Model boat project “Dreamtime”

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

my on going project

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

Hi there,

first things first, Sorry if this is in the wrong place.. im new to the forum

as you can see I have a model boat please see pictures below…

and im in need of some help and advice from anybody with an interest any help greatly appreciated

At this current time she is old about 5-6 years old, im wanting to re-paint, also fit A prop shaft and prop and either an engine or an electric motor the cosmetics will get sorted out as and when i can and i will keep use updated, in the mean time i would love to hear your input,

i need advice on….

1. the correct or close enough prop to use (cheap as possible)
2. What sort of motor/engine

at the momment i dont know how heavie she is. what i do know is she is made from marine plywood 2-3mm thick and coated with fiberglass resin along with 2-3 layers of fiberglas plus there are bulk heads in the hulls either side, she is 4foot long and 2 foot in width and stands on the floor at 9 inch from the bottom to the top of the deck, she was in use about 2 years ago on and off back then she could carry upto 25kg easily then when we tried 50kg she floated but was to unstable.

any information use need to help me out just ask and i will get the information if possible

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

You say that she carries weight? What is she used as? A bait boat?

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

haha, me and an "old" guy used to use it as a video platform for taking videos of us out in the boats it was in fully working order but due to my old freinds health getting worse he couldnt take it out to use anymore and was going to sell it to but i couldnt let that happen (sentimental value) so i took it off his hands and had plans to upgrade but as time went on and i ended up with a full time job i didnt have the time to put into it so it sat in my back yard for 3 -4 years, its not rotten it just needs some tlc but i need help with it and want to kinda make it a boat the internet built

Edited By josh nicholas on 07/02/2017 17:46:17

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Modern video equipment weighs Grams rather than Kilos, or ounces in my measurement system! You could easily mount a video camera with immediate picture transmission to a shore-side screen.

So I suspect weight will not be a problem. How fast do you want it to go?

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

weight definitely is not a problem, well the local currents in the channel are are around 8-17knots (9.2-19.5mph) maybe more on a high tide and obv wind speeds will affect her due to her size soo id like it togo 30-40mph she will get on a "plane" if power to waight ratio is correct but i guess getting the right prop is the key along with what engine or electric motor i use, i would prefer an engine as im very well michanical minded.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Josh

I think you need to review the boats name ?? I've had better nightmares

Regards Ray

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

hiya ray,

haha! now thats what i call humore!!! the old freind of mine named her back when we built her, she will get renamed when the projects complete.

(i wont reply till later on off for an interview for the army)

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

I have decided i am going to try to make twin jet drives one on either hull

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

Here is a picture of Dreamtime when she was in service 12 years ago

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

Well today i had an idea and the was to take the tunel out of the middle of the boat so i did (looks very crude and rough) the top deck was rotten anyways so needed to be taken off anyways…

The wood inside the hull looks bad on the photo but is very strong in person

all the plywood on the inside towards the back and running up the middle will be taken off tomorrow, then it will all be tided up and get fiber glassed into to a complete hull next pay-day then its on to sorting the decking and cabin and also the inner flooring and engine bearers aka (motor mounts)

to me it looks like a "john boat" type hull im looking forward to seeing what it like on the water when it comes to the first test canrt decide weather to go for one big wat jet in the middle or two props with rudders etc.

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

Well there has been some progress…

(Altho not alot i have made the template for the Gunnels/top rear deck)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture from the Top

(As you can tell i have yet to sort the inside out along with fiberglassing the two half of the hul togeather)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have also used Google Sketchup to draw a 3D model of the ModelBoat to the exact dimentions…

(i have also made the cabin out of Cardboard to see how it looks on the model(will upload pics tomorrow)

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from the frunt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know what you guys think !! (will update tomorrow)

Cheers, Josh

Edited By josh nicholas on 14/02/2017 21:55:31

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

Well todays been a busy day,

i went to B&Q and got some plywood today to make the deck and the cabin with

i set about drawing around my templates onto the plywood with great sucess!

i then had to cut it all out, i didnt use a hacksaw blade or a jigsaw (they leave rough edges) i used an ultrasonic cutter it cut through the 5.5mm plywood like butter and it did the straight lines and the curves spot on and left the edges smooth as silk!

I also had to goto a freinds garage who was having a big clear out so i got some fiberglass and some RC stuff that a might be able to use along with some hand storage trys and draws

Heres the top deck and the cabin that i cut out along with some splash boards…(Click images to see Bigger version)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and a side view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You will also notice i have removed all of the old paint (still need to sand it down)

Heres a picture of the bottom after fiberglassing (Not complete on the bottom yet)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the bottom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still need to put a new stearn in when i have some more resin and fiberglass

Edited By josh nicholas on 19/02/2017 22:19:57

Edited By josh nicholas on 19/02/2017 22:20:30

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Good work there Josh. I would add more fibreglass and rub down until the deck is fixed in place, just a thought, as then the deck will blend in well with the sides.

​From experience I know it can be hard to flat down fibreglass as it always seems a bit tacky and it is very hard. For my HMS Nelson, I roughly flatted the sides with course wet `n`dry, and then scraped a wodge of p38 filler straight from one end to another with a long straight edge. This evened out the hull sides nicely and flatting off was then relatively easy.

​Ashley

[josh nicholasParticipant @joshnicholas98718]

Thank you Ashley,

i intend on doing just that, im still waiting for pay-day so i can get more fiberglass and some filler, I will also be putting some more internal supports inside the hull to give it some more strength

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