Irishman

Irishman

IVOR WARNE reviews the recently updated Model Slipway kit of Yorkshireman and Irishman

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This is not a new kit, but the updating of an old friend to the latest kit standards. First, just in case you think I have got it all mixed up, the Yorkshireman kit from Model Slipway can be built as Irishman, which is what I have done. Why? The original Yorkshireman, the first in the Model Slipway range dating from 1990 has remained a firm operational favourite in my fleet during the interim and as it still exists, the new kit was built as Irishman.

I was intrigued to see how an already brilliant kit could be improved. There was also the question of my building ability. Has it improved in 20 years or had the passage of time affected my eyesight and dexterity? To decide, you will have to read the whole article and I am including pictures of both Irishman (the new model) and Yorkshireman. So after a year of model making, here goes!

What’s new?

Improvements:

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1. The plans are now to scale.

2. More isometric step by step exploded drawings and less words in the instructions.

3. The RIB and BOTI boats are now resin items rather than vac formings.

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4. The running gear is now more robust (but slightly less true scale) and the propshaft tubes run into the Kort nozzles, so are much easier to set up.

5. Commercial plastic propellers replace the previous white metal supplied versions. Model Slipway can also supply brass propellers at additional cost.

6. Brass rudders are now used as the basis for the steering gear rather than the white metal versions previously supplied. Having said that, the 20 year old white metal ones are still working perfectly.

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7. The etched brass fittings sheet has been revised and is absolutely brilliant.

8. Plastic (styrene) parts are now CNC cut 1.5mm rather than diecut (like the other recent kits from Model Slipway) resulting in more accurate and easy to assemble individual parts.

9. The waterslide transfers have been replaced by self-adhesive vinyl. These should last much longer than those on my original 1990’s model, which have peeled off and disintegrated.

10. The new model now has the correct number of seven bridge windows instead of six as in the original kit.

CNC plastic sheets

A few words about these. The parts on the main sheets are now milled to shape and are easy to cut out with a sharp Stanley knife, trimmed as need be and sanded to exact size. You know when the exact size has been achieved when the milled edges finally disappear. CNC parts means accuracy, which thus means the kit MUST go together. If not, then it will be down to you!

Hull

The deck edge supports are the 3 x 6mm styrene strips that Model Slipway always uses in a double layer. To keep the first layer accurately in position while the araldite epoxy glue is setting (this is a GRP to styrene joint), I always use brass pins and clamps to hold the strips in place, Photo 1. The second layer can then be glued to the first with thick polystyrene cement and clamped in place until set.

At the bow there are two cut-outs for the anchor recesses. These are made of styrene and need to be glued into place. I used my usual mixture of Araldite to hold them and later, resin and tissue to seal the units. The styrene box sides will stand proud of the hull and so will need to be ground back flush to the hull. Close study of the diagram in the instructions, will make sure that you get it right.

To accommodate the anchor stocks, a 3.5mm hole needs to be drilled in the top of the recesses which is much easier to do before putting the foredeck in place. To locate the anchors in the finished model, a short piece of plastic tube slides over the top of the anchor stocks so that a cross pin can be inserted to hold them in place, Photo 2. Dry fitting everything before the foredeck is glued in place is wise. It will be easy to seal around the 3.5mm hole later as there is good interior access for nifty fingers.

Running gear

Over many years of model making, I have realised that time installing and setting up the running gear is well spent.

Templates are invaluable and with a twin screw model the shafts need to be parallel and aligned, which is an obvious statement, but can be hard to achieve. From the plan, the shafts are 124mm between centres and so two templates were made with 4mm holes drilled at this separation. These were fitted to both ends of the shafts and temporarily locked in place with nuts. The position of the holes in the hull for the running gear and the dimensions are in the instructions, and will need to be carefully transferred. Marking on standard auto masking tape applied to the GRP hull is a lot clearer than drawing directly onto the hull and it stops the drill slipping and perhaps the gel coat flaking, Photo 3.

The Kort nozzles need to align with the shafts, or the propellers will hit the inside of the nozzles. Two 50mm diameter templates from scrap styrene with a 4mm hole at the centre are essential, Photo 4.

Nearly a whole day was occupied dry fitting and clamping the parts until they all were exactly in place before committing to the adhesive, and not forgetting the propshaft fairings that have to be slid over the propeller shaft tubes prior to gluing, Photo 5. Original 24 hour Araldite held everything in place as this allowed final minor adjustment time. Patience is everything, so once satisfied leave it all alone to properly set. Later, on the inside of the hull, the various holes were completely sealed with fibreglass resin and tissue.

There will be some gaps where the running gear meet the hull so these were blended in with Milliput. The shaft fairings (seen in Photo 5 again) can now be slid and glued into position. On the 20 year old version I drilled through the hull from the inside to access the inside of these and packed the void with fine chopped fibreglass mat. Then fibreglass resin was poured through the holes to soak into the mat, masking tape on the outside stopping any escape. This beefs them up and no problems in 20 years, so why not do the same now, which is what actually happened.

Once all is set (shafts, kort nozzles, fairings) the propeller templates can be removed. It is vital to crop off and sand flush any intrusions into the nozzles created by the white metal locating pins. I forgot, and this presented a bit of a challenge when the model was completed, but fortunately with a happy ending. The motor mounts are from 1.5mm scrap plastic. The important bit, once the motors are bolted into the mounts, is getting the motor/gearbox output shafts properly aligned with the propshafts. I use a large diameter brass tube slid over the universal joints to hold them rigidly in straight alignment which is simple and effective, Photo 6. My habit is to ‘over engineer’ and further strengthening of the mounts was then performed with tissue and resin between the hull and motor mounting side plates.

Rudders

There is a lot to be said for dry fitting of parts. The tops of the rudder posts were a bit close to the underside of the deck which could cause later problems in my judgement. Therefore, 7mm was cut off the posts and rudder tubes. The rudder quadrants are double sided and one arm is redundant, so these were also removed, Photo 7.

The rudder servo mount was made in much the same way as the motor mounts. On a twin rudder configuration like this, I prefer to run a servo rod separately to each rudder so that if one fails, I still have one rudder to get me back to the pond side.

Bow thruster

This is the same unit as of 20 years previously, namely a Robbe Part No. 1155, six volt unit. This is an impellor type and so it less prone to getting jammed compared to the propeller driven versions.

The position for the thruster is marked on the hull and the kit includes a plastic pipe to represent a non-functional unit. The Robbe thruster is of roughly the same dimensions and thus makes life easier. By coincidence, the diameter of the hole is just a bit bigger than a broom handle, Photo 8, so to get the final finish to the orifice, this was wrapped in coarse wet and dry sandpaper and used to get the hole just right. The thruster motor unit was angled towards the stern so that it could be replaced later if need be. Araldite held the tube to the hull, reinforced with tissue and fibreglass resin, Photo 9.

Having sanded the outside of the tube flush with the hull, the grills over the bow thruster openings were added, Photo 10.

Bilge keels

There are different ways of installing these. An easy method as adopted here, is to mark the position of the bilge keel on the hull and then drill 0.8mm holes along its length. Glue lengths of 0.8mm brass wire into these holes, lay the hull on its side and place the keel over the wires and glue in place, both to the hull and the wires. These wires are on the underside and cannot be seen and excess material can later be trimmed flush with the outer edge of the keel, Photo 11.

Afterdeck

The bulwark around the afterdeck is part of the hull moulding and should be filled and sanded smooth before inserting the deck which is much easier done now, rather than later. It’s also not a bad idea to draw a prominent centre line on each deck to act as a reference point for all future assembly. In this bulwark are four holes which are marked and need to be opened out. To make a nice inside finish to these, some spare white metal round portholes were squeezed to an oval shape and inserted, thus making the whole thing much neater.

The styrene afterdeck itself is generously proportioned, allowing for the vagaries of individual GRP hulls and it will need to be trimmed. To get a fine fit, a small block plane of the type usually used on wood, is quite handy. This is better than cutting and sanding as it is more controllable and gives a good finish to the planed edge.

The back of the winch house, Part 6, needs to be 263mm from the edge of the stern and its width will need to be trimmed to fit, Photo 12. Cuts also need to be made to accommodate the deck supports.

There is an option to make cutouts in the afterdeck to allow access to the rudderpost tops and the instructions provide accurate dimensions. I added to these by putting a 5mm lip around the hole, the same as my 20 year old version. We are all aware of the ‘Law of Sod’, which says that if you do not have access, then sooner or later you will need it anyway! Photo 13 has everything clamped in place for gluing and a dry run before gluing is always a good idea. Some 6 x 3mm strip was used to beef up some of the joints between the deck, winch house and hatch assemblies. The deck break bulkhead (port and starboard) has to be positioned precisely and carefully trimmed to fit, Photo 14.

Main deck

Much the same as for the afterdeck with this item. Careful trimming and the coaming is best fitted before gluing the deck into the hull, Photo 15. Reinforcement was used under the coaming joints.

Portholes

These are marked on the hull. To open them out, drill a 4.5mm pilot hole at the centre of each mark and then file out to 6mm. If done carefully there is no need to use the white metal portholes supplied. For glazing, after the hull was painted, it was laid on its side, the inside of the openings sealed with masking tape (and the outside around the holes also protected), before pouring in ‘Solid Water’ which is a two part clear resin from Deluxe Materials. This product works well, Photo 16, but a steady hand is required.

Main deck bulwark

It can be a nightmare to get the bulwarks properly aligned. They need to be a consistent 1.5mm in from the deck edge or will look horrible. I packed out the space between the hatch coaming and the bulwark with pieces of wood and then clamped the bulwark to the coaming. On the outside of the bulwark some pieces of 1.5mm plywood ensured a constant 1.5mm margin. The bulwarks were then spot glued in place, Photo 17, left overnight and the clamps and wood removed the next day. Then, liquid polystyrene cement was run along the length of the deck to bulwark joint, to complete the gluing process.

On the inside of the bulwark at its deck joint, some 0.5mm plastic strip was later added for strength (also make hand painting easier), then the bulwark supports were added which have to be cut from the printed sheets. It is good idea to remember to sand away the raised edge generated when cutting anything from styrene, before gluing in place.

Foredeck

This will also need to be trimmed to fit on top of the hull. Once again, draw a prominent centre line before doing anything. The foredeck bulwark will rest on the GRP moulding and butt up against the foredeck edge. Masking tape and weights held it down whilst the glue was setting, Photo 18.

Foredeck bulwark

This is not easy as it is curved and leans in 10 degrees, so some wooden blocks with the necessary 10 degree lean on their outer faces were prepared. The bulwark styrene was run back and forth over the workbench edge to put a curve in it which makes the task a bit easier. To start with, the central section of each side was glued. Next day the ‘free’ ends were glued to the forecastle deck edge/GRP hull using numerous clamps, Photo 19.

There are a couple of mooring ports in the bulwark and they should really have a profiled liner. Brass 13/64 inch eyelets superglued into place did the trick, Photo 20.

Bulwark capping

On the full size vessel this is solid and oval with a slight overhang. To simulate this, the capping pieces from the printed sheet were glued to the inside of the bulwarks, level with their tops. Then, 0.75mm square plastic strip was fixed around the outside of the top of the bulwark. When dry, this was all sanded to shape and also so that any joints were invisible.

The stern capping is an specially shaped part and needs a 0.8mm wires superglued to the inner edge, so don’t forget them please, Photo 21.

Hull fittings

Most are simply just paint and fix, but some like the HIAB base are just small hollow made up plastic boxes with no bottom. It is a good idea to add a bottom to these to make them more rigid and square. A pin fitted centrally through the bottom then makes these boxes more secure when fitted to the deck. The bollards should be from the dowel supplied, but 6mm plastic tube with wooden dowel inserted down their middles is better.

The deck vents, that are next to the bulwarks, need to be a set distance from the bulwark. A 3mm plastic strip pushed against the bulwark ensured that a locating line could be drawn consistently around the inside of the bulwark. The vents are all pinned and fit into locating holes.

The towing bow supports in the kit are of dowel, but clad in styrene tube, this being my lazy way of achieving a good finish. These were also pinned to the deck for further strength. The bows themselves are made of two pieces of styrene creating the arch, with the bottom piece being longer to fit under the bulwark. The anchor winch castings for the main gear needed a minor bit of fettling to fit together. A short length of rod ensured proper alignment of all the component parts, Photo 22.

Railings

The stanchions were the weak point of the original kit design. In the new kit they are more to scale and in etched brass. A 0.7mm locating hole in the decks provides a firm fit for a stanchion.

The best way of removing these brass pieces from the carrier sheet, is to lay it flat on a cutting mat and use a very sharp 6mm chisel to cut through the brass sprues. The item can then be filed to remove any remaining sprue. It also pays to drill out all the holes in the stanchions with a 0.8mm drill before starting to assemble the railings. A further tweak is to file a slight point to the end of the 0.8mm wire before threading it through the stanchions. The railings were initially dry assembled and then, using square brass blocks, checked and double checked for alignment before putting a spot of superglue on each joint, Photo 23
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It would be fair to say that if you do not like railings, then this is not the kit for you, as there are miles of them! Attached to the railing at the back of the HIAB deck are two spotlights on brackets. Those brackets need to be notched to properly locate and secure them to the railings.

Superstructure

This is built around a frame which needs to be set 15mm up from the bottom of the superstructure sides so that it will fit over the deck coamings. Don’t get this wrong! The easy way is put the frame on a piece of scrap 15mm thick chipboard thus raising it off the work surface. The sides of the superstructure can now be glued to it.

The first part to be attached is the main back upright. For some reason Part 65 had to have 3.5mm removed from the cut out to get the side pieces down to deck level. I don’t know why, because everything else went together just fine with no more than the expected very minor sanding adjustments. I did check, then double checked and even asked Model Slipway, before going into action with the knife!

The next task was to get the top of the HIAB deck to fit neatly with the main superstructure body, As an extra, at the front of the HIAB deck I glued a lip for the main superstructure to rest on and it also improves rigidity because it stops the front of the HIAB deck flexing, plus hopefully providing a water resistant joint. The wheelhouse deck is a tight fit into the superstructure lower section which is good thing, but do dry test fit before gluing and remember it sits 12mm down from the tops of the side panels. Photo 24 give an idea of progress thus far.

The front of the superstructure is also a tight fit. The side edges will need to be sanded at an angle and there is only just enough ‘meat’ for this, so be careful!

Now it went wrong, and this was entirely my fault as I did not absorb the importance of Fig. 12 in the instructions. The bridge door frame panels need to be set between the bridge sides to get the correct bridge dimensions. I built it incorrectly, resulting in a too narrow bridge front. A session of careful prising apart of the joints and Photo 25 is of the second attempt. At the back and front of the bridge there are angled window panels butt jointing onto the lower sections. Strip pieces along the lower bridge panel tops make assembly much easier and stronger.

The side vent doors at deck level either side of the superstructure are easy to make and fit, but need to have etched brass door furniture fitted and this is much better to do before fitting them to the main superstructure rather than later. The inside of the bridge looked a bit bare, so in went a map table with a map of the new water where I now run my boats. Whether those who peer through the windows with a magnifying glass will appreciate it all I just don’t know. Some BECC self-adhesive dials were added to the consoles together with a couple of pictures of radar screens (cut from a boat magazine) applied to the monitors. Wiring for the lights was run inside narrow box sections inside of the bridge, terminating at a chocolate block connector on the underside of the superstructure.

Superstructure fittings

The whip aerials should all be 135mm long wire. Dipping the tips in thin superglue and then hanging them upside down to dry, leaves a nice teardrop which makes them less of a hazard to unprotected eyes.

There are a set of brackets that fit below the railings at the back of the HIAB deck. These would normally hold wooden planks. So these planks can be added, either of real wood, or styrene strip painted to look like wood.

The bulkhead lights could be replaced with working versions, but the dummy kit ones were used on this model and Photo 26 shows a typical example. The electrical wiring runs are clearly shown on the plans and the measurements need to be transferred to the superstructure to get the positioning of everything just right.

The instructions suggest using scrap plastic to secure these wiring runs to the superstructure, but it did not look right. So, at each securing point some 0.35mm soft brass wire was fashioned into a sort of split pin and the legs popped through a 0.8mm hole in the superstructure sides (please see Photo 26 again) and secured with a blob of superglue inside. As a tip here, it is easier to do this sort of task whilst the superstructure is on its side and bubble wrap is as good way as any of protecting the other side. A second tip is to always to bend fine wire slowly. Some types have a tendency to fracture if the bending is done too rapidly.

Life rafts and radome

Vac formings? Well, I don’t get on well with any of these! Anyway, a central stiffener in the smaller halves of the life rafts make them rigid and therefore more amenable to being inserted into the larger halves of the raft, Photo 27. A 0.8mm pin through the underneath of each life raft and its mount helps locate each unit on the deck. The Radome was attacked in much the same way, but with a locating bolt in its base.

Spotlights

Solid Water from Deluxe Materials again did the trick for glazing, Photo 28. This is easier than attempting to glaze small circular or oblong openings with clear styrene.

Ladders and handrails

There are quite a few of these! They have to be placed correctly or they look horrible and the long bridge access ladders are very much a case in point. They need to be parallel to the side of the bridge superstructure. So, 1.5 mm plastic blocks were glued to the inner faces of the ladders keeping them parallel to the superstructure sides and also acting as a convenient hidden attachment point. Handrails that go with the ladders can be a pain and look horrible if they are irregular. I can only recommend patience, and then more patience, to get them right. The question to ask oneself is: ‘Does it look right?, and then call a halt, Photo 29. All the ladders and their attendant handrails were painted as separate items and added to the model on final assembly.

As for the waist-high handrails that are on the superstructure sides, these are just wire, bent to shape and pushed through pre-drilled holes. A wood spacer ensured that they were equidistant from the superstructure sides, before being secured on the inside with blobs of glue.

Wheelhouse roof fittings

Either side of the roof are the name boards. A nice feature, but they should actually have frame around them. That is easily added using 0.75 x 2.5mm plastic strip around the outside of each board.

The railings around the wheelhouse roof are a continuous run. On the Mark One model this could be achieved by hiding the rod joins inside the over scale white metal stanchions. However, as there are now nice scale etched brass stanchions, there is no longer a hiding place. So what to do?

First task is to locate the stanchions and bend the rails to match. The difficult bit is achieving perfect butt joints and then soldering the ends together, Photo 30. Bakers Fluid is still a great flux to use and if you have lead based solder in stock, that makes life easier as well. With care and heat shunts, no damage will occur to any nearby styrene.

Funnels and mast

These are just a pair of boxes joined at the top. The only thing to remember is that within each funnel, the top piece (Part 102) needs to be 8 mm down from the tops of the sides.

The mast is supplied as wood dowel. However, you could make the mast from brass tube, which is my personal preference. The main reason being that wiring can then be run inside it for working navigation lights. To get mast lights to work a grain of wheat bulb needs to be installed in each light fitting and from each bulb there are two wires. One is soldered to the brass mast and the other needs to be insulated and disappear inside the mast, down the tube and into the bridge and on to the bottom of the superstructure via the previously mentioned chocolate block to pick up the power supply. The mast itself is the return side of the wiring loom.

The etched brass navigation light bodies need to be carefully bent over a 5 mm diameter former to produce the oval shape required and the backs also need to be bent to shape. If the lights are to work, it is best to drill out the base first to take the wiring before bending them to shape. The light lenses were from clear plastic tube. The radar platforms are a strange shape, but easy to make. They have an edging strip that has to be bent to shape prior to gluing. Photo 31 gives an idea of how best to assemble them.

Cranes

These are of white metal and relatively heavy, therefore their deck locations were strengthened beneath with blocks of scrap styrene, On the Mark One version, the HIAB was assembled extended, but eventually, the stress induced by the weight of the arm caused it to fall apart. So this time it was assembled with an end resting on the deck – much safer.

Window glazing

Perfectly useable clear styrene sheet is provided for this, but I’m different. The Mark One version had 35mm slide glass glazing and I had a mind to repeat this on this model and Photo 32 gives an idea of what is needed.

Remove the glass from the slide mounts and score it with a piece of a broken slitting disc to get the size required. Special glass pliers (from Squires of Bognor Regis) are used to break the glass along the score line. Dry fitting is essential to make sure the glass is the right size. Care also needs to be taken that a finger print does not get left on the glass inside the model as it really does show. Canopy Bond adhesive from Five Star is as good as any as an adhesive, as it ‘grabs’ well and does not fog the glazing.

Power supply

This model has both 12 and 6 volt power sources. The main drive motors run from a 12 volt power supply provided by two 12v 2.8 Amp SLA batteries wired in parallel. The motors are controlled through individual speed controllers. An advantage of using smaller batteries is that it makes ballasting easier as they can be better positioned rather than having just one large battery. The bow thruster has its own speed controller and runs off a 7.2v Sub-C buggy pack.

The lights are powered by four Duracell AA cells in a battery holder, thus the lighting circuit is totally separate from the drive motor supplies.

The radio control units are all mounted on a base panel that can be moved from model to model. So this module can be used in different craft, thus saving on r/c equipment, Photo 33.

Painting

Some of this was done as work progressed. For example the inside of the hull was painted (grey in this case) at an early stage in construction. Why? Well apart from making it look nice, it helps seal the ‘rough’ side of the GRP hull and if parts are dropped inside they are usually easier to find. For general painting, I create a kit of finished parts and after ‘dry’ assembly, dismantle and paint each unit or part as a separate entity.

Halfords acrylic primer filler is as good a base coat as any, Photo 34. Anti-fouling below the waterline is Halfords Red Oxide acrylic primer and above the waterline is Halfords Satin Black.

Marking the waterline is achieved by setting the model up on a large flat surface, such as the dining table, blocking up the hull so it is equidistant from the table top, bow and stern waterline mark, and then lightly marking the line with a pencil set on top of an adjustable mount. This can be homemade, or be one of those engineering magnetic bases designed to hold a vertical ruler and scribe, Photo 35, or something similar for different heights.

When painting, sometimes it is not easy to get all round access to a model boat hull for spraying if it is on a workbench. A hangman’s gibbet can be handy to hang the hull when spraying as it is easy then to turn it around as in Photo 36. An LED head torch can also help with illumination at critical times. Orange parts were painted with Humbrol Matt Orange No. 82 rather than gloss orange as the matt covers better. Also parts that need to be black and were not aerosol sprayed were painted in Humbrol Satin Coal Black No. 85.

Ochre was used for the inside of the bulwarks, but on reflection I think a matt trainer yellow, as used on the Mark One model, produced a more yellowy finish. The completed model was sprayed all over with a protective coat of Chestnut Products satin varnish.

A few words now on painting the white metal fittings. There are a lot of these and they can get lost. So, the best way of avoiding this is to mount them on strips of wood. Personally, I have strips of wood for the port side fittings and the same for starboard, thus keeping the fitting sections of the model all together in one place, Photo 37.

Lettering

These are of the vinyl stick on sort rather than traditional waterslide decals. Tamiya masking tape can be used as guide to get the individual letters neatly applied and in alignment. It can also be handy to mark with a pencil onto the tape the centre of the word and work either way from that, or if you have a computer, generate the word to the same scale size, print and cut it out and align the letters using that as a template. Additional to the kit, some BECC hull markings for the load line, water depth and bow thruster indicator were added.

Fendering

This is the last job. It’s not easy, but probably the best way is to apply the rubber side fendering is in a continuous run, but just gluing three inches or so at a time with a slow setting (if you can get such a thing) superglue. The application of the fendering is easier to achieve whilst the boat is on its side, so I laid the boat on bubble wrap covered in clean brown paper to protect the finish on the hull. The bow fendering is more absorbent, so the glueable side was first sealed with superglue and then fixed in place with UHU adhesive

Ballasting

The cardinal rule with any model is to keep as much of the weight as possible low down, but spread around the model. A total of 4100gm (approx. 9lbs), including the batteries, was called for. So there is no need to skimp on inserting plenty of battery capacity to ensure long and pleasant sailing sessions and as it so happened, batteries made up a large proportion of the ballast.

On the water

For comparison, I had two models, namely Yorkshireman built 20 years ago and Irishman (which appearance wise is identical) and is of course the subject of this review. Both perform well with a well above scale speed. There is no harm in having a power surplus, as you can always slow down!

Handling on both models is broadly speaking identical, which is hardly a surprise either. Irishman (née Yorkshireman) has more modern motors, gearboxes and better propellers. Both new and old models are stable and can handle a fair bit of abuse in terms of sharp turns, stopping suddenly and going astern etc.

Conclusion

The first Yorkshireman kit was purchased for £149.95 on 6th December 1990. At the time it was Model Slipway’s initial offering and it was a quantum leap forward in standards of quality and value for money to what was then generally in the marketplace. This new revamped kit, first issued in 2010, further improves on that 1990 product, but the price is now £269.00. So over 20 years, an increase of 80%. Not bad at all I think if you compare that with prices of everything else we have purchased in the interim 20 year period.

So, a great kit at a very competitive price. Yorkshireman and Irishman were sister tugs, hence this new model of mine being named as the latter. It’s a nice size, internal access is good and it performs well, What more could you want?

Photo Credit: For the on the water pictures this goes to my good friend Neil Clark, to whom I now owe a bacon sandwich………

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May 2024

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