Todays Boating

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Google can be amazing for the curious,

But just imagine how few questions there would be on Internet forums if everyone had discovered this!

DM

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

This next project is going to keep me busy for some little while. There are more than enough issues associated with this ship to keep me occupied for at least a year or so I should think if not more (not too much more or I will get fed up with it).

​A CVA-01….yes indeed, oh yes…an unusual model, but only a small one or I will run out of storage room.

​The records box for my ship I spotted as it was still sticking half way out of the shelf….and the stuff I spotted next to it or above and below. Wow.

What`s a TLA???

Ashley

ONLY JOKING (I have googled it….)

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

I went to Bushey on Sunday and the sons made mayhem with their speedboats. It was spectacular if not tiresome. Luckily the batteries were done in 15 minutes.

I do wish you could get tugboats or something more serene for children that actually worked, it seems the only working ready-to-run models under £150 are crazy fast.

I haven't seen any other bargains on ebay to get myself a second tug and thus give both boys something sensible to play with… the one slow boat I do have just causes arguments.

On better news the 400 motor in my blue speedboat has done the trick. It doesn't get too hot even after a thorough blast. Next thing for it is some trim tabs to correct the torque induced list! Thanks for the tips from Ashley and others! It was a quick trip, I think I was away from home for 1 hour in total.

Noel.

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

What`s a TLA???

Three-letter acronym. Guess how I found out!

DM

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Posted by Noel on 25/09/2017 14:16:07:

I do wish you could get tugboats or something more serene for children that actually worked, it seems the only working ready-to-run models under £150 are crazy fast.

I haven't seen any other bargains on ebay to get myself a second tug and thus give both boys something sensible to play with… the one slow boat I do have just causes arguments.

…………………….

Noel.

**LINK**

**LINK**

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Noel,

As Dodgy suggests, it would be great to get the boys (with help) to build their own simple models. Satisfaction guaranteed and gets away from the 'must buy it' mindset.

Colin

[harry smith 1Participant @harrysmith1]

TLA, that's an easy one !!!

The Larrikin Aussie !!!

What about SIR ????

Harry

[Ian JopsonParticipant @ianjopson21383]

Posted by Colin Bishop, Website Editor on 25/09/2017 18:15:45:

Noel,

As Dodgy suggests, it would be great to get the boys (with help) to build their own simple models. Satisfaction guaranteed and gets away from the 'must buy it' mindset.

Colin

Hobbies in Norfolk do a simple bread'n'butter tug 'Plucky' that's quite easy to build. They also have the trawler 'Anglian' , both based on designs from the 1950s. Could be a great start.

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Posted by Colin Bishop, Website Editor on 25/09/2017 18:15:45:

Noel,

As Dodgy suggests, it would be great to get the boys (with help) to build their own simple models. Satisfaction guaranteed and gets away from the 'must buy it' mindset.

Colin

I suspect that the practice of actually making your boats is coming to an end. It is going the same way as mending your car or rewiring your house – all things that the average DIY-er would have been able to do 50 years ago. But the increase in complexity, the extensive use of micro-electronics and software, and the plethora of regulation means that almost all jobs now have to be done by a professional qualified specialist who has access to specific purpose-designed tools.

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

Thank you for the suggestions on simple plans. The Thames lighter looks simple enough for me to tackle – not got space for extensive scratch building at the moment.

I must admit I keep getting distracted. I want to do a ducted fan jet boat after seeing one at Bushey.
Thinking of getting a brushless ducted fan unit off ebay and trialling it on my r/c car chassis (fully ballraced!) down the park just for fun, then will see about mounting it on a boat.

Noel.

[harry smith 1Participant @harrysmith1]

HI Noel

I like the idea of a ducted fan car.

Ray Wood design a 24" Wetjet tunnel hull boat with a brush motor.

Maybe a good upgrade for the boat ???

Ray may still have the plans for the boat!!!

Harry

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Posted by Noel on 27/09/2017 10:52:22:

Thank you for the suggestions on simple plans. The Thames lighter looks simple enough for me to tackle – not got space for extensive scratch building at the moment.

……

Ah, Noel…. the EeZeBilts are designed to cost pocket-money prices, and be built on a dressing table (or, failing that, in your hands!). They are intended for young kids to be able to make in their bedrooms and not annoy Mum.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Noel

As Harry says I did produce the Wetjet design a few years ago, It looked fast but with a brushed hot 480 size motor in a WoMotec fan it wasn't , now 10 years later with a good fan such as Lander 70mm diameter brushless fan and Lipo's you may actually get up on the plane !! weight versus wetted area is the balance, Wetjet was balsa & ply construction, If I were building it again I'd use Blue Styrofoam carved to shape for the hull for lightness and Depron for the top. The fan car sounds like a great idea and will be pretty quick I guess, I had a similar aircar setup with a 1.5cc Deisel engine mounted on a Mecanno chassis in 1967 went like a good'un on the beach I was 12 years old , Good luck, let us know how you get on. I you want the plan for Wetjet drop me a PM with your email I'll send you the pdf.

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Ray. Looked good though !!!

You need good power, minimal weight and also minimal water contact to get these "jet" boats working.

​On Bushy, Peter had a monstrous jet unit in a hull, built from plans but originally an air-prop design, and it just didn't want to know. Since, he has put the top half (with jet) onto a quick scratch built mono-hull, and it now goes acceptably fast.

​They also need a good clear inlet and exhaust path for max thrust.

It is not as easy as you think with these things.

Ashley

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

Wetjet looks awesome and thanks for the plan offer.
Was thinking of starting with something simpler, like a second hand hull such as this:

**LINK**

and chop off the rear engine cover type bit to mount a 70mm brushless EDF (the £25 jobs on ebay) .

or

**LINK**

again with a 70mm fan, and a deck in very thin ply.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Noel

I wouldn't both with your 2nd LINK hull it's not a planning shape, maybe it's supposed to be a yacht with that narrow stern/transom and not really a defined chine line

Regards Ray.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Noel, you could make something very similar to ray`s boat out of Blue Styrofoam..

Yes, the 2nd hull is not suitable.

​I have seen cheap speedboats on ebay just now that include the 2.4 set and all sorts for silly money, as long as they are big enough it might be worth a punt….say 18 or 20 inches?

I will bring down my cat on Sunday to peruse.

​Ashley

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

Ahh. I thought the second link looked quite good value for a made-to-order GRP hull, but it is a bit of a general purpose shape I guess.

That first link to the "rib" type hull is 30" long and looks a good shape. Want something simple just to prove it before I make anything proper.

Plus I am supposed to be making another tug, or a barge…..

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Ashley

I just happened to be down at Chatham Historic Dockyard yesterday pricing some work, I thought HMS Gannet would go well with Sans ? slightly earlier period 1878, lots more sticks & strings

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Ray. Unfortunately at 1/192 ( to fit in with the SansP and Nelson) the Gannet is way too small.

​An interesting ship though and the only survivor of the Victorian `gunboat` navy, I will be visiting her at some stage to peruse the rigging and so on for the next project, as it will have masting. I could do possibly with a good book on rigging…not a masterwork, or treatise but an `easy` book.

​At the small scale, a number of earlier ships like the Agincourt are of interest being large enough to make a model of. Access and all those sticks would take some thinking of though.

​At the moment I am struggling with the hull construction: Large blocks of foam, thin bits of green foam and the printer. The theory is easy, the best way of doing is not quite so easy. As usual some issues present themselves straight away regarding the rudder and motor necessitating a re-visit to the printer. ho hum.

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 29/09/2017 12:01:27

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Ashley, you might want a submarine on Sunday looking at the forecast.

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Colin you may be right!

Charging batts in anyway, just in case it i v sunny.

​Spent last two days cutting up a million (so it seemed) blocks of foam, hacking out 2 million bits of green foam and sticking them together. Undecided yet if I should be clever with the rudder pivots or not.

​Gorilla glue is great stuff for foam, as it expands to grip the stuff very well. Downside is it needs clamping or holding down with heavy weights or the glue pushes the items apart. I can foresee an issue when I have to stick all the blocks together in a long line.

Visited Walton marina to have a look in the chandlery department. Waste of time, hardly any stock.

​Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Looking quite bright here at the moment. There's hope yet that the rain will keep off.

​Batts fully charged. Fast boats today for a change. Ashley

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

Thank you for showing me the fast boat hulls Ashley, very useful food for thought re EDF jet ideas.

Had a good debrief with the boys about not crashing boats into each other…. gawd its stressful with them both!
Think will do one at a time from now on as focus is better when it's one to one time!!

The Wavemaster was satisfying in it's performance though and no more water damage to the keel plank since I re-glued and sealed it. Good-o. Just got to look at why so much water comes into the aft compartment – I think it comes up the rudder tube.

noel.

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

Noel,

Just build two strong identical boats in different colours, keep the power low and it will not matter if they hit each other. I am sure some of the older boys will join in.

We once had a morning of playing "Landing Craft Jousting" trying to pop each others balloons – great fun.

[Author]

Posts