All my model boat builds history

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Due to my failing memory, sadly, I feel the need to compile the entire list of model boats I`ve built. Starting about 1990 to the current day, so I can reminisce more easily

The list is not chronological, but it will be a rough guess

During the previous years, I have built three live steam loco`s, dozens of RC Aircraft and a loft conversion, which are now Man Caves!

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Nostalgia

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Bob,

I'd rather like a list of the boats your are going to build in the future !! so you don't beat me to it, like you did with the slipper launch

Kind Regards Ray

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thanks Ray

I Built the Slipper Launch rather early, as it had caught my imagination at the time.

At the moment, there are no other Slippers being built by club members, but when it gets nearer to the September Competition time, they will probably make the effort

I hope you will find my build list of interest?

My first build was a Graham Bantock design One Metre yacht and at the moment, I can`t recall the name!

And I can`t find the photo either!

The actual photo was really a "For Sale" poster. intended to be exhibited in Ashton Model Shop window. The famous One Metre Champ, Barry Jackson, served me and bought it immediately. With the money, I bought the big Billings kit Colin Archer by Billings. This was the time I joined the Etherow Club

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Following on from Colin Archer, was the French fishing boat Louis Heloise.

This was a really pleasing chunky build and lovely to build. It was built in the upright position on the stand.

Of course I added a motor and prop in order to get out of trouble, should it arise. which it didn`t, because I had a motor drive!

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

At one point I became interested in the career of William Daniels. He was a champion free sailing yachter of the 1936`s He starred at the great Pond in one of the London parks

I built the biggish yacht Pocahontas, a 50 inch yacht, the actual class escapes me at the moment. Later on, I used the hull to create two special yachts….. Pocatannia and Pocahontas. More about these later.

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Some time later, I fancied building Sandy Cousin`s model of the Royal Yacht Britannia

When the plan arrived, I was shocked to discover, that he had built the model out of cardboard!

The rest of the model was highly detailed to the Nth degree! He also added an out board motorised torpedo thingy that stood in for a motor drive. But the finished model was first class and in the magazine write up. he says he managed to get aboard the full sized craft and meet the Captain!

Anyway. I didn`t fancy cardboard, even though I did in 2020, in order to build the Commodores Challenge, MTB Boat, when the shops were closed. due to the Covid restrictions etc

So I used the hull design of Pocahontas. hence the name Pocatannia

The model was a complete success, sailed well and managed come 1st at a Bury Marine club competition

There is a very nice video of my model sailing at Buxton park lake on YouTube…..If you can find it!

Bob

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Bob there are some beautiful models there, just my sort of boats. I think there is nothing lovelier than a scale yacht gently gliding across the water. Every one is an absolute gem that you should be proud of.

I hope you are also going to include your locomotives in this list as, not surprisingly, I also have an interest in model railways, in particular live steam.

By the way as regards memory we all suffer to varying degrees. Even my wife once called me from a supermarket and asked me to read out her shopping list that she had left on the kitchen table!

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Richard for your very kind comments

Here is a photo of my first loco……

The Bassett Lowke Tank Engine. The plans and castings were sold by Bassett Lowke of Manchester in Corporation Street, now long gone, along with all the rest of the Model Shops

I later found out that is a Henry Greenly design

It ran well. up n down the garden and I joined the Urmston MEC for a gallop round their oval track

I also had a 70 foot length of 3 1/2" track in my garden. The kids loved it, although the neighbours didn`t like the smoke!

I also built LBSC`s Britannia, which took me nine years to build

I ran it at Urmston as usual on a Sunday morning and a chap came along and offered to buy it!

Since I wanted a caravan at the time I sold it there and then and bought a caravan

My third loco was the Duchess of Wales, a Stirling Single big wheeler by Martin Evans

I built the chassis, wheels and axle boxes etc.

Sunday morning again, I was in my garage hammering the 5" diam boiler tube into shape, ringing like Big Ben, Clang! Clang! Clang! and along comes the neighbours. up the drive…….I heard him say to the Missus…..

"Just listen to that bloody noise again!"

With that, I downed tools, went on strike and never worked on the loco again!

Bob

PS There are no photos of the build, but do have a nice sketch of the Living Room, showing it on the Bookcase, when I find it!

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hi Richard and others of course

You might like my painting of a Loco on the Bluebell Line?

It was copied from a Calendar a few years ago

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Lovely video of my model yacht Pocatannia

Type in Youtube……

"Buxton Model Boat Club 7"

Very professionally created

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Now something for my mate Ray Wood!

Built the barge "Lady Daphne" from plans by Ferguson and Son

It was berthed at St Catherine`s Dock, next door to the Tower of London, many years ago. It could still be there?

It sailed very nicely, but couldn`t get the fellow club members interested.

The grey sail was a piece of my shirt!

Sold it to Ged, The Bacon Butty Chef at Bury Marine

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

 

The Magazine freebie plan Ritalea made a really nice launch

I fitted a Becker Rudder and worked well.  It appeared in the ModelBoats Magazine

Which for me at the time was quite a novelty

Bob

Edited By Bob Abell on 24/06/2021 15:54:45

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

I built three paddle Boats…..

Jeanie Deans, when she was a Mine Sweeper in WW2

Jeanie Deans as a Passenger ship

The Great Eastern by Brunel

The GE appeared on the BBC programme……Coast with Mark Horton, Cass Newland and Dave Wooley took the photos for ModelBoats Magazine. Not forgetting Jonathon Hare….Electronix expert

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Captain Bob

This is a very nice trip down memory lane and I am looking forward to the RC Planes.

You are a prime example of the skill sets that are fast disappearing from the model building world.

But as Ray says what are you going to do next?

Seeing as you are so keen to see my Titanic builds it is only fair that you let us in on your plans.

How about HMS Warrior or its sister ship HMS Black Prince, these ships are a lot like the Great Eastern with plenty of rivets to play with.

Paul

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi bob,

Thanks for the lovely barge shots, I think she maybe up the East Coast somewhere now ??

Your stance at the edge of the lake is similar to mine when I think please don't let me fall in the lake in front of the whole club

I thought I'd been busy !! but lovely work as usual , What's next ??

Regards Ray

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Hi Bob, absolutely beautiful models, from the stunning paddle steamers to the amazing locomotives. Great shots in the garden as well to bring back those memories. They remind me of when I was a Junior Engineer and I went to visit a Chief Engineer who lived in Bolton. He was into his model locomotives and was in the process of building one, from plans, in his garage. I was completely in awe of what he did.

Urmston, there's a memory. I used to live in Sale and before that Partington as a kid and the family used to go to Urmston swimming baths on a Saturday morning. This is going back to 60s and 70s mind. The baths were very old fashioned, probably Victorian, and I remember they had a cafe on a balcony overlooking the pool. Great memories.

One day I might just be tempted and buy myself a Thames barge or some other form of scale sailing vessel just for that relaxing Sunday morning.

Fantastic thread, thoroughly enjoyable.

Edited By Richard Simpson on 24/06/2021 16:51:33

[Tim RoweParticipant @timrowe83142]

Hello Bob

You are truly a man of many talents. Some wonderful treasures there.

Tim R

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Tim

Much appreciated, my mate

Now, here`s a strange looking craft

It`s the WILTON CASTLE, a pleasure craft that operated on the River Wye at Ross

It had a rear mounted wide paddle wheel and the trippers say it was very scarey and felt totally unsafe!

The Captain sat at the front to control the ship and shouted down a pipe to the Lacky at the back to do the steering or what ever!

BUT……

You are not going to believe this, chaps!

The Etherow Club once had a member who was the ACTUAL Captain of this very craft when it operated in Gloucester Docks!

I kid you not. Can`t spot his name on the Clubs Members list

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Next, we talk about the Paddle Steamer Jeanie Deans. based on the Clyde

A plan by Sandy Thomson. The model is 6 feet in length and was very enjoyable to build

I especially wanted to know how the feathering of the paddles operated and it is a joy to see them swinging round to face the water and then swinging away to avoid paddle drag etc. A brilliant idea

The model was very unstable on the early sailing tests but was cured by fitting long weights below the water line, mounted on a full length bar, for super trimming.

Bob

 

Edited By Bob Abell on 24/06/2021 18:45:41

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Cor, I don’t remember half of them Bob, sure you must have mentioned them in the past.

Loved the paddlers.

Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Ashley

I think you`ve seem most of them

Still got a few more yet to post

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Having built Jeanie Deans in peace time, it seemed a good idea to build the ship as is would have looked like in War time. The thread was entitled JDAW

The hull is unaltered but topside, the superstructure was based of photographs

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Continuing with the Paddler theme, I went overboard and bought a kit !

The Glasgow by Robbe….(I think)

All plastic!…….Don`t like plastic at all. Plastic and wood just don`t gel with me

Made a nice job of it.

After finishing the assembly and painting etc, I went overboard again and converted it to a model built of brass!

See photos

The sailing performance was very underpowered though

It was sold at Haydock….WIEDERZEIN!

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

A few years ago, Paul Thomason had a model designing spree. He used A4 paper size throughout the series, for easy postage etc. and home printing too. All proceeds went to Charity. He had quite a few models to offer too

His first model was a Broads Cruiser, called Ellie. I offered to build the prototype

After a few weeks, the Haydock Show was on and we agreed to meet on the Etherow Stand, where I had placed the Work in Progress for a technical Chat.

Sadly. we missed each other. like "Ships in the Night", for some reason

The photo shows the model`s progress with a card explaining the story

The other photo of the model and Bob is just for amusement only, but it would have been a nice model and I think this is where the seeds were sown for the Multi Motor idea, used later on his big Vintage Launch!

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