Todays Boating

[mike farrellParticipant @mikefarrell21522]

So Ashley lets design some blow up rubber boats

Fit plastic straws

Weigh it down with marshmallows

BLOW THEM UP AND STAND BACK

oops forgot the rudder ,no we,ll make them teathered so no jobsworth can come after us

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Unfortunately no boating this Sunday either, as going out somewhere.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Ah ha!! boating ! due to the forgetfulnbess of A.N.OTHER party, I was actually free today, so loaded the Titanic and Nelson and dashed off to `t pond.

Busy busy, 9 or so boaters and twice as many boats. Very good turn out indeed.

Pond definately getting FAST, with several newish boater bringing fast torpedo boats and wot not.

Ray had the magnificent Belfast out, and his dazzle painted ML, a work of art in itself. I must prime him to bring it down and I can bring the Argus, although not quite as extremely finely striped (Rays stripes are very thin, and there are a lot of them), the Argus is at least dazzle painted. Cant remember seeing any one else with dazzle (unless it was an extremely bad paint job!)

Sorry to mention bad paint jobs. I went to Kew steam mus for their annual steam boat day a year or so ago, and there was a quite magnificent paddler, of a very large size, completely ruined by a very sloppy white boot topping, and out of odds with the rest of the boat which was finished to a high standard.. It is one of the first things you see on a model, something that stands out…especially as the boat was on a high stand on a table.

The German LCT continues apace..the foam rod stuff has appeared and I have made some rubber boats, the 88 is complete, and the rudder is in. I need to get a 5 inch propshaft now, and paint the red-oxide bottom and we will just about be there. Tanks. I need to repaint or at least touch up two of them before popping them on the tank deck. I want to put some of my green string-vest stuff on the top as camouflage netting, but not sure about the look yet, and it may cover up the tanks too much.

One of the chaps had an air boat. The simplest thing you could imagine, Blue styrofoam body, MFA 380 motor, 5 inch prop, 7.4v Lipo battery, and the motor was mounted directly on the servo so it pivoted for steering. It was quite adequately powered, the 380 is a frisky motor, not over powerful, but the boat went ok, and has given me ideas for the SRN4 wot has been shelved indefinately…I may give it some more thought and make a go of it (after the current project, stalled due to lack of finance and ideas).

Saturday I changed the rear tyre on my Ariel red hunter….gosh, what a job. The Centre stand is broken (and in any case restricts the ground clerarance for cornering) so I jacked it up with the trolly jack and rested the handily parallel frame tubes on some breeze blocks, but had to have assistance as the bike had to go up about 18 inches to get the blinkin rear wheel out. I did one puncture at the roadside in my yoof..never again!. Getting the old tyre off was a struggle…I took probably 20 mins just getting the new one over one rim and the inner tube in..let along getting the other side on. Best thing I ever brought…foot long tyre levers. Why they ever sold the smaller ones I will never know.

Ashley. In the loft painting dingies and an assault boat (for the back of the LCT)

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Great boating on Sunday. Nice sunny day, Had Sunderland, seahawk and TBD out.

Loads boaters. Seahawk looking good and going reasonably fast compared to the other larger fast boats. Actually very quiet also incomparison, Big MFA850 humming away, and very steady with its V hull, unlike the perkasa etc which, with their hard chine hulls were slapping on the ripples.

Crocodile man man demonstrating his ludicrously fast converted RTR small speed boat.. demonstrating FLOATING UPSIDE DOWN that is!! three times no less. However, once shaken free of water , ready to go again.

Looked at Trevors dodgy twitching servo and made some suggestions, most of which had been tried, and thought a ferrite ring might be benificial, failing this, one of the motors might by dodgy and so the wiring needed to be seperated and the motors tried individually.

Trevors next project. He is thinking outside the box!!! He is contemplating a L##### E#####, and not only wants it to ##### but also to ###### as well! A challenge if ever I saw one. Worthy of an Ashley project. Oddly enough, something on my list of "to make" as being a possible oddity. Be interesting to see what happens. I think he might be being a bit ambitious makig it ####### but who am I to say whats possible!

Peter had his gentlemans speed boat along for another test, with superstructure, and looking much different to how I had imagined it. (this is the one with the pronounced nose up attitude at speed). With two battereies in the front and the cabin on, the nose lift was only excessice at max speed.. 7/8 throttle and the attitude was good I thought. Didnt notice any nose-down at rest, and once on the move the front lifted anyway, as previously mentioned i think. Problem with, of all things, his fuse holder.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

No boating this Sunday as went to `t Amberly working museum, a great day out.

But tested the LFM out on Saturday..two gents were there sailing and another came along trying out a Huntsman (or something similar), so there was someone to chat to.

Put an ammeter on the LFM and the "standard" 540 was taking 10A on a really quite pitchy 30mm brass 3 blade prop, so changed to a normal sort of 35mm prop. Performance good, brisk, good stopping power. Nose up a bit, added some lead and when level looked a bit better..but surely something as crude as a landing craft would not have ballast tanks, so might be high at the front with one Tiger short?

Manouverability outstanding, considering the 4 foot length and 7 inch beam.The rudder is really close behind the prop though and goes over 45%, so perhaps this explains it. Colour scheme to be fiddled with, as the light blue I painted the fore-deck cover (just to make it a bit more colourful) is a bit much, now I have seen it on the water. Grey undercoat it will have to be although I might make it just a shad edarker than standard, but not as dark as the hull. Also needs some shrapnel sandbags/whatever on the pilot house (must get some clay), and life-rings..the ones I bought are too big. Some 54mm Airfix German partatroopers as crew looked good in my estimation and were blu-tacked on..its that sort of boat. But not bad for a whim and a months work. Looks quite cool with the little Trumpeter sized LCT I made for the lad some years ago.

The printer ran out of coloured ink, si I had to print a German naval flag in black and white, and then painted the bits red with artists acrylic paint. I thought this looked a bit dull, but once outside looks ok so I might keep it on.

Anyone go to the pond today? good or not good?

Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

Not me – been working on the latest project, looking promising so far !

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Trevor. You are the man! looking forward to seeing the fruits of your labours…

Not changed your mind yet, still up AND down??

Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

Yup, can squeeze in two 540 motors too !

[LARRY WHETTONParticipant @larrywhetton68737]

Hi Ashley ,

got any pictures , of the latest boats ..?…Larry..

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

your wish, etc etc. see my album Ashley

[LARRY WHETTONParticipant @larrywhetton68737]

Thank you very nice , Larry

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Ashley

Something has been bothering me for ages!

What is a Carpet Carrier?………It's something new to me

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I think he means something like this Bob….

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Bob. keep up, man! look on my piccies, it is the deck I made for the lad to p;lay with his planes on the carpet.

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Ashley

I didn't know either…… I had some notion about HMS Carpetland with a brinylon flight deck and the planes from Dyson.

Paul

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Cor, I wrote enough about it, and how I tidied it up a bit and then made a hull to put it on so I could have TWO carriers on the pond! Have burned out an ESC now with the old Marlin motor, and replaced it with something out of a drill I think it is, doesnt seem to be that juicy or high revving and is marked 7.2V but is a biggish lump. Yet to test.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Tomorrow hopefully (weather permitting, and dont forget to put the jolly old clox back!) I should have the LFM , lct and…something else out. Might take the Toybota out, or the Herald if it looks blowy. The Herald needs lots of wind or you spend all the time motoring around, as its so rubbish a sailor. That May geezer, I dont know.

I have painted the front cover of the LFM grey and it does look a bit better. A few sandbags have been made and green clay shrapnel mats now adorn the piloting position.

Printer now has some coloured ink but I will stay with the painted-in German navy flag for a bit, it looks ok, not too bright. A bit of thin bamboo has been glued around the inner rim of the access hole to carry the aerial wire. Batteries charged up. What could go wrong?

Trevor, bring down ..the project …and lets have a quick shuftie , eh!! Good stuff.

Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Oh dear, is it that time again?

Can't wait for tomorrow

I love surprises!…….What can the new project be, I wonder?

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Chaps and fellow boaters. Cold or what at the pond. Small turnout today, but the croc man has come good and made a body hump to be towed behind the head previously made. Looks great, needs a tail so thats the next thing, sorry no pictures.

LFM and small LCT out, HMS Midge on standby but didnt get used. We stood around for two hours in coats hats and gloves and then went home to warm up a bit. Might need to dust off the icebreaker soon!!

Chap with modified RTR type boats out (with wife/girlfriend <not sure which, must ask&gt had an interesting prototype boat with a ducted fan on it. Said boat was 440g, thrust developed by fan is 580g…so..he has a VERY LARGE foil on the back for downwards push and did he need it!!! Other than he had very little directional control, the thing was jet propelled (literally). The problem with this sort of thing (air rather than water drive) is that when they leave the water, thrust does not stop, it just effectivly doubles and so it all becomes a bit frantic.

Trevor not down with his project, and I cant say what it might be as it is his suprise. It was strangely enough something I had contemplated, as being an oddity, but moved down the list of "to do`s" due to percieved difficulties, mainly in the ##### and access department, however having since built a ##### I can see where the path might lead to a successful build for the craft contemplated, and we have talked about that area of the build. Trevor wants it to do two things, which to be honest I think he might struggle with, especially as it will (having looked at pictures of the real thing) be missing one of the features that I would want to put on as being a ..feature of the craft. This feature is not in itself crucial to the PERFORMANCE of the craft, and indeed might even hold it back in certain departments while being difficult to make to boot. BUT that is just one of the challenges you face when making something off the wall, and only adds to the fun. I would very much like to be proved wrong in my assumptions about this item, and if it only does one of the things contemplated, that will really be an achievement in itself.

Sorry Bob.

Ashley (stalwart)

And an Alvis Stalwart is on my list of "to do`s" list somewhere, as I have mentioned it.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Trevor. Plse get a public wotsit as I cant PM you !!

You may want to look at a telly program on tonight.

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 29/10/2012 08:07:35

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

Was away camping at the week-end so no boating !

Project almost at bath test for an idea of where to locate certain components for balance.

May well end up as a dead duck but will get to sea trials as soon as possible (I am sure Ashley will have his camera handy), if it only works half as good as intended I will be pleased.

Ashley – have sent pm.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Blast, no boating. Pouring with rain.

May go to Kew steam museum today instead, they have a modelling event on (new event they say), and not the usual steam boat one. Opens 11am.

Great place to visit in any case. Stuffed full of large bits of nicely machined metal. Great.

Ashley

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

And theres me thinking that Kew was just plants, it just goes to show that you southerners get the cream of everything.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Paul, well, there we are eh?

As it happens not an awful lot there. One stand of model boats. Nothing too interesting, although there was a Thames fireboat on display. odd thing, Full length superstructure, bit like a narrow boat, with one large water monitor at the front and a pipe with 8 or 11 (cant remember monitors off this all in a line, with firemen! Working squirters. Real boat being restored I seem to remember..I am sure 2 mins surfing will find it.

[LARRY WHETTONParticipant @larrywhetton68737]

Hello Ashley ,

Did it look like this ..?… Larry….

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