Todays Boating

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Cycled past the pond at Bushy yesterday in the nice sun (as it’s raining here as I type) which is still there.

However it horribly silted up by the footbridge on the left of the jetty. ?

10 titchy see-through blue servos arrived yesterday. They are very cute and smaller that the mini servo I don’t have (it’s on the Crusader). Just the job for the Swordfish, and in another stroke of luck…

I bought a 20A aircraft esc for the Swordfish to use with the GWS fan, but. the fan has a very small plug on it (which I was going to cut off) AND whilst gathering all the servos and my other esc’s into one box noticed a pair of 8A rated GWS ics300 esc’s, and.. they have the same little plug on the motor connection (who would have believed it!).

At a stroke this has a) cut down more soldering work and b) saved some weight, as the ics300 is a tiny thing. My fan should only take about 6A so we should be ok. there will be lots of breeze around to cool it😎

Ashley

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Hi, Ashley, your remarks re your pond silting up makes me wonder how our pond is, normally our pond manager checks on its condition almost daily to keep the weeds and algae under control.

Regards

Eddie. The

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Eddie, better start on an air-boat….just in case!

Just used my new-ish toy, the servo tester, to check that one of my dinky blue servos was in fact working ok, and to centre it up.

made a servo mount and glued it in the Swordfish, and now really just waiting on me balsa cement so I can start sticking the skins on the frame.

I know what will happen. The performance will be, er, not exciting (enough) and I will be looking at 40 or even 30mm edf units. One of these will not only pep it up but be more of a match scale wise for the Jetex (have I said that before?)

Still raining. The blue tits wot are nesting in a tit-box in the eves are looking very damp as they constantly flit in and out.

Ashley

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Only snag with anything that may go fast, we have a notice in our shelter that says ‘fast boats are frowned upon’

Not sure what they will think of my Fairy.

A pair of Robins and a pair of Blackbirds working hard here.

Regards.

Eddie.

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Ashley

Are those mini or micro for use as steering servos?

I was looking at the Eezebilt OSA last night and fitting the rudder before the sides go on. I have a couple of mini servos, wondering if a mini servo would be ok for the rudder? Most of my boats seem to have a standard servo for the rudder. Guess normally I have put in what the kit instructions have said, but sure I used a small servo on the Eezebilt PT Boat.

Tim

[alan burgessParticipant @alanburgess78098]

It's OK Eddie, the sign says 'Irresponsible use of fast boats is frowned upon'.

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Thanks Alan,I will try and act responsibly with it. BTW I have had an update re the lake from John Crisp, he says its a bit green but not too bad at the moment.

Hope you are keeping well.

Regards.

Eddie

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Tim. I have not used a standard size servo for years! Check out "Howes mini high torque servo"…the body is about 30 x 12 x 30mm and it is only £4.

Unless you have something very powerful with a massive rudder, these will do you. I even used one to do the tilting pontoons on the pontoon boat.

The new ones are even smaller but I have no doubt they will do the business.

I used a REALLY TINY one in the Ecranoplan to operate the tail rudder.

Ashley

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Thanks Ashley

I have a couple of mini servos in my odds box. Don't know where I bought them. Strangely I seem to have used one in my Fairey Huntsman.

I will get a few more mini servos for future boats.

I do have boats such as a Model Slipway Aziz which is very heavy and Robbe Dusseldorf, heavy and 4 rudders, which probably make use of the fitted standard servo.

Tim

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I have created an HMS London album to show a few build snaps not included in the article. I realise that I did not specifically state that the masts turned, despite re-writing the blurb a million times and re-reading it, but in the album is the means by which, etc etc.

The editor majored on fantastic professional quality beautiful on-the-water snaps (if I say so myself…what you can do with a Canon Ixus compact) and as that's what I made the thing for, the right choice.

Those of a nervous disposition regarding sacrilegious modelling practice should NOT look at the album!

Swordfish. not much to look at, a bare flattish collection of balsa lengths with a yellow servo wire support in it and an unfeasibly small see through plastic servo!

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

STILL no balsa cement to finish the Swordfish!! A jiffy bag, nothing more… I have received loads of items since ordering the Cement. Miffed.

BUT…is there a rush??

When I finish it, cement allowing (soon), it will just sit on the shelf gathering dust before we are allowed out (after I stir up the goldfish in our garden pond)..

I can well imagine my main outside interests, banding and dancing, will be the last things to be allowed, and even then then, dancing may be verboten for yonks! The class I run at the day centre will likely not be happening until Christmas..

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Still waiting balsa cement. Trying not to use something else just yet. If it doesn't come today I will have to message the seller. Other stuff via royal mail has arrived promptly…

Progress on Swordfish, mainly the painted cabin sides. EDF perched on top showing how unfeasibly big it is.

Surprisingly a 30mm brushless edf according to the listing only weighs 20g as opposed to 70g for the gws unit, but puts out about 200g of thrust as opposed to 120g. Hmmmm…

Although not an awful lot more oomph, combined with the 50g weight loss and the resumption of almost scale Jetex appearance makes me wonder if later on I shouldn't splash out £15 later on????

But the purpose of the exercise is to use my brushed edf.

Ashley

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Hi. Ashley, have you thought about changing the name of this thread to ‘today’s non boating’😄.

Regards.

Eddie

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Sad but true, think of the club subscription that will have to roll over to next year !!!!

I heard a council were asking for fees for a cricket pitch they hadn't even cut from the club 😮

Ashley,

That's what I had envisaged , but the cabin seems rather narrow 😀😀😀

Regards Ray

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Posted by Eddie Lancaster on 04/05/2020 10:17:50:

Hi. Ashley, have you thought about changing the name of this thread to ‘today’s non boating’😄.

Regards.

Eddie

Or Today's Boating But Without Water.

Ashley – did you post a picture earlier of what the Swordfish will look like when finished?

Chris

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Ray, now you mention it, and having studied the picture you are right and I may make it a bit wider…🥰

Eddie, how true sadly.

Since having bleated on about the 30mm edf unit I can see that eventually I am going to have to fit one eh? I mean, the temptation….🤔

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

It suddenly dawned on me that I will have no less than 5 boats to test when we are let out.

The Ecranoplan with the new motor, Walrus with new `tailwheel` skeg, and the edf trio,,, Bluebird, Crusader and Swordfish.

I am in a position now to need some 4mm ply to make storage boxes for Crusader and Swordfish.

Over the park this afternoon, on my exercise ride, the two Terries were on `the log` again, two Herons were posing for photos, and the silt at the bridge is quite bad. Not seen it silt up like this before?

Ashley

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Haven’t been to the pond since lockdown but at a guess we’ve had an east wind blowing for a good three weeks now and that tends to blow all the crap up the jetty end of the pond, that or all the wild fowl have been using under the bridge as a toilet!

new boats coming on well, will post some pics soon.

Ricky ye pirate 🏴‍☠️

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Hi all,

Thanks to this hobby it’s kept me from going too stir crazy and internet ordering has had a good spanking (more than usual.) My Brigantine is coming along nicely and after a family discussion is going to be named Eleanor Rose, for no particular reason except it sounds old! The only mishap so far was mounting the rudder servo too far back past the end of the poop deck, so I had to extend the poop deck to cover the servo + gain access to it for maintenance. Rather than have an ugly square bump out I built a curved one, which turned out rather well, a happy mistake in the end which will have some windows and a door for a Captains day cabin.

The hull and deck have been planked, stained and varnished just waiting for a shed full of deadeyes and rope to turn up to start rigging, another tedious but rewarding job!

Stay safe we’ll all be out and about soon.

Ricky ye pirate 🏴‍☠️

[peter ward 9Participant @peterward9]

was at the pond myself on sunday

the silt under the bridge appears to have backed up along the feeder stream where it goes under the bridge its just a solid mass of sludge continuing under the bridge and into that corner of the pond

if the natural flow of the water cannot get through to the pond it isnt going to be fed with any fresh water and it looks like unless you have a sailing boat with maximum keel depth of about 6" that it will be a no no within a season for sailing boats, unless something can be done

the other source of water at the top right of the pond by the other bridge ( the dyke that previously we were able to sail up ) though still flowing is itself severley restricted unfortunately

on a brighter note , supposedly fishing and golf are to be re instated though under limited condition so maybe boating may return some time sooner that possibly had been thought

best wishes to you all

peter

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Looks like it may be OK to go sailing from Wednesday with one other person from outside your household (and perhps a few more within shouting distance?)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do

Boris said in Parliament this afternoon that it is OK to go swimming in lakes and in the sea so why should there be a problem with a boat? And of course occasionally we go semi swimming involuntarily.

Colin

Edited By Colin Bishop on 11/05/2020 16:37:06

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

Yes and as some one heavily involved in outdoor swimming you should see the uproar this has caused.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

That's a bit vague really eh or wot…..so if I am at one end of the jetty boating 2m from Trevor (obviously), and Richard and Peter turn up at the other end does this constitute 4 people boating or two lots of two???? (devils advocate).

Good news really I suppose. I had better charge up some batteries!! Although it will be pouring with rain and blowing a gale on Wednesday…

Will the park be open to cars though??? Useless if not!

Ashley (miserable young git)

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Richard. looking good (and the boat). Like the baby blue.

Ashley

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

You would need to try and check if the roads are going to be reopened Ashley. Nothing on the Bushy website yet but it's early days.

Colin

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