Although I didn’t build the Cresta model, I wouldn’t have been able to talk my parents into spending the 19s 3d on just the outboard motor!
I did build the Terrier MTB and later the Triton. I think it would have been during the summer holidays in 1961. A friend had built one of the other EeZeBilt Boats, so we took them to a paddling pool on the Nottingham University Park to sail them and hopefully get them back when they stopped in the middle of the pool. The paddling pool was fed by a nearby brook – what would Health & Safety say now!
The models disappeared at some time, probably during a house move. I do have one model boat from about that time: a Veron Trident Trawler, built when I was 14 or 15. I can remember the Veron adverts in my brother’s copy of the Model Maker.
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This model has been repainted twice, the hull having to be resealed with dope and tissue, and now has radio-control fitted. A few years ago, I did consider building another Terrier from plans on the EeZebilt website but decided to build the US PT Boat instead, re-scaling the plans to 1:35 scale, which gave a length of 28 inches.
Also, I have built the OSA 1 Missile Boat (Russian) which is 32 inches long. Perhaps I will build a Cresta but put the motor inside rather than outboard.
TIM COOPER
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What great examples of how plans can be adapted to suit your own personal build choices, Tim. I’m sure, like me, Dave Wiggins will be thrilled to see all the fascinating input his stroll down memory lane last month has generated! Ed
