What's Your Winter Project? [Archive]

George Pfeifer

Jan 29, 2003, 07:40 PM

I am in the process of scratch building a "Monterey Bay" fishing boat. Am working from photos only, no plans. The model is 42 inches long with a beam of 9 inches. It is powered by a Mabuchi RS-775 motor working thru a homemade 2.5:1 gear reduction and using a 12 volt gel cell.
The hull and cabin are pretty well complete, I am now in the process of painting and adding details.
Below and in the next few threads are some pictures.

Lets see some more "Winter Projects"

George Pfeifer

George Pfeifer

Jan 29, 2003, 07:43 PM

This shows the detail of the reels, final rigging needs to be completed. The challange is going to be how to set up all of the rigging such that I can still get access to the interior of the hull without a total disassembly. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

George Pfeifer

Jan 29, 2003, 07:46 PM

3rd Pic

George Pfeifer

Jan 29, 2003, 07:48 PM

4th and final pic.

Morris

Feb 01, 2003, 07:13 AM

My winter project is my first boat. I hope it turns out as well as those I've see in this forum.

Uncle Mikey

Feb 03, 2003, 11:23 AM

I just started a project that I've wanted to do for 20 years and that is to build a Dumas Chris Craft boat. I decided to build the barrel back #1234 and have just gotten started. I wonder if anyone has worked with these kits and is familiar with motors that perform well in this kit. I would like scale performance.

mike

Uncle Mikey

Feb 03, 2003, 11:27 AM

I forgot to mention the boat looks great. Is it for display or are you going to power it and with what?

mike

George Pfeifer

Feb 03, 2003, 12:31 PM

Mike;
The barrell back will have limited space for motor and batteries, but they do fit. You will get very good scale speeds on a 7 cell batttery pack. 2 ideas:
1. Check out Mack Products, they have power set ups for most of the Dumas kits. I have never used their products, but I have heard good things about them. I believe that they offer matched motors and speed controls for each kit.
2. Several of the guys in our club have used R.O.A.R. stock 05 car motors on a Hughey gear drive, and had good success. The nice thing about the Hughey gear drive is that it uses stock R/C car gears, so you have a wide variety of ratios available. If using an R/C car motor, the gear drive is just about essential, as overheating will be a problem if you try to use direct drive.
One draw back to R/C car motors is that they do require some maintenance; i.e, replace brushes, springs and clean the commutator on a regular basis. A good option in this area would be a Graupner 600 series motor and the Hughey gearbox, the Graupner motor is a sealed can type, and the brushes don't require replacement.
Good luck with your project, looks like you are off to a good start.

If the above question refers to my Fishing boat, it is running a Mabuchi RS-775 motor through a homemade 2.5 to 1 geardrive. And will use a 12 volt gel cell as the battery. The boat is large enough that it needs a fair amount of ballast so size of the batteries is not a concern.
George Pfeifer

George Pfeifer

Feb 03, 2003, 01:01 PM

Mike;
If you'd like some inspiration, go to www.emyc.org Then go to Photo Albums towards the botttom and select Scale. Go to the 25 th picture and click on the thumbnail photo and that will bring up several pictures of Dale Johnson's barrell back. This one runs an 05 car motor on a Hughey gear drive.
Dale's finish is 8 layers of epoxy, sanded and polished to a high shine.
If you are interested in building the water skier, contact me, I have plans for that and it is easy to make, and performs well. The water skier is a great hit with spectators.

George Pfeifer

Uncle Mikey

Feb 03, 2003, 02:28 PM

Hey George, thanks for the info. That's a real looker with 18 coats. And yes, I would like the plans for the skier. That would look pretty cute.
Question? What do you think about me fiberglassing the entire hull just after the sub planking, but before the final planking. This would completely seal it for water use. I don't know if the final planking would stick to the glass like it should. Let me know.

mike

George Pfeifer

Feb 03, 2003, 04:08 PM

Mike;
I would recommend waterproofing the interior with polyurathane rather than resin, just because it is a lot easier to work with and will do just as good a job. Put 2-3 coats on. The time to do it is before you start applying the deck parts, that way you can make sure that you coat every single nook and cranny. Water spray will get into these boats when running, due to the open cockpits. I wouldn't coat the subplanking on the exterior, as you want a good bond for the finish planking, and raw wood glues better than finished.
Also, when you start adding the deck pieces make sure that you put a coat of poly on the underside of these so that the deck material does not absorb humidity from the inside.

E-mail me with your snail mail address and I will send you a photo copy of the plans/article for the water skier. I tried scanning them and e-mailing them to other people and it did not work well.

George

Uncle Mikey

Feb 03, 2003, 04:31 PM

Thank you George for the speedy answer. I was just leaving to go purchase some resin. The varnish sounds a lot easier. While on the subject of varnish, Dumas supplies a powder to mix with water to stain the hull. It seems pretty reddish and I like the color of the wood just as it is. When it gets varnished it will have a rich color. I don't won't it so dark you can't see the grain real well. What do you think about not using the stain?
I really appreciate your help time.

mike

George Pfeifer

Feb 03, 2003, 06:50 PM

Mike;
I think that the stain is a matter of personal choice, I would recommend testing some scrap pieces with variouos stains and varnish. Pint cans of stain are pretty cheap at the discount home stores. I have used, mahagony, red mahagony, victorian mahagony, maple, oak, ebony, etc. depends on what I ultimately want in color. I've even used India ink. I use black India ink if the boat has some black trim, an once used red india ink (see thread on "Show us your boats"(?) I have pics of a highly modified triple cockpit in there, if you look close you can see the red india ink.(big tear drop shapes on the deck) I used the plastic caulking to contain the ink so it didn't bleed into the surrounding wood. You can also sustitute bass wood planking in areas to produce white. The variations are endless, it all depends on what you wnt it to look like. When I build kits I don't want it to look just like somebody elses, so invariably end up making lots of modifications. Guess that why I mainly scratch build, then nobody has one just like mine.
By the way, the water skier plans will be in the mail tomorrow.
George

Morris

Feb 03, 2003, 07:28 PM

Will try to post picture of 1st boat.

George Pfeifer

Feb 03, 2003, 10:20 PM

Morris;
Very nice work, what boat/kit is that? I like the looks of it.
:)

George

Morris

Feb 03, 2003, 10:42 PM

George,
It's a Midwest 'Jim Wilder 2' tugboat. The plans do not call for anything in the pilot house and I didn't think it would look nice that way; so I'm designing my own interior.
Morris

Morris

Feb 03, 2003, 10:47 PM

Here is another photo of the boat

Uncle Mikey

Feb 03, 2003, 11:15 PM

Nice looking boat Morris. Let's see some more of it.

George, should I try to use the supplied prop or go to a high performance prop? Again, I just want to run fast enough to look good. I'll use this as a retrieval boat for my 54" Zenoah powered deep vee. I not interested in perfect scale. I'm not going to show it, I just want a nice old Chris Craft to play with. If you reccomend a different prop, will it still be 3 bladed. Also should I use the supplied drive system or change to conventional flex shaft system?
Hope I'm not driving you crazy with all of these questions.

thanks, mike

George Pfeifer

Feb 04, 2003, 09:05 AM

Mike;
I would just use everything as is, no need to change to get decent performance. If you start changing to high performance hardware you are going to loose run time by a significant factor, and you will surpass the design performance of the hull anyway.
If you find that you want a little faster speed just jump it to eight cells, but watch the heat build up. By the way I would recommend 2400(NiCad) or GP 3300 (NiMH)cells. 24's will give you best speed, 33's will give you longer run time.
If speed is what you are after then I recommend converting that kit to a "Gentleman's" racer as seen in the 30's and 40's. Just remove all of the cockpits, and put one small one at the rear, that leaves a huge front compartment for a speed 700 motor and 12-16 cells. There has been some talk around the country about creating an enduro racing class based on the Dumas hulls. Rumrunners hobbies is introducing a Baby Bootlegger kit sometime this spring and Climate Boatworks out of Canada is supposed to release a Miss Canada kit shortly.
Have you given any thought to a speed control? If reverse is not necessary, I highly recommend rc-hydros.com. You cannot destroy these units and they are totally waterproof. If you use an R/C car unit, DON'T get any water near it or it will fry. The car units are way overrated as to the Amp draw that they can handle, and in electric boats high amp draw is part of the game.

George

George Pfeifer

Feb 04, 2003, 09:11 AM

Morris;
That boat is an excellent choice for a first boat, I always liked that one. We have several in the club here. Looks good and runs very nice. From your pics it looks like you are a true craftsman, very good work. Look forward to seeing the finished product.

George

Morris

Feb 04, 2003, 06:37 PM

I hope this is how a pilot house should look.

Uncle Mikey

Feb 04, 2003, 08:43 PM

Nice detail, you must have very tiny fingers. It really looks great.
mike

Morris

Feb 06, 2003, 01:13 PM

George & Mike,
Thank you both for the nice comments, it makes the project a more rewarding. I need advise on how to make a stand for the boat. What are your suggestions?
Thanks, Morris

George Pfeifer

Feb 06, 2003, 02:12 PM

Do you want a stand for hauling it around or a show stand? or both.

If a stand for hauling, I generally trace out 2 frames (pick ones about 6-8 inches apart) cut those out of 1/4 or 1/2 inch plywood and join together with 2 dowels. Line the plywood with rubber tubing or cloth where it will touch the boat. This should give high support so the boat doesn't fall off while transporting and will be light weight.

If a show stand I like items that look like a real boat in dry dock (these don't usually make good stands for transporting) and don't hide the shape of the hull. Use an Oak plank, and make timbers from square balsa or basswood stock that will support the boat in four places. I found a good way to make "Aged" timbers was to take 3/4 inch square balsa stock, scrape them up with a wire brush, then put on a coat of maple stain, followed by a coat of ebony stain, and finally a gray wash (thinned gray paint). They come out looking like old weathered timbers. (see my pile driving barge, attached) sorry, I don't have a close up shot of the timbers.
Another idea that I have seen is miniature wooden barrells available at craft or woodworking stores. Sand one edge flat to support the side of the boat and mount 4-6 of them on an Oak board (screws from underneath). Just place them so they give good support. I saw this method actually being used in a lot of boat yards along the Oregon coast.

For my Streetcar boat, my research showed that they hauled them from the construction site to the lake on something like a railroad flat car that used actual street car wheel trucks. So I bought a "G" scale box car kit and modified it to hold the boat. The stand cost me almost as much as the boat by the time I was done, but looks good (lousy for hauling the boat around though!).

George

Morris

Feb 06, 2003, 06:49 PM

George,
I viewed your boats on your clubs web site, you have some beautiful boats. Several very nice boats are listed.

The stand will be for transportation, so will build for that purpose.
Thanks again,
Morris

Uncle Mikey

Feb 06, 2003, 08:10 PM

George you talked about realistic show stands. do you have any pics. i'd really like to see some ideas.

mike

Uncle Mikey

Feb 10, 2003, 09:54 PM

the project is coming along. almost ready to start with the final planking. this is slow work, but fun.

mike

George Pfeifer

Feb 11, 2003, 07:55 AM

Mike;
It is looking good, you are making good progress.:)

I'm not ignoring your earlier request for ideas on scale stands just have to get time to get some pictures together.

George

Uncle Mikey

Feb 11, 2003, 11:16 AM

thanks George. It's ok on the stands, I'm not quite ready yet.:) :)

Uncle Mikey

Feb 21, 2003, 12:41 AM

hey George, thanks for the skier plans. I will build it for sure. That will make a great addition. I have not gotten much further on the boat. I've been playing with aerial photography on my slow stick.
Again, thanks for the plans
mike

Umi_Ryuzuki

Sep 25, 2003, 12:50 PM

Let's broaden the forums a bit more.

Did any of these get finished?

How about 2003 winter projects.

We are building two of these this winter
http://www.lafire.com/fire_boats/photos_boat2-new/fb2sketch_316.jpg (http://www.ral.bc.ca/press/LAFB001.jpg)
We are thinking super soaker...:p

I will post an image of this in the Voith schneider drive thread in "Dock Talk" (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=77749)

As with the LST, I had to draw up the frame plans from images we found at the builders site. Even after I was happy with the drawings, and cut the frames, I had to make adjustments.
(a dremel is your friend:D )

Tachikaze

Sep 26, 2003, 08:08 PM

Along with the same fireboat that Umi is buikding, I will also be trying to finish the HIJMS Shimakaze for next season.

George Pfeifer

Sep 27, 2003, 10:26 AM

Here is a pic of the monterey Bay fishing boat that I worked on last winter, it is about 95% complete when the pic was taken. Just final detailing and lights to be added.
It has been on the water and sails very well. I did end up replacing the Mabuchi 750 motor and gearbox, with a GM electric car window motor, due to space limitations.

George Pfeifer

Sep 27, 2003, 10:38 AM

My first priority for this winter will be to build a "New" Streetcar boat. My previous boat suffered fairly severe damage due to a sudden wind storm (40-50 mph winds) at an outdoor show this year. Since this is one of my favorites, and this was the 3rd "accident' in its short life, it will be better to build new than attempt further repairs.

Antoine L's recent inquiry about Whaleback Freighters, caused me to research my archive of plans and photos, and I came across these pics that I took about 10 years ago.

This is the SS Christopher Columbus, the only passenger version of a whaleback ever built. It was built for the 1896 Chicago World's Fair, and continued to operate as a passenger ferry between Chicago and Milwaukee until some time in the 1940's.
I always thought that this was a nice looking ship, and now I think it is time to build it. The finished model will be about 7 foot in length.

kapos45

Sep 30, 2003, 06:41 AM

My Vinter project. 1/2 boat I know. Actually I think
it might take 2 winters.
Oh the details... Still working on rectractable wheels
to reduce the drag. Low drag / high speed as we said
in my USAF days. I sent drawings to Norbert maybe
he will make something of them.
Wish I had more time. But as a personal goal this one
WILL be completed...;) after all the original was built in
a back yard with no mor than mig welder...
kapos
I hate easy projects :p

Tachikaze

Oct 06, 2003, 12:20 PM

The Los Angeles Fireboat 2 project as of October 5th. The boat on the left is Umi's. A little further ahead than mine. That bridge is a lot harder to make than it looks. Not bad for not having any plans:D

Beez

Oct 08, 2003, 06:09 PM

What do you mean, "That bridge is harder to make than it looks?" It looks pretty hard to me and I think you've done a great job. All those angles are not easy. My winter projects will be a couple of barges for my tug to push/tow around and a model of the Andrea Gail in 1:24 scale. The basis is a hull of the MT Radience from Metcalf Mouldings.

Beez

kapos45

Oct 10, 2003, 05:14 AM

Tachi, Umi
Nice work on the LA fireboats. Put some 3 in wheels
on there and youll have as clean of hull as mine:rolleyes:

Rear retracts are finished on this boat. The front retracts
are being done by a secret team at a secret lab at
Universty of Szeged Hungary (Norbique) Shhhh:rolleyes:
I was kinda lost. Those Hungarians have a solution
for everything (that I know of).
Ready for spring Im guessin.
Brad

mike_victoriaBC

Oct 12, 2003, 03:20 PM

Beez:
Any photos of your tug or barges? I'm always interested in the typical under 60' workboat/tug and seeing other's models.

Beez

Oct 22, 2003, 11:46 AM

Mike, there are photos of my tug in the photo section of this site. I just moved across the country and am still unpacking and setting up the shop so all projects are on hold right now. I hope to get to barge building soon.

Beez

P. Tritle

Oct 22, 2003, 01:57 PM

Mike,

P. Tritle

Oct 22, 2003, 02:02 PM

Mike,
The Best stain I've found for the Dumas mahogany boats is the orange powder that comes in the kits. When you first put in on it will look terrible, but when you fiberglass or varnish it turns into a beautiful shade of golden brown. Another good choice is Red Oak from Minwax. I've used both with excelant results.

P. Tritle

Oct 30, 2003, 10:58 PM

George,
At the moment I'm in the process of building the Artesania Latina "Santa Maria" kit to 2 ch R/C and adding a small drive motor for propulsion to run on calm days. So far the hull is complete and work on the topside is ready to begin.
Pat Tritle

reddog69

Nov 08, 2003, 04:22 AM

Hello to all. All of the boats and ships are beautiful. This has been a reason for me to build again. I've started a dumas donzi which will be my first boat in about ten years. Shes coming along great and will be ready for the spring thaw. Two questions if I may. One, has anyone else built this boat and if so do you have any power advise as far as electrics? Number 2. Whats a good place to find Robbe or Graupner accesories as I want a bow thruster and rotating radar. Thanks in advance for your help. When I learn how to post pictures I will. I've been taking photos from the opening of the box right up to the sanding of the deck. Thanks again.

P. Tritle

Nov 08, 2003, 02:54 PM

George, Progress on the Santa Maria is moving ahead, though slowly. I'll be back on the project more steadily now that I have a couple of other projects buttoned up. I'll start a new thread for the project and keep the updates coming.
PAT

fgroza

Dec 07, 2003, 07:38 AM

I'm in the middle of putting together a "Amsterdam" tug kit. Adding lights, bilge pump,sound,brass prop,ball bearing shaft tube, and maybe a bow thruster. If anyone has any input for this kit, please let me know. So far is has been a easy build. The die cutting is great!
I also may try to finish one of the Midwest 47' CG boats, if Santa delivers one! They have it in ARF version with two 550 drives.

Frank

csdawggie

Feb 15, 2004, 11:38 AM

Hey Morris. What are your tips on planing that boat. I'm at planks 9 & 10 from the bottom and I just can get the planking right.

Rudderman98

Feb 15, 2004, 05:04 PM

Originally posted by fgroza
I'm in the middle of putting together a "Amsterdam" tug kit. Adding lights, bilge pump,sound,brass prop,ball bearing shaft tube, and maybe a bow thruster. If anyone has any input for this kit, please let me know. So far is has been a easy build. The die cutting is great!
I also may try to finish one of the Midwest 47' CG boats, if Santa delivers one! They have it in ARF version with two 550 drives.

Frank

Frank,
If you can, get the ARF version TRUST ME!. The kit is a wonderful build but you better be experienced in building a kit like this. I built one and made many scale mods along the way. The ARF is a lot lighter than the kit version so she should perfom better. Plus the hull is ABS or fiberglass. Much lighter.

My MLB was a bit on the heavy side and the runtime was pretty poor with the suggested equipment Midwest recommeded at the time. I bought my kit the moment it was introduced I think summer 1997 if I am not mistaken. The new ARF kit seems to have a better power system than the original kit. I am looking into an ARF version for later this summer since I regrettably sold my original MLB last year. I will of course add correct detail to it.

Perry

Rudderman98

Feb 15, 2004, 05:07 PM

Pic 2

fgroza

Feb 29, 2004, 01:49 AM

Rudderman,
I just finished my Midwest ARF boat. It looks great for a factory build. I have a couple of brass Rivalbo props for it but I'll try the stock ones first. The drives are 550 Mabuchi with Dumas couplings. They turn 35mm plastic props.
I may try a couple of Magnetic Mayhem motors if the stock ones don't make it. I run the MM in my other boats with great success.
BTW - your boat looks GREAT!
Frank:D

Rudderman98

Feb 29, 2004, 01:46 PM

Originally posted by fgroza
Rudderman,
I just finished my Midwest ARF boat. It looks great for a factory build. I have a couple of brass Rivalbo props for it but I'll try the stock ones first. The drives are 550 Mabuchi with Dumas couplings. They turn 35mm plastic props.
I may try a couple of Magnetic Mayhem motors if the stock ones don't make it. I run the MM in my other boats with great success.
BTW - your boat looks GREAT!
Frank:D

Frank,
Thats great! If you can, post some pics. Also, let me know how the MM's work in the MLB. My friend has a brand new MLB kit at his hobby shop that has been sitting awhile. I might see if I can weasel the boat from him for a good price.

Perry

fgroza

Mar 11, 2004, 04:28 PM

Rudderman,
Here are a few shots of my fleet.
Frank

fgroza

Mar 11, 2004, 04:35 PM

A Kyosho kit

fgroza

Mar 11, 2004, 04:38 PM

another Kyosho kit

fgroza

Mar 11, 2004, 04:40 PM

an old Lindberg kit

fgroza

Mar 11, 2004, 04:43 PM

And my Latina Amsterdam. I have several other boats as well as three Dumas kits to build.

Rudderman98

Mar 11, 2004, 05:52 PM

VERY nice!
My buddy had the Amsterdam but later sold it off. It was quite a build he told me.

Perry

48chebbie

Mar 20, 2004, 10:26 AM

not exactly just a winter project,but more like a year long project. i have drawn up the plans,and scaled down the original drawings,and i am about to start construction on my new ship. it is a semi-submersible heavy transport. it will be around 8 ft. long,19 1/2" beam, 7"draft. it will be a hand laid fiberglass hull,with stainless steel ballast tanks,and an onboard 12V aircompressor to fill them. it will be alot of work,but it will be worth it. power will be 4 12V motors,2 kortz nozzle type drives in the rear,and 2 bow thrusters in the front. the rear drives will have full 360 degree rotation. i still have alot of drawing and designing left to do,but,thats why it's called a project.

fgroza

Mar 28, 2004, 07:05 PM

Rudderman,
I finally got to run my fleet today! the weather was great. I was quite impressed with the Midwest CG boat. It really moves out and runs on a high step. The only down side to this boat is the decals/lettering. They are not sealed and several of mine came off! I'm going to talk to the Midwest group at Toledo this week. The Wavechopper with a Magnetic Mayhem really moves! I was suprised that this little boat give out a very high funfactor!
Well, happy sailing!
Frank