Uhhhh...as far as I know I’m in command, Errol works for me..of course, he is a cat, so I suppose he sees things differently 🤣

Those boats are cool!!!

Squadron....Ateeennnnchut!!
Martin!!! Dang it son I’m glad you’re back!! Good to see you on the board.

Yes Sir!! We have box stock and modified classes for those who like their dragon boats hot..😄
“Hot” get it? Like fire breathing?
Bit of a reach y’all that’s all I got 🤣

How about this? 🐉⛵🏁 ?

Dang it, where’s my Texan to Mandarin translation app!!?!?

A boat?🤣🤣
Sorry buddy, cheap shot but I had to take it..

Jonathon, my buddy JP is very knowledgeable about OpenTX, in fact I think he helped with the project a bit as it was and I think still is an open source OS

Larry, one question. I thought PT boats were planing hulls. Am I mistaken or are they a little of both. When I hear the term displacement hull I’m thinking of hulls like my little Coast Guard boat and my tug. Correct me if I’m wrong please sir.
Cash

It looks like I can make a custom automatic dual rate for the PT. The Radiomaster’s operating system is OpenTX. My buddy JP and I were discussing the PTs turning habits, and I told him about this post concerning the full size boats turning. JP is very familiar with what can and can’t be done in OpenTX, and he’s pretty sure it’s possible to have an automatic dual rate that’s throttle controlled, i.e it will actuate past a certain throttle setting. He’s also reasonably sure I can set it up to have less throw to starboard than port once actuated. Stay tuned...

Hi!! So...this morning I took the PT to my local test pond, conveniently located on our Church’s property. I looks as if I have the ballast about right, although with a 7 cell pack she rides a bit too bow high, but perfect on a 6 cell. Turns sharply to port, not quite so much to starboard, you have to be a little more careful with rudder and power than to port...but, quite acceptable😀 However, I could only do tests close in for a short period of time as I lost all range about 70 feet from the bank...and to make matters worse, the wind took her under the fountain 😱. She stayed dry enough for me to walk around the pond and picker back up in range and “walk” her back. I decided I had enough, upon inspection the receiver was relatively dry in spit if the fountain bath. I concluded that I was just going to try another receiver, as I uninstalled the rx I tugged on the antenna slightly and it came right out!! I’ve concluded that I had a sketchy intermittent signal the whole time. The receiver in question is a FlySky GR3C bound to a Radiomaster 16S multi-protocol transmitter. I’ve had no problems with another of these receivers mounted in my PBR. Anyway, I have other receivers to use, but I found a waterproof version of the same receiver for 14.00 shipped from Amazon, so that’s what’s going back in the PT. I will get that installed and do a proper range check and another pond test, once I’m satisfied with the range I can finalize my trim, but in spite of all the drama Saturday I fell that I have made progress in that regard. I’ll update as soon as I can.
Thanks for all the help and comments, especially concerning PT boats turning radius both full size and scale. It’s been a big help👍
Cash

Toradog, i think you’re right. I did my best to keep my weight aft, all radio and power with the exception of the motor are in the aft 30/40 percent of the boat. She has no problems getting on plane in a straight line, but in a turn she tends to scrub her bow. I’m adding close to a pound of ballast just aft of the motor, it will be secured temporarily until I get her right. If I get her a little too aft heavy, I’ll go from 7 to 6 cells. I have plenty of power on tap so I can lose a cell and it’ll just be a little slower. Balance first👍

Oh..forgot to add that I can throw the rudder side to side, and she’ll rock side to side never changing course. Think I’m too light...( the boat, not me🤣)

Hi Toradog. I usually mount my rx’s high, but in this case I had it a bit too low because I didn’t want to use an extension..🤔. It wasn’t on the floor, but the extreme roll helped it take a bath. I’ve fitted an extension and have it much higher up now...plus it’s had a bath in CorrosionX.
Cash

Thanks Ed for the update. Hope we see Martin back soon.

I have both the 60 amp and 25 amp Quicruns, and I can vouch for both their ease of use and reliability. They are well made little units, and are easily set up via jumpers vs the “happy transmitter dance” that so many esc’s use...and, the manual has very few typos, misspellings or incomplete sentences!! It was translated well, and I truly appreciate that. Hobbywing makes good products.👍

Hi y’all. I’ve been a bit busy with inventory so I’ll keep this brief. I maidened the Higgins this past Sunday, ran into 2 issues. One, she was way too light, which resulted in a hard to handle and trim boat. She weighed in at 4 pounds 2 ounces, thought I could run her at that weight but she was squirrelly, would turn to port okay, but right was shaky, and at one point instead of turning right she dug her bow in and and continued straight with a 40 degree list🤔. What little water that got in the hull was from one of those escapades, and that she’d light on another problem. I had the receiver in the right rear corner of the hull, but low, as I wanted to make sure the servo wiring wouldn’t be fouled by the rudder tiller. Sure enough, when she rolled hard right that tablespoon of water would collect there and get the receiver just wet enough to be intermittent. By the time I would get pushed in the receiver would dry out enough to regain control. My buddy Fred used his Vacuboat Vacutow and pushed me in 3 times!! I thinks he’s sending me a bill for salvage🤣🤣 Anyway, I’ve made a few changes in the servo/esc leads routing, moved the rx higher up in the hull and sprayed it down with corrosionX. I’ve also ballasted her to 5 pounds. We’ll see how she does.
Cash

Beautiful work!! I especially like how clean the the installation and wiring is below decks. Like my hot rod buddies would say, that’s Kustom with a K!! Outstanding!

Errol’s a pretty big cat...he might get transferred to a destroyer😁

Hi y’all. Paints done, guns are up and radios installed. She’s ready to run as is. I have a few more details to do but I’m going to wait till the maidens done and I have her sorted out. Might be this coming Sunday, or the next. She’s at 4 pounds 2 ounces, a little light but I’ll take some extra ballast with me.
Cash

I haven’t been here in a couple of weeks, we’re getting ready for inventory so next week is “hell week” for us. Anyway, I want to wish speedy recoveries for all who have been afffected by Covid, the vaccine, or anything else. I truly hope for your speedy recoveries, and that you’re building and sailing with friends soon.
Cash

Just a quick pic of the paint scheme on my PT. I started with a flat olive green and flat green, but they were a little too close in shade, so I took the flat green, added a bit of bright green and yellow, and shot some of the camo in that. I’ll add some black and details next.

Nerys, your LST is really looking good. You did a fine job of taming that Deans kit. Really and truly looking forward to her finished up. You’re gonna need some tanks. Hey!! You could ship it over here and Errol and I can invade Oklahoma🤣🤣.
Seriously..,glad you’re feeling better, and I really like your LST.
Cash

Nerys, hang in there, you have a lot of people pulling for you😊

Larry, I have a habit of just hitting the brass with StayBrite flux, the soldering it together. Probably if hadn’t been so cold in the garage I’d done a neater job😂.
I never knew about cleaning the brass with alcohol, thanks for the tip!!
Cash

Martin, I’ll miss you sir. Hopefully you’ll find your way back here again.

Nerys, I truly hope you get better. I enjoy your posts, and your quick wit. You take care of yourself young lady.
Cash

Had a stroke when I was 50, over the worst in 4 days, affected my speech center. Keep an eye on him, look for any drooping of the face, slurred speech, etc. I wish a speedy recovery for him.
Cash

Hi y’all. The winter storm we had apparently put our dealership behind, so it has been decreed from on high that we are working Sunday😠 sine the dealership was without power the first of the week, I did my best to keep the house, the girls and the cats warm. My wife agreed that today was a “daddy” day, so I took advantage and got some more done on the PT.
The aft Oerlikon gun is built up from metal castings and brass wire and tube. Only real spot that was really challenging was soldering on the shoulder supports so that they lined up. There’s supposed to be a cast metal crank handle for the gun, but my kit had 2 ships wheels, so I modified one into a crank. I added 2 screws to help hold the assembly in place on the hatch, got the holes a little too close to the base so the scre heads wouldn’t sit quite flush, so I Coates them with a little thick ca...I’ll add a little filler later and call it a rough weld😂
I also soldered up the aft guard that sits just fwd of the gun, and built up the ammo boxes using legos instead of the pine blocks that comes in the kit...just because I could.😀
A couple of stanchions, the smoke generator and a few cleats and she’s ready for paint!!
Cash

Got a bit more done before the storm hit. I did the vents and gas caps, the fwd vents are used as is, the rearwar are lengthened with a bit of plastic tube and supported by a dowel glued inside..it extends from the tube about 1/4 inch and is glued into holes drilled in the deck. I did a dry fit of the cabin and torpedoes to see how she’s going to look.rear gun and few other details and it’s time for paint!!