Todays Boating

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Richard. Good idea. I am sure the London will look great with mixed gingham and floral sails!

There is also a shop in Farnham, mainly trains but an awful lot of general modelling stuff (well there was last year).

Ashley

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

Don't forget Brentford RC. That's another shop in the west London area that is still around.

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

You lot could get me into trouble! I am with staying friends at the moment so could be a problem if she spots something like a blouse that she has lost on one of my boats.

Eddie.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

The trouble is, I want to put something more "air opaque" on the masts. Having a full set of sails looks great but generates a lot of bending moment on the masts leading to the dreaded lean. I may investigate the `half rigged` look to give less heel.

Richards pirate ship has shown the way here…No wind, no good (but mine will have a motor), light breeze, good, sails fill out but ship remains upright, anything else….ship leans over..pirates fall off the rigginig…etc

I do not want to build another boat which requires a narrow set of sailing conditions or it will hardly get used.

Have a cunning plan for the ratlines and tackle associated with this, but need to get some thread first, possibly carpet thread, which is thick enough and quite strong. Elastic will have to do for the rest of the ropework as I am not having sprung masts this time (like the Herald).

Foremast footing has just been Epoxied in place after much squinting at a big set square and lining up with the main mast. Unfortunately off to play with a band in Westminster again so no more work today

Ashley

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

When somebody invents scale wind it would be a lot easier, might take the fun out of it though.

Ye olde pirate ship has had at least 5 re thinks on keel length, size, depth and weight and I’m still not 100% happy, so be prepared to adjust as needed.

Ricky ye pirate

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

I had a meeting today with a prospective customer, he requested we meet at the Holiday inn at Ellesmere port. Its a great place, if i had, had a boat with me i would have dropped it in and had a sail around. All the years i have spent on the M56 going to Wales and never knew of the place.

I did look up local clubs to see if anyone sails there, but it would seem that the local clubs are struggling, like most.

If anyone from the area reads this, let me know when you sail?

If you do have a chance to call in i would recommend it.

I did not go in the museum, i thought i could do that on a Sunday on a return trip with the boss.

Brian

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Brian,

My wife’s from Liverpool so I know the area quite well and went to the waterways museum in the late 80s, the local clubs had a show on and were sailing in one of the locks. Haven’t been recently but there was lots of boat friendly still water.

Ricky ye pirate

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Mast footings in and attached together. Masts still appear to be upright all at same angle and STILL IN-LINE!

Went into Kingston today and purchased two types of sail cloth, to be experimented with. No thread to be seen, may be sending off for this.

Have not even thought about the hull yet, so much stuff to install before the planking starts. Rudder another thing to ponder, cant have a normal rudder post….?

Work continuing on Project V. Thinking on hawse pipes. I do not want to pierce the hull, so these will be surface applied only. As the hull will be matt black, the lack of a hole will go unnoticed. Some hawse pipes I bought along with the anchors are unsuitable both size and shape to will have to get thinking cap on.

Ashley

PS….Richard, I have some new crewmates for the ship. Prepare to be incredibly jealous, Arr

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Ashley,

Have some new shanties plumbed in so we can dance a Hornpipe before they take us away to the funny farm!

Ricky ye pirate (Bottle of Rum and eyepatch)

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Fiddling with masts for London. Bottom, middle and top of masts glued together (yes they should be spaced apart a bit but this is an easy build) and the fighting tops made and glued in place.

Visited Hobbycraft in Woking today and found clear PVA glue (it is crystal clear in the bottle, micro-beads (3, 4 and 5mm sizes purchased), various pre-bent bits of gold plated wire for rigging use from the jewelry section, 4mm bamboo dowel and some other stuff. A good haul.

Batts charging…..BIG Lct tomorrow, Herald, Project S (now with hydro prop to see if this makes it go better) and a small lander. Both the landers have been re-propshafted, and looking forward to seeing the improvement in forward motion. Some extra vehicles and troops have been added to the big lander for additional interest.
Arr!

Ashley

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Looking forward to seeing all your improvements, will be bringing Tilly tug + Betsy barge with some new improved bouys and some sea shanties——-Arrrrrg.

New waders work well so I can rescue all your stuff that breaks down! He he

Ricky ye pirate.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Sundays boating. Big LCT going nicely with the three new shafts, perhaps TOO well (sorry Richard!!) , flack lander also going well on new shaft, but project S NOT going well. Sluggish, not getting up on the plane and definitely not revving properly. Motor/shaft free, changed batteries….only leaves speed controller??? Will have to investigate.

Richard and Noel down , and another gentleman whos name escapes me who had an unfinished patrol vessel or some sort…German, 70`s or 80`s style.

Rudder now on London, and a lump of lead has had to be glued to the bottom to ensure it does not bounce. Arranging the servo and linkage took ages to work out. The first method of using a long slotted arm on the servo to directly operate the tiller just didn't seem to work, so a more conventional method has been used.

All internal fittings have been completed so I can start on the planking now. Seems a bit funny fitting all that stuff before actually making the hull, but there's a lot going on in there.

Ashley

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

Posted by ashley needham on 18/09/2018 09:26:48:

gentleman whos name escapes me who had an unfinished patrol vessel or some sort…German, 70`s or 80`s style.

That's the boat William "rescued" with the landing craft, not a bad bit of handling for a 6 year old!

Found out why the aft compartment of my old Wavemaster fills with water. Bath test revealed only the odd drip from top of the rudder tube when prop at full pelt, but a very rapid seepage from the seam around the bottom quarters. Seems all the old glued joints are slowly coming apart. Hope there aren't any more. Filled it with Tolley's crack cure from inside (which immediately appeared underneath as a drip, so at least it has penetrated).

[Empire ParkstoneParticipant @empireparkstone]

Trust you kept repeating that at intervals till it didn't drip?

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

Had a couple of applications last night, will repeat again later today.

Might pop an o-ring on the rudder shaft too.

Edited By Noel on 18/09/2018 13:04:15

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

London. First two planks in place!! Looks good and from the top much like the drawing (which is also good). Working top to bottom, for a good reason and probably against established practice but when was I ever conventional?

Yards temp attached to masts and they look quite convincing. Splashed some Yellow Ochre on them and they look the business. I will have to swot up on the rigging now. I can rig the mast/yard combo but as the masts will be detachable I need to think afterwards about the mast-hull rigging (shirring elastic probably). Ratlines will have to wait until the hull has been done and the hull fastening shelf/plank (there must be a proper name for it) are all fastened in place so I can make a jig.

George Sitek is making me a nice dull two-blade prop of the appropriate style (whatever that is). I have looked at various models and other vessels and the props all differ somewhat, however I rather thought that one of Georges Kort thruster props, in 2 blade form and with straight edges would be about right.

Sealing up the rudder tiller hole is going to be tricky and I may have made the opening a bit low? I favour a flexible cover/apron sort of thing, but there is a lot of movement to accommodate.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Second two planks on.

Dug out some old MB mags containing square rigged ship articles to gain some insight into what looks right. Started to wrap various bits of string around the masts and set about them with a pencil to mark various attachment points. I will have to think about the bowsprit now the top of the boat hull has been started. This also needs to be de=mountable like the masts, but will have a fixed and not mobile mount.

I have decided that making paper sails first would be a good idea, not only to act as a template once finalised, but they can be taped to the yards to see how they look, and decide on appropriate lining (representing reef points, reinforcing and so on). Obviously I want it to look `blousy` with a good spread of sail, but all the yards do not necessarily have to be hankied up. Illustrations seen have had the foremast all yards hung, but main and mizzen only have middle and top sails on (yes, I cant be bothered right now to look up the correct terminology). I might put a fore topmast staysail and jib on the front….and possibly a mizzen…!

Wailting for glue to dry and then a bit of filling will take place later on, followed by or even preceded by a trim of the bottom board.

Ashley

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Hi all,

Just a quickie, just finished putting sound in my Aeronaut Tirpitz. It now plays the German National anthem and a couple of German beer drinking songs just for good measure!

The sound comes from a small MP3 player I found on E bay, it has a micro SD card slot and is Bluetooth enabled so you can send music to it from your mobile, it has a 3watt speaker so it’s surprisingly loud,it has a rechargeable battery which can be charged using an Apple phone charger. I have one of these units in my Galleon and the run time is about two hours. After two hours of sea shanties your really ready to turn it off!

The cost of this is a shade under £7 and that’s with free delivery.

It hasn’t let me down yet but time will tell but at the price it was worth a punt.

Ricky ye pirate

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Hi all again,

As this weekend is going to be a complete washout I have pencilled in Tuesday morning to have a bit of a float at ye old pond.

As always would be nice to see anybody who can make it.

Ricky ye pirate.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Yes, wet wet wet.

No idea wot I am up to next week, but I may be in a position to have a quick stability test of the London, so….

The sounds are really good, and as they are loaded on a micro SD card, could be used on any number of things?

Am getting on well with the London. It does seem to be going on quickly but I don't feel I am rushing things?? A little and often. Sometimes you can get ahead by doing that glue-job which requires a lot of clamping and so on later on in the evening, so it is ready for the morning and you don't waste the daytime waiting. And so on.Of course getting up at 7.30, having a quick cuppa and then strolling down the garden to the shed to wrap some string around the masts and then have time to tidy the kitchen BEFORE the Mrs stirs is also a good way to get ahead.

Looking at some old magazines I came across an article about the big Jotika Victory, and the reviewer said there was over 1 Kilometer of rigging thread (various) supplied in the kit!!! I have purchased 50 metres of thread so far and this may not be enough…wait and see.

Ashley

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Ok Ashley, no pressure I’ll be there after the traffic dies down around 9.45ish.

Ricky ye pirate (Bluetooth and wooden leg)

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Very pleasant few hours at the pond today. Pirate ship going well and new sounds on the Tirpitz just right, volume and selection.

Test float of the London fantastic, stability to die for, and a quick motor round the pond was A OK. Tiniest drop of water getting in, likely propshaft as was very quickly adjusted today and hasn't been greased/oiled or anything.

Ashley

Snap…first test, sorry was jogged at the last moment.

 

Edited By ashley needham on 25/09/2018 14:13:30

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Tomorrow:- Re-test of the London, now with super duper period prop from George Sitek, and a great job it is too. Herald and Alvis Stalwart. A mixed bunch…plus the usual lander.

Been beavering away on the London. Undecided about the stern gallery. Not a lot of good pictures out there for this period, and of course almost every ship had a different style! Made some more decking, and started on the last bit of the hull, the raised focsle. Ordered a few more items from Hobbies,

Have also been looking at various models and have decided on what to do with the rigging in regard to the amount and placement of things like blocks and deadeyes. I will have to make a box to contain the masts soon, as I don't want to have any accidents and start breaking yards or losing tension on the string.

Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

Project Stupid getting maiden float tomorrow, bath tested and a couple of leaks now hopefully cured.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Good mornings boating. London went well with new prop, ship moves with probably a can almost see the individual puffs of water out the stern from the blades as they come near the surface! Again some water in there. Certainly from the rudder entry, but also I think from the propshaft despite adjusting this yesterday. I will have to get the nylon and felt washers out.Midge and Alvis both ok.

Many other boaters including CB (again!!) but without Brenda. New gearing on QM2 made a good difference in doubling speed (but don't take that as meaning fast).

Trevor's beast unwell, and had to borrow an ESC to get is to work, however showed promise for such an unusual powerplant. As usual we discussed some alterations (we like to call them `improvements` ) to bump up the knots a bit. Was surprisingly stable despite earlier fears.

Ashley

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