More clever stuff Graham! I think we will have to start checking for old English superlatives as I think we must have about run out of modern ones😂
JB

Everything that they've all said ++ Bloody brilliant Graham👍👍👍 - even if it never touched the water A piece of interactive artwork !
JB

Looks beautiful Graham, a real credit to your abilities,
JB

This is looking like a work of electronics art as well!
JB

Fitted the center 'spine' and screwed it to the building board to help hold everything straight. Notched the frames for the stringers and adjusted the frames for shape. Hopefully everything is lined up (chine curve etc) but you just don't know till you start finally gluing the stringers on. I am going to get some more small clamps and modify them to hold the stringers on while gluing (see pic- suddenly came to me,- been trying to think of a way for years,- bit slow😂). Haven't glued anything as yet (except the ply top L and R stringers which I glued together to keep them in shape, as the framing starts from there first, - at least with my method😁)

I'll wait till I make the clamps before gluing anything, as there are probably a lot more shape adjustments to make (I've already modified F1 and F2 4 times to try and get the chine flow looking ok)- compound curve so it's tricky, (interior seat/bunk framing etc of the full sized boat took me a year,-every cut was a compound one!☹️) but I'll get there eventually. It's worth taking a bit of time, as nothing looks worse than a 'lumpy' bow. I can work on the cabin sides anyhow in the mean time. Going to have to make a hobby shop run to get a few more hardwood strips for framing I think, as some I have are not suitable, and also check the $2 shops for clamps.

Found some handy ready made pine blocks in the Korean $2+ shop for $2.50, some of which I split for braces using a Stanley blade in the mill chuck. Good for holding bits in place and reinforcing corners. I have also bought packets of small wooden and plastic dowel lengths, and tons of cheap cyano. Handy shop for modelling bits, even found small hemp string for making anchor ropes etc.

Shouldn't be too much trouble Martin it if do it like the flash job. Looks like an accessory option that goes on as a unit.? I can get some thin alloy sheet at the hardware I think which might do, or even plastic sheet eg ABS or similar.
JB

Great job Mike, and you've certainly put your machining skills to good use. Looking forward to the video.
JB

Did a few of those Martin and had the same thought😂 Might make a bow extension like the real ones to stop that (I'll bet that's one of the reasons, -along with being brush guards) something like this flash machine (bet that cost a few bob)!!
JB

That's not a silly idea Rowan, worked out very nicely!👍👍
JB

Slotted the frames for the keel to try the positions. Still have a lot of shaping to do (adding bits here and there, - mainly in the bow area trying to get the flare correct and F1 F2 curve to match nicely for planking. Once I'm happy I'll make new frames for the corrected ones and make a building board up. I'll probably make a top 'spine' to mount these on as with the ST, which will be cut out where required once the hull is eventually solid enough or glassed. This is secured to the building board to keep things lined up. (see pic of the ST before removing sections)

I'l be busy on the bandsaw and sander for a while I think. This is slightly more difficult than the ST and HSL as at least the frame shapes and positions were on the drawings (even if they were only 80% accurate and needed work), but I'll get there in the end with a lot of trial and error and probably cussin😁

Hi Martin, I'll only need an aircraft ESC as reversing is done with a bucket (which as mentioned) the cheapo jet doesn't have. I could have bought a fancy one at 3-10 times the price, but I reckon I can mould or panelbeat a bucket from glass or copper etc. The white jet is a single stage with an old style reversing bucket, and the black NZ Southern Jets unit is a single stage with the latest style of twin nozzle reverse bucket, which gives better directional control. Most jet units run constantly with the engine, and with the jet in neutral (no gearbox, just half in reverse, so you are neither going forward or backwards)

There is a nice looking 28mm jet unit made by Ocean Works in Hong Kong which I might look at if this one is no good, (they also make a range of nice looking Azimuth thrusters as well)
JB

Hi Martin, it's all about having fun,😊 and I find that if I build something and don't use it, it will fade into oblivion on the shelf. It's nice just to have something which doesn't have delicate fittings to break off, every time you take it out, for a change. I like the scale boats, but having to spend 10 mins each end plugging things in, lifelines to hook up, hatches to fit etc, can be a pain if you are not in the mood😁
Got a bit close there at one stage😂.
JB

Thought I'd have a lash at a model of the Hartley 19ft 5in 15 deg V cabin boat I completed about 30 yrs ago. Hartley boats are NZ designed, and there have been around 100,000 examples built, ranging from canoes to large ocean yachts. Hartleys have been built since their plans were first produced in 1938, and wherever you go in NZ or Aust you are bound to find one example. The most common runabouts in the 50s- 80s, were Hartleys, Pelins, Augustins and there are still thousands around today,(I had the Hartley and still have a 70s Pelin Nomad 12ft dinghy)

I have been thinking of building this boat for a while and have decided to power it with a jet unit to see how it goes. My particular boat was designed for a Hamilton single stage jet, to be powered by a Zephyr 6 or 149 Holden motor or similar (around 100hp) but I fitted a MK3 Zodiac 6 with a stern drive which pushed it at 30mph at 5000rpm.

I scanned a drawing from the old Hartley plan brochure and modified it to resemble the model I had, with the longer dodger with longer side windows. I then enlarged it and scaled it for 30" on A4 (I was thinking of 40"but it would have been huge) Today I took the drawing to the big local stationers and had it blown up to full size (as well as the 1/2 bulkhead/frames I had scaled). I took some measurements originally from the A4 drawing at points along the hull for the frames, (height, width etc) and estimated some of the positions I remembered from my boat. The boat has quite a flare in the bow (a feature of most larger Hartleys) so I will have to do a lot of fiddling to get it all to look right.

Tonight I cut out some trial frames,and will set these out on the keel upside down, then try out the positions with a piece of 3x3 balsa stock to get the 'flow' right. Takes a while doing it without any plan but usually works out ok, (eg my HSL , ST and Maiami) Not in any rush so this will take a while. Have ordered the jet unit (26mm El Cheapo) from Ali Express and will probably try a brushed 540 30T or similar first to see how it goes. Would have loved an AMPS stern drive, (still have a brochure somewhere I sent to UK for, about 1970) , but they are long gone (mostly collectors items now)

This will be the usual balsa/ply/glass hull with Mahogany trim etc, so should be an interesting exercise, especially with the jet, (will have to come up with a reversing bucket as the El Cheapos don't have one.)

Very clever idea Rob, will look great all lit up!
JB

All that steaming! looks like an early Herreshoff H28 with a cabin mod, ? (similar boat in NZ 1958)
Pretty much only undertaken by restorers these days, also the timber is not so available any more. The cost would be prohibitive.
JB

According to the blurb, they're for sensored brushless motors only or with brushed 540 or sport tuned (25T or higher) using 2 of the 3 motor wires (blue and yellow) and with the sensor wire removed. Apparently not recommended with LiPos, (can damage BEC) Guessing they are for trucks/buggys etc.
JB

A bit windier this time (10-15 mph) but it's not built to sit on a shelf, so having made a few adjustments I thought I'd risk it. It tried playing submarine a few times after a spin but handled the wind ok till trying to get back, - tried to weathervane back out, so ended up power on beaching. Lots of fun in the sun, -still more adjusting to do, ie get it steering straight by itself and limit the drifting slightly.

R/C AIRBOAT, TEST 3, NZ

▶️

Hi PP, Usually called a shroud (stay) plate, -or a Tang if it is a strip type riveted to the outside of the mast (usually on the sides for Shrouds). The ones with wrap around 'fingers' riveted on to the outside of the mast are shroud Yokes usually for hanging halyard pulleys from for hoisting jibs etc (the eye faces forward). The double strip type with the clevis is another type of riveted tang which faces forward or is mounted on the side. Pic of a big yoke on a mast, (yours is probably a fitting just glued into your mast to represent the one in the pic). Any of these fittings could be made easily from thin brass sheet.
JB

I got sick of charging LiPo batteries up for boats and planes then the weather packs up just as you have finished. You then have to storage charge your batteries unless you are using them fairly soon, which can take forever doing it with your charger (especially with bigger batteries). I decided that rather than have to drag out a plane to run the batteries down quickly, I would make a simple discharger with multiple discharge rates. I'd had some car bulbs lying around for years so decided to use those, plus a marine riding light I had spare for the loads. I now have 10w, 5w. 22w and 52w loads to suit different sized batteries,- larger loads for larger batteries, smaller loads for smaller, (depends on your batterys' output capability also, ie 20c, 40c etc).You could make a switched array of bulbs if you want to be fancy so you can adjust the Amps/load for each battery.

I put the power analyser /balancer in between the battery and load and set it to battery check/balance mode (plug battery balance lead in for this method) so you can watch the individual cell voltage (you have to be there for this), or plug a voltage alarm into the battery balance lead (as in photo) and set it to 3.6v which reminds you to check it early.

As it is with 12v bulbs, it will work for 2-3s batteries, for larger batteries you could try 24v truck bulbs or make resistance wire loads etc. There are dischargers available, but this is an easy method, and bulbs are cheap. You can just solder wires to the terminals (power) and body (earth). Brake / tail lights are handy as you have 2 wattages to choose from, ( I used the XT60 plugs (both positives to bulb terminals, ie 1 to each) and linked the 2 negative plug terminals and soldered that negative wire to the bulb body. The large load Halogen bulb is using the low wattage (55w) filament terminal, and the earth terminal (just an old bulb with a blown high beam).


DC watts to amps calculation
The current I in amps (A) is equal to the power P in watts (W), divided by the voltage V in volts (V):

I(A) = P(W) / V(V) ie 10W / 8.2v (2s) =1.2A

I got sick of charging LiPo batteries up for boats and planes then the weather packs up just as you have finished. You then have to storage charge your batteries unless you are using them fairly soon, which can take forever doing it with your charger (especially with bigger batteries). I decided that rather than have to drag out a plane to run the batteries down quickly, I would make a simple discharger with multiple discharge rates. I'd had some car bulbs lying around for years so decided to use those, plus a marine riding light I had spare for the loads. I now have 10w, 5w. 22w and 52w loads to suit different sized batteries,- larger loads for larger batteries, smaller loads for smaller, (depends on your batterys' output capability also, ie 20c, 40c etc).You could make a switched array of bulbs if you want to be fancy so you can adjust the Amps/load for each battery.

I put the power analyser /balancer in between the battery and load and set it to battery check/balance mode (plug battery balance lead in for this method) so you can watch the individual cell voltage (you have to be there for this), or plug a voltage alarm into the battery balance lead (as in photo) and set it to 3.6v which reminds you to check it early.

As it is with 12v bulbs, it will work for 2-3s batteries, for larger batteries you could try 24v truck bulbs or make resistance wire loads etc. There are dischargers available, but this is an easy method, and bulbs are cheap. You can just solder wires to the terminals (power) and body (earth). Brake / tail lights are handy as you have 2 wattages to choose from, ( I used the XT60 plugs (both positives to bulb terminals, ie 1 to each) and linked the 2 negative plug terminals and soldered that negative wire to the bulb body. The large load Halogen bulb is using the low wattage (55w) filament terminal, and the earth terminal (just an old bulb with a blown high beam).


DC watts to amps calculation
The current I in amps (A) is equal to the power P in watts (W), divided by the voltage V in volts (V):

I(A) = P(W) / V(V) ie 10W / 8.2v (2s) =1.2A

Hi Chris, You Tube is the easiest way to go if you have an account (if not just create one free). Just post your vid on YT (small camera pic top right on acct page) and cut and paste the link to the media gallery here. Once done, you can drag the link out at any time in the future from your YT account if required. (this just in case you don't have a YT acct)
JB

Great job Garth, she looks really nice on the water.
JB

Hi Doug, ESCs can't recognize cell numbers as the balance leads are not connected. The 'cell' number settings are only a voltage range setting as previously mentioned, eg, if you use Nmh the ESC can only read the voltage coming in and it is impossible for it to read cell numbers. The reason cell number settings are mentioned is to make it easier for people to follow. Good ESCs usually should have a programmable voltage cut-off where you can make a choice of where you want it to either cut or slow down. Some have a safety built in, where once stopped, you can return the stick to off, wait a few secs and throttle on gently again to get you home.

I'l do a few tests with the Cheapo auto set ESCs to see if there is any problem with recognising 2x 2s batts in series

There should not be a problem with current draw on most models (especially with brushed motors- 15A seems excessive) unless you are using the wrong set-up. The only boats which would be drawing big Amps are racing hydros, cats etc. None of my boats draw more than 6A max (between 2 motors- brushed or brushless) and I think that people tend to over motor or over prop high kv motors, causing high Amp draw (quite often I've seen this done in the name of scale,- ie prop size)

Brushless motors are happiest revving with the correct load, ie, no good lugging a 2000kv motor at say 6000rpm on 12v battery for eg, - it needs to be able to rev to 12000 at least to run cool and not be overloaded. My airboat has a 3648 1450kv outrunner on a 3s 4000mAh LiPo but I'm only using a small 9x6 - (around 30A max) prop to stop it getting hot. If I use a 4s I'd have to go down to around an 8x6, ( a 9x6 on 4s draws around 62A -700W and gets hot) This motor is capable of 1600w on a 6s but would only be used in a 90mm ducted fan at that. Its max efficiency is only 45-50A (taken with a grain of salt) Bit of a convoluted way of making a point, but it is 9.24AM and it's time for bed😂 - over
JB

Hi Doug, probably could use just one battery on a power distribution board, that's all they do with drones which commonly have 3-8 motors/ESCs. Makes it a lot simpler and cheaper just having one decent battery. Not sure if the P40 board has a problem with this. The only problem I can see is if you are using individual motor control, you might get a lag or jitter in other motors if they are on very low throttle and one is moved to full. The ESC doesn't know if you have one battery or 6 smaller batteries as long as the power coming in is within it's specs, (ie 2x2s - ESC would be set for 4s (series) or 2s (parallel) etc. Thoughts?

JB

Hi Pete, I think its an early nod to a Bates Starcraft. Not a bad looking boat at all (a full sized Bates would get a few looks in NZ I'm sure,- NZ and Aust boats are quite different to Northern boats) I need to do a bit more to mine at some stage, - chine strakes, safety rails, lift up cabin top access flaps etc. I've added quite a bit to mine as it was very basic (and rotten) as received. My boat came from a farm rubbish bin so I have no idea when or where it was originally made, (very old either way)

Took me a few years to find out what it was, (eventually from memory from a vintage model boats company, -very helpful chap there).
Plan is apparently still available from Sarik Hobbies (X list plans -MM709) 13GBP) I actually thought of buying a plan and scaling it up to 40" and copying a Bates as there are lots of photos available to go off for detail. It would make a lovely model I think, if it came out like the pic.
JB

Hi CB90, You might be able to run 3 motors using 3 ESCs by removing the red wire from all 3 ESC to RX leads, making a 3 into one RX plug (must be able to plug/unplug each ESC lead,- will require soldering up leads,) , and using an external UBEC (maybe 5A+) to power your RX. You will have to set each ESC individually (1 at a time,- turn off, unplug,-next one etc) so they are exactly the same stick/trim settings etc before plugging them all into the 3 into 1 RX plug . They should all start simultaneously from 1 switch or as required from 3 (if they have separate on/off switches.) You would of course need a 1 into 3 ESC power lead/board as well (you can buy these for quadcopters/drones, - see drone power distribution board on Ali Express / EBay etc ) You'd need to buy/make a board to match max A plus, for 3 motors

Problem might be that they run at different speeds due to slight differences in motors/ESCs etc. This is just an idea, as you need to do a similar procedure for quadcopters (I have a quad ducted fan model with 4ESCs, 1 RX and a KK control board which requires this to set up but this uses 4chs). Shouldn't damage anything if you are careful, but of course ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK . Not sure if you have reverseable ESCs or not (ie fwd and rev)

You might be able to program your mixes to run off one stick also, (using 3 chs normally). If you need proper reverse control (ie if you have boat/car ESCs with reverse) you'd be better to use 3ch on your RX/TX (still need only 1 power input to RX no matter how you work it - ie removing the 2 other red wires or removing the 3 and using a separate UBEC for RX power as previously mentioned) simplest way would be to use L stick for 1 motor, R stick for another, and a rotary switch (proportional) or toggle (on/off full,- or % limited by programming) for center motor ? for cruising, or with other 2 for full power etc.

The experimenting is up to you. Let us know what your set-up is to be used in so we can get a better idea. There are lots of triple motor / radio set-ups done on the site to get ideas off as well.
JB

RE - Here's Something to take you guys back when MAP existed
Hi Ian, nice find,-takes you back to the days when you could get plans for almost any machine/plane/boat made. Today just same boring plastic/foam rubbish,-very little choice in boats or planes. I have the MM 'Fairacre II' (p132) which I rescued a few years ago and restored. Just as good as anything new and probably built in the 60s.
JB

I think someone mentioned this vid,? -----Sorry, Doug's already added it previously.
No fear of getting skin cancer, a bit past that!😁 Reckons he's been rowing naked for 40yrs and it's had no effect whatsoever😁
JB

Skelett rudert - RC Ruderboot

▶️

A bit of light reading and vids : Just received our new $500m Navy support vessel HMNZS AOTEAROA Friday. She arrived to crappy weather but luckily got in before the big downpours later in the afternoon. She's a bit ugly but sounds to be full of fancy stuff, should be a vid and info here for warship lovers😁
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/121951327/hmnzs-aotearoa-ca...
Shi is longer than the Archilles and Royalist (link) our last cruiser (decom 1966)
http://navymuseum.co.nz/hmnzs-royalist-dido-class-cruiser/

Also last year we got the Dive/Hydro Support Vessel HMNZS Manuanui (ex Norway,- re-fitted in Denmark) https://www.facebook.com/NZNavy/videos/273880860730234/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS8awizxGwk

At least the sun was out for you guys today,- we are having a nice storm with high winds and torrential rain, but we do need the rain to fill the dams in Auckland, which are at 45% due to the long summer drought.) We're on water restrictions at the moment and it's winter!- 1/100yr event
JB

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/121951327/hmnzs-aotearoa-captain-ecstactic-after-huge-navy-ship-finally-arrives-in-nz

🔗

http://navymuseum.co.nz/hmnzs-royalist-dido-class-cruiser/

🔗

https://www.facebook.com/NZNavy/videos/273880860730234/

🔗

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS8awizxGwk

🔗

HMNZS Aotearoa - Auckland Arrival

▶️

Top stuff! lots of spit and polish going in there!
JB