Lake Seminole Park. HTTP://smbc-fl.org

The brass props are "pretty" if that is your concern, OK. I build scale boats so scale look is important. Brass props are expensive so I 3D print my own using ABS, the last one having five blades (modern style). Very cheap and they last!

I have been disassembling a Krick Dusseldorf fire boat including stripping the ABS hull down completely and pulling the deck off. I plan on extending the hull by 200mm by adding in a new section using styrene.
With all this I know what held tight and what did not.
Epoxies no. Super glue is too brittle.
My plans are to use a solvent cement which actually melts ("welds") the materials together. ABS cement is available in hardware stores (in the U.S is Home Depot). This even works on PVC pipe in many instances.
I also have success with hobby "weld" cement like Testors.

Need more room in your hull? The Dusseldorf fire boat RC model is based on the original build and design of the boat. In 1979 the hull was extended. So, if you modify the model by the same amount as the real boat you would gain 8 inches (200mm) in the middle. (The superstructure was not changed although there are some other major modifications.)
This is what I am doing to mine which I got in January 2022. It was given to me as the previous owner probably got in too deep (above his head) with all the channels and trying to use an 8 channel Spektrum RC system.
I completely unassembled everything (fortunately he had not cemented the main deck in place) and pulled all of the wiring out. It was kind of a mess, something one would not expect with such a great model kit.
I know of at least one other person that has lengthened his boat with all of the gear inside it.
Lew

Dave, too bad you're going through all this trouble on that boat.
I have a wood hull on one of my boats, tow boat, and it developed a split in one of the joints. It doesn't take much for water to creep in once the wood gets wet and swells up.
You might want to go beyond where you see the cracks. Check for soft wood all over.
As for painting if I had an option I would stick with an aluminum color paint. Just about all the boats were made with aluminum. Also know you might think about some black oxide sandpaper cut to the shapes that you need for the deck anti-slip pads. I thought about repainting mine silver but that would be an awful lot of work. Almost everything on the boat is made of aluminum.
Lew
LewsModelBoats.org

Overhauled/modified and a lot of details added. Upgraded to an 8 channel RC Spektrum radio.

I am still working on the boat. Last night I added some gasket material underneath the superstructure to help seal it off. Don't know whether I will get to test it tomorrow at our bi-weekly model boat meet as it is raining quite heavily today. I will post an update in a few days.

This boat, has a rounded bilge to it and a big superstructure. It heels quite a bit on hard turns while going somewhat fast. The problem with just every one of them is that they have a step down on the sides which acts as a scoop to push the water up over the deck which then seeps through any openings.
I know because I have one and I've done some research on it. Mine is the Pro boat with a fiberglass hull and the last time I had it out in the water is sank because of this. I am currently. rebuilding it with a lot of flotation and adding seals and some of the information I have my own website might be of help to you.
Link: http://lewsmodelboats.org the click on the photo of the US G 47 ft MLB.
Lew

http://lewsmodelboats.org

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