Todays Boating

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Ashley

I would love to use the fin on the Bridgewater Canal and sail it through Lymm village especially when there was a fishing match on.

My kind of humour.

Paul

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

Oh you are a cad Paul, Why just Lymm, start from Walton, . Stockton Heath , Grappenhall and then Lymm, might as well upset the whole stretch

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Lymm being my home village has always suffered from my oblique style of humour from the gorilla on a motorbike to UFOs on new years eve and water skiing behind a canoe.

Unfortunately Lymm does suffer from a high proportion of very serious people who really need a personality bypass and the sight of a shark fin in the canal would do wonders for their grasp on reality.

Lymm bridge and the scene of the diving dummy incident….a result of one of the better pub crawls of 1979 (back then Lymm had 11 pubs and the rule was at least 1 pint in each pub)  

 

Edited By Paul. on 27/08/2012 06:59:45

[LARRY WHETTONParticipant @larrywhetton68737]

Good morning Ashley,

Looks the part , now add music der dom der dom der dom and so on . and may be a blood sack

holiwood style …..carrier hull now built , adding flare to hull ,

info required do i fit twin shafts and what size motors got couple 540 going spare .

post pictures when weather gets better offto Chepstow races now , my second hobby ….Larry…

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Larry, the 540s, if of the low popwered sort, would probly be ok on 12v and 40mm props, or 35mm props on 7.2v or 6v if the fast type.

Better still, dropping the gear to 2;1 with plastic gears from the graupner set 1114 (i think),, gear wheels sold as spares about £4 a pair, and using larger 45 or poss 50 props would be the business.

OR be a right LAD and fit MFA 800s and X50 props and race around in fabulous style like a right hoodlum (makes me LARF, chucking it around)

Ashley

[LARRY WHETTONParticipant @larrywhetton68737]

Ashley ,

Thanl you for info , thats the way i was thinging of going ,

finding the flare on bow a bit of chalange but getting there ……cheers Larry…

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I have filled the front section of the carpet carrier hull with expanding builders foam, in order to stop the front filling with water.I should think it will be ok, as the hull is a simple flared box section at the front, nothing to trap the foam in. We will see.

I have been pimping up the deck meanwhile. I have added white lines down the side of the centre runway black strip (as I had some handy), and painted the superstructure horizontal surfaces dark grey. New Phalanx guns have been made, a bit smaller than the originals, and a cutout at the rear port corner has been made to accomodate the gun situated there. I think thats about it now. The only other improvements would mean bashing off the sticky out bits (funnels etc) and reshaping them.. but then I might just as well make a new superstructure..which I dont want to do.

I may break out the secret project sunday, as I have not done much to it for ages. I finished it just after christmas, it has been out three times with little success or improvement and I have been umming and arrimng as to what to try next without more rebuilding, and also waiting for a breeze free day.Tomorrow looks like it will be a nice flat warm day, so.. I now have a few new bits to try before either buying a new battery or a second tranche of major surgery, and if this doesnt work I will be a bit stymied.

Not sure what I will take tomorrow apart from that, although it will be nothing needing Nimh batteries, as nothing is charged up properly. The Argus has not been out for a year, or I may bung in a few small `uns..the project taking up most of the car space.

Ashley

 

Edited By ashley needham on 01/09/2012 16:59:34

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Very busy today at the pond despite a few drizzly showers, 7 or 8 boaters, and a good selection of boats.

Had.. the project, Midge, Carpet carrier and Argus out. .

A chap turned up with a car boot yacht.. about ..ooo.. 7 feet tall when standing on its keel. He spent ages doing up all the shrouds and wot not, only to find the pond too shallow to launch. BUt one small bit WAS deep enough so he launched, and went straight across the narrower bit and into the bottom. Ho hum. We were waiting for the rolled up trousers to be bought into action but sadly…sorry.. GLADLY he managed to fish it out, Jolly unusual hull it was. needed about 4 inches off the keel.

Carpet carrier, with its foam front was going well, the foam had set, been trimmed and didnt burst the hull open and kept the water out a treat. Looks even more like a dogs dinner inside the hull now but. Unfortunately the motor got really really hot and the ESC similarly and lost reverse. I did put an S40 on the end but didnt bother to try this, I may consider replacing the motor with one of my standard 540`s, after all, the Invincible is the one for speed and chuckiness, this one is just an afterthought bit of fun.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Great boating today, great morning, loads of sun,clear pond. Loads of boaters..8 or 9 plus a few dads/rtr boats. Had the Glorious (what else!) Hasty, Boxer and Fantome out.

Was informed that spencers Graupner Virgin atlantic challenger would not be out as the leaking he was experiencing was due to cracked jet nozzles. This is due, according to Graupner, to using Devcon/araldite instead of Stablit adhesive.?? can this be right?? The hull is only f/glass and the nozzles are plastic…..anyway. The man is pushing the boundry of power in this boat..he has 200A ESc`s, 5000mAhr Lipo`s, monstrous brushless motors…..it does go though!! now andthen.

Had the Fantome out simply to offset the large/fast element of my collection. Kids like it….it has dollies on. The kids like boats with water squirters, and the carrier becaus it has a helicopter with rotating blades. "Does it take off mister??" Yes sonny, but not today.

Ashley

[wayne quigleyParticipant @waynequigley28540]

what no update this week Ashley???

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Ashley

You do have a responsibility to your public to continue with the instalments, not having an update is akin to having one of your favourite programmes taken off the telly and being replaced with football.

Paul

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Fans, and others.

Last Sundays boating was rubbish,. It was a clear crisp day with a bit of breeze. My aircraft carrier was ludicrously and most un-scalably fast, and I zoomed about in a hooligan like manner with a maniacal grin on my face, the Herald had just about sufficient breeze to perform but was being totally mishandled by James, and the Devastation was wallowing about as usual displaying its most unsatisfactory smallness (why didnt I make it much larger to start with???) and reminding me to stick some bilge keels on it before next time.

THEN there were absolutely just TOO many boaters there, about ten, with far too many boats some of which were to qualificious and should be left on the shelf instead of showing others up. Several pond old-timers turned up with rebuilt or refurbished boats looking far too tidy, while others had pt boats and the like which were too speedy and had new fangles brushless motors and "stuff" in. A man with a 35Mhz set was almost arrested for illegality and causing overflying airliners to crash.

The man with the crocodile head, which was foam with a little boat sort of box underneath displayed much too much talent in the design and execution of said head, displaying more than anyones share of modelling ability and artistic intrerpretation of paintwork and eerily good perspex ball eyes. It scared the wotsists off me when he had it JUST coming out form under the little wooden bridge…He says, after we moaned at him, he will make a body for it and we said 6 foot at least or it will be just pants. He makes replica missiles and stuff to hang on aircraft like wot you see at airshows.

We spent far too much time fantasising over which particular wild animals we might like to make next . I need to knock up a "tail" for the shark top for next week assuming I can be bothered, in case the croc body materialises.

So all in all ..what can I say? got there at 9, left at 12.45

Ashley

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Sounds like you had a good time then…..

Colin

[wayne quigleyParticipant @waynequigley28540]

oh now that feel better ,cold Turkey has been warmed up now

thank Ashley

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Always a pleasure to read Ashleys antics……..there is definitely a reality TV show in all of this.

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

"Boating With Ashley" !!

As seen In Model Boats Magazine

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

One Man and his Boat. The Float Factor. Come Sail With Me. I'm a Modeller Get Me Out Of Here.

So many shows…..so little time.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

As long as it pays. Can`t live off me MB article earnings forever !!

Ashley next Sundays boating should be monster if the man gets his croc body ready!!

[LARRY WHETTONParticipant @larrywhetton68737]

Ashley ,

you are becoming a star, tell the man to make it snappy, some pictures please……Larry…

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Not a star really, we are all too poor now having clubbed together to buy the red carpet for Colin to walk from the rolls to the jetty.

Was going to dash down the shed and knock up a sharks tail fin on an extension but I need to think about it. Bouyancy is the thing..just the tail needs to stick up, and this will take careful ballasting. From my experiences with the sub I know that every vist to the pond takes 15 mins or more of re-ballasting to get the trim right…and then there is the bobbing up and down that we DONT want for the tail…difficult.

Although still struggling mightily with the next project,held up by various technical issues, I am going to build a german landing craft of the type (or at least, similar to) featured in another post, as we have a number of passable german tank/SP gun kits in 1/35 or 1/32 scale to populate the deck with. Will as usual be dickering with the design, as it needs to be only 4 feet long to fit in boot, and about 8 inches wide to accomodate a tank and have 1" wide sides to perch german soldiers on (Airfix 54mm). I have a full size sketch in pencil with lots of rubbing out and re-drawing on, to alter the measurements while still makibg the craft look something like the original..although there were loads of variants on the theme made. The top of the tank deck was apparently covered in some corrugated steel, which would hide the main points of interest, so I think a lattice and some camo netting might be more appropriate, otherwise there will be no point in having tanks on board.

Dimensions of the rear superstructure will also be altered to suit putting soldiers on. Unfortunately, having cut down the overall length, it does not look like I will be able to use Dinky 88`s, as they look a bit big.. I may pinch the turret off a whirly wotsit flackpanzer instead and make some more 20mm cannon for the other stations.

Ply, common or garden, thin as I can get will be used for the body, probly 4mm, and I think a one inch draught will be more than enough….a single 540 (of which I have a stack of) should be enough , dont want a speed boat !! (ho ho). This is the sort of thing you can knock up in a sunny week-end, paint during the next week (grey primer all over), play around with detailing the next week end, and sail. All flat bits of ply, no sweat with a large and small bandsaw.

Next Sunday,,undecided yet.. sub and shark top definately, re-engined carpet carrier a possibility…may even break out the small LCT ?

Ashley

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Hold the red carpet Ashley, I want a palanquin.

Just let me know when it's ready…..

Colin (bogged down with house maintenance and redecs at the moment so no time for modelling)

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Colin

I presume you want the on the shoulder model as this would be more suited to your glamorous assistants but Ashley and his chums will have to invest in ostrich feathers for Penthesilea and her sisters to walk on.

Paul

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Feathers would be an improvement on the carpet laid down by the Canada Geese…..

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I tell you, they were not sure about that croc head last week….

We just might have the pond clearer we need..

Busy day today, travesty perkins to get ply, collect Mum, Wickes to get bath taps and sand/cement for the new pond.Lunch, tidy pond depression,mix cement,plaster over depression.. cut up ply, start to stick bits together..check to see King Tiger tank is going to fit in the centre run.  Check to make sure boats will fit in new test tank….

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 21/09/2012 17:04:50

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Sunday. EVEN MORE rubbish than last week. Arrived a bit late (0920) and oddly no one ther. Soon saw why. Weed, again..not vaste swathes of it, but loads dotted around the entire perimeter and bits all over really.

Had the lander out for bit (as had the Sunderland as second boat (not affected by weed)) but then it started raining so gave up.

Came home and did a bit more on the German lander. Coming on well but should have looked more closely at the ply..some of it was a bit wobbly and so a few bits are not quite as straight and even as one might like..BUT no one will notice especially when kitted up with camo netting, corrugated covers and other ephemera.

Carried out a bath test and draught spot on 20mm with a full load of tanks, motor and battery (and this on a boat 4 feet long and 7 inches wide!!). No leaks, unusually. Left a nice tunnel under the tank deck, with rails to slide a battery and weights down..but realised my motor will be smack bang across the hole…best laid plans etc, can anyone be so stupid?.As it happens this is not an issue as there is so much bouyancy I am not strapped for places to put the battery.Ballast and trim can be achieved by simply weighting one of the tanks!!

Ashley.

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