Thanks for updating me on the Nylon bearings Peter. I knew about the wood bearings on full sized craft, didn’t realize the nylon would work so well. Are the nylon bushings lubed with oil or grease before running, like an oil lite?
Cash

Quick update. I have the motor mounted and the rudder and servo installed. The motor is a 1300 kv 28mm outrunner, she’ll be running on 2 lipos. The rudder servo is an older nib Hitec HS80, mounted with adapters so I could mount it close to the rudder, and use a wire with z bends for the pushrod. Any mechanical trim changes needed will be at the rudder horn. The motor mount is bass and thin ply sandwiched together, with ply supports and epoxied into the hull. I used a Caldercraft fine line 4mm shaft and stuffing box. Radioactive sells a slightly less expensive unit, but it has nylon bushings vs the brass or oillite units in the Caldercraft unit, and I just don’t know how long the nylon bushings will last.
So, I’m waiting on my esc, and I need to add a ply floor in the aft section for battery mounting, that will give me several inches to fine tune the boats balance.
I guess it’s time for fiddly bits!
Cash

The past week or so I’ve spent priming and painting the Jupiter. I really wish my finishing skills would improve, seems like it’s 2 steps forward, and either 1 or 3 steps back, depending on my patience or lack thereof. I started painting with a rattle can enamel, sure enough it just didn’t coat worth a darn, so I sanded her down and used my cheap Harbor Freight airbrush and some Createx and Testors acrylic paint. Turned out okay, I’ve done better but I’ve done worse as well. After I touched up a few mistakes I glazed the windows. Now, I have to plan the radio/motor install and do some fiddly bits like rails and some details. Not goingto do much, if any interior work as she’s pretty small. Might add a seat and a wheel..maybe not, I’ll see how she goes.
Cash

I’ll be watching this pretty closely, as I have the same kit half built that I got in a trade, trying to get the nerve up to finish her. You’re off to a good start!!
Cash

Dang it Marky, I really hope you feel better soon.
Your convoy ship is very nice, you have a good touch and a good eye.
Cash

Hi y’all. My buddy Larry was sorting thru his hobby shop, er, ahh, I mean the second floor of his house and found this old boat. It was given to him some years ago by a friend in an rc aircraft club. All I know about it is that it’s roughly 15 inches long, meaured at the deck, the hull is very thin abs, and I think the deck is too, although if you hold it up to the light it looks almost translucent. Looks like it might have been molded in color also. Don’t know if the stuffing box is part of the kit, but it’s a straight tube for a 3mm shaft, and the shaft that was installed is brass. That’s all I have. I’m thinking maybe older Graupner, maybe Billings....?
The deck is in good shape, but the hull flange is starting to separate where it transitions ninety degrees. There’s also 2 small cracks vertically from that point. That can be fixed, but I’m hoping someone knows what this is so I can get an idea of what to make out of it, I’m thinking a cutter or fishing boat.
Thanks for the help!
Cash

Hi y’all, I’ll keep this short as it’s almost time for bed, and I work tomorrow..ugh.
Anyway, got the rub rails and strakes installed and the cabin is “ purt near” finished, she needs a good sanding, then it’s sanding sealer and primer time...
Cash

Had a little time this evening, got the cabin mostly finished. As I was looking over my work, I noticed something on that was mentioned in a thread somewhere...the rear deck does not go all the way forward. In other words, if the boat is left stock, and you have the cabin sealed up tight, it won’t make a bit of difference as any water that splashes onto that rear deck will find its way forward into the hull. Now, this boat has quite a bit of freeboard, but still....anyway, I need to add the rub rails and strakes, and I’ll add a fwd bulkhead to keep her watertight. Maybe this boat was optionally fitted with a glow or Diesel engine. There’s windows for the 2 windscreens, but no mention or material for the side windows. Might be I’m on to something, cooling air would come thru the windows and exit over the rear deck.
Yep, gotta address that..
Cash

I graduated in 1979. I like Queen, thought they were great, but for that era, I really dig the Blasters, John “Cougar” Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen..with some Ramones and Stray Cats thrown in. However, most of my pop base comes from before I was born..the Drifters, Platters, Dion and the Belmont’s, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly...I have a list, it’s quite extensive.😁
Oh..swing music too..and marches and waltzes.
And polka. Good country music too. Also surf music. Old Hymns.
I need to stop this could go on for days.

Guess you’ll be hanging out with the Knopfler boys😊

No walking the plank Colin, but we might put you in solitary and make you listen to what passes for popular music these days..,.🤣🤣

Thank you Martin. I will do my level best to live up to the rank.
Hey...does this mean I get a raise in pay?🤣
Cash

Hi y’all. Got some more done today. I brushed the interior of the hull with 20 minute finishing epoxy. I then did the decking, and started the cabin. The cabin builds up pretty quickly, although there are a couple of crossmembers that the plans and instructions contradict each other...might be a typo. Anyway, she’s coming along. This will be the first all wood boat I’ve built, I want to get a decent finish on her, so I’m thinking using sanding sealer, then go ahead and primer her, then paint. My thinking is the sealer will fill the grain well, and a light coat of primer will help show any irregularities that I need to address before painting begins. If any of y’all have any tips on this subject I’m all ears. I’m thinking either acrylic from my airbrush or Tamiya rattle can lacquer.
Cash

For the life of me I can’t tell what that part does unless it simulates reinforcing the hull where the anchor sits. It’s pretty high up, so it wouldn’t cause a leak, but I’m thinking if you don’t feel comfortable cutting the hull, just don’t install it.
Always remember. Your boat doesn’t have to be perfect, just straight and leakproof. For someone whohas been away from model building for a while, I think your’e doing pretty darn good, and it’s no insult if you don’t want to install, cut or do a procedure you’re uncomfortable with..just work around it and carry on.
Cash

Well, my bench has been clear for a couple of weeks. I did some tidying up, then thought about what my next project should be. I did a trade with my buddy Larry, came out with a few kits and some fittings and such. One of the kits is a little all wood boat named the Mini Jupiter from KNK models out of Japan. From the looks of the box, and the young lady modelling the boats on the back of the box, I’d say this kit is from the early eighties. A quick web search shows the kit being listed from a website in Japan, I’m worndering if they’re re-kitting it. No other mention of the kit except for the odd older build log, one guy says his kit dated from the late seventies.
KNK mad 3 or 4 different sizes of this boat, this one, at around 17 inches long, is the smallest. It sits right between my Graupner SAR and my little Deans Pibber in length. I intend to run a 28mm outrunner of around 1300-1500 kv and a 2 cell lipo for power.
So far, I’m building it pretty stock, with a few exceptions. The stuffing box and shaft will be replaced, as the shaft is simply a piece of what looks to be 2.3 or 2.5 mm wire, and the prop is glued on. I’m using a Fineline 4mm shaft and tube, which is coming in my semi monthly care packet from Cornwall.
The kit is pretty straightforward, you builds up a keel, add bulkheads, stringers, and supports then sheet it.the bottom sheeting gets a little tough near the bow, due to the pinched(?) bow then as you go further aft the bottom flattens out to a shallow v. On mistake I’ve made so far is I glued the front chine support in upside down, had to cut the glue joints and fix it, but I got it handled. The bottom of the hull is planked with 3 narrow thin plywood sheets that overlap each other, giving the hull bottom strakes all the way aft. The side sheeting is one piece of the same thin plywood.
I’m almost ready for the decking, before I do that I need to trim the excess sheeting at the gunwale, then I’m going to paint the inside with some epoxy finishing resin befor I sheet the deck. What you see in the pics is about 7 hours of work.
Cash

Stabilit Express is an acrylic epoxy. You can get it off eBay, and it’s very good. However, I’ve used both 5 minute and 30 minute epoxies on abs with good results. I generally add a small amount of baby powder to the epoxy as a filler. Also, you need to roughen up the mating surfaces with some sandpaper

Mike, when you get ready to order your motor and esc, holler at me here, or pm me. I can help guide you in the right direction, as can many others here.
Now, I’ll tell you one place I get a few things from is Cornwall Model Boats. They’re in the UK, and they have a comprehensive selection of motors, gearboxes, parts, etc. their prices are better than competitive, and unless your ordering something large the shipping is very reasonable. The downside? It takes a couple of weeks to arrive. Another good place is Harbor Models in California. Prices are a little higher, but the service is impeccable, and you get your items pretty quick. Both of the aforementioned retailers are my go-tos for parts and fittings.
Don’t sweat too much over your shaft tube. Just remember that, once you get ready to install it, tack it in place and check your horizontal and vertical alignment, get your motor mounted and shaft installed, check for binding, and if all’s well, epoxy that bad boy down.
When you get to that stage we will be here to help.👍
Cash

Jeez...all I can say after looking at that setup is that I am truly awed and impressed.

Just wondering if PAW make 2 stroke diesel servos. If they do, I’d like a couple, that would be just flat out kustom...😉

Dangit!! That’s a nice tool to have, might have to show that to the Commodore...a little stocking stuffer for Christmas. Can’t ever be too early!!🤣

Hi Mike. You can get the same type of batteries here in the US, 6 volt gel cell or “pb” is pretty common. If you have the room, you could use 2 7.2 volt NIMH 3000 mah (3ah) for power. I see the kit recommends either a direct drive or gear drive motor. It does not have to be a Krick unit. The 600 motor is a 550 sized brushed motor, you can get those all over on eBay, Amazon and online hobby shops.
The 2.5 geared motor will give you more grunt, but less speed. My Neptun I built called for the Krick unit, but I opted for a less expensive MFA from Cornwall model boats in the UK. It works fine.
I think you need to sit back and see what you want to do with this boat.
If you just want to cruise around at a moderate speed, go with the geared setup. It will run forever on 3000 mah. If you want her to have a little punch, use the direct drive motor.
Also, don’t think you have to use a certain battery, The stock lead acid/gel cell, nimh, or lipo will all work fine. The only thing you have to worry about is the physical size of the pack (in regards to what space you have in the hull for mounting), and the weight. If you end up with a lighter pack you’ll need to add ballast to compensate.
As far as the propshaft and tube go, you are on the right track. What I do is I usually drill/cut my exit hole first. If it’s a little too big, you’re okay, as long as it’s centered. Try too keep it as snug as you can though.
Install the tube dry, no glue, get your motor, mount shaft and coupling. Dry fit the lot, if you can, and when you are satisfied everything is straight and lines up, tack the tube in place with a little ca. Then permanently install your motor mount. Install the motor, coupler and shaft, make sure there’s no binding, then epoxy the tube in place. I hope this is clear to you, any questions holler at me here.
Cash

Mike, she’s looking good, Krick makes a nice kit, you’ll like her when she’s done. I’m with Doug, I tend to stay away from most enamels except for smaller fittings and such. I like acrylics for an airbrush, and if I feel like splurging, I’ll use the Tamiya synthetic lacquer rattle cans. Only enamel I like is the older Krylon Fusion, but that’s getting hard to find.

Well deserved Nerys, congratulations. Have a drink on me, you’ve earned it!😊

Love it!!

My word that is nice! I’m impressed, wish I had your skills sir. Nice work on the mechanism and the finish.

Martin, sometimes a little break from a hobby is a good thing, you end up back at the bench with your mind refreshed. I think with all that’s going on we are all on information overload.
Cash

Hi y’all. I came home from work, spent a little time with the family, then went into the garage and tackled the gearbox. I had mentioned trying to drill and pin it, and Ianh mentions using tapered dowels. Unfortunately, there’s nothing around here I know of that keeps that type of stock, save maybe a jeweler. So, I decided to try to pin it with what I had on hand. I took a drill bit that was close to the inside diameter of both cranks, lined them up and used the set screws to keep them locked in place. I then drilled a hole, probably about 1.5mm in diameter, thru the boss, arm and peened washer. I found some brass rod that was a good, tight fit, and waddya know? It worked. I then cut the brass and cleaned up the protruding ends, put a little thin ca on the boss and pin, and finished up by roughing up both arms and using a tiny amount of Stabilit to keep either boss from coming loose. I then reassembled the boat and ran it full bore on the bench for about 15 minutes or so..I even lightly interrupted both oars, one at a time, by hand to see if anything gave. It works as advertised. Now I’m going to tinker with it to get as much friction out of the system as possible, starting with the rowing figure. It’s going to be a couple of weekends before I get a chance to try it again..we’ll see what happens.
Cash

Hi y’all. After much fiddling, checking, rigging and bench running the Tina was ready for her maiden. I took her out this morning. I rowed out about say, 50 feet or so, made a right turn, and then...nothing. Dead in the water.
You could hear the motor running, the oars would move a little, then nothing. My buddy Mike Duran has a flat nosed Hacker airboat that we’ve earmarked as a recovery boat, so he fired her hip and pushed me back to port.
I thought that I had stripped the spur gear, I did a partial disassemble lakeside, but I couldn’t tell what happened, so she went back to the trunk of my car and I ran my little Billings Coast Guard boat the rest of the morning.
I took a good hard look at her a few hours ago. I stripped the boat down to the rowing gearbox, and removed it. I swear the thing was built in the mines of Moria, as the mechanism comes pre assembled, and getting it apart was a challenge, but I did it...and I found the culprit. Thankfully, all gearing is intact.
There are 2 pins, or shafts, that everything is attached to. The spur gear and both crank arms are held in place by set screws going through their respective bosses. The spur and its boss are one solid piece, while the boss for the arms are attached to the arm with a large brass washer pressed or peened on.
What was happening is that the boss for the driving crank was spinning around inside the crank. No power was getting applied from the spur to the rowing arms.
I had to remove the set screws and pull both shafts to get the arms out, and as I did, what looked like either cellulose or super glue came out from between the shaft and crank.
I think that the boss for the crank was bonded into the arm, and the washer was there as a backup, and age and some of the lube I used helped work it loose. I’m pretty sure I can fix it.
I’m going to soak it in alcohol and maybe give it an acetone bath, then dry it off, roughen up both the boss and arm, and Stabilit that sucker! I would really like to drill a 1mm hole thru the boss into the arm and pin it in place too, but I don’t know if my drill bits are up to the task. We’ll see.
As an aside, if I can’t fix it...well, I think she’ll make a fine steam launch, cat rigged sailing skiff or maybe fit her with an outboard. I have options, and I’m all kinds of stubborn..🤣

Hi Rick. Yep, it was a good trade. Three kits and some accessories. Larry is a shrewd but fair trader, and I don’t mind trading finished boats I’m not sailing much for kits I like..the only thing I was hesitant to let go was the Micro Magic, but I have one sailing and a kit stashed away so I let it go. I’m real fond of those little sailboats, they hit well above their weight.
Cash

Hi y’all. I decided a couple of weeks ago that, for the time being at least, that I have too many boats and not quite enough space. So, I decided to call my buddy Larry up and see if he wanted to do some trading. Of course he said yes. Larry likes to trade almost as much as building and running rc models. So this past Sunday he brought over a pile of stuff and we started wheeling and dealing. Now, what you have to understand about me is that I get attached to some models I build, and I’ll keep them till doomsday. Others I build I like, I’ll keep them maintained and run them once in a while, but if a proper offer is made, I’ll take it. Anyway, Larry made off with one of my Micro Magics, my Dragon Force 65, and the Paula I built while quarantined. All ready to run minus receiver. However, Larry did me right. I ended up with 3 kits and a slew of accessories. The irony here is that the Paula was one of the kits that I received from Larry in our last big trade, and he got her back built and ready to run!! He also added some extra detail to her, she looks good.
Cash