Saw some Lake Balboa tug boats today.

[Kmot]

I went to the 'other' place to run my PT boat today. Lake Balboa, the toilet water lake. :p

There are several Hansen Irregulars that also run there. But there are some other fellows who only run at Lake Balboa. One is a Fast Electric speedboat nut and has boats that are basically "violently fast" and everyone sort of stands down while he runs. Very fun to watch!

The other significant fellow is a master modeler. He builds fantastic model boats and I wish he could run them at Hansen. He has done a PT, a destroyer, a sub, a tug, and more. I have learned that if I take my camera to Balboa, nothing will be there of note. So sorry, I don't have pics from today. Anyway, this guy is affectionately called "The Mad Russian" because he is from........... Russia. He also has worked in the movie industry for decades and uses a lot of surplus studio equipment in his boats. This is also the fellow who built that fan powered rescue boat that is so effective.

Today, he had his Envoy tug out there. Done up in the civilian paint scheme. Man, it is gorgeous. He also has many scale figurines on it, and three working fire monitors plus a horn. It has a huge motor in it that he said was from a film printing machine from the 50's. It runs at 1 amp he said. Now that he has seen a JJC sound module he wants to get one. He is one of those guys that just doesn't use the computer and internet. So he looks in magazines and makes phone calls to place his orders. He is also interested in the JJC smoke unit I told him about.

So, it was exciting for me to see this awesome tug boat that I have read about here on RCG. Oh, he also used it to pull is Robbe Seawolf V2 submarine around for awhile! :p

Now, the second tug of special noteworthiness was a mind boggler! The preface, is that the owner used to be into boats but got into planes and has been focused on r/c planes for a long time. I have seen his planes and they are immaculate. So a buddy that is into boating has been trying to get him to get back into boating and he came out today with his unfinished tug.

This BEAST is 71" long. I don't know how wide, I would guess it was 28" wide. The cabin from deck to top was probably 20" and that doesn't include the smoke stack. It uses 100 lbs of lead shot ballast! It is a single screw. I don't know what motor but it was large. It had a Futaba speed control. Never seen one before, but it was freakin' big with very large cooling fins on the sides. The hull was primer gray and the wood was natural raw and the smoke stack was sheetmetal rolled and soldered into a tube.

I hope he gets back into boating! :D

[HorribleHarry]

why do I miss every good day at Balboa?

[Ghost 2501]

can you get pics of THE BEAST?

[Tug Guy]

Kmot the Futuba speed control was popular in the late 70's and early 80's. I think I still have 2 downstairs put away.

Don

[Kmot]

Don, I think I recall the name of it was a MC4-P20. Does that sound right? I also remember it said 20 Amp on it.

[Tug Guy]

Yes that is correct. I have one of each the P-10 and P-20 for 10 and 20 amps respectively.
Don


Don, I think I recall the name of it was a MC4-P20. Does that sound right? I also remember it said 20 Amp on it.

[der kapitan]

I went to the 'other' place to run my PT boat today. Lake Balboa, the toilet water lake. :p

I hope he gets back into boating! :D

Uh, Kmot, why is this body of water called "the toilet water lake", or is it something that I really don't want to know? :eek:

A 71" tug is an ambitious project, mildly put, and I don't think a practical one for us old guys, and folks with back trouble. I would have liked to have seen a picture of it, though.

It's already been discussed somepace on this forum about not having a camera on hand at opportune moments. Deja vu---.

[Kmot]

kapitan, it is referred to as the toilet lake because it is filled with water that has come from the water reclamation plant. So technically, it is 'cleaned' toilet water. :p

[Tug Guy]

I remember biking around that area when I lived and worked in Chatsworth many years ago. It was a pretty park back then.

Don



kapitan, it is referred to as the toilet lake because it is filled with water that has come from the water reclamation plant. So technically, it is 'cleaned' toilet water. :p

[Kmot]

The 'beast' was there today but had already been packed up in the owners truck by the time I arrived. So no pictures.

There was an interesting tug there today. It had a RAM diesel engine sound modul and a loop recording playing that gave the weather report.

And Capt Nick was there today with his Orca and Kings Ransom.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

You guys need to put together an "Alert" email list to share with each other.
That way you can plan days, weekend, or Balboa or Hansen float days with
some advanced alert, and coordination.

:cool:

I like the doggy on the deck. :o

[Kmot]

We have one. It's every Sunday at Balboa and every Thursday at Hansen. ;)

[Kmot]

*^*

[Kmot]

Here are some photos from today. A very nice Monterey fishing boat, all scratch built. Even the puffing smoker was scratch built. I don't have any info on the smaller boat in the glass case but I believe it is r/c and it looked fantastic as well.

There was a Cap'n Horrible size destroyer there today. 1/48 scale, 96" IIRC, and 60 lbs. Twin Johnson power.

And a towboat doing what it does best. Pushing a flopped hydro back to shore.

In the lastest club newsletter there are some pictures of the "beast" taken by the club Commodore, Cap'n Bob.

[smart_racer]

Good pic's

[Tug Guy]

Kmot how big would you say that clipper is?

Don

[Kmot]

Uhm.... which boat is the clipper? :confused:

[MILLERTIME]

WOW, scale bird poop!!!

[Tug Guy]

The Monterey fishing boat is also known as the Monterey clipper. Bob Herrera introduced a fiberglass hull and deck with plans for several variations of this model years ago. His also had a deck covered with fishing gear. The rudder looks the same. The fact that it is run by a chain from a servo is just like Bob's Puffer model.
Harbor Models has also introduced a hull and deck with fittings and running gear. I was curious how long this was not knowing it the hull was scratch built or glass.

Don




Uhm.... which boat is the clipper? :confused:

[Kmot]

Okay, didn't know it was called a Clipper. Bob probably said it was but I did not pick up on it.

Bob Herrera. That is who this boat belongs to. I had a good long talk with him yesterday. I was clueless that he is a well known modeler. Heck of a nice guy. We got into all sorts of topics, including Brit cars! Turns out he also made the fiberglass hull for the "beast" tugboat.

Anyway, that Monterey Clipper is approximately 24" long in my best guesstimation.

[Tug Guy]

I didn't know Bob still sailed models anymore. It is good to know he still has his hand in the hobby. Yes Bob is responsible for making large 48" puffer kits, the Montery clipper kit which is also 48". I didn't know he also made tug hulls. His hull were well made and heavy hulls. I have 2 of his kits. He is as you saw quite a modeler. At one show he actually placed a can of sardines in the cabin to complete the effect of a fishing boat. Can you imagine? :D If you see him again would you take his photo and post it?

Don

[steveciambrone]

I would really like a 48" puffer, is this guy local Tom?

Steve

[Tug Guy]

Bob quit making kits a long time back Steve. I do know of a completed puffer you might buy though if interested.

Don




I would really like a 48" puffer, is this guy local Tom?

Steve

[steveciambrone]

I am interested.

Steve

[Kmot]

Steve, he must be local. I don't think he would drive to the toilet lake from a far away place. I don't go to Balboa that often, but he has been there the last two times I have gone.

[Tug Guy]

I don't want to give his exact location but when he listed it in his business stationary it was just South of L.A. on one of the beach areas.

Don




Steve, he must be local. I don't think he would drive to the toilet lake from a far away place. I don't go to Balboa that often, but he has been there the last two times I have gone.

[der kapitan]

Steve, he must be local. I don't think he would drive to the toilet lake from a far away place. I don't go to Balboa that often, but he has been there the last two times I have gone.

Kmot, I've known Bob Herrera for quite a while, and he has lived in Los Angeles as long as I've known him.

[Kmot]

I didn't know Bob still sailed models anymore. It is good to know he still has his hand in the hobby. Yes Bob is responsible for making large 48" puffer kits, the Montery clipper kit which is also 48". I didn't know he also made tug hulls. His hull were well made and heavy hulls. I have 2 of his kits. He is as you saw quite a modeler. At one show he actually placed a can of sardines in the cabin to complete the effect of a fishing boat. Can you imagine? :D If you see him again would you take his photo and post it?

Don
Don, here is Bob posing just for you! :D

I saw him today and told him I found out he was famous. He said "maybe infamous!" and I said "yeah, probably so" hahaha. Anyway, I told him someone had asked about him and if I could take a picture. He wanted to know who asked, so I told him "Don Brown, does that ring a bell?" and he said "yes, I know Don. He lives in Virginia." and I said "yes, that's the one!"

So I got his picture and also a few pics of the boats he had there today. The "Oakland" has a working four cylinder diesel engine. Working action that is. It is a wood and metal model that turns via the electric motor that runs the boat. Freakin' awesome stuff this old man builds. Oh yeah, found out he is 75 years old! He looks 20 years younger than that to me!

[Tug Guy]

Thanks for the update Kmot! It is nice to see all these photos. I wasn't sure if you would see Bob again or not. I am glad you did. I hope to look that good at his age.
Don

[der kapitan]

Kmot, thanks from me too. Bob looks a bit grayer than I recall, but then I haven't seen him in a dozen years. Same big grin, though.

When you see him again, tell him Karl said hi, too.

[Kmot]

Will do Karl. Got a last name ya' want me to throw at him? :D

Here is a video of the 'engine' running:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=662937#post7165678

[Tug Guy]

Kmot ask Bob if he still has a model of the Hicks engine he built to put in his Monterey Clipper model. It was I think the first working model he made. He sold them as a limited number at $300 with certificates I think it was. They are collectors items now. HarborModels sells one as a casting. I don't think it is animated.

Don

[der kapitan]

Will do Karl. Got a last name ya' want me to throw at him? :D

Here is a video of the 'engine' running:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=662937#post7165678

Kmot, no last name needed, he'll know---. :D

[Kmot]

Okay.

[P_J_Glor]

I met Bob Herrerra in San Diego around 1986 at the annual scale regatta/contest at the model yacht basin in Mission Bay park. He had a San Francisco style fishing boat named "Pandora" that was awesome with a single cylinder replica of an engine and all kinds of detail, including a half-drained wine bottle for the skipper. He used to sell either hulls or kits. He had also done a really neat conversion of the Midwest Fantail Launch hull into a little tugboat.

Pete G.

[der kapitan]

I met Bob Herrerra in San Diego around 1986 at the annual scale regatta/contest at the model yacht basin in Mission Bay park. He had a San Francisco style fishing boat named "Pandora" that was awesome with a single cylinder replica of an engine and all kinds of detail, including a half-drained wine bottle for the skipper. He used to sell either hulls or kits. He had also done a really neat conversion of the Midwest Fantail Launch hull into a little tugboat.

Pete G.

Pete, that's where I met Bob too, except it was in 1991, and again in 1994. It was the father's day regatta in Mission Bay Park, and I was there with my friend Dick Hopper, who was visiting from New Zealand.

At that time, Mr. Herrera was operating a small business called "Pandora Models". Somewhere in my office, I still have a video of the Hicks engine in operation.

[P_J_Glor]

I think I may have a Pandora Models catalog stashed away somewhere, but it would not be easy to find. It is my recollection tha the was located in the San Francisco Bay area, which was part of the reason for his fondness for the Monterey style fishing boats, so I am a little surprised that he was out at Lake Balboa just having fun. [As opposed to traveling here for a meet] Sounds like he has moved.

Pete G.

[Kmot]

Pandora Models

Did you look at his sweatshirt?

He lives in the Los Angeles area, and apparently has been for a couple decades at least.

[der kapitan]

I think I may have a Pandora Models catalog stashed away somewhere, but it would not be easy to find. It is my recollection tha the was located in the San Francisco Bay area, which was part of the reason for his fondness for the Monterey style fishing boats, so I am a little surprised that he was out at Lake Balboa just having fun. [As opposed to traveling here for a meet] Sounds like he has moved.

Pete G.

Pete, as I recall, the San Diego Maritime museum had a couple of Monterrey clippers, at least back in the early 1990's, and Bob may have gotten his inspiration there.

At any rate, he has lived in the LA area for quite some time, as Kmot has said.

[green-boat]

A model of the Hicks engine. HarborModels sells one as a casting. I don't think it is animated.


Funny this came up. A while back I was thinking of building a Monterey Clipper using one of Dwight Hartmans hulls. I shelved the idea when a web search for drawings of the Hicks engine turned up ZIP. I had even searched the antique engine forums with no luck. Now this breathes new life into this idea again.

Like I need another boat to build. The pile of unfinished ones keeps getting bigger.

[der kapitan]

Like I need another boat to build. The pile of unfinished ones keeps getting bigger.

It works this way: If you have a lot of unfinished projects laying about, you are not allowed to die. ;)

Don Brown and I have been following this philosophy for years---. :D

[Kmot]

Kmot, no last name needed, he'll know---. :D
Well, I saw Bob Herrera today and he told me you had telephoned him! So I didn't need to tell him "Hi" for you! :D

I went to Lake Balboa this morning, but got turned away. It seems the Iranians in Los Angeles have enough money to "rent" a City of Los Angeles public park! The park that I pay taxes for, so that I can go to it. Well not today, the Iranians had rented it, and were charging $5 a head to get in. But I only found that out after talking to some police officers after I had pulled a u-turn out of a log jam of other surprised visitors and drove my truck down the golf cart lane to get out of there. As I was leaving a patrol car came up and I asked them what the hell was going on. They informed me about the 'rental'. This ticks me off to no end........... :censored:

Anyway, I went down the road a few hundred yards to the model airplane field. I found all the other displaced boaters there.

Bob brought another one of his amazing scratch builds. This one is big, and the pilot has a servo inside him so his head moves as the rudder is turned. As per usual Herrera practice, all fittings, details, etc. are scratch built.

[Aerominded]

Gee, imagine the nerve of them doing that on April 1st! ;)

[MILLERTIME]

We’re not worthy.
We’re not worthy.
Bob’s work is outstanding, he is a true craftsman.

[der kapitan]

Kmot, yes, Bob and I, plus a lot of guys as a group, go back a lot of years. Sorry I didn't elaborate on that.

This thing with the Iranians is a bit of a surprise. I knew that a lot of them defected to the states after the Ayatollah declared total militant Islam in the late 1980's, but
I was unaware that they could rent out a park---.

[der kapitan]

Kmot, thanks for the pix. Next time you see him, ask Bob if he still has the ballcap with the extended "sun shade' bill. It was almost his trademark back in the early '90's, as was my "USS Budweiser, AB-1" cap.

[Kmot]

der kap: Bob told me some things about you. Like how you and a buddy from New Zealand would hop on a plane and fly out to San Diego for a model boat show.

Must be nice to have such deep pockets. :D

[der kapitan]

Kmot, that was a while back, when my pal from New Zealand and I were still working. :)

He was an insurance agent who would attend conventions here in the states, make a side trip to the shows, and write the whole thing off on his taxes. ;)

I would fly out to wherever the event was, and we would meet, run the boats and party. Or he would fly into Buffalo, and we would drive there. :)

Each of us had small transportable R/C models built for travel, and I still have several of these in operation. :)

[P_J_Glor]

Kmot -- saw an article in the paper re the Iranian takeover of the park. It was a celebration of the Persian New Year and apparently there were about 20,000 in attendance. It was probably well advertised beforehand -- just not in all of our neighborhoods.

When I lived in Iowa, you could reserve picnic areas in the parks, but I never ran into a group that could reserve the entire park! But I guess the Antelope Valley Model Boat club has done that up at Lake Apollo in Lancaster, because I have heard that non-members can get heavy fines for running their boats on the lake.

Pete G.

[Soar Master]

20,000 people at $5.00 a head = $100,000. I wonder how much the city, or park and recreation dept, or whoever is in charge of the lake received from the event? :rolleyes:

[Kmot]

I went to the lake today. The park was fuller than I have ever seen. In fact so full, when I left at 1:00 PM there was a Park Safety truck blocking any more vehicles from entering. I think it was a combination of the hispanic Easter Sunday picnickers and getting even for last Sunday when they were excluded. :rolleyes:

It was a pretty good day to go boating. Although there were a bunch of kids asking a zillion questions. But for the most part they were courteous and well behaved and they spoke English for a change so it was sorta fun. They actually understood what "don't touch" means. :p

After a couple hours of this, I noticed a young Asian girl standing right next to my shoulder, where I was sitting. 10, maybe 12 years old. I dunno. She was just staring at my PT boat. After a couple minutes, I looked over at her and said "hello". She looked back and said in such a soft voice it was hard to hear her, "hello". Then, she started asking all kinds of questions about the boats. All in a soft, dainty little voice. Then she said she wanted to drive a boat. She asked me if I was going to be driving my boat. I told her I had run it twice already, for over an hour, and had used up my batteries. She said I should have brought extra batteries. I told her I did bring an extra set, and used them up too! She then said I should buy more batteries! I then said "okay, I will get more batteries". And then she said "now you know why!". lol......... :p

Her father then came over, and I told him "your daughter wants a boat!". He asked how much, etc. Then he also had some curious questions about the PT and told me he had been in the Navy. After a few minutes, I noticed his daughter over with Cap'n Hank, driving his towboat!! hahahahaha!!! I swear I was witnessing a young Umi Riyuzuki. :D

Gerry, the Commodore of the Balboa group, brought out his big Dumas PT boat. It has been around for several years and it has been going through many changes. It now has a single brushless motor, Hacker or Lehner, driving three props through a gearbox. A power takeoff drives a fan that cools his home made heatsinks. This big boat gets up and hauls the mail! It also has rotating .50 cal mounts and 20mm Oerlikon gun.

Bob Herrera drove his "cat boat", and also a sailing dinghy with "Barbarino" as a driver. The cat boat has a sound chip that says "ahoy there, come aboard and have a beer".

[Kmot]

Went to Balboa this morning. Saw Cap'n Gerry's very nice Envoy tug and Cap'n Herrera's little fishing boat with engine sound system and puffing smoke system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Stg1oKGPw

[Ghost 2501]

Tom how far is Bilboa from hansen?

Where I live I have easy access to 3 lakes, Westport, Hanley and Longton park, with a slightly longer drive to Tunstall, added to that the canals are within 10 mins drive

[Kmot]

About 15 miles between the two lakes.