Todays Boating

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

The luxury of being ill as a child was the fizzy Lucozade 🙂 cured all manner of ailments !!

Regards  Ray

 

[Philip OxleyParticipant @inonowt]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Hello all</p>
<p style=”text-align: left;”>I think, Richard, what you say about being reliant on the hard core enthusiasts to support it and not attracting new customers, is probably quit true.  Unfortunately, it’s societal  evolution IMO.</p>
<p style=”text-align: left;”>I read the the ‘timely reminder thread’ and your post reflects my experiences too.  My dad was quite a handyman and taught me some basics, but also I went to a school that had woodwork, metalwork and motor mechanics workshops, and a technical drawing course.  I also went to building college.  Schools don’t have these nowadays and so practical skills are not taught.  Consequently, fathers of today don’t posess the skills to pass down to sons/daughters.  This, coupled with the rise in the availability of plastic rc models means fathers dont have to.  I’m not denigrating fathers,  they’re having to work so hard these days.  When I go to the park, it’s great to see dad’s with their children with boats on the water, even if they are plastic.  Hats off to them for being real dads.</p>
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Another factor is space to keep models. Houses are much smaller than they used to be.  I have quite a large bungalow and though I would love to build 4ft, 6ft models, I have nowhere to put them.  I have only 3 26″ish boats (i have a 4th on the way and planning  5th) but wouldn’t call myself hardcore.</p>
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Lastly, the Internet.  Finding something out means searching the internet, not buying a magazine.  Oddly enough, I did find MBM via the Internet so I contradict myself.  Is MBM sold via retail outlets?</p>

[Philip OxleyParticipant @inonowt]

Don’t know how all the formetting dross got included and cant find a way to edit the post to remove it.

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

I did it the hard way, using ‘Word’

 

I think, Richard, what you say about being reliant on the hard core enthusiasts to support it and not attracting new customers, is probably quite true.  Unfortunately, it’s societal  evolution IMO.

I read the the ‘timely reminder thread’ and your post reflects my experiences too.  My dad was quite a handyman and taught me some basics, but also I went to a school that had woodwork, metalwork and motor mechanics workshops, and a technical drawing course.  I also went to building college.  Schools don’t have these nowadays and so practical skills are not taught.  Consequently, fathers of today don’t possess the skills to pass down to sons/daughters.  This, coupled with the rise in the availability of plastic rc models means fathers don’t have to.  I’m not denigrating fathers, they’re having to work so hard these days.  When I go to the park, it’s great to see dad’s with their children with boats on the water, even if they are plastic.  Hats off to them for being real dads

Another factor is space to keep models. Houses are much smaller than they used to be.  I have quite a large bungalow and though I would love to build 4ft, 6ft models, I have nowhere to put them.  I have only 3 26″ish boats (I have a 4th on the way and planning  5th) but wouldn’t call myself hardcore

Lastly, the Internet.  Finding something out means searching the internet, not buying a magazine.  Oddly enough, I did find MBM via the Internet so I contradict myself.  Is MBM sold via retail outlets?

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

As regards “Is MBM sold via retail outlets?”.  Technically yes.  The trouble is the majority of retail outlets are reducing shelf space for periodicals and so the niche end of the market tends to get ditched first.  In my local village the large wall of magazine shelving has now been given over to groceries and the periodicals is just a small space around a corner.  I’m sure MBM is still on the shelves of the large outlets but you now have to travel to find them.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The luxury of being ill as a child was the fizzy Lucozade 🙂 cured all manner of ailments !!

An occasional luxury only – usually it was Cod Liver Oil…..

Colin

 

 

[Stephen GarradParticipant @stephengarrad28964]

  Is MBM sold via retail outlets?

I have mine by subscription but our local big Tesco keeps it on the shelf.

 

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

SRN4 finally finished with new 9v rated long shaft 180 can motors, and they seem to be lasting ok.

Floats in about 1/4 inch of water!

Ashley

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Ash,

Very smart, I bet it’s a hand full to steer if the wind’s blowing ?

I remember my wife and I sitting above the Hoverport at Dover watching them go in and out a very impressive machine, I guess they couldn’t handle the rough weather 🙁

Regards  Ray

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Ashley’s model is very ingenious and really looks the part. From the video he sent me it performs well too.

I visited the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-on-Solent in 2011 and both the SRN4s were there in a very dilapidated state.It was not fully open to the public then and I and two friends had the run of the place and were able to clamber all over Princess Anne (sic!). The control cockpit is very cramped and reached by an almost verttical ladder from the car deck.

The Museum is well worth a visit:

Home

The Princess Anne is still there but Princess Maragaret was broken up some time ago. They could handle the weather OK up to Force 8 but could be quite uncomfortable plus they were expensive to operate and became uneconomic.

Colin

 

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

I take it the ‘Captain’ was from a marine background rather than an aviation background but it looks more like an aircraft cockpit.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Richard,

Yes, by all accounts it was a sort of half and half. Aviation controls impacting on a marine environment. There are some interesting accounts online.

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

pleased with this one. It was intended as just a large scale toy but is much nearer to  semi s ale model than anticipated.

The Bugbear of an srn4 model is the propulsion…putting motors on top of pylons without them being too big. In this case you can get away with it. I probably could have made the whole thing a bit bigger but still used the same motors for a better look.

I can what’s app the video if anyone was interested…its not much, just taken with the phone, but shows you how it goes.

Ashley

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

I remember when the old Airfix kit of the SRN4 came out and how we all thought it was a huge model at the time.  In those days it was.  Now you see them for stupid amounts of money on Ebay.  Makes me wonder if anyone buys them.

If I’d have known which kits to buy in the 70s when I worked in a model shop I could make an absolute fortune selling them nowadays!

Go for it Ashley, lets see it perform.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Merry christmas everyone.

Unable to condense video to put on the forum.

Can e mail out after I recover from the christmas lunch!

Ashley

[Alasdair AllanParticipant @alasdairallan37423]

A nice day at Inverleith pond in Edinburgh yesterday – my puffer had company on her sea trials of two fishing boats, a swamp boat and a tug with Christmas lights!

[ashley needham]

On ashley needham Said:

Merry christmas everyone.

Unable to condense video to put on the forum.

Can e mail out after I recover from the christmas lunch!

Ashley

Just upload it to YouTube Ashley and put a link on here.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Will see about that Richard. I don’t do video much, I only have a few clips worth watching.

Pond mostly frozen over as seen when I passed by on the bike yesterday, and covered in detritus…logs stones etc from kids throwing g stuff in. The massive log which to our suprise had been moved out the way a while ago has moved on its own to be a bit closer to the jetty??? How i don’t know…its very big and must weigh a ton.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

The next model has been chosen and it’s very exciting. It will be very spectacular.

It will be another joint build effort with Trevor as there needs to be two of them to make sense, and the proposed build has been facilitated in no small measure by Trevor fiddling to produce a mechanical prototype of the propulsion system demonstrating  the feasibility of the idea. We have been mulling this over for some weeks now.

The builds will feature mechanical differences as we have differing ideas on this, but the models will be roughly the same as regarding general design and size. Both will be feature multiple shafting and a gearbox.

Oh, and did I mention oars????🐲

Ashley

[Roger FugeParticipant @rogerfuge]

Can wait roll on to the build

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Hi Roger.

There is a lot to prototype before the build starts. It’s a thing with all our unusual models that probably more time is spent thinking about them rather than building them!

What looks like quite a simple thing to build (bumper boat for instance) is a product of many hours of thinking, discussion and modelling ( cardboard mockups, mechanical mockups and so on?).

The next project has some uncertainties attached to it despite that half of the propulsion system has been prototyped by Trevor and is looking viable, mostly in the weight department. The propulsion was mocked up with 1/2 inch ply and this appears to be what we should use as it has the right..substance…to it and allows for all the pivots, but at the same time we realise is may just be too heavy. Balsa will be inadequate…perhaps a laminate of lite-ply might suffice.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Pond still frozen yesterday and the jetty area is covered in detritus..logs branches and so on.

Have re-thought the train ferry deck insert as it contibuted ( due to the weight of the trains and tenders) to making the boat very tender so now it only has one train track on it. The train on it now has no mechanism as the base plate broke and in any event the style of train is such that the running wheels are hidden by the printed wheels on the body. A simple wood block now holds the train in place making the top easier to remove for battery insertion, and you can see the whole train much better as opposed to having them bunched up and filling the well deck completely.

Further to this…I made another vehicle deck to suit the train ferry top ( this has 1/43 scale people on it) and this accommodates just one Aston Martin DB5 and the ice cream van ( as this size of Dinky is 1/43) on a centre strip, while people have been put either side on the “safety” yellow edges. I ran out of people to put by the trains.

Don’t imagine these are great works of precision building. One bit of ply and a bit of garden square mesh for handrails were the materials! The beauty lies in the incredibly easy substitution of the cars and trains to ring the changes every few weeks.

Pictures when I go down the workshop later. I know you can’t wait….

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Nice to have the alternatives Ashley, gives you the right to choo choos……

Colin

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

Lovely job, with the option to make more inserts if you want to.  Lorry, motorbike gang, car and caravan, possibilities limited only by your imagination.  And with you Ashley that is no limitation at all!

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