I had a spare stand from an Alpha 100/Inception that I had left from my recent fast electric days, so the Rapier was sat on it so that I did not have to make a new boat cradle for it straight away.

My "boat cradles" look a bit like an old orange box - not very stylish - but I make one for each hull straight away to hold it as I build or restore it, but then it tends to gain a coat of paint and become my boat stand that I use to carry the boat to and from the lake - still rough and looking like an orange box - but usually sturdy enough to support the boat as it it is being worked on and later transported and stored etc.

At the moment I want to keep working on the prototype Sprite Plus, so this lightweight boat stand will be used until I have time to bash-up something a bit more sturdy to support it.

The boat certainly has plenty of paint on it - several layers - so it should have kept the inside dry, but it is also thick enough to hide previous repairs or damage, so I am hoping that when do get around to rubbing it down I wont find anything too amiss.

I did notice that the spray rails joined the bows in a point that extended forwards past the natural hull line - and this is something that I don't like to see - and makes an "over-hang" that I may catch and knock-off if the restoration work gets a bit "brutal" (as it often does when stripping out an old hull), so I sanded the area to a taper to end in-line with the front of the bows rather than extending beyond it.

The spray rails had been split around the brass nails that would have been used to hold it in place, so I will take a better look at this when I have some more time to shape it better and decide then whether to replace it or fill the split with some Isopon.

No strakes had been fitted to this hull.

Strakes are a very distinctive feature on an off-shore hull that has very little else to attract the eye, and they do add to the performance, so I will need to cut some suitable triangular section hardwood and fit some

......so I guess the restoration has started - albeit in a very modest way!

I mentioned in the Classic Model Power Boats blog that I had seen a used LesRo Javelin for sale on eBay, but due to it being "for collection only" , it was unlikely that neither Will or myself would be adding it to our collection as the seller lived some distance away from either of us.

Some time later, I noticed that (despite its low price) the boat had still not been sold, so I couldn't help contacting the seller to ask if there was any possibility of finding a box to send it in as I would be happy to pay the postage.

The seller was excellent to work with and he found some packaging but due to its length, he was not able post it via eBay's own postage system, so he got a quote from Parcelforce and sent me an offer to include the delivery cost...and the deal was done!

It was agreed not to send the bulky boat stand as I did not want it - and from my previous experience I know that packing a heavy boat stand in the same box as a hull was likely to cause damage to the boat when it was in transit.

The boat arrived "safe and sound", but the box was so heavy, I thought that maybe the stand had been sent as well.

When I opened the box, only the boat was inside - very well packed - but still very heavy.

After had flattened all the cardboard packaging and put it in the appropriate recycling bin - I had the Javelin in one piece on my bench.

The rudder blade had broken off (I forgot to ask the seller to remove the rudder, because they often fail to survive in transit) but other than that, it was un-damaged - but still VERY HEAVY!

I already have a Javelin and a Rapier that are both "fully loaded" - but neither of them weighed as much as this Javelin.

The boat had previously been run with an unknown ic engine (not identified by the seller, but thought to be a 61) and had a very early ACOMS radio system fitted inside.

I wanted to strip everything out of the hull to check the boat over properly and to clean-out the gunk (typical old ic powered boat) so that the hull would be ready to work on when time allowed some restoration work to start.

Bob.

Hi Chris,

I trimmed back the side skins this morning using my "one handed plane" which worked really well.

This was quite a quick job as I had made the skin templates quite a "tight" fit as I knew that I didn't need to add too much excess to the overall size due to the lack of 3D curvature in the shape....so there was not too much excess skin material to trim back.

I did leave a small "tab" of side skin material at the bows and stern incase I needed them to help pull the skins down against the frame, but the skin sat so naturally I need not have bothered and I cut them off with my Tamiya razor saw this morning.

The side skins fitted really well and sat naturally tight enough against the edges of all the bulkheads to squeeze out any excess PVA between them and the skins without any tacks being needed at all.

Only the transom and the bow plates (both are flat on the Sprite Plus) needed some tacks to anchor the skins down at each end.

Some brass tacks were driven part-way into the chines when the glue was wet and then had their heads chopped off before being driven in flush to the skins surface.

Once I had trimmed the side skins, I was able to make some templates for the deck skins which I cut from 1.5mm plywood - again using my Tamiya razor saw that cut them very easily and quickly.

Before fitting the deck skins I will fit the motor again to check any openings that I need for the water-cooling tubing and for any wires to pass to and from the receiver and the LiPo batteries etc.

This will be the first time that I will fit everything into the hull to work-out the preferred positioning for the batteries, ESC and rudder servo etc.

I will also need to drill and fit a water scoop and make any platforms or mounts that may be needed to hold the radio equipment and LiPos as I check the balance of the hull and try to gain the ideal weight distribution.

Bob.

Hi Will,

Although I have always regarded the LesRo Rapier as being a bit of an "ugly duckling", it's performance and its handling has impressed me more than any other model that I have either owned or driven (although the Vic Smeed Remora runs it a very close second).....and I have driven a LOT of Classic Model Power Boats since I first started with my Swordsman in the 1960's.

The off-shore style of model boat (like the Javelin) does not impress me as much as those that have a bit more superstructure - so who knows what will happen when I take a saw to this new acquisition and start working on it...........?

The Javelin shares the exactly same hull as the Rapier, so I am expecting it to perform in a similar way - and if it does - I will be very pleased with it!

The "ugly duckling" (Rapier) is also slightly better looking since I changed the "matchstick" wheelhouse windscreen construction to a wrap-around mask (I am aware that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it may not be to everyone's taste) and changed the bent piece of plywood used as a cabin roof to a properly constructed and fitted removable roof that looks a lot better and also gives better access inside the cabin.

LesRowell certainly came up trumps with his Rapier/Javelin design hulls that can still perform outstandingly well today.

Bob.

Sprite Plus.

Hi Will,

It is surprising just how much bigger a model boat becomes when it is only lengthened a little from its original size.

I agree it does look like it is going to be quite a big "lump", but that should help it full-fill its design brief of being able to run 12 months of the year in all weathers.

Bob.

Hi Jump,

These little "push-on" spouts make it easy to control even the very thinest super-glues.

The second picture shows how much I cut off of mine to get the best control and accurate flow rate when using the thinnest glues.

I warm the end that pushes onto the glue bottle to soften it enough to push over the glue bottle's regular spout. This gives it a good tight leak-free fit.

After use, I remove these extension spouts and place them upright onto a piece of scrap card underneath it so that the unused glue runs down onto the card and effectively drains it so that it can be use several times over.

Bob.

Hi EdW,

Thanks for contributing to this thread with the pictures of some of your Classic Water-Cooled Model Power Boat Engines.

They all look good and they are the two sizes of engine that were most used back in the 1960's - the 6.5cc "40" and the 10cc "61" - absolute classics.

I especially like your OS40 Marine as it was the very first new water-cooled glow engine that I ever bought to fit into my first Classic Model Power Boat - my Aerokits Swordsman, so I hope you don't mind me attaching the picture of your OS40 Marine here to help illustrate this thread as it brings back a lot of really good memories for me.

The OS40 Marine, I remember as being a very smooth running , very easy starting engine that actually performed well too.

Cleaning up and un-seizing the HP40 Marine that came in a used LesRo Sportsman started to bring back some very fond memories from the 1960's for me - even though I never actually owned or run any HP engines back in the day.

I have no plans to run a nitro powered r/c boat anymore - mainly because of the very limited opportunities I would have to run one, but I would like to try to find some more water-cooled marine engines to restore and keep here in my office to remind me how much fun they brought me.

Even though I will be 77 years old this September, this engine has managed to bring back all the good memories (and the smells) that I enjoyed every weekend (and some evenings) from when I was 16 years old onwards.........

An OS40 Marine would definitely be a nice engine to add to my small collection (of one engine), and maybe a Merco 61 Twin Plug would be good one to add as well because it was the second engine I bought when I entered my Swordsman in an off-shore race as I thought the extra torque would be an advantage.....it wasn't really - the OS40 Marine ran just as well - but I had already consigned the OS40 to my first glass fibre "flattie" and having two engines allowed me to run both of my model boats at the weekends.

Bob.

Sprite Plus. Prototype Build.

Tonight I cut the side skins for the Sprite Plus Prototype.

I drew around the card templates I made from cereal packets onto the 1.5mm plywood and cut them out with my Tamiya razor saw.

After checking that the surfaces to bond them onto were nice and flush, they were glued onto the stringers and bulkhead sides with some brass nails driven part-way in to hold them in place - along with some small clamps.

The heads of the brass nails were then cut off and the shafts were driven in flush to the surface to give a mechanical fix to supplement the PVA glue when it has dried.

This model has got to be the easiest one to fit the skins to that I have ever worked on!

Bob.

Hi Chris,

You could be right about your concerns regarding the contents of the Sea Vixen kit box, but it didn't sell for much more than the starting bid.

...um yes, I do already have a LesRo Javelin..........(don't tell Will - I think he only has two of them 🤣).

Bob.

HP40 Marine Engine.

Here is a picture of my own HP40 Marine engine that I have removed from an old LesRo Sportsman that I bought recently.

The motor looked very sad when I first saw it inside the Sportsman. It was covered in a coating of orange-brown coloured castor oil that had been baked-on over the years that it had been run without being cleaned.

Unsurprisingly the motor was also seized solid.

Many happy hours have been spent removing the hardened and baked-on castor coating as well as heating the cleaned engine enough to cause the castor oil inside the engine to dissolve enough to allow it to turn-over and be stripped to complete the cleaning.

The motor now turns over nice and freely and does not appear to have any wear.

It is not "exhibition" standard by any means, and could be cleaned still further - but it is good enough to decorate my office and look nice where I hope it will be joined in the future by other water-cooled diesel and glow plug engines that may like to find a good home.

They have no real value and I doubt they will ever be run again, but I enjoy having them around and the good memories they help me to recall.

Bob.

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.

LesRo Javelin.

This LesRo Javelin was for sale on eBay a few weeks ago, but it was for collection only - and due to its location, it ruled out both Will (shock horror) and myself from buying it at the time.

However, the attached picture taken this morning now shows it sat safely on my workbench here in Rossendale, Lancashire!

The very helpful seller found some large boxes and a lot of packaging to protect it in transit, wrapped it, packed it, and posted it to me!

This Javelin was built without the strakes being fitted to the bottom skins, which is not particularly unusual (!) as most Javelin kit builders seem to avoid this part of the build, but I think the strakes "make the boat", so when the restoration starts, some new strakes will have to be cut and fitted.

A water-cooled Merco 61 was fitted, but it had obviously been a long time since it had last run as it was seized solid.

Glow plug engines that were not oiled and turned-over after their last run tend to seize-up like this as the castor oil congeals and sets solid.

Fortunately, the person who installed this engine splashed a lot of glass fibre around inside the hull and that has protected it and stopped it having the typical fuel soaked hull that I had expected to see. Good news!

I suspect (as is often the case) that the original builder of the boat may not have been the same person that threw the Merco 61 into it - probably at a later date?

More about this later as I will start a restoration log about it, but the model appears to have been well made (apart from not having the strakes fitted), and the motor looks like it was not so carefully fitted - so hopefully it wont be too difficult to remove and clean-out the hull.

Bob.

I used thin super-glue when I planked my Swordsman and the small cockpit floor of my Sea Commander and it worked very well.

The thin glue wicked its way between the underside of the planks and the plywood surface that I was gluing it onto, as well as "creeping" nicely between the edges of each adjoining planks.

Bob.

Hi Harry,

Nice to see an MFA Spear - quite an unusual boat - very few were made or sold when compared to its much more well known Spearfish sibling.

It looks like you have bonded the main cabin part of the superstructure to the deck and "filled-in" the windows - or is that a converted Spearfish with a Spear wheelhouse added?

Either way, you have made a really nice job of it and it will be much more water-tight than the first picture shows with the lift-off superstructure.

Well done Harry, the boat looks really good, and your choice of motor should push it along nicely too.

I am looking forward to seeing your video of it making white water I am sure it will perform very well.👍

Bob.

Thanks Will,

After the motor mounting assembly was tac-glued into position with super-glue, the 24 hour Araldite was spread along both sides of each mounting cheek where it was also pushed into the series of holes that are drilled along the base of them to make a good supporting fillet of epoxy.

The mixed Araldite it very thick and does make a nice "fillet" on either side of the mounts, but what is not so well known about this product, is that it begins to "flow" at some stage over the next 8 hours of so - as can be witnessed by the "puddles" of epoxy that have formed on the top surface of the mounting plate.

This "flowing" tends to allow the glue to creep into and fill any small gaps, so it is a really good product for bedding in and around the engine mounts to give a really secure bond.

I have previously used masking tape to control the "flow" of this particular 24 hour epoxy during its curing cycle to keep things a bit more "tidy", but as can be seen - I didn't do it on this occasion so I have some "epoxy puddles" to sand flat on the mounting plate!

As for Les Rowell's thoughts? We will never know - but I would like to think that he would be pleased to know that his superb Classic Model Power Boat designs are still being used and enjoyed by so many of us......and that he would also approve of the Sprite design being "stretched" and slightly modified to suit its intended use in all weathers, 12 months of the year.

Bob.

Hi Jump,

Your build blog would be good - I look forward to seeing it. 👍

Bob.

Hi Jump,

Your new retro-hydroplane looks really cool!

I have never seen one before, but it looks like it is a nice size too ( judging by the bricks) maybe 30 - 36" long?

I will be following this project with interest. If it goes as good as it looks, it will be a real blast to drive too!

Bob.

Vic Smeed Piranha.

Does anyone have a Vic Smeed Piranha running?

This was a very popular design from Vic Smeed in the 1960's that was mostly built as a "flattie", but quite a few were also built with a cabin added.

Adding a cabin took full advantage of a really good performance hull but made it look a bit more "interesting".

It would be nice to see any examples of this Classic Model Power Boat .

Bob.

Sprite Plus.

The engine mounts are now bonded onto the engine plate with the "side spats' firmly holding everything together.

As the additional epoxy coating was reinforcing the engine mounting "cheeks" onto the platform, a spare water-cooled alloy mounting plate was left positioned between them to be able to check for any movement that may have been caused as the glue was curing.

No movement has been detected, and so the side skins will be cut ready for fitting next.

The epoxy was allowed to flow between the holes drilled into the base of the side cheeks and looks a little untidy, but this will be "cleaned-up" and fibre glass will be covering this area after the side skins are fitted.

Bob.

Hi Harry,

Thanks for the plans for the Mondav Sea Vixen.

It looks like the kit was a fairly conventional hard chine build, so I am not sure why the un-started kit (pictured here) has some many large blocks of wood in it?

They are probably not original as I can see no use for them, so maybe the kit also has gained some other non- original parts that have found their way into the box over the years too?

BTW - do you happen to have a copy of the original LesRo Sportsman plans Harry?

Bob.

Sprite Plus.

The chunky side spats that were fitted on each side of the motor mounting plate were held tightly in position by some scrap pieces of plywood until the glue was dry.

I wanted to clamp these "side spats" together against both sides of the motor mounting plate, but I could not find any way of getting a clamp into this restricted space, so I used off-cuts on both sides to keep them in place instead.

Now the glue has dried , I can finish sanding the stringers and edges of the bulkhead/frames/former edges to shape and cut the 1.5mm plywood side skins to shape from cardboard templates.

Bob.

Hi Will,

This particular magazine came up "trumps" as far as Classic Model Power Boats goes, because the seven pages that followed the article about the Sportsman that Les Rowell made for his grandson before he died, was Part 2 of Dave Milbourn's Fairey Huntsman build.

This was a follow-on from the January 2016 issue when Dave's build for his Huntsman 31 plan (plan number MM2111 for anyone that would like to buy a copy) took the build as far as completing the chine and spray rails.

Dave completed his detailed build of his Huntsman 31 over these seven pages where he continued to share his various building techniques with us.Something that I found very informative.

Sadly, Dave Milbourne is no longer with us either, but both him and Les Rowell contributed a lot to those of us that continue to benefit from their work as we can still enjoy building and operating the Classic Model Power Boat designs that they gave us.

Bob.

The last Model Boat made by Les Rowell himself.

A nice story about a very special LesRo Sportsman.

I saw a Model Boats magazine from February 2016 on eBay and bid for it as it has a really nice article about the LesRo Sportsman that was actually built by Les Rowell for his grandson, but was left in his loft when he died in 1992 after a long battle with cancer.

This was the last model boat that Les Rowell ever built himself.

The boat remained built but unpainted in the loft of Les Rowell's widow Mary for almost 25 years until she was aged 95 when it was passed it on to their grandson John.

John was not an experienced boat modeller, but he had later taken upon r/c flying and then felt confident enough to paint and fit the radio gear to finish the model.

John made a lovely job of completing his LesRo Sportsman. I am sure his grandfather would have been delighted to know that it would be finished so well by his grandson.

Bob.

Hi Chris,

I was joking about the painful hands/wrists/finger etc having anything to do with the gentle art of model boat making (and operating), but it does affect our ability to do it as often or to enjoy to as much as we could do sometimes.

Mine is partly old age and related to previous sporting injuries, as well as the usual "wear and tear" that we all accumulate over the years.

"Arthur" has restricted my finger movement for some time and my two smallest fingers lost all articulation some time ago, but the main annoyance is the pain and I find dropping things get more and more annoying - especially as I cannot grip any small parts to pick them up again - especially annoying when it may have taken quite some time to find them!

Not to worry, I am very much aware the old "adage" - "Use it or Loose it".......so I will keep going and refuse to give in to it.

Bob.

Hi Chris,

Sorry to hear you are having problems with painful wrist/hand - maybe it's a model boat related problem?

I had to retire from 1/10 electric car racing last week due to the pain in my hands - I couldn't hold the steer wheel transmitter any longer - it was too painful to continue. I had been running since 6.30pm and did not retire until almost 10pm so I had had a lot of tx time, but none the less, it was very disappointing to have to give in to age related pains!

I also keep dropping things - it seems like I have lost some of the feeling in my fingers as well as the pain and diminished grip strength.

Last night I raced the same car again and did OK, but I am pleased that I sold my trials bikes when I did as I think I would have "come a cropper" if I lost my grip during some of the steep climbs or descents we use in the local stone quarry every week.

Meanwhile the Sprite Plus continues to make some progress - but not at the speed that I would have liked.

Bob.

Modav Sea Vixen.

Just when I was starting to think that I had not seen anything recently that would be interesting to add to this Classic Model Power Boats thread - I saw this Modav Sea Vixen kit advertised for sale on eBay.

The finished model would be 25" long, and the picture of the kit contents is quite interesting.

I found the sight of those large "lumps" of wood included in the kit to be quite unusual(!), and I am guessing that when assembled into the build they will require a bit more "sanding and shaping" than would be usual when building a hard chine model kit like this.

I have never seen any pictures of a finished Modav Sea Vixen.......but maybe Will can show us one that he has stashed away in his collection...........🤣

Bob.

SPRITE PLUS.

Hi Chris,

It was a new challenge and a nice change to make a motor mount that was split into two parts (fore and aft) by a frame/bulkhead/former - as it was not something I had ever encountered before

One of the more enjoyable things about building a new prototype model from a good set of plans is discovering anything new or different that I am not already familiar with as it gives the old "grey matter" something different to think about.

After working-out the best method of making the two halves of the engine mounting platform, it was easy enough, and my fears of failing to provide a flat and level mounting surface across the finished laminated engine mounting plate assembly proved to be unfounded as it all worked out perfectly.

Since my last report I have also added a pair of 6mm thick side "spats" to either side of the completed engine mounting platform to "lock" the already solid laminated assembly together still further.

I am sure that this "belt and braces" idea was totally unnecessary, but it looked good and gave me something to cut-out on the bandsaw when I was waiting for something else to dry on another project I am working on.

Maybe a "build log" for this SPRITE PLUS prototype would be a good idea (?) as there are other interesting blogs on here about the original LesRo Sprite that could become a bit confusing to anyone reading them without knowing that this is NOT the original LesRo Sprite design that we are building.

A summary of how the idea of an enlarged version of the original design was first conceived (and subsequently modified), followed by an illustrated build log through to completion would make an interesting "stand alone" article.

.......and I don't know how to change the title of this blog to "Sprite Plus" so a new build log would take care of this problem quite nicely.

Bob.

This is a common problem with clubs of all types when the majority of club members (who benefit from all the clubs facilities and activities) believe that their obligations end when they pay the club fee/entry fee.

Whether this "fee" is an annual membership charge or an entry to a competition (or event), most think that it is the organisers job to provide the entertainment and to clean-up and put everything away etc afterwards.....and then to repeat and prepare everything again.....

Fortunately there are still a few of us that realise that if we would like a club or a facility of any type that does not already exist, then we have to go and get it started and running ourselves ......or it wont happen.

Having established a club or event that gains good support, is when the problems usually start.

Fortunately there is always a couple of "good souls" who instinctively "stay behind" or arrive early to help set-up or to clear-up and help out, but these are few and far between.

After a lifetime of starting and running model car racing clubs, r/c helicopter clubs (and events), and target shooting clubs, I am enjoying the relaxation of being a member of a model boat club that has a good committee and a strong membership that allows me to do little more than arrive and drive my model boat on the water, although I will always be available and willing to help if needed.

When I get home I still have the target shooting club and model car racing club to run, but in recent years I have been fortunate enough to gain some good support to the extent that a group of us all take on different tasks to "share the load" of running these clubs.

"Many hands make light work"......an old phrase that still has a lot of meaning.......

Bob.

Jig Saw.

I think that the "foot" that rests on top of the wood is more or less essential on a jig saw to hold the wood down onto the surface plate when the action of the blade is trying to lift it up with every stroke!

The "foot" on my Hegnar jig saw is much smaller than yours, and often as the wood is turned, the "foot" looses contact with the wood and I have to press the wood down firmly to hold it onto the saw's baseplate (at the same time as guiding it) - with mixed results!

It is certainly much easier to "cut to the line" when the wood that is being cut it held firmly against the base plate of the jig saw.

Bob.

Sprite Plus.

Before gluing the side plates down onto the baseplate the motor assembly was taken out of the hull and the actual Maxi-coupling that will be used was fitted before the motor was reinserted into the hull.

Once in the hull, the amount of shaft that needs to be exposed on the motor and the prop shaft to give a working clearance was checked along with the depth that these shafts sit into the coupling ends.

The rigid coupling was drilled deeper than the actual flexible coupling to remove any movement when aligning everything solidly, so fitting the actual flexi-coupling that will be used allowed the side cheeks to be slid backwards slightly on the engine bed after any working tolerances were calculated.

Once I was happy with the clearance and the exact amount of shaft that was needed to "bottom-out" the motor shaft and the prop shaft in the Maxxi-coupling, the new position of the side plates was marked on the engine bed.

The motor was removed again and the solid coupling shaft was refitted before the assembly was put back into the hull.

Once in the hull, the side plates of the engine mount were slid back onto the marks and super-glued into position.

When the super-glue had set, the motor was removed from the hull again after it had been unscrewed from the side plates, but still attached to the cast alloy part of the cooling mount.

At this stage the prop shaft inner was pulled out from the hull, and a "flat" was filed onto the end section that will be inserted into the 5mm Maxi-coupling.

The shaft was then reinserted, and a 5mm collar was fitted to stop the shaft sliding out in the unlikely event that it should become detached from the coupling when the boat was out on the water (belt and braces).

The motor plate will be roughed-up a little along each side of the motor mount side plates before an epoxy mix is pushed into the drilled hoes that run along the bottom of the side plates and then formed into a fillet to secure them more permanently onto the baseplate.

Bob.