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

Quick update as it’s past midnight...got some deck details painted up and installed, and there’s a post/stanchion/thingy that has 2 rails that bend around to stanchions on either side of the details I installed. Also float tested with drive battery on board.
Cash

Did not know that..that’s cool!!😀

Don’t know Larry...no idea at all . First aid supplies? Toolbox? Place to hide your lunch? Best guesses....
Cash

Hi Red!! Sorry I didn’t answer your question sooner. It’s pretty thin, you hold it to a bright light and it’s a little translucent. Little bit thicker than a disposable picnic cup, but better material if that helps.
Cash

Thanks Ed, she’s fixed. BTW your Smit’s looking good!

Okay, so this little boat is kicking my rump. I did the fwd rails this evening, they built up good, and I tried shooting them with Tamiya acrylic thinned with Mr Color lacquer thinner. Had a young man at the hobby shop give me some advice, and it works great! Shot it with my airbrush, installed it then...well, my intentions were to trim the ends where they would butt up against the cabin, maybe socket in to drilled holes by 1/16th inch or so, but after I trimmed them I realized I didn’t account for the rearward rake of the cabin😠. Humph. After thinking about it, I used some very small nylon tube that just fits over the wire, and drilled holes to suit in the cabin, they are not glued in, but will slide in place for display and to facilitate removal of the cabin/deck hatch. Not perfect, but this boats kind of an experiment anyway, I’m learning new techniques and also that my hands are way too big to work on something this small🤣🤣
Anyway, the way I did the rail is I bent it up, drilled the forward stanchion holes, lined it up and used thin ca with a micro applicator to glue the stanchions to the wire, the pulled the assembly, drilled the rest of the holes, assembled it dry then glued it together. Off the boat, paint, on the boat and glued in place.
Oh, yeah. Fixed the lights.

Yeah buddy, wrong guy sees that at the pond I would never, ever live it down.

Red, that makes me feel better. Nav lights are the same on aircraft too, as a former F-16 crew chief, you would think I’d know better. I know what I’ll do! I turn 59 this month, I’ll blame it on a pre-senior moment😂

Larry, the paint chart with the kit showed black, but in the garage light, I thought it was a very dark navy blue. Since I didn’t have a dark blue, I used what I had. I need new glasses🤣

Just realized I’ve got the navigation lights swapped!!!! Dang it! I’ll fix it tomorrow🤣

Hi y’all. I had mentioned in the Night Watch thread how we, as in the whole family with the exception of the Cats had come down with a bacterial infection...plus, my Christmas present, a Ro-Marin Dolly with fittings kit and fire monitor kit had been back ordered from Germany, and wasn’t due in till around New Years. It’s here now, waiting to hit my bench. Anyhow, I was off work for the holidays, getting over the crud, kinda feeling sorry for myself. I had cleaned off my bench and done a some reorganization, and I was sitting there, bored to tears. I looked at my kit stash, and I saw the little Billings kit that I had acquired in a trade. Now, this is a small boat, 14 inches long. Smaller than I like. However, the more I looked at it the more I started thinking. I pulled it from it’s resting place and started going thru it. It had 2 props, shafts, and 2 300 sizes brushed motors. I decided that, if I were to build the little beast I would have to simplify the running gear....then, I remembered I had a little 20mm outrunner and esc. So, I started from there.
Inside the kit was an addendum from the importers of the kit at the time, I think it was Hobby Expo. Anyway, the sheet recommended to have the entire deck made removable so one could access the radio gear and drive batteries. They recommended Velcro. Nope. That’s asking for a leak. Since it’s 20 years or more since this particular kit was made, radio gear and batteries have changed profusely, and for the most part, for the better. So I decided to use the outrunner with a single shaft for simplicity and to keep room for batteries and the steering servo.
I installed the shaft first, then made up a bulkhead from scrap abs and installed it into the hull, giving me just enough room for the motor and a decent solid coupler. I then decided the stock rudders were too small, so I made some slightly larger out of thin plywood. I used the kit components for the rudder linkage, I then decided where to cut my hatch, cut it out, and basically started building. Everything will be easily accessed save the rudder linkage. All the linkage is attached by z bends, I have adjustment at the servo by use of a barrel connector.
As of now the boat is basically built, I’m doing the deck details, and I had to repaint the trim line as it was pointed out to me on another board that the trim is supposed to be black, not dark blue..the person who caught my error used to work at the Coast Guard paint shop, and worked these boats, so....I fixed it.🤣
Anyway, hoping by the end of the week, maybe middle of next she’ll be done, then we’ll see how she goes. I’ve already done a leak test and amp draw, and she’s pulling about 2.5 amps at full throttle, so at least I know I’m not going to burn her up.
Cash

I like that!! She’s a pretty gal! I would love to see some pics on the water, good job!

Hi Martin..haven’t been on the board much past few weeks, found your build log for this model. You do good work sir!! More patience than I have, at least as far as static modelling goes. Last plastic kit I built was a Monogram hot rod pickup, might have been a 40 model, can’t remember. That was about 48 years ago...😮 Anyway, keep it up, you’re doing good!
Cash

Hi Ed. Are you airbrushing or brushing? Tamiya makes some paints that are acrylic, you can thin them with their thinner, maybe just water. I don’t know what solvent the Billings paints are, but if they smell anything as pungent as say, model airplane dope I’d bet money they are lacquer based. Lacquer based paints dry fast, look good and adhere well, but if you don’t have adequate ventilation you’ll be talking to Elvis😁

We should be at Towne Lake Mckinney on the 26th, weather permitting. Love to have you with us!

Yes she is. I still need to sort her out a bit but I’m happy with her.
Hope you get home soon Nerys.
Cash

Here’s a few pics and a short clip,of our outing this morning..

North Texas Shipwrights Jan 5 2020

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Hi Red, just got on and read about your wife’s mom. Please pass on my sympathies. My wife lost her mom about 2 weeks before Christmas of 1998, so we’ve been there. All you can do is help hold her up when she gets down.
Cash

Ok Larry, I’ll post here what pond we’ll be at by Thursday, Friday latest..
Cash

Hi Dirk. I’m going to send you a text make sure I have the number right, then I’ll add you to the list
Cash

I’m thinking it’s going to be Josey Ranch Carrollton. We don’t have a website yet, I’m trying to get the guys to actually form a club, right now we are a loose collection of modelers.🤣
Do me a favor-pm or email me your cell phone number I’ll add you to our text group. Anything goes out to the group you’ll know about it. Or, I can pm you mine.
Cash

Hi Pat, sorry for the late reply. I’ll bet we could get a few guys to chat with you, if you pm me your cell number I can put you on the group text. We also have a somewhat monitored thread on RCgroups in the boat section.

Attn: Fleet RNinMunich, Commander Nerys, et.al
Belated Holiday greetings and SITREP Western Fleet,Texas Navy.

The newest flagship of the Texas Navy is ready for trials. The original schedule was going to be this week as I’m on holiday from my civilian job..however, the whole barracks was under the weather over the Christmas holiday. I came down with it first as it was being passed around the shop the past 3 weeks. I then decided to share it with my wife and daughter as the family that’s miserable together is...well, miserable together.
In all seriousness, the Commodore, Teresa, got it worse than I did. Whatever bacterial infection we got decided to mutate into a mild bout of Pneumonia, but she’s getting good treatment and seems to be on the mend.
Also, Cadet Grace (my daughter) has herself a BOYFRIEND at the tender age of 14. He’s a good kid, good family, met him in Church camp, so there’s that. But, between the holidays, the sickness, and playing Uber for my daughter we are both beat. Oh, did I mention that the ROmarin Dolly with the fittings kit AND the fire monitor kit got back ordered from Harbor Models in California and has just now passed thru customs. That really upset my wife, as she ordered it for my Christmas present. I told her it’s just one of “those” Christmases, things happen, and we’ve been blessed for the past 25 years that most of our holidays have been very good ones.
Anyway, that’s the SITREP in a nutshell. We’re all a little cranky save Grace, as she’s having quite the time..think she needs a “character building” exercise...like cleaning the litter boxes.😊
One other thing. I’m Texas Navy attached to the Royal Navy, correct? Do I hoist the Texas ensign or the Union Jack? Please advise soonest.
Respectfully, Midshipman Hargett, Texas Navy

Ed, I’m sorry you’re having such a time with your transmitter, hope you get it figured out. The Smit’s looking good though, you should be proud how she’s coming along.
Get better buddy, my wife, daughter and I were all sick thru Christmas, that’s about as much fun as lemon juice in a paper cut!

Hi everybody! Well, I’m feeling better, and did quite a bit of work on the PT. She’s almost ready, need to button down the guns, add the prop, leak and ballast check and she’s done. Both guns are built and installed, and mixed so I can have both swing at the same time or independently. Took a few pics and I have a function check video to show off the guns. Next update should be the maiden.
Cash

Robbe PT15 Function Test

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Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
I’m very glad I’ve stumbled onto this site, y’all made me feel very welcome, and for that I’m grateful.😊

Thanks for the pics!!