Whats a cheap but decent boat for floatplane retrieval?

[gotime242]

As the title pretty much states....im thinking about getting a retrieval boat to go get floats planes that might of decided to keep the floats down.

I saw that towerhobbies has a "Turbo Vee 3" thats like 90 bucks ready to run or something. Anything else like this?

Thanks!

[LtDoc]

gotime242,
Almost anything not very fast can work as a retrieval boat. There are two very basic ways of retrieving something, pulling or pushing. Which way of doing it just depends on what you're retrieving. I'm not sure which way would be 'best' for a float plane, would hate to tip it over and have it sink, right? Go here and take a look at the boats and retrieval section. Not always the best choice but certainly one choice.
www.vac-u-boat.com

- 'Doc

[Ghost 2501]

graupner do the Southampton RTR Tug, twin engined, two locked hatches to keep water out, and it has a tow rope, so if you make a hydro-vane that goes out to the side, it could be circled around a model so the vane wraps round the plane at some location, and then the model will quite ably pull the downed plane ashore. expect it to pull around 50kg :) i know i have pulled quite a heavy barge with mine :)

[Maineiac63]

I have a little jon boat with a pair of oars that I can put on the luggage rack on top of the car. Sometimes (most of the time) when you need to get to your downed plane it's kinda far away and maybe sinking so playing around with another model may not be the best way to GET IT. I wouldn't even think of going flying off the lakes without some way to get to my plane asap! Just my humble opinion

[johnmca72]

I built a "forked" recovery air boat to capture dead warships. The "forked section can be driven to surround the stricken ship on 3 sides, & drive it to where it needs to be. The craft is propelled by a pair of fans on rotating mounts. This method was chosen so that the craft could be used in weedy environments (one of the main reasons to recover in the 1st place). It can be a challenge to operate, but with a little practice works well.

See: http://www.jkmiller.net/ntxbg/pgDamageReport/pgRecoveryCraft.html

JM

[joao]

Well I got this one, 50 Euros the complete package. It´s nice as it has reverse control for the motor. RC not proportional but that´s not a problem.

http://www.outdoortoysdirect.co.uk/Remote-Control-Cars/Nikko-Dolphin-Classic-RC-Boat

Not needed "in service" so far, but the idea is to have a kind of fork in the front.

Worked fine first time but had to be rescue by a floatplane the second and third "sorties" :confused:

Internitent activity once in the water :confused:

It´s cheap but I can´t tell you yet if it´s decent. Must pass a long bath test once more to regain rescuer status ;)

João

[Elroy68]

Do like the other gentleman did with pcv pipe. Make the H pcv pipe wider and tie a cord on the middle of boat cause you have reverse. I would make the portion that extends towards the fantail of retrieval boat longer so you have some leverage in turning and retrieval part. You have to do what you have to do! -------It won't work as DOC says, only on regular boats. -------First a decent rod and reel with weight enough with float on end of line. Next get a inflatable 6' raft with oars and a 100' light rope tied to shore and to raft. From there use rod and reel to retrieve plane. Like someone said, pushing or pulling a foamie could break something. With a fishing combo , when you hook plane, gently reel in at a speed in which no damage can or will occurr. Use rope to pull yourself to shore and more than likely people will pull you in. If your worried about rope getting hung up attached floats like fishermen use so nets can be retrieved easier. This sounds like a lot of crap to do but when you spend x-amount of $'s, you like to enjoy what you have. The chances of using the combo aren't to often but when you need it , you have it. Actually, a cheap investment and DOLLAR SMART.

[joao]

Elroy68, that´s a really good idea !

Johnmca72, congratulations, amazing "ship" :eek:



João

[joao]

Update: after some extended sun baths the little RC boat from Nikko recovered from the moisture in the radio and is now working fine. Let´s be fair on the little guy !

Regards, João

[raptor22]

well, my darter king was able to pull me in my kayak :D

[gotime242]

well, my darter king was able to pull me in my kayak :D

haha! awsome!