The last time over to Tucson I stopped in to see the folks at Dumas to see what was new in their lin-up. The one that really caught my eye was the George W. Washburn, a Hudson River Tow Tug.

There were two things that really appealed to me in the design: First, it's a great looking boat! And second, it fits my "no more boats over 30" long" rule. Another plus, though not a requirement is that construction is of primarilay all wood with only a couple of plastic detail parts.

Unfortunately, with so little print media out there in the boat realm these days it's getting harder all the time to get the word out, so we decided to try reviewing the kit here and see how it goes. There are others in the line of new releases also, so maybe we'll see some more of it here when this one is done as well. Let me know what you think???

The kit is done in 1:48 scale with an overall length of 30" and a beam of 5 1/2". The kit can be built either as a static display, or running model. To set it up for R/C you'll need the additional running gear set-up in addidtion to the kit. The model is designed for the Dumas 6V High Torque motor. However, on this build I plan to set it up using a Suppo 2820 Outrunner motor and a 2S Li-Poly battery, just to see how it goes. I know it'll work using the recommended motor, so thought it might be a good place to start using more modern equipment.

Probably one of the best features of this kit is the hull. After the fiberglass hulls went away, they changed to a plastic shell, but after several negative comments regarding the use of plastic, the hulls are now back to the old school method of plank on frame construction. The top side is of wood construction with the hull and cabin parts being laser cut. The sub-deck is dye cut from 1/8" Lite Ply, and planked with bass wood.

Overall, construction is really simple, and should be a problem for anyone who has built a plank on frame hull, and for those who have built Dumas Kits in the past will be no problem at all using the 56 page instruction booklet and 91 highly detailed assembly drawings.

So with that, lets get down to the build.....

A simple boat stand is included and is where construction begins.... Nothing fancy here, just follow the step by step instructions and it'll go together without a hitch.

The keel is build up from several laser cut sub-components, the all of the sub-assemblies built into the one piece keel. The prop stuffing box is an integral part of the keel assembly, and is slightly larger then the thickness of the keel, so 1?32 play shims are placed inder the components to keep the tube centered.

As a point of reference, I found the finished keel itself to be slightly longer then the assembly drawing, so use the provided dimentions to loacate the marks for the hull frames. Otherise, it all went together without a hitch.

The hull frames are laser cut in halves on 2, laser cut lite ply sheets. The partsd are removed from the sheets and assembled prior to gluing in place on the keel. Bass wood support beams are glued in place on each of the frames after the halves are glued together.

Pat,
Following with interest. The only boat experience that I have is a Midwest Fan tail launch and heritage steam engine which I build with the kids when they were young. Would that and a moderate amount of stick and tissues aircraft building be enough experience to tackle this project or is a simpler "for experience" boat build a better idea?
Best, Robert
Also, I note that your are posting on 3 aircraft and a boat in a single day. Impressive. All four projects look great.

Originally Posted by Robert R

Pat,
Following with interest. The only boat experience that I have is a Midwest Fan tail launch and heritage steam engine which I build with the kids when they were young. Would that and a moderate amount of stick and tissues aircraft building be enough experience to tackle this project or is a simpler "for experience" boat build a better idea?
Best, Robert
Also, I note that your are posting on 3 aircraft and a boat in a single day. Impressive. All four projects look great.

Robert, Thanks for that. Been piling up the photos from those projects for awhile now and figured I'd best get them posted up before things got too out of control. I need to learn not to do that in the future

Meanwhile, your question regarding the boat build is a good one, though it's a tough one too. Tough, because after 50-odd years of modeling and litterally hundreds of designs and builds it can be hard to see back to the early days when virtually everything was a challenge. However, with the experience you have this one might not be that big a step up.

The only area that might be a bit tricky is the planking itself. But if you take your time, follow the instructions to the letter and use the photos from this thread as reference you should be able to handle it just fine. Once the planking is done the rest will be a breeze by comparison.

The bottom line is that if this is one you would like to build, I'd say go for it. And if you do get into a bind, there's enough experience here on this forum to get you through just about anything.

PAT

The basic assembly completed, the keel is jigged to the building board with kit provided parts. I hot glued the jigs to the board to hold them firmly in place.

The frames and stern formers are aligned and glued in place on the keel. The stringers are laid in next. A bit of trimming was needed at former 1, though I'm not sure whether it was my fault or a slight mismatched former. Either way, just be sure the stringers flow nicely into the stem.

Actually, in spite of the fact that laying planks can be tedious work, I really like doing it. The challenge of fitting each plank and then making it flow around all those compound curves and angles is really fun. And when it's all done, you can know you've accomplished something.

Meanwhile, the instructions are very clear as to the planking sequence, and so far, the plan has worked -- with one exception....

The first 3 planks were laid with the keel/former assembly on the kit provided jig. The vertical transom planking was done next. Then the hull was then removed from the board to start the bottom planking. That's when i discovered that there was a slight, but very noticeable twist in the hull, so before the two center planks went on, the frame was hot glued to the building board to insure it would be straight one the remaining planks were in place.

To start the bottom planking, the two center planks were fitted and glued in place next to the keel.

As the planking progresses, it becomes necessary to start tapering the front and rear ends of the planks. Dimensions are given for the amount of taper, so you'll have a good starting point. The planks are fitted by trial and error, sanded into contour, then glued in place. To make the curves with less effort, the planks were wetted on the outside only, which induces a natural curl that maked the bends easy to form.

The planks are glued together using Elmer's Carpenters Glue between the planks, but are attached to the frames with CYa. Work from side to side so that the load is symmetrical so's not to induce any uneven loads as the planks go on. Also, select the balsa strips so that the firmness of the wood is similar from side to side as planking progresses.

From here we'll get the last of the planking on, then turn her over and get started on the decks.

PAT

Originally Posted by P. Tritle

Unfortunately, with so little print media out there in the boat realm these days it's getting harder all the time to get the word out, so we decided to try reviewing the kit here and see how it goes. There are others in the line of new releases also, so maybe we'll see some more of it here when this one is done as well. Let me know what you think???.....

I always enjoy your builds, Pat and I am happy to hear about new Dumas kits in the lineup.

Originally Posted by P. Tritle

Probably one of the best features of this kit is the hull. After the fiberglass hulls went away, they changed to a plastic shell, but after several negative comments regarding the use of plastic, the hulls are now back to the old school method of plank on frame construction. The top side is of wood construction with the hull and cabin parts being laser cut. The sub-deck is dye cut from 1/8" Lite Ply, and planked with bass wood.

Dumas will sell more boat kits to me with that change back to "Old School". In fact, I think I see one under the tree this Christmas. (USCG 36')

I was not a fan of the plastic hulls and did not see myself buying one of those any time soon.

So glad to see Dumas going back to wood - Laser cut frames too!

Pat are you going to fiberglass the hull when your done? how does the elmers carpenters glue hold up on boats that you run? I generally use epoxy to glue my wood bits together.

Originally Posted by hazegry

...how does the elmers carpenters glue hold up on boats that you run? I generally use epoxy to glue my wood bits together.

Pat can comment on Elmers, I use Titebond III to edge glue my planking and am very happy with the process and its strength. I 'glass the outside and seal the inside of my boats.

Edge gluing the planks makes building the hull and fairing so much easier-"Carpenter" type glues are easy to use and seem to sand much better than CA. Edge gluing planks on a model with epoxy would be overkill and less fun.

thanks aerominded I use tightbond III on my other wood work but got into the habit of using epoxy while building FE boats. I havent done a plank on frame yet but will keep the info for when I do.

Following with interest.
Thanks