Hi everybody. Well, I maidened the Dolly today, as expected she was a bit overpowered with the old AYK 540 sized motor. However, even at wide open throttle she was stable and did not show any tendency to torque over or get unstable. Only problem is that the pump failed on the second run. No noise, anything, just dead. Now, the pump acted up on the bench, I’m thinking I ran it too many times dry while testing, however, the pump on my Neptun never gave me any trouble, and this is the same type of pump. No problem, I’ll either fix it or replace it. You know what the say, anything can be fixed with a lot of time and a little money, or vice versa🤣
Overall I’m pleased with her. The old AYK ran well, and cool, and all the other systems functioned as expected. Little more fiddling and she’ll be fine.

Looks good to me!!

Hi all. Well, she’s 99 percent done. Need to add Velcro for the battery mount, and a couple of odds and ends, but she’s ready to maiden. I did a little lettering, TLFD near the bow ( Towne Lake Fire Department) and I named her after my Uncle, Wayne Jenkins, who passed away in 2019. He was the Volunteer Fire Chief when I was very young, so I named her “Chief Jenkins” I called my aunt to make sure she wouldn’t mind, she got a little sniffly and so did I😊. I did the railings using brass stanchions instead of the die cut abs ones provided in the kit, as I wanted to use the natural brass finish vs paint..to that end, I assembled the railings with ca instead of solder.
I applied the lettering using sticky backed adhesive letters, spaces them out on wax paper then used masking tape to transfer the completed “decal” to the hull.
Anyway, there she is, hopefully she’ll maiden this Sunday.
Cash

I like Mosquitos, beautiful, fast machines.

Worked well as a night fighter though...

No Martin. To be rather dramatic, “the die is cast” or the superglue is applied, same thing.
I’m okay with it, I’ll buy another one down the line, get it installed and movable, and keep this one for another project. Look at it this way. In the DFW area, it’s more expensive for my family to go out to eat at a chain restaurant than to buy 2 of these monitors. And, now that I know what to do and NOT do, I can set the new one up to work better.

You know, that’s what’s funny. There’s nothing in the instructions nor any parts for horizontal movement, just vertical. So, for the moment at least, I’ll have to aim using the rudder. Kind of like a Boulton Paul Defiant with the gun hydraulics shot away...

No siren yet Doug, but I’m looking.😁

Hi y’all. On further testing of the fire monitor I noticed it was leaking at the fitting near the hinge of the monitor body. Problem is that fitting is very short, and the tube in the kit is thinwall silicone, great for flexibility doesn’t hold onto plastic that well. What I did was install a short piece of tight fitting brass tubing into that fitting, it extends outward about 3/16th of an inch, and replaced the stock hose with medium fuel line. I also ran a 4mm brass tube down the shaft instead of using a long piece of silicone. Ran the pump, no leaks, good pressure, but the up and down movement was a little off, probably due to the slightly stiffer tube. I decided to grab my oiler and lube the upper brass tube, shaft and spring. However.....I grabbed my ca instead. Locked it up tightly.
At this point, I made the decision to go ahead and glue up the pivot points and make the nozzle fixed at about 35 degrees up. I want to enjoy the boat, not let it become a source of frustration. My wife thought that was a very mature decision...😉 Anyway, all is not lost. I can always purchase another monitor, build it up and replace this one when/if I feel the need to have a moveable unit. Anyway, she’s coming along, I’ll have more done in a few days post pics then.
Cash

Yep, had a small container of water under the stern with a silicone pickup and fired it up. Shot water all over the garage wall🤣

Howdy all. Had a little time this week, and most of Friday night and today to myself, so I set about trying to get the Dolly finalized, at least as far as the electrics go. I built up the cabin roof with the nav lights, light bar and searchlight. I realized that the light bar would block the searchlight, so I made a mount of cf tube and installed a smaller unit and painted to match. The top of the cabin has troughs to help guide the lighting wire aft and allow the roof to sit flat for gluing. I terminated all wiring at the aft port side of the cabin, all wiring is wrapped in a clear shrink tube that is installed at the aft port c-pillar. I made a hole in the deck for the wiring to pass thru below. Once I have all my installations finalized, I’ll build an “electrical box” for the upper deck wiring to be hidden in. The shrink tubing will be painted white to match the interior. Admittedly, this would have been a lot easier had I installed the lights before gluing on the cabin!
I’ve installed the rudder servo, pump, and speed control. Im using an old Castle Creations Pixie20 esc to operate the pump in lieu of a switch and relay. Small size, easy hook up, just make sure the power side of the rx connector is removed to disable the esc’s bec. I have the pump operated by one of the rotary switches on my transmitter, which gives me water flow control vs simply full pressure and off. The motor is handled by and older Polks Hobbies ESC, simple hookup and smooth, smooth, smooth!! Nice unit. The light bar is powered by the receiver, easy install there, and the rest of the lights are being controlled by a Graupner SXM electronic multi function switch.
Now, I wanted to try to keep the inside somewhat tidy, although it doesn’t look it now. To that end I built a bus using what connectors I needed and some 2.5 mm wire. This way I have a central place to plug in anything that runs off the main battery. Works as advertised, I’m happy with it being its my first try at such a thing. So, I need to finish installig the receiver and wiring for that, once I have everything squared away I’ll check balance and leaks then I’ll pretty her up and take her to the lake.
Cash

ROmarin Dolly lights and etc

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Umi, you really amaze me, nice work. Just wondering, do you use a standard soldering iron or a resistance unit? Your soldering is just top notch.
Cash

After re-reading the threads, NOW I get it..guess I need to make sure I’m not asleep at the wheel before posting🤣

Quick video of the light bar I’m installing on the Dolly. It was a quick clip, and there’s super glue on my finger so no, I’m NOT molting🤣

Light bar for my RoMarin Dolly

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Mturpin, I’m using the stock Krick pump that comes with the monitor, I have the same pump in my Neptun works well.

Ok, what did I miss?
BTW, it’s hard to make me feel guilty or hurt my feelings, I work at the back parts counter at a Ford dealer. Any one of the guys I work with can come to my house and, like my dad would say, drink my iced tea and eat my cornbread. However, the way we talk to each other would make HR run for the hills🤣

Hi y’all. I decided a few weeks ago to start working on my Christmas present, an ROmarine Dolly. My lovely bride, Teresa, ordered it along with the fittings kit and fire monitor kit. The Dolly is a beginners model, but there is some interesting things to watch out for during the build. The way the deck unit builds up is a little convoluted, everything seems to line up well until you add the cabin, then it seems to get out of whack. I spent considerable time adjusting, tweaking, sanding, etc to get it to fit..it’s not perfect, but it looks okay from a few feet away. The hull and deck are fairly straightforward, but the deck is a little flimsy so I added stiffeners for and aft to shore it up.
The boat calls for a Speed 400 on direct drive...couldn’t do it. Can’t help myself, especially since this boat may be put in harms way, putting out fires, rescuing errant ducks and the like. Sooo...I went thru my stash of motors, settled on an old AYK Magnum 480Z mild, very mild, modified. I have hot stock motors that run harder than this, but it’s smooth, has a pretty machined case, and is almost new. The stock 2mm shaft was used, I almost cut down a 4mm shaft, but the shaft and motor are lined up well. I may still add a brace between the tube and hull.i also stiffened up the bulkhead mounting plate.
I found some 10th scale diamond plate, so that’s what the fire monitor area is covered with. I also found a cheap and cheerful light bar that will be added and wired in. I took it apart to paint and reassembled it.
The fire monitor is neat, if somewhat fiddly to build and set up. It has a return spring to pull it in the up position, there’s a very fine (.5mm or less) nylon thread that runs from the monitor down a 1mm i.d tube that is parallel to the main tube, the thread runs thru that and is connected to a servo. The servo pulls down, when pivoting up the spring adds positive mechanical pull as the servo feeds the thread. Pretty neat and simple really, but a little bit of a pain to build.
That’s about all for now, need to add the monitor servo and then see where I’m at.
Cash

Marky, I have a very vivid and graphic imagination...now that image is burned in my brain...🤣🤣🤣

Hi y’all. Some of you have probably read in the North Texas Shipwrights thread of the loss of the superstructure to the PT15. The first test runs seemed to be a little down on power, and she would occasionally dig her bow in on a turn. I thought a little more power and some aft weight should do the trick. However, I upgraded power before rebalancing the ship. That was my first mistake. I also didn’t use strong enough, or the right amount, of magnets to hold the hatch down..I used craft store magnets, which in retrospect weren’t up to the task. Anyway, when I launched her with the new power plant she was torquing over pretty hard, and didn’t respond to the helm as well, plus was still diggin in. Instead of bringing her back, I kept playing around to see if I could eas into the throttle and possibly “tame” her. Turned too tight, she dug her bow in, spun, heeled over and off came the superstructure. It floated for a few minutes, we tried to push it in but in the end it sank with all hands.😔 Now, I have to admit this was pretty disconcerting, even to the point that I’ve been pretty critical of my building and operating skills thus far. I get like that, takes a few days to walk it off. So..for the time being she’s in dry dock, with the receiver and esc removed. I’m going to build a couple more models then come back to her. My plan is to fabricate a simple screw down and taped hatch so I can take her out sans superstructure and run tests on her, playing with power, prop and balance till I’m satisfied. Between test runs I’m going to try my hand at building the superstructure from scratch, using styrene sheet as my main building medium. I think I can make a go of it, might have to fudge a minor detail or make a slight alteration to suit my skills, but I do have the plans so there’s that. Stay with me y’all, think I’m going to need some helpful advice and a little emotional support as well.
Cash

Looks very good, like how you did the fenders. She’s gonna be a pretty gal!!👍

Just checked, it’s on all the boat club location threads😐

Anybody else seeing the text between posts something about “undefined offset”? Any way to fix this? It’s only on the North Texas thread that I know of.

She’s looking good, really want to see this one in the water.

Hi Larry...just found your build blog. When you gonna start on her? Think she’ll make a good addition to your fleet.
Cash

I kept my plans, looking forward to learning how to scratch build with styrene sheets.😮

Little video of a little boat😁

Billings Boats 14 inch USCG Lifeboat

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Thanks Larry for the pics. In retrospect, the loss of the PT15s superstructure was entirely on me. I did several things that, taken one at a time wouldn’t have been a big deal,but I really wanted her to “wake up” with the new motor and it caught up with me. However, on the bright side..I kept the plans. Going to try my hand at scratch building the superstructure later this year.

Again, thanks for the pics, good meeting you and looking forward to sailing with you😀

Thanks for the kind words y’all, I really appreciate it.😀

Hi Red. Don’t know about the 52s axle, I’ll have to research that. The unit in my Hawk is a Dana, IIRC. The axle housing is a cast unit, axles at the drum end are tapered. Have to use a hub puller and a freakin’ big hammer to get the drum off. You torque it back on with the nut at 175 foot pounds...😮 Ask me how I know...🤣

Evening y’all. Had the morning to myself, as my lovely bride decided to sleep in, and my daughter is at an overnight Church function. Usually I take the Studebaker61 out early Saturday morning and have breakfast with my car group, but I slept in too, stayed in bed till 830ish...so, since I didn’t roll the Hawk, I decided to knock out some more work on the lifeboat. I did the mast, mast antennas and the side rails, however, I modded the side rails to make install/removal of the drive battery more manageable. The rails are supposed to tie off ate the aft end of the upper deck, I just made them dual rail 3 posters and didn’t extend the upper rail as per the plan. This way I have a little more room to each side without wires or clumsy fingers getting caught or breaking anything. So, the boats not exactly scale, but “stand-off” scale. I also finalized my radio install and put in a floor for the battery. I have a few more minor details to work out, but for all practical purposes she’s done and awaits her maiden.
Cash