Hi Everyone, it is time to actually cut some boat parts and get the Weymouth build started. Here is a link to the "Discussion" where the project began -

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...light=weymouth

If you want to see what the final project will look like, follow the link above to the plans.

Quick Recap: Back in the early 1980's when I really got started into RC boating, there were two Weymouth style tugboats running on Spreckles Lake in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. These boats represented the pinnacle of what model boating was all about....at least for my boating buddies and I. But alas, back in the day, I didn't have the skills to build one.....but being older and hopefully wiser now (flip a coin), I can probably build one now. My boating buddies have expressed interest in building a couple of them and that build starts now. The original model was built "bread and butter" style, stacking slabs of clear pine and cutting and shaping until a tugboat emerged from the sawdust - I can't build it that way, so it is going to be "plank on frame" if I'm going to have any success with this boat. The method that I'm using to build this boat is not the only way to do it, but it is the way I can do it and the final result is what really matters. Smack dab in the middle of Winter, an image of a Spring day pops into my head and a working model of an 1866 Weymouth tugboat is cutting through the water on Spreckles Lake. I'm hoping this image will keep the project alive over the next year! The attached picture is just the beginning as the keel, sub-deck, and frames start to come together to form the skeleton of this boat. Once the frames are cut, the sub-deck (rectangular 3mm plywood) will be marked and cut down into a "cat's eye shaped donut" that will define the curve of the deck for the boat. The interior of the boat has to be completely accessible so that the balsa planking can be sealed with West System Epoxy. Once planked, the boat will be covered in fiberglass. Let the build begin......Bob SF

This is gonna be a Really Big Show ...

Tug boat I'm in

Topo Gigio says "hi" (if you are under 40 years old, this may not make sense). He'll be drawing frames today. Bob SF

Tim B., where did you find a pic of Ed Sullivan smiling?

When he was on, I NEVER recall him ever smiling---.

Originally Posted by der kapitan

Tim B., where did you find a pic of Ed Sullivan smiling?

When he was on, I NEVER recall him ever smiling---.

Probably when the Rolling Stones left the stage

...or when Jim Morrison was told he could never come on the show again! Bob SF

Hi Everyone,
Busy day around the shop today. Cut frames 4 and 5, making allowances for the plank thickness. So far, everything is lining up and I hope that trend continues. My boating buddy came over today and we set up his building board, transferring the frame locations to the board and to the sub-deck. He can go ahead and finish his keel. Since I'm still waiting for the shaft to arrive, I'll be on frame cutting duty for the next couple of days. Once we know that the frames look good, will make another set for his boat. Here is what she looks like so far. Bob SF

He used to smile before his fancy Beatles haircut !

( sorry to have hijacked yoor thred Bob ... )

Hi Everyone, the frames are done! All look really good, except for #6 that looks a little short. I'll add some balsa to the bottom of that frame and sand it to shape. The next step is to disassemble the frame and do a little more drawing to outline of the hull on the sub-deck, mark out the hatch and then cut away at the subdeck. It's actually starting to look like a boat. Bob SF

Coming alone

Hi Everyone,
The sub-deck was cut today, keeping it a little large so that final sanding will take it down the the appropriate shape. This is hull "C", and this boat is pretty much stalled until the prop shaft arrives from the supplier. I hope the missing part will come soon. In the meantime, we will be working on my friend's boat, hull "B", getting all the frames cut for it and installing the prop shaft. Bob SF

.

Mark

Hi Everyone, the stuffing box and shaft showed up and the keel was assembled using 6 minute epoxy. With the colder temps that we've had here in California (it is cold for us), the epoxy was setting up in about 20 minutes. Even with 20 minutes, I was working like a mad man to get all of the parts covered in glue and clamped. I think we will do my friends boat with 30 minute epoxy and work at a much more leisurely pace. All of the frames have been glued in place and the stringers have been tortured into position. The only tricky element of the build was to put frame #8 in place first, and then glue in the keel. All of the other frames could be slipped in and glued once the keel was in place. Frames 1-7 and 9-10 were assembled in number order and were made perpendicular to the building board. The next step is to sand the frames to get them ready for planking. I would imagine that I will be sanding for a couple of days. Some areas in the stern of the boat will be filled in with 1/4" balsa sheet to create a larger glue area for the planks to adhere to. The boat got much bigger on the building board today. Bob SF

Yoor brave workin outside with this COLD weather !