's reputation they will be good, and they're nearby if the wheel falls off👍 Cheers, Doug😎 PS Your 'stuff' should be on it's way tomorrow. cooled down 15° or more, currently 18° and drizzly rain with occasional short sharp downpours all day today - one extreme to the other! Mail coming today re 'Brass Bashing' etc.

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

ESC info...

I was looking at that one! But as for the programming card...Gawd knows. I wouldn't know where to begin! Right now I'm bloody panicking as I can't find the Supermarine motor for the Crash Tender! I thought it was in the old motor drawer, but it ain't. I'm crossing fingers it's in a box in the loft. My son-in-law will have to go up there when the cools. Even he doesn't deserve the temperatures up there! Got my watt meter today, so that's now in a box with the condition meter and multi-meter, oh and the chenglish Charger and its power pack. BL motor and CNC 32mm prop still on the slow boat. So the ESC will be the last of the clobber for a while. By the time I have it all together it'll be Winter and all put away again! Thanks again, Doug. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Park lakes

Apart from some blanket weed which floats from the adjoining shall pools during this hot the main lake is weed free naturally. You are more likely to hit an inquisitive duck. Cheers Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H

Blog

Hull + Deck

Once the hull was finished, with planking on the base and ply skins on the sides, made a start on the deck.. Decided to go for Walnut 5 x 3mm with pear .5mm as caulking. Quickly found out it was bad choice, as each pin/nail hole had to be pilot drilled. Using a bradawl just split the Walnut planks. it may have been better using 6 x 3mm for planks.. And what with this , not at all helpful in the quickness of construction. The spray strips were added next to the chine and at deck level, plus a couple of reinforcement strips along the sides, i refer to em' as bumper bars. The next thing was the hatch combing, this is .8mm ply with a 3mm square top edging, hoping to improve water ingress improvement. Regards Muddy

6 years ago by muddy

Response

Lifeboat and Davit Completed!

With difficulty Ed, and lots of swearing in as many languages as I could remember 😡 They're made of a silvery metallic thread from the ladies dress making department! Got some funny looks (and some intriguing ones😁) while nosing around in there! They have a tendency to sag when the is hot, like now, they are pretty limp right now 🤔 At the top they are knotted and gluper sued to a ring of the same stuff around the stack. The eye bolts in the deck are just made of tinned copper wire glued into the deck. The eyes were formed around the nose of a small pair of circlip pliers. When the wires sag I can tighten them (up to a point!) by tilting the eye bolts further out. The little switches are rated 240V 5A or 10A and are for main power, auxiliary power and an ON/OFF/ON for Charge/OFF/Run. Got them from Radio Rim, the predecessor to Conrad, here in Munich. They're still around - the switches I mean 😉 At first I had them in a Ready Ammo Box on the Flak Gun Deck. But that needed a plugged connection under the removable deck. So I quickly changed that to under the engine room vent as in the pics. The box you can still see between the 20mm's. Shame about Radio Shack🤔, spent ages in their store in Garden City Mall Roosevelt Field (where Charlie Lindbergh took off from), on Long island many years ago. Came home with boxes of 'Stuff' 😁 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich