After having been captivated by Gary Webb's simple hull construction and Sylvian's Tug collection I am hooked on dozer tugs right now as building them is great fun and I can foresee RC Logging competitions.
Sylvian kindly let me use his drawing for Sitka but after much thought, I decided for the first time ever, I will design and build my own boat my own way and for Me!!!
It works out about 1" to the foot.
Hull is 16" long with 9" beam which is quite near.
I cut the outline drawing to draw the hull sides.
I cut and shaped one hull side exactly and then used that as a template to mark and cut the other.
A series of holes were drilled at the stern and bow and the sides steam bent with my instrument makers hot bending iron.
They were then stitched together tightly, super glued and then epoxied from the inside.
Not bad for a few an afternoons work.
I have noticed a few mistakes which my brain is currently trying to resolve.
This is intended to be a very simple little boat with straight sides and flat bottom.

Pete.

Here try this . Its one of the popular small tugs that i made up 7 years ago.
15.5" long Beam 7.25" 3/4" scale or go bigger if you want.
Do some simple math with the shapes and you can get the lines.
Gary

Here are some pictures of different build s. The yellow house is what it should be , But Ray made His into a little monster.
Gary

Originally Posted by West Coast Tug

Here try this . Its one of the popular small tugs that i made up 7 years ago.
15.5" long Beam 7.25" 3/4" scale or go bigger if you want.
Do some simple math with the shapes and you can get the lines.
Gary

Many thanks Gary.
You really have me thinking now as whether to stop now and start again.
I think I am going to have to draw it out properly and take more time and care in building a nice tug .
Bit of help please??
About 15 or 16" is great as I want to operate it in a small swimming pool.
Can you please give me an idea on...
What length prop shaft?
What diameter prop?
I am working on a 50mm Steerable Kort with prop to match.
The prop shaft will be below water line so do I specify a waterproof one?
Also the motor size?
Maybe a 400 size?
This will be my first Tug in earnest so any help you can give will be hugely appreciated.
Thanks for all the excellent pics and for dropping in.
Pete

If you go along what Gary suggested, or, get one of his similar fiberglass hulls. A geared 540, with a Prop Shop K-1920 RH prop, in one of Gary's nozzles. Or if you have a Robbe nozzle, use it. Run on 6v or 7.2v NiMH.

Makes a GREAT boat!

Originally Posted by CaptCB

If you go along what Gary suggested, or, get one of his similar fiberglass hulls. A geared 540, with a Prop Shop K-1920 RH prop, in one of Gary's nozzles. Or if you have a Robbe nozzle, use it. Run on 6v or 7.2v NiMH.

Makes a GREAT boat!

Thank you for the information CaptCB.
I will give it some thought.

The log shielding on the hull is 3/16" dowel cut in half, I send mine over a Jointer taped to a backing board of plywood , I usually do a bunch of strips at one time .
How ever i should point out that i don't make a hull to float , I make a plug to get the shape from .
A plug can be made from anything it's just the shape I want. I don't have to worry about weight.
Gary

Thanks for the tip Gary.
I think I will adopt that method.
I have decided not to scrap what I have drawn and built so far for three reasons.
I want to see if it works!
There is no reason why it should not and it is going well so far.
I have never built a boat before starting with paper and pencil.



I will use Gary's drawing for my second build maybe.
Here is what I have done so far.
I have built it like the vikings built their boats.
Started with the outside and then fit the insides.
It seems to work! ( after all....they were pretty good at it!)
I will fit a large keel after the bottom is skinned in order to improve the steering.
A bit similar to having a huge pod like some of the real ones had.
I managed to fit the bottom skin.
It was quite a bending job needing pre soaking with water.
Pete

Lookin' good .

Mark

The only problem that could haunt you is an unstable ride. This is a proven design that works for stability in all of it design specs, Most Naval designers check the stability with math by trial and error over years.
Model hull design is not as important as the bigger tugs, Hull shape can induce pitch roll at hull speeds and above, nose down , stern down.and can capsize at certain speeds.
Yes this is a boom boat and will travel at slower speeds.
Gary

Originally Posted by West Coast Tug

The only problem that could haunt you is an unstable ride. This is a proven design that works for stability in all of it design specs, Most Naval designers check the stability with math by trial and error over years.
Model hull design is not as important as the bigger tugs, Hull shape can induce pitch roll at hull speeds and above, nose down , stern down.and can capsize at certain speeds.
Yes this is a boom boat and will travel at slower speeds.
Gary

Hi Gary.
I was thinking that a flat bottom hull would be good for stability but provides a rough ride and lower power to turn?
It will be sailing in ideal pond conditions most of the time , I will fit a keel to improve the steering.
I have noticed that there are quite a few very basic full size dozer tugs with flat bottoms.
Do you think I should stop now and not waste any more time?
Pete

Could not leave it in the bath too long as it is not water proofed yet.
So far it carries four cans of beans.
I reckon it would be right with five cans of beans.
A deuce and a half starter motor should just do it nicely for power.
Pete
What fun!!!

I have shaped the deck, soaked it in water and now clamping it in shape within the hull overnight so hopefully it stays like it....just a little bit.

Originally Posted by Ol mate

Hi Gary.
I was thinking that a flat bottom hull would be good for stability but provides a rough ride and lower power to turn?
It will be sailing in ideal pond conditions most of the time , I will fit a keel to improve the steering.
I have noticed that there are quite a few very basic full size dozer tugs with flat bottoms.
Do you think I should stop now and not waste any more time?
Pete

I say continue with what you are doing to see the results. Gary is a known and proved modeler and knows this typr of design well along with others of us in this part of the world that have models and access to se this type of boat in action. The difference between what is really done and your design that I noticed right away is that you made the forward bow areas like a real boat. May be pointed , but you have a "rounded" upward lift and not "flat level" bottom live the log tugs. You might be seeing nose diving like we see with Springers as that design allows for tipping forward or nose diving as the stren "pushes" the bow down if the shaft angle is off by a little.

Originally Posted by keith S

I say continue with what you are doing to see the results. Gary is a known and proved modeler and knows this typr of design well along with others of us in this part of the world that have models and access to se this type of boat in action. The difference between what is really done and your design that I noticed right away is that you made the forward bow areas like a real boat. May be pointed , but you have a "rounded" upward lift and not "flat level" bottom live the log tugs. You might be seeing nose diving like we see with Springers as that design allows for tipping forward or nose diving as the stren "pushes" the bow down if the shaft angle is off by a little.

Thanks Keith for your observations and input.
The up lift on my boat bow was a mistake!
It was initially flat but as I was levelling off the bow block, I cut into the port side bottom too deeply with the belt sander.
So I had to resand the bottom if the bow by hand to make the other side the same.
I have learnt there are and must be differences between models and the real thing.
If I made a tug from the Alberni drawings Gary kindly sent me and with the same shaft angle, would that work okay or would I have to modify other things as it will be a working model?
Pete