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I have been given a Ferry to restore/finish to working order. It was built by a gentleman who has since died and reflects a ferry he regularly used on holiday in Devon. He named it after his wife so the name is not right and I was assured it was a Brixham ferry which is not right. So I have an unknown name and crossing location but I do have you wonderful people who managed to help with the seaplane tender. All i can give you is some photos of the model.
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This model of Seaplane Tender 200 is another "loft rescue" that I have been asked to refurbish by its owner. This is a static model and along with his other models and mine we exhibit them at museum events to remind and educate people that the RAF used to have a Marine Branch for 68 years until its demise in 1986. Seaplane Tender 200 was the lead craft of the 200 Class Seaplane Tenders designed by Hubert Scott-Paine in the early 1930's. The L.o.a was 37ft 6in, beam 8ft 6in and draught 2ft 6in. powered by 2 x Meadows 828 100hp petrol engines with a range of 100miles. Now before the purists come along and say that the 200 class ST had enclosed wheelhouse not not an open backed one, ST 200 was the only one that was built that way the rest of the class had enclosed wheelhouse and walk through cabin. this model is 1:24 scale and is probably about 25 years old
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Ok So by some miracle two seaplane tenders survived about 60 years and meet this year so crazy odds right? Well just to boggle the mind further. What are the odds of 3 all belonging to the same group?
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We had a relaunch of the seaplane tenders at Chichester canal yesterday. both worked well but mine developed a leak.
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It might be worth noting that all RAF RSL's were were numbered starting with 16, all the 43ft RSL's were 1640 - 1668, the 41ft 6in RSLs were converted Seaplane Tenders, that were re-designated. they also started with 16 but were lower numbers, with the exception of 1646 and 1647 for some reason. The seaplane tender conversion was actually faster than their successors, 23Kts compared to 20kts (if you were really lucky) but generally about 18Kts. http://www.rafboats.co.uk/rsl43.html this is a a good reference.👍
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Hi Canabus, #382 may well have been what you say! But this model has obviously been built as a THORNYCROFT 43ft RANGE SAFETY LAUNCH. The cabin structure and fittings are totally different. For me the 'give-aways' were the three side windows and the foreward bulge on the cabin. I had wondered about the number on the model from the outset. http://www.rafboats.co.uk/rsl43.html Pics show one example FoC #1640. On the above url you can see several more. Pic 7 is a MK1 40 foot Firefloat #55. Last 3 pics are 40foot MK1 Seaplane Tenders, #377 in a sad n sorry state😲 but apparently about to undergo restoration? Cheers, Doug 😎 PS: Attached also a pic of Firefloat #90, a MK1A. She was converted to a Seaplane Tender #467 in November 1949. FF91 was converted to ST382 in Feb 1950.
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Hi The 382 was a Fire Float Mk1(40 foot) (No. 90) converted in Feb 1950 to a Seaplane Tender. Max speed 21 knots. The MFA 800's are 5167 rpm( unloaded) @ 12 volts/ 5.3 Amps. Replacing these with 3639-750Kv brushless on 2S Lipo batteries(7.2 volts) would give you 5400 rpm( unloaded). 2S 4000mah 25C Lipo's(one for each motor) weigh 221 grams each. Canabus
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Very nice, you may have noticed my restoration of a 1950s-60s kit Do you still have yours?
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I am getting the tender back today Can't wait to try it out.
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Mark (cujo78) met me today and showed me his Seaplane tender built for his mum when she was little. The white livery is authentic for hot climate ports like Gibraltar
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I was amazed today to meet Mark (cujo78) on here who brought his seaplane tender for me to view. His has already had rc fitted and we had a drive in the Chichester canal today. Two survivors from the early 1960's kit. Mine is having a new prop shaft fitted but we hope to get them both together in the near future.
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hmm you have a good point Martin but one small problem, the old motor turns well by hand but I have not been able to get it to go electrically. It's probable that the brushes aren't making contact with the commutator.
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The motor is the heart of the boat, which is effectively a hark back to a different time of modelmaking. If keeping the finish is important (and it is), then keeping the motor is too. If you want a brushless screamer, build a new one as representative of your modern era, leaving this current model as representative of an earlier one. Martin
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I have cheated a bit and asked a friend to look at changing the rudder about as the settable pond type is too small to be effective (see photo). also the prop shaft is rattling in it's casing so that looks like a replacement with a modern one too. Still unsure about what motor to use.
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Tudo claro, 👍 Good luck and much success. Look forward to the Progress Reports 😉 All the best, Doug 😎 PS the previous owner of my PTB would probably have a heart attack if he saw her now 🤔 But then he knew I wanted to refit her as PT109 in Pacific theatre colours.
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Captain Posted: 3 months ago
Sub-Lieutenant Posted: 3 months ago
Fleet Admiral! Posted: 6 months ago
