Forum

powered es for pusher tug.

I wanted to be able to attach a barge to the bow pusher posts of my Egrete Pusher tug. BUT did not want to simply use a couple of bits of elasticated rope, would not really look "right" or would be prone to failure. So after a bit of searching around I found a nice little geared motor set/kit In Maplins, think It was only A£9.99 or less, I know Is wasn't much. Anyway, It was possible to swap teh gears about a bit till I got the speed of the drum to a nice slow pace, so not to grab at the cables too quickly and cause problems. The motor assembly comes with Its own mounting plate, so nice and easy to mount Inside the house of the pusher tug, the cables ran through the actual cable pipes through the forward bulkhead. All I had to do was make sure that the actual "tow posts" on the barge were bonded deep In to the hull of the barge, to take the load, especially when turning. The motor operates on 3v so I just used a maplins twin AA battery pack, and wired up a couple of micro switches on top of a normal servo. So by using one channel of the transmitter, I now had "in/out" control over the via one of the joysticks.

12 years ago by Gregg

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 es on deck and obtained stock of brass rod at a sensible price from a local scrap yard. I have to produce some drawings of es 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 weather 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

Forum

Clyde puffer

After the bad day at blackrock the fingers are like sausages and finding fiddley stuff difficult the wife offered to make some bits, so she chose the to start with "it can't be much harder than cross stitch "measured up and disappeared over the next few days would go to the shed to use the "drillie thing and other sawing things" her words not mine I did see the bread knife head towards the shed, see resulting photos,i think I may have created a monster ,looks like its the crochet hook or knitting pins for me now.was well impressed she did admit to raking through boxes for some bits

6 years ago by marky

Directory

Graupner Optimist 1978

My old Graupner Optimist which I made from the kit in 1979. It has been sitting gathering dust in my garage for around 20 years since I last used it, so I thought it was about time to give it a bit of a birthday and tidy it up. Originally fitted with a Graupner sail (which I later sold) and was sailed with a Futaba 6ch 27mhz FP6FN TX (which was bought in 1978 and is still going fine, but not used any more) I've bought 2 cheapo es and when I have time I'll get it back on the water (maybe with a motor as well)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Blog

40'' Seaplane Tender, new build J

Glued deck on today (sun was out for a change) using 3 pre aligned/drilled dowels to locate it, as I had trimmed the deck fairly close to finished size and wanted it to go back in the right place for gluing. Just about set tonight so will give it a final trim and sand tomorrow. Drive shafts turned up and don't seem too bad, not sure about the quality of the bearings but might knock them out and replace them with stainless from MBA if available. Don't want to have to do it once shafts are fitted. Tested the motors again with universals on the shafts (in a word, rubbish. Thought I'd try them as they looked ok on line (and they are not too badly made) but they are only made for cars and not for high speed running. The small amount of play means that they vibrate due to not being concentric at speed, caused by centripetal force throwing the 'play' to one side. If anyone is contemplating them for boat shafts, don't bother. Perfect for slow angled or straight use (driving es etc) as they run smoothly at angles. The black motors Gool + other names) run at 800mA with no load whereas the silver cooled motors (spare motors for Felun boats) run at 2.3 A with no load. The Gool motors are 45T and will run down to a crawl (no load as do the Feluns) but are not as fast as the Felun motors which are bigger and probably have fewer turns. I tested them with the car ESCs (32A cheapies and they worked fine (apart from the small center stop/reverse problem discussed previously). The ESCs were run on a near flat 2s LiPo and auto cut off at 3.55/6 volts / cell which is quite reasonable (3.3 being a safe min) they will re-start after a few secs then auto-cut again as soon as the voltage drops. Will cut out center top 'spine' on hull when deck is set tomorrow and start making some floors and a motor mounting base plate. When it warms up a bit I'll spray the hull undercoat.

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Media

Fairmount Alpine

Hello ! Som more Pictures of my Fairmount Alpine , A little bit forward on the deck propshaft and rudder is mounted the towing is mounted and working more pictures is comming // Have a nice weekend all boat builders 👍

5 years ago by jugge

Forum

Folding Bulwark????!

Hello John Thank you for looking through your new books! The picture you have uploaded is indeed a curious and interesting vessel. I have never seen such before. Could make a great ahs unusual model. I believe I have the cargo es sorted and hope to make those next week. Now to sort an anchor . I have asked a number of modellers about folding bulwarks and I have been met with no idea expression each time. Obviously not something modellers bother with out would seem. Regards Toby

5 years ago by Toby

Directory

(Tug Boat) Anteo Harbour Tug

My first ever Tug about fifty years ago, and my very first steam engine hence the super-structure looks a little hacked about, especially the engine housing with globe valves stuck out here and there. this was and still is an amazing kit from Panart, a plank on frame double skinned hull, and all the fittings were brass to a very high quality, (note the anchor all brass and it works. The engine and boiler was from Maxwell Hemmings one of the very few manufacturers at the time. (Motor: Piston Valve Twin Cylinder) (ESC: Servo controlled) (10/10)

5 years ago by GaryLC

Directory

(Yacht) Sea-Lite

Acquired this Sea-Lite sailing yacht as a project. Everything works after a fashion but based on mixed reviews the intention is to replace the radio gear, and rudder servos and increase the keel weight (5/10)

5 years ago by Mids-Phil

Forum

Emma C. Berry

I need some help. I've successfully refurbished my static display Emma C. Berry model and added remote control. I have the sails on a loop, I have the rudder on a servo, I even managed to add a motor, and an extended keel with weight. The one issue that I have not been able to resolve is maneuvering under sail. Primarily, I cannot get it to move through the irons when coming about. She responds and the sails will luft, she might even catch some wind but she never makes enough of a turn to change direction. I've already changed out the rudder for the larger size on the plans. I've also tried extending the depth of the rudder. Bottom line, she is mainly being driven by the current. In this situation, by current I mean whichever way the wind is blowing the small lake. It is a local park lake and doesn't really have any inherent current. My one suspicion is the keel I added. It is doing its job to keep her upright and providing some resistance but in the end, the underwater current is overpowering her response to the rudder and/or trimming the sails. See Photo. I had originally wanted to incorporate a more rounded profile on the ends of the weight and the shafts but I remember reading somewhere that it isn't that critical Sails are per the plans and made from the material that came with the kit (25+ years ago). I even added a couple of sailor figures but we still can't establish control. 😭

5 years ago by carpemoment

Media

Robbe Smaragd

Here's my Robbe smaragd, its about 30 years old and recently I have refitted some electronics. sail replaced for the genua fore sail. it just did not function very well. It sails like a beauty and very steady on coarse.

5 years ago by Smaragd

Response

Can't stop adding stuff

Good stuff Joe👍 Detail of the smoker please! That's the trouble / fun with ship modelling, so many possibilities. The only limit (within weight and available power considerations) is imagination and ingenuity. I've even seen a tug on which a cabin door opens, a sailor comes out and pees over the side😲😁 Some crew would liven up your boat. And a horn? Working and towing tackle? Crane? Radar? Signalling lamp? ... I once fitted a working monitor on a boat - just to keep inquisitive kids with sticky fingers at bay! BTW; fires DO do VERY WELL on boats; all that paint and other inflammable material!🤔 Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Smoke generator

Have just made a prototype of a fan forced smoker which seems to be working well (despite breaking the heater coil by moving it while hot, - had it apart, broke wire, screw and washer repair, not quite as hot) I bought a couple of Heng Long smokers (for R/C tanks or cars) to play with, for $10 NZ each(or 5.3 Euros to you Northerners give or take a yen) from Bangood and just bought another from Ebay. There seem to be 2 different models, as one has a long coil with a lamp wick draped over it, which is sitting in the oil reservoir, the other has a small coil inside a piece of heat resistant woven tubing (as you might find insulating toaster/heater wiring etc) which acts as a wick and that also sits in cotton wool in the reservoir, (this seems to be the better of the two) Tip - don't fill the tank right up, only enough to soak the cotton, element should be just out of the oil. The wick loads the element. The better model seems to have a black top to the tank (also maybe either brown or black tank) and the other has a brown top and dirty brown tank. As with most of this stuff you won't know till you get it what it's going to be. What I did was remove the tank and cut off the pump tube just in front of the screw lugs (see black line in photo) then fitted the tank, and a 40x40x10 5v ESC fan (voltage controlled by a UBEC set to 5v on the jumpers) into a plastic electronics utility box from Jaycar (our local electronics and hobby store). I made up a double JST lead for the 2s 1800Mah Lipo and fired it up (using baby oil). it's pretty much silent and smokes well once it gets warmed up, ( starts smoking in about 5 seconds) You could control it (on/off volume) by either a remote on/off switch or perhaps a small cheap 10A brushed ESC. I would leave the fan running and control the element to avoid burning the element. The original pump tank inlet hole seems ok as is (approx 1.5mm) but you could enlarge it very slightly to get a better flow if you could find a better oil. At the electronics store they have proper smoke machine oil for $20 NZ per litre so I may have a look at that. The reason I went for the fan idea was that I found in std pump form, if I immersed a tube from the tank in water, it sucked water back into the tank. I was hoping it would pump smoke out of my HSL exhausts at water level alongside the cooling water but it would need a very light non return valve to do this. The fan seems to pump the smoke through 2mm ID silicone tube ok, so tubing of similar ID to the OD of the tank outlets should work well. These pumps in original form work pretty well for the price, and are cheap enough to keep a few for spare elements, the only thing is they are a bit noisy but in an 'engine sounding' way, (might add to the effect on a tug or work-boat though) What you have left after this mod is a very handy little geared motor with an eccentric output wheel which could be used for es, radar and whirly bits of any description (see pic of motor leftover and original) To avoid burnout, these should be run on no more than a 2s (around 7.5v-(suggest 8v max with fan running) The other tank is going to work a lot better than this one but I'm not making a tug, just want a bit of exhaust smoke on start-up etc to go with the 2 sound units. Very cheap to make (around $25 NZ with pump, box, fan and UBEC all through Ebay, Aliexpress and Bangood (and local electronics store) if you wanted to run an ESC to control the smoke and you have no channels left to control it proportionally, you can always try using a second receiver bound to your TX, (if your TX will allow it,) power it and a brushed ESC (wired to the element) as normal and use the throttle channel to plug in your smoke control. This should work if you want more smoke as you accelerate or if you are using only 1 stick on a 2 stick TX you could use your 'elevator' stick pushed up (or a toggle switch if available) to start/stop the smoke (through the brushed ESC setup) . This setup weighs 100g (10g more than std) The quest for lots of smoke continues Will try to upload vid later and update progress.

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Directory

(Yacht) joysway orion

Lovely little yacht ! I knew nothing about sailing but this yacht has rc sail and rudder. I am learning sailing terminology like jybing,in irons,halyards,sheets,lines,tacking, close haul and more. (Motor: wind) (8/10)

5 years ago by keithtindley

Blog

Getting Close

I've been trying different configurations for controlling the sails. Finally settled on the circular method and managed to get it installed and calibrated. My tether broke the other day. Fortunately, a kayaker came along and graciously retrieved her for me. So I decided it was time to go ahead and add a motor. The drag of the tether was affecting my ability to get control of her. After a few failed attempts, I was able to come up with a configuration that works. Probably way overpowered but I had a spare motor from a defunk helicopter sitting around. AND finally, the beauty of her markings are back. I found a source for new labels (much easier to apply than the original ones that were water based).

5 years ago by carpemoment

Blog

Davits and falls

Dreadnought had two boats on Davits,slung each side of the funnel, and actually directly above the midship main armament gun barrels. I would assume the davits were able to tilt outwards to allow the boats to be lowered directly outboard. Would anyone know what sort of es the falls would have been paid out with, or were they simp[y lowered by hand? As far as I can make out the rest of here boats were accessed by the crane on the mainmast.

5 years ago by Gdaynorm

Forum

RC Mixer

Hi, I'm doing some (a lot) of research before embarking on a Bristol Pilot build. My attention has now turned to controlling the twin fore sails. A helpful guy at my club mentioned using a 'mixer'. Anyone who has controlled two foresails and/or a genoa on a racing yacht may have some ideas here - any welcome. But my initial question is about terminology. Reading my Futaba handbook - a truly excellent translation 😡- I find two terms under the mixer section - 'OFS' and 'VR' - any idea what they mean? For interest, the problem is that the front sail overlaps the rear 'foresail' so we can not simply attach a sheet to the front sail to drag it to a 'tight' position as this may tangle with the rear foresail. The second problem is that if the foresail is out to the port, the drum must turn anticlockwise to haul it in, whereas when it is to starboard the must turn clockwise. I do love these problems, but desperately need help. If its only someone telling me not to be stupid and just lket the foresail hang loose - I'm not racing afterall👍 Sam

5 years ago by sam

Media

Carina

Trying to learn to use this forum properly I am publishing a video that shows an experiment I did to find out how fast the stepper motor could turn. I am using in my model of the sailboat Carina 2 stepper motors like the one shown in the video to work as a to control the position of the sails in a system solution where I am realizing this my own way to implement the sheets as shown on the original sailboat Endeavour. This requires my sheet control system to control the length of the sheet of the mainsail i.e. over a range of 8.3 meters. This requires the drum which is turned by the stepper motor to make 21 full turns. Details will be published in my report from scratch of building my Carina.

5 years ago by Hellmut1956

Response

Gypsy Sloop Jr.

Go with swing arm servos for sail control, less trouble with the lines than . if room is a problem one can be used to control jibs & main. but separate controls are obviously best.

6 years ago by hammer

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hi, Doug. I’ve attached a zoomed-in photo of the “Anchor Enclosure” that’s built into the starboard bow bulwark of the Wyeforce. There’s an anchor in the box but I can’t tell for sure what kind it is. Maybe a navy-type with the fluke & bill pointed inward toward the deck? A better photo is needed to be sure, so I’ll keep looking. The enclosure itself would be simple to build & fit to the hull. I remember seeing a photo of the boat’s foredeck area that showed what may have been a hawse pipe running inboard from behind anchor enclosure & down through the deck, presumably to a belowdecks? Does that make sense? Pete

6 years ago by PittsfieldPete

Forum

sound generators

If you want a selection of various engine sounds, plus extra sounds i.e. klaxon,seagulls, sounds etc, the best one for the money is by Action electronics👍, part of Component shop. http://www.action-electronics.co.uk/engines.html Peter😉

6 years ago by Rookysailor

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hey, Doug. Thanks for the photo link; I grabbed them for my reference archive. The can be seen again in one view; I think I have plenty of information now to extract measurements & sketch a fair representation. Thanks again. Pete

6 years ago by PittsfieldPete

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Doug: I feel like a dunce for not noticing that anchor before. it sticks out like a sore thumb if you know where to look. That’s another thing that I’m surprised hobby engine didn’t add to the boat. I guess in the long run it was easier for moldmaking purposes to omit that particular detail. That’s another thing, however, that wouldn’t be all that hard to scratchbuild. All that’s needed is to cut an opening in the bulwark & build a sheet styrene box for the housing. it’s not exactly a high priority item, but I think it would go a long way toward adding realism. So far none of the photos of the Wyforce I seen show what the anchor enclosure looks like on the inside of the bulwark. Then again maybe some of them did & I missed that, too. I assume there’s an anchor , possibly below deck near the chain locker. I expect there’s a “drop/raise” button inside the pilot house. I’ll browse for a photo of the anchor & post it if I succeed. Thanks

6 years ago by PittsfieldPete

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hi Pete, Welcome back👍 Yes, I did remove the moulded rungs. No chance of cramming the wiring in if you don't. I just twisted them out with a small pair of pliers and machined the rest out with a 3mm milling bit in my mini drill. I had hoped you would come to the 'cluttered' conclusion about the mast! Don't know of any standards for lamp spacing, never thought about. Spect there is, maybe Ed (figtree) knows, but he's having internet problems at the moment 🤔 Thanks re antenna cables. Not difficult with a couple of chunks of copper wire and the pin-drill. Some time I will also add the two small booms carrying a GPS antenna and an anemometer. Re anchors: all tugs I've ever seen have anchors. This is on my list of 'Missing details on the model'. it's quite a long list🤔 Pics attached showing the anchor in a recess on the stbd bow. BECC still exist but only seem to sell through agents/stockists now. Here the US/Canada stockists;- http://www.becc.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d47.html This probably your best bet http://www.loyalhannadockyard.com/ Some of the others have disappeared😲 Look forward to your sketch, cos I wanna build one too! Cheers, Doug 😎

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 weather 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 again, your comments tell me that I may have mislead you into thinking that my boat has a . 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

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hi Pete, Thanks 😊 Yep, I decided to stick with 4 lights cos tha's all I see on the original 'WYEFORCE'. Yep again! I do intend to modify the two lights on the stub mast; 1 yellow 'Towing' and 1 white 'Stern'. I will also fit a wheelhouse light. Decided to do it 'fluorescent' style by fitting 2 white 3mm LEDs in the ends of a long block of 5mm perspex. After that the 2 work-deck floodlights, lower cabin lights and 2 deck lamps 1 each side of the main cabin. I'll probably link the cabin and deck lights so that they all come on together. Now pondering how to build a miniature working diesel genny to power them all😁 Good luck with your divider! You will have more wires to squash in than I did so I doubt there's room. Have fun trying. I separated the wires quite easily by keeping all the negative legs of the LEDs (that's the leg going to the larger electrode in the diode) on one side and soldering them to the brass wire negative rail first. Then I took colour coded thin 'hook-up' wire to each LED in turn; working from the top down. Cut the LED leg to 1/4", stripped the hook-up wire back 1/4", twisted the wire strands together and tinned it. Tin the LED leg as well and bend it 90° down the mast. Then it's easy to solder the wire cleanly to the LED keeping it well away from any other wires. When all was connected, and tested OK, I stuck the wires down with thick gel super glue so they can't wander about. To fit the LEDs to the mast, I removed the brackets; removed the dummy lights with a razor saw, filed the mounting flat and drilled holes for the LED legs in them, using a 0.75mm drill bit in a pin chuck, and glued the LEDs on with gluper sue. Then I bent the leads 90° back towards the mast and drilled 0.75mm holes horizontally into the mast so I could literally 'plug' the lamp bracket complete with LED straight in and glue it down. Painted matt black the leads become invisible, as in 3rd pic above😉 : at least your version of the model seems to HAVE a ! Or where did those two pics come from? Mine ain't got nuffink, just a big 'ole at the back of the cabin😭 All the best, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hey, Doug What you’ve done so far looks terrific. I noticed that you stayed with four lights on the mast itself. I take it you’ll also replace the two “dummy“ lights on the stub mast (behind the pilot house) with working ones? I considered the same thing but I like the look of all six lights on the “main” mast. Based on how things usually work out for me I’m still going to put a divider or barrier in the mast before I button it up. if there’s the slightest ghost of a chance of a short in the wiring it’ll happen to me. Five minutes’ work & a scrap of plastic will help me sleep better. Regarding the , it appears to be a very simple unit (see attached photos). The large bitt/towing hook unit in the photos hides some of the details, but it doesn’t look like a complicated unit to model. A few pieces of plastic sheet stock, some rounds & a few bits from the spares boxes is pretty much all it’ll take. I plan to attach the assembly to the Deckhouse; not to the deck. The base plate for the will need to be shaped to fit around the horn speaker grille holes in the deck but otherwise no problems. I already have a large roll of scale rope to wind around the drum. If anyone who reads this happens to have photos or a sketch of the in full view please post them if you’re willing. Thanks. Pete

6 years ago by PittsfieldPete

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Mornin' Pete (it is in Germany anyway!) I agree, there are lots of details and 'standard equipment' missing from the basic model. You can see the and Life Raft canister in one of the photos of the original I posted above. Re Mast wiring; don't fiddle about putting a divider in the mast. it'll just get in the way. Attached is a pic of my modified mast. I used a 0.5mm brass wire on the right-hand side for the earth return. Wire is better than rod cos it's flexible (can be pushed into the corner). I glued it in with gel Gluper Sue WHEN all connections were soldered and tested. The LEDs are standard domed lens types. I ground the tops flat and painted the tops with several coats of matt black until it was opaque. After testing I closed off the mast with some plasticard and fitted ladder rungs made of copper wire. I also added the missing antenna cables to the bottom of the VHF IMM antennas, 0.5mm brass wire. (Some time I'll also fit the missing GPS antenna and anemometer.) Then painted the mast matt black. I then turned my attention to the searchlight and red/green NAV lights. First I stripped the wheelhouse roof and painted it white as in the original. On my model it was grey🤔 Then I drilled out the searchlight to accept a 5mm Bright White LED. You won't have to do this cos you have a later version with lights, mine had none 😭 Then had to paint the searchlight with several coats of matt black. Otherwise it just glowed all round! Pics show construction stages and finished lighting effect. All wires inside the wheelhouse roof I super glued to the ceiling and ran them down inside the funnels (stacks to you guys across the pond!😉) ready for connection to a switch board in the hull. While I was at it I rubbed the false Southampton name off the cabin using a 1000 grit Tamiya sponge and am preparing inkjet printed decals with the correct Wyeforce name and logo. Have fun getting all lit up Pete,😁 Cheers, Doug 😎 PS Attached some pics showing the original 'Southampton' 😉 and making obvious what's missing on the model 🤔

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hi, Doug: I hope all is well. FYI, I’ve received all but one of my parts orders needed for the LED Mast Light project. The flat top LEDs arrived today & will be perfect for Nav lights. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but a while ago I decided that instead of starting work right away it would be best to wait until everything I need for the project is on hand. While waiting for parts to arrive (& mysterious eye infections to clear up) I looked the boat’s Cabin & Pilot House over & made a list of details I want to add, changes or replace, not least of which is the conspicuous absence of a towing . Other things like adding a life raft canister, better looking life rings, fire extinguishers, etc. will come later, after completing the Mast LED Nav lights & wiring changes per your design. This brings me back around to a wiring question. Some time ago we discussed using a common ground bus inside the Mast & soldering each of the six “-“ leads to it rather than using six wires to do the same job. I plan to put a plastic divider piece up the middle of the Mast & run the six “+” LED wires on one side. The other side will have the bare ground bus onto which the “-“ leads of each LED will be soldered. The question is: what gauge should the bus be? I was thinking of using a length of brass rod but I don’t know what diameter to use. What do you think? Thanks, Pete

6 years ago by PittsfieldPete

Forum

can anybody reconise this hull

i picked it up as a project lol 45 1/4" or 1150mm beam 38" or 965mm lwl gussing around 14 3/4 or 375mm a friend has susjested a German Sprinta model which is a 1:6 scale model of the Dehler Sprinta Sport yacht i looked at this model but the back is not cut away and mine seems to have places for the es any information would be a great help

6 years ago by twofloats12

Media

Amsterdam

So close just the superstructure to do.. Even put.a 60kg long tow in lop full rewiring and she pulls like a train

6 years ago by Hybrid

Blog

nearing completion!

So, I have managed to crack on quite a bit this week. Ive done a heap at work on nights this week, followed by near enough a whole weekend of no interuptions as the "long haired Segeant Major" has been at her parents for the weekend!😁 it took a couple of days to build the coxswains console out of balsa and alot of fettling with plastitube and sheet, very please with the outcome. its not 100% scale acurate as is the rest of the model, but close enough to give a good representation of the wheelhouse contents. Just the Coxswain and seat to build and paint for a completed wheelhouse. The rest of the weekend has seen the cockpit just about finished, painted and laquered. So, to complete the model the following items need to be built, painted and fitted. Radar mount and radar, instrument dials, cockpit glazing, antenna mast and rigging, towing bitt, rear cockpit railing and , hull grab ropes, anchor, and finally about 2 kilos of lead ballast to get her sitting right on the water. I reckon another week to 10 days for a completed model!

6 years ago by Skydive130

Blog

Emma C Berry Schooner

Scratch built from old kit plans but planked and fibreglassed rather than balsa sheeted as in the original. Modified to fit a removable keel. and continuous loop sail control fitted under deck.

6 years ago by alan20

Media

Sterling Emma C Berry

Model is 49” long and with ballast keel added weighs 17 lbs. hull is covered with 2 layers of 2 oz. cloth fiberglass cloth and painted with Krylon spray can paint. Hitec sail servo for main sail and standard servo for jib. Model has auxiliary 6 volt electric power to compincate for my sailing ability’s and wind conditions. Sails are Mylar.

6 years ago by Mikep

Blog

Emerald - ''Round the Word'' ocean racing yacht.

Purchased new in kit form, from Robbe. 1998. Specifications:- Overall length: 1380mm. Overall beam: 360 mm. Draught: 300 mm. Mast height: 1800 mm. Overall height: 2200 mm. Standard sail area: 80 square dm. Sail area with Genoa: 94 square dm. Total displacement: 12 kg. Ballast: 8 kg. Scale: 1:10 Control Robbe Futaba F14 Marine transmitter / receiver. Channel 1 - Rudder servo. Channel 2 - Spare. Channel 3 - Genoa sail servo. Genoa switch module - fitted between the stick potentiometer and the transmitter channel 3 Socket. (Reverses the Genoa sail servo for Port or Starboard tack.) Channel 4 - Main sail servo. Channel 5 - Auxiliary 3 position switch - up position. Channel 6 - Auxiliary 3 position switch - down position. Receiver channel 5 - Mono Memory relay module. To drive the Blister motor out, to raise the Genoa Sail Clew. Receiver channel 6 - Mono Memory relay module. To drive the Blister motor in, to tighten the Genoa Sail Clew. Recently recovered from the back of the shed, where it has been in hibernation. Now I am retired and have some free time, it is under a review and refurbishment. New paint on the deck and upper hull (above the waterline). Solid state relay modules added, to replace the micro switches, operated from a cam on a servo (replacing analogue channel 2 with on/off channels 5 and 6). Pictures show the sea trials after the 10 year hibination. The Genoa Module had failed in the carbon potentiometers. No replacement available, so found a local electronics repairers, who changed the potentiometers for £10.00. The carrying cradle was designed to hold the sails, and secure the yacht while rigging at the waters edge. Also acts as a dry dock, while working inside the hull. When the repaired module is fitted, and the Genoa sail is operational, I will post detailed video of the Genoa sail and Blister motor and their operation while sailing. Genoa Sail Pictures added.

6 years ago by East-RN

Forum

Crash Tender davit info...

Hi all, just thinking about the work I need to do on my Crash tender and the davit would seem to be a problem. Is there any info on it in any detail anywhere? Plans or good photos. I have size, but no details on the or the area below where it goes straight. As it's portable I guess it must be round is just manhandled into sockets, but I have no info on that side of things at all. All info. gratefully received. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

What do you do when...

Indeed you have John👍 if I get time today I'll dig out the I used for the trials on my destroyer, only operational boat at the time! Trouble with a destroyer - the stern is so low you can't reach the deck of most boats😲 I had also built a reversible ESC for the , a hefty commercial job with about a 385 motor I think. Ran on 6V. Now I have the Southampton tug I was thinking of a much higher derrick, or A frame, on the stern!? Have some 0.5mm nylon line for the tow line, what do you think? As an electronic engineer I sometimes need help with the mechanicals - which others seem to find sooooo easy 😲 Have right now a mechanical problem to solve on my Gina 2 fish cutter - more on that in the Blog. Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

Evenin' Martin, OK- 1. Your NiMhs have Tamiya plugs. 2. Correct charge lead for those would be the one in your last pic. BUT; it puzzles me that it seems to have one 4mm plug, OK, and one 4mm socket?? if that IS the case; Why? Should have two plugs to go in the charger. Change it for one of your new 4mm plugs. 3. You can charge the LiPo with the lead second from right. The 'bricks' are 'T' or 'XT' connectors.They look like XT60. Common on LiPos. Select LiPo and 'Auto' on the charger and it will do the rest. Don't forget to plug in the little white Balancer plug so the charger knows what it is charging and can balance the cells. Guess the next question will be:- 'But the white plug is too big to fit the charger'! if so you need an adaptor! See pic. The adaptor is in the middle; 'XH Adaptor'. Plugs on batteries are XH, sockets on chargers the smaller EH. it's a conspiracy to force us to buy adaptor boards or cables 😡 However, if the LiPo hasn't been used or charged for years I don't hold out much hope for it 🤔 At the bottom of my pic you can see one of my capacity / cell voltage testers. Glad the FlySky package works. What does a Luddite learn from that? Buy TX and RX together as a so called 'Combo' and they come ready bound, saving a lot of F'ing and Blinding 😉 Was very surprised you bought a car pistol grip with trigger throttle. Might be OK for throttle (cars are usually 'digitally driven'; i.e. Flat Out or Stop!) But I wonder how you'll get on with that on a sail 😲 Bon chance mon ami 👍 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Marblehead Sailboat

All done and ready to sail. I took it to an outdoor swimming pool at a neighbours and did a Sytems check; Stability; All was fine and I suspect this is going Go like a greyhound on the lake! Put in a new sail robbe #8336; rudder servo is HiTec HS-322HD

6 years ago by Ronald

Forum

Spektrum, new, useless...

Aaaah! Jeti Duplex, luvly stuf, if you want to fly a 1/10 A380 with full Fly By Wire Auto Pilot, Black Box engine and flight data Sensing Recording and Telemetry feedback! But for a rudder and a sail !?😲 'A grand'? Only ones I've seen lately are 1 1/2 to 2 grand 🤔 Still, one has to have dreams 👍😉 Keep doin' the Pools! Ciao, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

Brace yourself!

Trying to rig the main tops'l and mizzen tops'l braces, I found the servos seemed to rotate more than the 3.5 times I thought they did. Oddly, one rotated 4.5 times and the other 4.25 times. I plugged in other servos and got the same results, but my DX6 transmitter didn't have a servo-travel setting that I could find in the manual. So I made new drums - again - based on what the servos were doing. The fore tops'l brace was fine, but the main seemed to pull one side more than the other side. I mentioned this oddity on RCGroups and someone suggested the DX6 did have a servo travel setting, and I was sure I had looked for it years ago. My manual isn't where is usually is, so I found a PDF on line. Lo and behold, there's a Servo-Travel setting spelled out on page 42! So I set about adjusting my TX settings to the new drums and there you go, working as advertised! In the meantime I installed eyes in the mizzen for brace blocks to mount to, and made a brass wire ring for the main tops'l brace to tie to as noted on the original ship a few posts back in this thread. I apparently slopped some epoxy on the inside of one of the mizzen tops'l brace thru-deck fairleads and blocked it up. I need to pull it like a bad tooth, and replace it, so the mizzen braces are hooked up yet. Here's some exciting video of the separate bracing for the fore and main tops'ls. http://todd.mainecav.org/model/constellation/videos/con20180623a.mp4

6 years ago by Jerry Todd

Forum

What do you do when...

I've been pondering a neodymium magnet on a derrick on the stern of my Southampton tug and steel plates set into the foredecks of my boat and ships! Still pondering, reeling in with a is easy, running out the cable to drop the magnet down onto the boat is causing me mechanical headaches though. 😡 Maybe just raising and lowering a suitable boom would be easier!? Any ideas folks, especially amongst you using sailors? First time my destroyer conked out I swam out 'in me knickers' to rescue it cos the wind was pushing it towards the lake fountains. it's NOT a flying boat! Got a round of applause and some interesting suggestions from some of the er 'ladies' present 😲😉 Second time we had flat calm on a balmy summer evening and she started very slowly drifting home. So as it was early evening we went to the lakeside restaurant terrace where I could enjoy a steak and a glass or two while keeping an eye on her progress. Hard life ain't it 😉 Whatever, I'm sure there's a more elegant solution than more plumbing than there is in my bathroom! I even once used my sharp pointed destroyer to push a failed plastic RTR so called speed boat home. Took a lot of manoeuvring with a long thin destroyer but we made it. Once I managed to get it lined up and close enough to shore a good shove with all ahead flank then full astern let it run up the shore. Was good helmsmanship practise. A simple shaped rubber block I could hang over the bow would have made it much easier! Cheers all, don't get stuck! Doug 😎 PS One other 'Schnapps idea' as they might call it here in Bavaria, I've been playing with for a while is a model of the 'Big Lifter'. It's a conveyor ship like a big powered dry dock. To take on the load she floods huge tanks and sinks herself😲 slides under the load, pumps the water out again and up she comes load an' all! Would be fun wouldn't it?😉 All the bridge and accommodation superstructure and engine rooms are in the stern. At the bow there are only two tall towers for guidance when taking on the load. The rest is just flat loading deck. Sounds simple don' it 😁 an' a lot more fun than half the plumbing dept. of B&Q. 👍 PPS: I also tried the grab claw idea of Martin's. A sort of 4 prong grappling hook. As he rightly said the first snag is to get the line aboard the stricken vessel in the first place. I tried it with one of the depth charge derricks on the stern of my destroyer. Reeling in - fine. Getting the line out ? Another kettle of fish. I considered a spring-loaded system to fire the line out IF I could make the free run to pay out! Got no further than considering (the spring launcher I still have) before I completely stripped out the destroyer for a total refit. Thinks, thinks, thinks ......

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

Evenin' Martin, Oh dear oh dear oh dear! 😲 There is some good advice above, but maybe not optimally expressed for use by a Luddite! Sorry guys but this might be a relatively long post to separate the wheat from the chaff, explode a few myths and resolve this little conundrum of Martin's! One thing at a time! NUMBER1. THE RADIO- Dear Martin: Whatever possessed a self confessed Luddite and Scrooge like you to spring a large chunk of your hard earned pension on one of the most expensive and complex RC sets on the market in the first place???? I bought a Spektrum DX6 on impulse a few years ago while strolling around Conrad here in Munich. I've regretted it ever since. in retrospect it was way too expensive >600€, and complex. it is intended for the Fly Boys, as unfortunately most sets are these days. I have still not successfully programmed it to do what I want to do, instead of what it is pre-programmed to do for helis and fixed wing aircraft. Not even with it's own Spektrum RX, let alone a 'foreign' RX like Orange. So I have not yet risked it in a model. Definitely NOT my Catalina. Since then I have bought a Turnigy I6. Which does the same as the Spektrum, works fine with my Orange RX with giro for the Catalina😉, cost only 69€ (is now available for around 33 quid😡) and within a few hours I had it programmed and tested to do all I want in my destroyer and Sea Scout.👍 In short: the Spektrum is way way way Overkill for your yacht or Fire Float or similar, where you will only ever want rudder and sail servo / or rudder and speed control. So flog the Spektrum and get a nice simple (and cheap😉) 2 or 4 channel set. I can't imagine you ever wanting to start building special effects into your models so 2 (max 4) channels is all you will probably ever need. Stick your Spektrum on eBay, maybe you'll get at least a 100 quid for it. If you still want to go 2.4Gig get yourself a Turnigy i6 set with RX, 6 ch but cheap enough and I can help you directly with binding and programming from experience - I have a good English manual with no Chenglish gobbledygook. If not and you still have a working 27 or 40MHz FM set (40 would be better) use that. Where you sail, all alone, who's going to bother you or be bothered? BTW: Yes the Spektrum TX IS DSM2 and DSX compatible BUT you have to tell it what you want to use!!! Frankly I think trying that with a non-Spektrum RX is risky - especially first time out and for a novice Luddite😉 NUMBER 2. THE NiMh BATTERY- Voltage is not a reliable indication of battery charge / remaining capacity. After use a battery will recover slightly when at rest and the open terminal (off load) voltage will rise, often to the nominal voltage or slightly above. This is NO indicator of remaining charge as when a load is applied the voltage will drop again rapidly, the higher the current drawn the faster the voltage drops. if it goes below 1.0V per cell the battery will be permanently damaged and never regain it's original capacity. Haverlock is dead right about batteries losing charge when not used or regularly recharged. An NiMh batt loses charge at the rate of about 1% per day so after 3 months or so you can send it to the great recycling depot in the sky and buy a new one. Periodic cycling, discharge / charge prevents / minimises this - see care hints I posted above. And yes, NiMh do have that irritating Memory effect🤔 albeit not so pronounced as with NiCads. Lipos apparently not, but I ain't seen any evidence yet - the jury is still out! Sooo - ignore the 6.37V and run the batt through a discharge and full charge cycle. if your new NiMh batt has not yet been cycled and charged I would bet that it's present capacity is about 45%. See example below (and in attached pic) of one of my new 4.8V (nom) NiMh RX batts. NUMBER 3. THE CAPACITY CHECKER - "Glorified voltmeter" ? Where did the 6.37V reading come from if not from your 'new toy'? If it is showing volts it should also be showing capacity in %age. If you received the wrong thing it's not the "bloody electrics" but the bloody nit who packed and sent it that's at fault. Before you send it back check the below😉 Send me a photo of the Checker you have and with your battery plugged in so I can see what's happening on the display. Otherwise we are all poking about in the dark (Are we back to Jules and his friend Sandy😉😲) The link I sent you was for a checker exactly the same as mine except for the labelling! As you can see in my photo, properly connected it shows the terminal voltage and the remaining capacity (charge level) of the battery pack. Forget the Nixx (=2 Ni possibilities) display, that just means 'It ain't a LiXX' (3 Li- pissibolities). Attached photo shows a brand new 4 cell NiMh RX pack 4.8V (Nominal) connected to one of my Checkers. As you can see the voltage shown is 5.19V, according to the popular 'folklore' that would seem to indicate FULL charge. Unfortunately not🤔 Capacity indication is 45% which is normal for brand new batteries in storage and transit. Explanation thereof - see above! RE: " if it can do LiPos, why not the relatively simpler NiMhs?" a) the LiPo pack has a different chemistry and construction which requires different input circuitry on the checker, b) LiPos need balancing and are fitted with Balancer Plugs which connect to the multipin connectors on the checker. Each pin connects to one cell of the LiPo so that they can be monitored individually. LiPo chargers use this to balance the cells to within 0.01V (100mV) or less by adjusting the charge / discharge currents to each cell. The checkers use this to show you the individual cell voltages and charge states. A big difference, i.e.lower V and capacity, indicates cells with faults, e.g. higher internal resistance, or a discharged pack which needs charging and balancing. NiMh packs don't usually have this facility to measure individual cells. They are thus connected to a separate input on the checker which can then only show total pack terminal voltage and capacity. BTW: if you can get it passed 'THE Management' store your battery packs in the fridge😲 The 'coolth' slows down the rate of self discharge, which is a function of the battery internal resistance, which reduces slightly with reduced temperature😉 Enough for now, back to stripping my PTB for it's Midlife Refit! Cheers, Doug 😎 PS Martin: Just saw your post about another RX. Why the hell not buy a Spektrum designed Rx guaranteed to work with their TX? Or better still; flog the Spektrum and get a nice simple Turnigy set as above, also recommended by Ron, albeit the 9 ch version. All this frigging about with 'claimed compatible' bits and pieces just wastes money and time, fogs the issue and don't prove nutt'n!

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

Thanks, Haverlock. When should I discharge the batteries? Currently as you could see from above emails, they have a pretty full charge. I need to bind the Rx and see that the sail works. After that I probably wouldn't need them for a while, so would that be a good time to discharge them? Does the imax thingy stop discharging when it should automatically? Should I then leave them while and recharge a la Doug's advice, which seems to make very good sense with a new pack.? Cheers for the advice on the iMax. I'll let you all know how the binding/servo testing goes. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

Well, you could, Haverlock, if you understood a word of the instructions. But if they're reading 6.37Volts I reckon they're charged, so I shall try to use them to bind the Rx. and see if the Vanity sheet works. Ron, I reckon they're charged at 6.37Volts. I'll just check that the Rx. is good for that higher voltage and then tomorrow see if I can get my head this binding business. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Fire Boat (crash tender) colours...

Doug, interesting technique, turning them negative, but it does show that the cabin tops are marked as grey as well as the decks and coaming (cabin sides?). As you say, smooth versus non slip will look different in raking light. I had wondered that, but the lightness of shade goes right round the angles of the fore cabin. That's actually the effect that made me ask. Considering these particular boats were only ever two in number and never really in service for long, despite their popularity as models, so I don't reckon they had a repaint as they weren't around that long. it's just that the drawing you negativised says grey for all the surfaces, yet everybody makes the cabin tops white. I'm wondering whether to make the cabin sides a noticeably lighter shade of grey than the decks and cabin tops. Problem now is how do we represent non-slip on a model? Sifted Chinchilla sand into slow-drying wet paint, then spray with the correct colour? Glad to see you confirming what I thought about the half round edging to the tops, Doug. I can imagine that being a standard kind of process. Now, we need details of the derrick and its . Apparently it was portable. I bet that was a lump to lug about in a rolling seaway! Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

Hi Doug, thanks for all that. I will be getting my battery capacity meter tomorrow or Saturday according to ebay, so will go through the above then. They are 2600MaH VP batteries, well thought of, it seems. So would that be a whisker over 6 hours of charging? (6.0666) The Rx. and the servos all say they can go up to 7.4V and as mentioned, as a sailing boat there's no ESC (thank Gawd).This is just drum and steering. I wouldn't know how to fast charge anyway, so that's not gonna be a problem. Who needs fast charging. There's always something to do while batteries slow charge. Navy Lark is lost on Radio 4 as is all supposedly funny stuff these days. Desert island Discs is still on R4 on Sunday lunchtime with a repeat during the week, but these days the guests are either such obscure arts, media or science types you never heard of or so young they haven't even lived yet. Or sports people, in which case I turn off, unless they're motor racing maybe. I hate sport. Fortunately R4 Extra on digital gives us a lot of the old series the likes of which they no longer make for fear of upsetting some imaginary grouping of people who would actually laugh as much as the rest of us probably. On R4, the News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue are still funny. Nothing else in the so-called comedy slot is remotely amusing. I would think, by the time my sail ing stuff is working right, I will have cycled the new batteries quite a few times, but I'll report back as soon as the gizmo arrives for capacity metering. Thanks again for your help, Doug. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

drum sail questions...

thanks for the credit but it was octman's video of a working system and looking at it I would bow to his MUCH superior knowledge! As to your TX sorry I pass on that the only modern set I know anything about is the Taranis and that's complex enough for this old brain.

6 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

drum sail questions...

Hi there, I have a drum servo on my Vanity model and have just added the string to it by tying the ends of a length one to each hole in the drum, but of course that just wants to wind it all on the drum, shortening the loop. Therefore would I be right in thinking the double spool is one for main, one for jib and that you PASS a string round each, but not actually tie it? Because if you tie it, it just wraps the string round the drum and tries to drag the far drum toward it. Maybe I'm missing some basic trick here, it would be very typical of me to say or do something that I would say "daft sod" about if it were someone else! Can anyone help me out here? Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

drum sail questions...

Hmmm, seems whatever I do I need to tie more knots to use either a ring (as per Havelock's video) or a bowsie. The knots are tied in the string on the drum and that was a pain to get the tension right, so I'm thinking just a piece of slit tube to get over the string, then crimp up with electrical contact pliers for a good crimp. Still waiting for the battery pack to arrive for the RC and servos. Then I have to bind the Orange Rx. to the Spektrum Tx....ugh! I got a biddliboop from the Tx. when I put the batteries in and turned it on and a light came on in a line of lights. Fancy, this modern stuff, innit? First time the Tx. has ever been right out of the box in about 5 years since I bought it, ostensibly for a model aircraft. But aircraft are too expensive to insure, join clubs, etc., hence my switch to yachts. Just as involving as aircraft (wind strength, direction, sail trim and all that jazz), but more interesting than watching a power boat trolling round endlessly. At least, that's the plan Martin

6 years ago by Westquay