As threatened elsewhere, I've picked up an Amati Grand Banks 46, direct from the Krick factory/store, where they happened to have an open kit for a nice discount, woo hoo! It's small enough to check on the plane with no extra fee, and I get the VAT back, sweet.

Can't show you anything yet, it's sealed up in it's box... to get my VAt back, the item has to be new and unused (wouldn't work if you bought and wore your fancy Italian shoes for example, because you used them in Europe!). So I'm taking no chances opening the box.

While at Krick, I met Matthias Krick himself, who mentioned that the kit has been previously reviewed in a German magazine, where they found it was WAY too heavy to float and drive right. It has a heavy double f/g hull and subdeck, and a heavy set of fittings and superstructure parts... so one challenge will be to build in some lightness. Hmmm...

Previous GB46 threads
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=651684

And what it should look like, below. More at the Amati site, http://www.amatimodel.com/index.php?...id=35&Itemid=6

BTW, Model Expo used to import Amati, but no more, seems there must have been a spat:
http://www.modelexpo-online.com/page.asp?lp=7001

No matter, ME was asking $700 (ouch!). You can probably do better mail ordering from Europe (remember, no VAT on export purchases!)

OK, I'm back, and here are some "box review" pictures.

You may have different ideas about what makes for a quality kit... but just looking at this one, it seems to justify its being on the high end of the price scale.

Weight and power will definitely be an issue... float tests and parts weighing will tell me how much en-lightening will be needed.

But it will be a while before I get started, have to finish the Foundation Franklin first.

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This kit is great. Nice score. Looks like it's worth the money.

That's a very nice kit PatMat. I can see the weight in the hull already but the MDF would worry me. That stuff is very dense and very heavy. You might save a lot of weight substituting something else for all the MDF stuff especially the cabin part. Also MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) isn't very friendly toward water either. Put a piece of scrap in some water and see what happens to it.
I used to work for a company that made and sold cabinets and we used a lot of MDF. Sold a lot of the sheets too. WE got Melamine in box cars and the cars were always filled up or nearly so. The MDF cars were usually only half full or a little better because of the extra weight. Hard to handle by hand too. I could pick up a 1/2" sheet of mel but not a 1/2" sheet of MDF. Took two guys per sheet to handle it. Pete

Heavy? The first Grand Banks fiberglass hulls looked very much like their wooden ancestors. They were tanks! They did only 12 to 14 knots. The current Heritage 47' hase been modified with bigger diesels and a planing hull. A modified deep V-hull and some thirsty turbochargers will push it up to 23 knots!
The original Grand Banks were very slow displacement boats with good fuel economy, but it was at a sailboat pace. A nifty stabilizing sail would smooth out a quartering sea. This was a nice quiet cruiser for sailer who wanted to chart a course without the work of canvas. The boat was designed for people who loved the sea and wanted to live aboard their vessel on an enchanted quest.
Then, The fast pace of the 21st century came down on Grand Banks like a ton of bricks. The EastBay series had speed, but not the roominess new buyers demanded. The new trawler buyer wanted it all! Charter companies wanted speed and ease of operation. With price tags hitting Lotto figures, fuel consumption was not important to wealthy customers who wanted the ultimate trawler.
The stabilizing sail became a radar mount and the hull grew flippers. Gyro stabilizers were now the standard. Twin deisels with any horespower imaginable are now available. Bow thruster, stern thruser, and remote windlass, for operater convenience. The bottom had to be modfied to a planing hull to keep a modern pace. Electronics galore, a full compliment of modern navigation aids and communication devices that would impress Captain Kirk. Let's not forget the top mounted RIB inflatable and Waverunners on the swim platform.
Not enough you say? Then I guess we'll just have to build you an Aleution!

Hey Tolly (or anyone else who knows)... any good sources of detail shots on the older GBs? There are several details where the model design doesn't look convincing... like:
- Decking patterns (model has yacht-laid pattern with no margin or king plank, and no joggling;
- Mast finish (paint or varnish?)
- V-grooved hull planking... the v-groove stuff is only applied on the sides, not the bottom, on the model, with an odd missing bit where the "chine" turns up, forward.
- Mahogany transom planking is only applied down to the waterline, leaving an odd bump.

Pat from what I recall in the boatyards, Grand Banks only had the v groove down to the waterline. The hull bottom was smooth, which helped with the application of bottom paint
Transom was also only planked to the waterline.
Nice looking kit!

Thanks! With searching through some yacht brokerage sites, I've found more detail shots from various GB models and years... It's not clear from the Amati literature if this is a model of a wood or 1974+ fiberglass version... if the early glass "Heritage" models were knock offs of the wood design, maybe it's a minor matter?

But from some of these detail shots, it's clear that improvements can be made to the kit's decking at least.

CAPTAIN'S MODELS & Grand Banks Yachts

Too bad about Captain's Models.

Originally Posted by Jerome Morris

Pat from what I recall in the boatyards, Grand Banks only had the v groove down to the waterline. The hull bottom was smooth, which helped with the application of bottom paint
Transom was also only planked to the waterline.
Nice looking kit!

Yes, that's how I have seen them too. I'm in Michigan, so we don't have a lot of GB's to look at. These boats are more popular on ocean coast areas. I'm not sure about the mast. It may have never been wood in the first place on such a large yacht. The kit looks very accurate to me. You could maybe look up Google for a GB forum. I sometimes do a search on Yachtwolrd and you may get some pictures of one out of the water in a yard.

Looking at this kit closely, I noticed the modern seating on the bridge. This boat is a Grand Banks 46 Classic. This was a fiberglass boat to start with. Pat where you thinking the was a replica of the older wooden Grand Banks? As I have said, Fiberglass GB's look just like their ancestors. All the wood you see on a Grand Banks after 1973 is fastened to the fiberglass but serves no actual structural purpose. The planking you see is molded in the hull and is just to give the hull a classic look. The hulls were all fiberglass starting in 1974 out of the Singapore. The dealers and customers were never told the switch was going to be made. The word "surprise" was an understatemnet. Fiberglass was not generally accepted at the time.

Aha, found it! Most of the model's features seem consistent withe early 90's glass boats. Here's a shot of the forward deck, with joggled king plank, and a view of the partially planked transom.