Todays Boating

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

What was the logic of the double prop propulsion? A prop operating in the the slipstream of another one ahead of it is bound to be inefficient surely?

The closest parallel today would seem to be the Isle of Wight hovercraft service. OK it is a hovercraft but the propulsion systen is not dissimilar. with two fans at the back but with two rudders instead of one.

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Hi Colin. I read just the other day. That the rear prop of a contra rotating pair is 20% more efficient than on its own!

HOWEVER is this a contra rotating setup? We will never know.

The logic is…it looks different. It was never built so the efficiency or lack of is immaterial and secondary to the illusion of futurism. The model will probably make a funny noise compared to the single prop boats.

Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

Ray,

This one is a bit more Dan Dareish but also from 1933.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Fired up the bus yesterday and sad to report it does not sound odd…it just sounds like twin props. Taking 10A each motor which is ok. No shrouds yet, and the front cut down props may need a bit of tip reprofiling to sit nicely within the shroud.

No vibration to speak of despite simply bandsawing the front props down!

Bit windy…mulling over what to take today.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Sunday boating good. Tup, Swordfish, saucer.

Tested the flying bus today, and can report it floats well when upside down.

It is MEGGA fast even on a 2s, and may have been even faster than megga…in fact I didnt even get to half throttle on the 2s. Having `built in lightness` I am going to have to add some lead ballast to stop it literally taking off. Wowser. Possibly, a 15mm draft for something 22 inches long by 9 inches wide and having slab sides is not a winning combination. How the passengers are going to cope with a 10g acceleration…anybodies guess.

Ashley

[harry smith 1Participant @harrysmith1]

Hi Ashley

10G, my PT109 is only 5G !!!

Harry

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Ah Harry, it’s because there’s less gravity on top of the world here…

Ashley

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

How the passengers are going to cope with a 10g acceleration…anybodies guess.

They'll enjoy the experience of weightlessness when you take your finger off the throttle…

Colin

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Shame that they will be unconscious!

Chris

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Sunday. big LcT, German LfM and a small flack-lander. All going well barring running out of battery on the big ‘un (easily recovered with fishing pole).

Spent time yesterday sorting out display gear for the Egham Royal show next week end. I plan to take as many boats as poss, as although Peter will be there Saturday, I am on my own on the Sunday and need to fill the tables to simulate there normally being four of us!

I should manage 7 boxes for the bottom layer and hopefully another 7 above them, with the Ecranoplan and Walrus on top, bumpers and tops and “display” gear box on front seat (4 boxes) AND a couple of smaller boats behind the front seats (besides a stool, lunch, banner tube etc).

Boxing up boats is the way to go for storage and transportation. All the boxes have a cord handle, allowing me to carry 4 at a time. Parking this year is behind the tent so hopefully not much of a distance to carry.

Flying bus curved top proving troublesome (builders foam and epoxy resin) and although really smooth and a nice shape, there are a few hairline cracks at the foam joints and elsewhere, that seem to have appeared when I sprayed it with the red undercoat, despite being sealed with EzeKote. There’s acrylic paint and there’s and acrylic paint. The spray stuff invariably reacts against most foams whereas the brushed Acrylic paints (Rustins grey undercoat) Are completely inert. To boot, the spray stuff is very ‘fine’ and seems to creep into places that the Rustins doesn’t ??

I Think I may have to put a layer of glass tissue and more resin on it to ensure it doesn’t start cracking in future. More filling and sanding, but a superior job…like the Larsen. I had hoped the resin alone sinking into the foam would be enough but obv not!

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Decided not to go with epoxy resin, so used glass tissue and EzeKote instead. The hump was actually quite hard, it was just the few hairlines I was worried about. Anyway, it’s gone on ok, two coats and now on its second grey primer coat.

Rummaging through my magazines (don’t tell the Mrs!,) I found spare “World of model boating” special, put together by Mr Bishop. It has a plan in it still…Bolbao or something tramp steamer, and appears to have an article by A Needham, about making unusual boats. Gosh…if only Mr Needham could see what I have been making lately!, unusual…I should say so.

Free barring postage if anyone wants it.

Ashley

[Adrian TullettParticipant @adriantullett16532]

I would be interested in the magazine if still available.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Adrian. pm sent.

Just sprayed the bus with a thin coat of the red undercoat and can report the hairline cracks are notable for their absence! Phew.

Cabin next. Needs to be of a size to allow access, and I will ahve to cut through the foam to seat it. tricky.

Ashley

[Adrian TullettParticipant @adriantullett16532]

Hi Ashley

PM sent.

Good to hear of your success with the painting.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Good day yesterday at the Egham show with Peter.

Today I am on my own, but the 4 tables will have 20 boats on it! The car was crammed full of boxes, including the Ecranoplan and Walrus sitting on top.

Pictures later on. I will take my compact camera as I am not sure the phone is giving me the best result. We are in a big marquee and it seems to be light enough but the front drop of my sky blue satin cloth was looking dark/dull in the photos.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Show news later. Trevor and I popped to the pond Tuesday to test the flying shovel. Predictably it didn’t work very well, but sort of did work better than expected if that’s not a contradiction in terms. We saw a few areas of improvement much as was expected, but there was considerable hope.

Flying bus is in the “artistic” phase. This is where I turn a square lump of foam into something resembling my interpretation of something else, in this case the cabin. The artwork and “builders model” picture differ here slightly and I only have side elevations to go on. Thus far I am happy that the cabin looks something like the artwork from the side, but the plan view of it will likely not be what people would think it should look like.

The cabin sits in a cutout into the nicely smoothed foam top and cutting a well fitting neat hole was somewhat easier than I had anticipated. I have cut down the rear props considerably to achieve a much better look (down from 5 to 4 inches) and this will also benefit the embarrassing performance by cutting down on the thrust a bit (did I just say that?.)

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Unfortunately I have to drive Berengar to Portsmouth tomorrow so will be absent from boating.

HOWEVER the prop shrouds are on the bus and look good. A horribly fiddly job.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Snaps of the Egham Royal Show 26/27 last month. Picture shows Peter and myself after we had just set up, and before the boxes were sorted and drop adjusted, next shows just my boats on the Sunday and lastly the car packed up. Its a little Tardis that Ignis.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

oops….table end

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

Ashley

That is a great display of your models. It is only when I see them like that I realise just how many there are and how well your boxes have stored them safely.

Are you still building Landing Craft? I don't ever recall you showing pictures of the green example before.

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Most impressive Ashley,

it looks like there is still some air on the top of the pile at the back, so you could get in a couple more projects before buying a bigger car or a covered trailer maybe? I suppose wer'e only seeing half of your total fleet anyway?

George

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Chris. The green one was built only a couple of years ago for speculative purchase which never came to fruition, so I painted it green, gave it a slightly different to, a Chieftan tank and Australian troops to make it a 50`s variant.

I had recently considered a free plan article as I have cadded plans, but GG has a lander (by the looks of it not a TLC) in next months so will wait a bit.

Boxes the way to go. Everything safe and sound and whopped into the car. Only the Ecranoplan and Swordfish unboxed, as boxes for aircraft take up much too much room.

George. Yes only Half the fleet, a lot of the others are larger so I packed in all the small ones.

I only packed `em in as there were only two of us on sat and i was solo on Sunday so I needed to pull out the stops to fill four tables!

NEXT year hopefully NOT on my own so I can take something different and not hitherto displayed. It would be nice to take the big destroyer for instance. Ashley

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

Glynn's was 14in with tank steering when he mentioned it elsewhere a couple of years ago. We will know what the article looks like a week from now.

As I have said before I think your model looks very versatile, & well worth an article particularly given the variety of interpretations that you have explored. I don't know what the lead time on publication is these days.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Glynn's model is a LCM (Landing Craft Mechanised) – the small one capable of carrying one tank I think.

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I see the lander in the mag. No dimensions but this is explored in another thread.

Finally spraying g the Flying bus. Slow progress, as the closer you get to painting, the more little bits need re-sanding or filling. Having put one can on it, I needed to wipe it over with a used bit of 400 grit wet-n-dry, and buy another can..so that's 32 quid already in paint and primer. Hope this second can covers ok or it will be a third tin.

Still, that's the price of a superior finish. I might start on the storage box soon.

It was a mistake to cover the foam with just resin…I should have used glass tissue as well, still, it seems to getting there.

Carrier on Sunday possibly.

Ashley

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