cradles

[David Hooper 1Participant @davidhooper1]

Hi everyone, as you may be aware I am going to build the u s s Whitehall as my next project and I was thinking of making a couple of cradles to support the hull as I work on it. The hull is approx. 584mmx102mmx159mm (23"x4"x61/4&quot as I am a beginner can you tell me if this is a good/bad idea and how many and size of cradle I should make. Any help and advice will be greatly appreciated. Regards Dai H

[David Hooper 1Participant @davidhooper1]

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

I would say that a cradle is essential – not only to support it while building but mainly to support it at the poolside when you are performing final checks.

It should be big enough to support the prop and rudder off the ground. Depending on the design, you might also use it for carrying the boat to the pond.

There are many different designs – most of which require you to know the angle of the hull at a couple of positions. This is the sort of cradle I typically use:

[David Hooper 1Participant @davidhooper1]

Dodgy Geezer, many thanks for the advice and the photo you have been a great help to this novice.

Regards Dai H

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi David

Here's a selection of stands for some of my round bilge boats & ships, I find it really beneficial to have the boat set at the right level for drawing on the waterline from a fixed datum. The Silvermist stand got carried away and ended up with a box & draw for the transmitter under the stand, Also the HMS Diamond and Silvermist base boards are slightly longer than the model and gives some protection to the bows and sterns when in the back of the car, where I find most damage occurs. If you don't have the drawn sections of the hull, I use cereal packet card to make a template. I'm using felt under the model, have tried rubber tape but it seems to end up sticking to the hull.

Best Regards Ray

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

The cheapest stand is a cardboard box with 'V' shaped cutouts in opposite sides. Put some string around this and you can use it as a carrying cradle, with your radio and accessories lying in the bottom or the box.

Of course, cardboard doesn't like getting wet (though a coat of paint can preserve it for a while) – so making the same thing out of wood or plastic sheet makes it more robust.

Some people make pretty stands out of wood to display the boat at home – **LINK**

You can make stands out of PVC piping – **LINK**

It's also a good idea to have some way of protecting your boat in storage and transit. Most people make boxes for this, which can incorporate a stand – **LINK**

Wooden boxes are heavy – here's how I make mine: **LINK**

[David Hooper 1Participant @davidhooper1]

Hi Ray Wood 2 thank you for the reply and photo's it was all really helpful, I think the way forward for me as a novice will be to just build the hull then the cradle to fit. I do not have ocd but am a pain for detail!!, hence why I am asking so many questions at this time I hope as time passes they will tail off and who knows maybe just maybe one day I will be able to call myself a model maker. Regards Dai H

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

If it is a plank on frame hull that is not yet started, you have templates for the stand in the frames – just take drawings from the frames in the area where it is going to support, add an allowance for the skin thickness, you have the size and shape of the end pieces.

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

I believe that the Whitehall is a styrene hull? If so, use a sheet of cardboard as Ray advises to cut out a template for the hull shape. It's easier to just cut a template for half the hull and use that shape 'doubled up' for the full template – if the styrene hull comes in two halves that is even more convenient!

Allow a space for padding as Ray mentions, and only join the two supports together when you have the full hull made and can adjust the gap between them to fit perfectly….

[David Hooper 1Participant @davidhooper1]

Hi to you all that replied to my post about 'cradles' you were all more than helpful and have given me lots of ideas and things to think about. Once again many thanks and if ever a dinosaur like me can work out how to upload photos I will keep you updated, or I will just ask the grandchildren to do it for me. Regards Dai H

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