“EeZeBilt 50+” Sea Princess build

[Diede van AbsParticipant @diedevanabs87670]

Hi DG,

You can't neglect Ni** cells forever without penalty either, I actually had some very bad experiences with Ni** packs so I switched to LiPo. Each to his own, I guess.

I did not know specifically that you were looking at CNC tooling, although now you say it I seem to remember you mentioning it before in an email. I merely told you because I thought you'd find it interesting to see how old stuff that otherwise would be disposed gets a second life in a totally different setting.

You cannot use this idea for such a big bed, the motors are not strong enough and the travel of the spindels is not nearly enough – a floppy drive only has a travel of around 0,6" or so. And for cutting wood you'd need a pretty sturdy frame, not the lightweight build of this little printer. This is really a small parts tinkering 3D print device, but it looks like a fun project nonetheless. But maybe you could use the controllers and ideas? I believe the controller is built for a printer project called RepRap, you should be able to find tons of info on that.

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

You can't neglect Ni** cells forever without penalty either, I actually had some very bad experiences with Ni** packs so I switched to LiPo.

Indeed. Neglect an Ni** cell and it will cease to hold charge. Usually that's a slow process, so you have time to buy another one. Neglect a LiPo and it might catch fire. Which is a fast process….

Modellers of my generation used to make do and mend rather than buy ready-made accessories, and to some extent you got more praise for finding a completely different use for an object. Probably the classic illustration for the EeZeBilts is the TRITON searchlight:

**LINK**

Look at box 13 on the instructions. Would you ever have thought of using a glue tube like that?

As an aside, I still think that the floppy drive motors might be useful. Cutting 1/16" balsa using a 280 motor with a dental burr on the end doesn't require much force. And the travel is unimportant if you're only going to use the motor, not the motion gear… I shall have a think…..

[Diede van AbsParticipant @diedevanabs87670]

You have to abuse a LiPo pretty badly before it catches fire… Sure they are not as idiot-resistant as NI** cells, but if you treat them anywhere near sort-of normal there is not much to worry about. And you can always use LiFePo cells, all the advantages of LiPo but a lot safer (and a bit lower working voltage, about 3,3V/cell)

Most modern glue tube caps nowadays are not suitable for modelling any more, being made of PP or PE plastics – they don't glue very well, and painting is a pain in the 4$$. Parts of ballpoints on the other hand… Verrry handy. I have a little stock of all kind of discarded stuff which I deem maybe suitable for future use in a model boat just for that kind of detailing. But if I can get a 3D-printer for a steal, I won't be complaining

I really think you should investigate more into the CNC world before using floppy drive steppers for NC cutting, and switch to the larger and more powerful NEMA 17 steppers for at least the X- and Y-axis. Don't unerestimate the forces cutting will exert on your machine; the floppy drive stepper is only barely strong enough to lift a 3D-printer hot-end without the extruder motor.

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Sure they are not as idiot-resistant as NI** cells…

Ah, well, I NEED idiot-proof…

The Triton searchlight is actually made of part of the glue tube – the top bit where the cap goes on, so it's probably aluminium – it might have been lead or tin in the 1950s!

At some point in the future – probably not far away (!) we will all have easy access to a CNC cutter and 3-D printer, in the same way as we all have 2-D printers and scanners nowadays, and plans will be passed around in HP-GL. But there will still be some people wanting to make things the old way – just as there are some people who plough a field with a team of horses – occasionally, just to show that it can be done…

[Diede van AbsParticipant @diedevanabs87670]

Whoa, it's been quite a while since I last posted!

In the mean time I painted the hull in its base-coat, but not yet in the high-gloss finish:

I then commenced with painting the deckhouse white, but that went horribly wrong with terrible underrruns so I was forced to re-do the deck with 0,7 x 6mm Mahogany planking with black cardboard seams. A b**ch of a job, but the result is worth it. This is how it looks before treatment with a PU impregnating resin, which makes it a bit darker and brings out the color:

[Amy jane SeptemberParticipant @amyjaneseptember49770]

She's looking really good, that deck will come up a treat!

[Diede van AbsParticipant @diedevanabs87670]

Sooo… that took quite some time, I had a little setback…

As I painted everything using acrylic paints, I decided to use Rambo gloss floorpaint – as I have had good experiences with the hardware store's own brand acrylic floor paint, but that was not available in high gloss, and the Rambo version promised to be "tough and water resistant".

After three layers I decided to wet sand instead of dry sanding, to obtain a nice and smooth finish just before applying the name vinyl decals.

boy was that a mistake

Within two minutes the paint turned milkwhite and started peeling off the hull in big pieces, it was a complete disaster. I had to completely strip down the layers of paint and re-do the whole scheme

So after I wiped my tears and re-sprayed the whole hull, I did a test piece finishing it with spirit-based high gloss clear coat and because that turned out to be successful, I then sprayed the hull with it.

After three layers (each time wet sanding in between) I applied the decals I cut out in the FabLab Zoetermeer (thats quite an invention, these fablabs, very nice to have that around!) and then applied a further two or three layers of clear coat and here she is, hull now finished and running gear sort of installed:

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

That is one of the problems with acrylic finishes. They don't always bond to the substrate and simply dry as a film on top of it, in effect you have covered the model in liquid shrink wrap which is OK until you puncture the surface….

Colin

[Diede van AbsParticipant @diedevanabs87670]

Yeah, I guess so, I just never had this issue with Glitsa or Gamma home brand floor finish. But they only come in matt or silk finish, and I wanted this boat to be comb-your-hair-high-gloss.

I was actually baffled by that this Rambo stuff seemed to absorb the water (the whitening effect) and even partially dissolve again as I peeled the film off with a knife.

Ow well…, lesson learned, the hard way. At least this Gamma home brand, spirit based, paint sticks perfectly well, sands wet perfectly, and shines like a wet babies b*tt*m. We can proceed again

Edited By Diede van Abs on 01/10/2015 16:09:41

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Maybe the formula has changed since you last used the acrylic. Paints seem to be getting more and more watery these days, presumably to comply with EU rules. Household paint never seems to go hard and car paint finishes now chip off at the slightest provocation unlike the old cellulose.

Colin

[Amy jane SeptemberParticipant @amyjaneseptember49770]

Sorry to hear about the paint, I would have sulked for a week! Looking good now though.

[David BeetonParticipant @davidbeeton49410]

Forgive me for intruding on this thread, but it's the only one that features the "Sea Princess", that I could find! I have just acquired a large, 48" approx, ply-built model of the SP, originally powered by an i/c plant, and missing a few panels, such as cabin tops and internal features/details. I feel sure that it would have been built from a kit, and wondered if anyone could give me any ideas for getting hold of a set of plans or more info regarding who might have produced such a model. I want to restore the hull and get it back into the water, probably with electric power, as I have limited access to water where i/c would be tolerated, no matter how well it was silenced! I will post some pictures if required, as soon as I am able to get back into the workshop.

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

Hi David, the Sea Princess is a plan and model made to very closely resemble the old Aerokits Sea Queen, and it's smaller cousin the sea commander. This is a great model still in production marketed by Jotika.

If you Google model sea queen you'll see some nice models and a link to the Jotika web site.

A search on this forum will produce some interesting results, including a thread with a photograph of the plan.

Any help you need with the restoration can be had on here, I'm willing to bet that an awful lot of us have made that model over the years.

My way of starting a job like this is to sit down with a pen and paper, and list out the tasks, then you can put them in some sort of order.

You'll almost certainly have questions about powering the model, so I recommend you begin by reading Dave's article on model electrics.

https://www.modelboats.co.uk/news/article/but-i-don't-understand-electronics/18054

Clicking on the features tab on this web site will also give you several interesting articles worth a read to help you.

I hope that gets you started, keep the forum informed, we like to hear about classic models coming back to life.

Charles.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi David,

This is the Sea Queen drawing, plenty of pictures in my album.

Regards Ray

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

The Sea Princess in the thread is from the Eezebilt Boats website. The 50+ was to celebrate the 50 years since the original Eezebilt kits were introduced. The Sea Princess is 23" long.

Tim

[David BeetonParticipant @davidbeeton49410]

Many thanks guys. I have built one of the Aerokits boats before, so I'm familiar with the construction methods, but I hadn't seen them around for a while. The hull configuration looks identical to the drawing, so I've got a good feeling about the future for the future of this hull! I'll keep the forum posted on progress.

[David BeetonParticipant @davidbeeton49410]

Thanks Tim, I was aware of the origins of the thread, hence my apology in my original question. I have now been given some helpful info from the other guys, so I will drop this conversation. Sorry to have intruded.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi David,

Many thanks for 're-kindling this old thread, I never realized the Ezezbuilt website existed, very interesting sets of drawings for balsa boats, somebody went a lot of effort to present it so professionally 😀

Regards Ray

[redpmgParticipant @redpmg]

Hi Ray –

DG not only set up the EeZeBilt website quite a few years ago AND designed most of the 50+ models with a couple of exceptions – he also set up one for Old Boats where old boat plans can be downloaded for free , but also a site for Adamcraft , Taycol Motors and another which escapes me at the moment.

DG also set up the Vintage & Old Boats section on RC Groups to further try and collect and ensure old plans are not lost forever. He is definitely one of the unsung heroes of this hobby.

Ron Rees for instance used two of the 50+ plans for models built of Depron ? instead of balsa which ran as an article in MB.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Peter,

I know Ron a very capable modeller 😀 who is DG ??

Regards Ray

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

I assume DG was Dodgy Geezer.

http://eezebilt.tk/index.html

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

Dodgey Geezer is certainly an unsung hero, he and Tony Hadley who compiled most, possibly all of Vic Smeeds boat plans have done so much to preserve early boat modeling. D.Gs Taycol site is the go to place for anyone wanting to use these great early motors with today's radio gear.

I suspect a great many models have been made from D Gs plans that we never hear about on this site. Anyone who wants to make simple good looking models, and beginners wanting to learn basic modeling skills need look no further. They also put the fun element into model making.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a link to his site on our home page?

Chas

 

Edited By Charles Oates on 04/04/2020 12:21:41

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Charles,

Dodgey used to be a regular on here, but hasn't posted since 2017, but people do come and go !

This has given me the idea to build another Sea Queen, I just enjoy building them, the kits are so good from Jontika 😀

Regards Ray

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

Me too Ray, I haven't built a cabin cruiser for years, and the Sea Queen always stood out. I remember years ago seeing an Australian built one in the magazine that had used lots of great veneers, a real thing of beauty.

Chas

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

I have just started cutting liteply to build the Eezebilt OSA 1 missile boat , at 32" and have the plans printed the plans off for the Sea Princess . Should give me something to do whilst I am 'at home' and until I can start painting my D M Fairey.

Will post some pictures when I have made some progress.

Tim

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