Back in the 1960's when I made my first Classic Model Power Boat kit (an Aerokits Swordsman) almost everyone that ran model power boats chose to power them with a glow plug engine, occasionally a diesel engine, sometimes a petrol engine (in the bigger sized models), and only a few were powered by electric motors. My Swordsman was powered by a 6.5cc OS40 Marine glow engine, and later by a 10cc Merco 61 Twin-Plug glow engine. In those days, Classic Model Power Boats were probably at their most popular with lots of us building and running them in almost any stretch of water that could be found. Places that I run my first model boat included various locations on the River Avon, the local Avon and Kennet canal, in the open sea off Torquay and Exmouth, several different village ponds (!) and the occasional visit to Victoria Park in Bath where the boating lake was filled with the sights and sounds of various r/c power boats hammering around making lots of noise and exhaust smoke! These Classic Water-Cooled Model Engines have now been excluded from almost all waters where they were previously accepted, and most model boat clubs now actually ban their use. Electric motors are much cleaner and easier to use, and can easily produce more power too - but they lack the "soul" of these internal combustion engines - and this is something that I really miss. Part of the "operating procedure" included buying the correct grade of glow fuel (or diesel fuel) with the appropriate amount nitro content, making sure that your battery was charged enough to give a good bright glow when connected to the glow plug, remembering to pack the leather bootlace to start the engine with (electric starters came much later) and of course making sure that your radio equipment was working with fresh batteries too. The procedure needed to bring the motor to life became a classic "starting ceremony" that often intrigued the casual onlooker as the owner/operator enthusiastically gripped the model by whatever means was preferred (I used my knees) to stop it jumping upwards as the leather starting lace was rocked backwards and forwards until the motor spluttered into life - when the bootlace was rapidly withdrawn in a flourish leaving the motor running (hopefully in the right direction!) and ready for action. This was followed fairly quickly by the need to get the boat into the water before it overheated, when any final needle valve adjustment could be made (when the boat was in the water) before opening the throttle and seeing the model take-off and run until the fuel run out. Judging the running time available (the amount of fuel that was left after starting it) became quite an art - especially when running in the fast flowing river waters as a model with a "dead" engine could be swept away causing all kinds of "interesting" recovery problems! Anyone that had a small inflatable dingy became an instant friend and companion who was able to paddle after the stricken model and haul it onboard before paddling against the river flow to return it safely - often at a point some way further down-stream when the current was too strong to paddle against! After the model was run (and recovered) the model needed to have a good clean to wipe away any spilled fuel and to remove any exhaust "goo" - before removing the glow plug to turn the motor over and placing a few drops of oil into the bore and then turning the motor over to give a good coating of oil all around the inside of the engine. This after-run oiling procedure prevented the caster oil in the fuel from gumming-up the engine and the nitro content of any fuel that remained in the engine from eating into the chrome/nickel coating of the bore and the engine bearings! Diesel engine operators could sometimes be compared to "wizards" as they balanced the compression needed to start the engine with that needed for it to run cleanly - with the same need to adjust the carburettor once the boat was in the water. Compared with running an electric motor, these water-cooled model engines were hard work that could also be dirty and time consuming too - BUT - I really enjoyed the whole event - every time I took my Classic Model Power Boat out for a run it became a real occasion that plugging-in the battery on my current model boats can never compare with! This "blog" gives an opportunity for others like myself that really miss these nitro and diesel fuelled engines to reminisce and picture their Classic Model Power Boat Water-Cooled Glow and Diesel Engines. Bob.

The original shape LesRo Sportsman is a model that had eluded me for many years, but I always liked the look of it, so when one came up on eBay, I matched the opening price with my first bid, and ended up winning it as nobody else placed a bid. It could well be that everyone else was a lot wiser than me, but I have ended-up with it and it will be a long-term restoration project that will have to be fitted in-between a lot of other build/repair work that I already have stacked-up waiting for my attention. This boat came with a fitted glow-plug engine of unknown size or type, so the first job was to remove the engine, fuel tank and silencer etc to see just how bad and fuel soaked the inside of the hull was, and then try to work-out how to dry it out and make any repairs that may be needed. Bob.

I was given this Storm Glass for my 76th birthday last month, and to be honest , I am not too sure what to make of it? This storm glass came into use in the early 1700's when sailors attached it to the mast of their ships. How is works remains a mystery, but it is believed that electromagnetic changes associated with weather patterns activate the crystals. These changes produce different patterns in the crystals inside glass tube that can be interpreted to forecast weather conditions at sea. Has anyone else ever heard of the Fitzroy Star Glass or have any idea if it actually works - or is it just a piece of "nautical nonsense" ? Bob

Classic Model Power Boats is a title that I have used for many years to describe the group of model boats that most interest me and that I remember seeing (and sometimes owning) in the 1950’s- 1970’s time period when this type of model was probably at its peak. Many of these models came from kits produced by the like of Aerokits, Veron, HHM, NorStar, Yeoman, LesRo, Stirling and many others, but some came from plans drawn up by Vic Smeed and others from this same time period. Models both before and after this era are also included in this category if they are of the same type - ie, a model of boat powered by a motor which was (back in those days) most often a glow plug engine, diesel engine or a petrol engine, although some were powered by electric motors such as those from Taycol or the smaller types from Mabuchi. These days, most Classic Model Power Boats are powered by electric motors, not always by choice, but often because the use of ic motors is generally frowned upon and is banned from many waters due to the risk of pollution. Electric motors can be thought of as being comparatively soulless and are quietly very efficient - but lack the noise and smells that accompanied the whole procedure of fuelling-up and starting our power boats back then. Restoring and building Classic Model Power Boats has been my main interest for several decades now and I am pleased to see a revival in interest in this type of model boat….although in real life, they’re never actually went away! I am hoping that this blog will attract fellow enthusiasts of this type of model boat to contribute with their pictures and share their experiences of building and operating their Classic Model Power Boats. Those that currently collect Classic Model Power Boats (and plans) with a view to building and /or restoring them all one day and those who are just generally interested in them may like to contribute too? Bob.

I have managed to acquire this model boat from a friend. The pictures that I will include as I work my way through it suggest to me (wishful thinking?) that I after many years of searching, I may have accidentally found a genuine LesRo Sportsman. Here it is pictured on my workbench - something I was beginning to think would never happen! Bob.

When I was at school and in my young to mid teens, I liked to read the Model Maker magazine that was current at that time. Although it was a “general purpose” model magazine that covered several different types of model making every month, I found the model boats section the most interesting-especially those about model power boats. Most model power boats at that time were powered by diesel engines, glow plug engines, two stroke petrol engines (usually ex- strimmer) the occasional rare and expensive (often hand made) four stroke engine, or steam. Some electric motors were available ranging from the smaller Mabuchi types to the larger Taycol motors and others that I don’t remember so well. It is with this background that Vic Smeed designed the Remora model power boat for use in steering competitions that were popular at that time. This may seem a little strange now, but back in the days of single channel radio, steering a model boat accurately though a marked-out course represented a worthwhile and entertaining challenge. These competitions faded away with the introduction of affordable proportional radio control as steering a model boat accurately became a lot easier as it was no longer necessary to remember the number of times the transmitter button had to be pushed to get the rudder to turn left or right. The prototype Remora was powered by a .21 glow plug engine and took advantage of the new type proportional radio control system that was to eventually make the intended use of this model boat redundant,

I have been very pleased with my copy of a Sea Commander, but it does exhibit a strange desire to “dive” if it should turn RIGHT into choppy water or the wake of another boat. Ken Mears took a lovely picture of my “Kopy Kommander”. (the name I gave to my copy of a Sea Commander) when he visited our Southport Club open day earlier this month, but he also took another picture that I had not seen before that shows the boat about to enter its nose down attitude. The next stage after this is for the nose to push itself down into the water as if it was trying to submarinate, when the water covers the front cabin top and the wave deflector is called into action. I do wonder if all Sea Commanders exhibit this same trait after being sharply turned RIGHT into a wake or choppy water - and maybe that is why Les Rowell included a wave breaker to the front cabin of his Sea Commander design? If that was the case, I wonder why he omitted it from the enlarged (Sea Queen) version of the same boat?

This picture was taken by a friend on Sunday morning after everyone else had gone home to lunch - but it does show the club lake quite well.

My first ever classic r/c power boat model was built in the 1960’s from an Aerokits Swordsman kit that was paid for from my meagre apprenticeship wages. I chose this model because I really liked the look of the boat and I loved the way that the deep vee hull performed on the water. This model was run for many years in rivers, canals, ponds and lakes, but it’s biggest achievement was when it raced in the sea in an off-shore race that took place in a 6 foot swell, performed well and survived without incident. After I got married in 1971 and moved to Exmouth I was disappointed to discover no interest in r/c model boats (in this seaside town!) but plenty of interest in r/c aircraft, so I sold it to help pay for my new hobby....and regretted it ever since. Now, almost 50 years later I am scratch building another Swordsman based on a used Aerokits plan that I found on eBay and some drawings from Chris.....who seems to have some interest in Fairey Marine power boats ! I started by making templates for all the parts to be cut from birch plywood and then cut them on my bandsaw after checking that every template was symmetrical.

Having built, restored, and bought quite a few old model boat kits over the years, I have always been surprised to find how non-symmetrical the bulkhead shapes are when checked. Most of these old kits are “saw cut” and so some variation has to be expected - and I suspect that very few of us actually check the symmetry of the bulkheads before gluing them to the keel before assembling our latest projects?

Rapier1. When the first lock-down came along I dug out a couple of old wrecks that had been thrown away and had been saved from a skip some years previously, and this looked like a good time to see if they could be rescued. The first was a badly built and abandoned LesRo Rapier (shown here after the rebuild as my photos showing the full rebuilding sequence will not load). The LiPo tray carries two large 2C 5600Mah LiPo cells, but only one is connected up at a time - the unused LiPo acts as ballast to keep the hull running straight, but makes for a nice quick change when the first one runs down Any basic tools that I may need when I am "pond side" to change a prop or brushless motor are carried on small magnets in the rear compartment to save me forgetting to take them with me and this has proven to be very helpful! Bob.