Now that the masts sockets are fitted the masts need to be finished. As I mentioned before I have inserted a brass tube running up the length of the mast initially to carry a wire to the top. However as the tube came in 300mm lengths I decide to put an LED every 300mm maybe a row of red and a row of green (just because I can) These will need a power supply . I also wanted the masts to be easily removable without any wires to be connected so at the bottom of each mast is a Jack plug, the socket is mounted at the base of each tube

The rudder has been playing on my mind ever since I started this project. It only had a very small actuation arm when you consider the size of the rudder. It appears that once fitted the rudder is permanent and cannot be removed. The access is also very restricted through an opening 45mm x 45mm. I may consider making this larger.
So major surgery is required, I cut through the rudder shaft at the bottom pivot allowing the rudder shaft to be removed freeing the rudder I now have to figure out a method of replacing the rudder with a removable system. I had to cut free the tube within the rudder to be able to replace it with a larger tube, 4mm bore. The shaft now has a 4mm thread on the top, which can support a larger arm. At the bottom of the rudder is a small treaded hole which takes an 8BA screw through it to secure it in position. The rudder is now actuated by a remote servo set near to the middle of the yacht where there is more space, and a Bowden cable runs to the stern.

The cabins are in a poor shape, the veneer is cracked and lifting in many places, and the wood (balsa) is very dry with little strength. In order to strengthen the whole structures I decided to give it a coat of EasyKote and a layer of 1oz glass cloth, this will solve the cracking veneer and the weak balsa. The next process was 2 coats of red oxide primer giving a base for filling of any dents and cracks with body filler. The final finish will be white and Light green, the same colours as the hull
The inside of the cabin was not very good and a bit rough to say the least. It’s a difficult area to prepare the surface for painting. Therefore, I have decided to line it with white plasti card, cutting the various shapes to be glued in position with a contact adhesive, I used this method in my Marlin Cabin Cruiser to great effect.
The rear cabin is a problem because it has a mast going through the middle and if you need access to the rear cabin contents once the yacht is fully rigged ready for sailing it would mean removing the mast – not an option. The solution is to have the rear cabin split in two so it can be removed one side at a time. The cabin is held together with magnets and makes a sold unit when in place

The electrics consist of one 7.2Volt battery to power everything that being:-
1 power switch and fuse
2 ESC – motor/ propeller
3 Receiver - Sail winch – Rudder - lights
4 lighting – cabin – navigation – stern – bow - 2 masts
I have made a black Perspex mounting which will support all the electric/electronic equipment/components. There are two voltage boosters to increase the voltage to power the LEDS on the masts, these have yet to be finalised.
The two masts have power wires running up inside and are terminated with a 3mm jack and a socket, which is mounted beneath each mast socket so there’s no need for any connection of wires during set up at the lake, just drop the mast into its socket.

The masts are proving to be a monumental task, who would think the addition of a few LEDs would cause such an amount of additional work however, this is the part I enjoy solving problems and making things. In a past page I showed the wires being hidden in a brass tube going up the mast (it was previously used as an aerial), it was now time to attach the LEDs and devise a cover of some sort.
First attach the LEDs leaving as much wire as possible to enable the LEDs to be fixed in the housings and also to solder to and as close to the shortened legs of the LEDs without damaging them and making it as small as possible. I think I can contain the LEDs in a space measuring 12 x 6 x 6.and a strap to fasten them to the Mast.
I want to keep the cover in keeping with all the other fittings of the Yacht so I’m using 0.010" brass sheet . To make a container of suitable size I am going to make a press tool to form them making them uniform throughout. A small piece of brass bar will be durable enough to make a press tool that will last for 10 containers. Using a 6mm slot drill I cut the required slots using removable end pieces making it easier to remove the finished parts from the tool.
I first cut the developed shape in a piece of thin card to test the tool. Satisfied that it will work I make a first sample test piece in 0.010” brass sheet, placing it in position I pull down on the drill press, the piece folds, but tears on one corner, the solution is to pre-bend the sides before using the press tool so that the wings I’ll be soldering don’t catch as it folds. A second sample proves much more satisfactory and forms a very pleasing result. Fast Forward and cut another 9 sample developed pieces and hope they bend up as good as the first one, they do.
The next job is to make another jig to hold the box while the wings are soldered to secure the box shape this is simply a piece of wood with pins to hold the shape as its soldered. I now have to drill all the holes, one for the LEDs and two fastening holes either side. Each box is trimmed and polished before finally fitting each one to the mast. I need to ensure that there is no possibility of short circuit so I made 10 more boxes out of thin paper, which I can glue in position. I will leave them off the mast until final assembly.

The rigging for each mast was originally fastened to the deck with a rather unsightly piece of brass wire looped through the deck and glued underneath. I was sure I could improve on this however it may not be to everybody’s taste but a you may have noticed if there’s an easy way and a hard way I usually go for the hard way which tends to be much more time consuming and more difficult but for me much more enjoyable.
I wanted the rigging to be easily assembled at the lakeside so attaching the wires must be easily done; each wire has a turnbuckle at its end to tension the wires with an attachment point directly by a 4mm eye. I have decided to use a fishermen’s device, which is normally for attaching a trace wire (I think) it’s just a quick way of attaching the wire (this may change on final assembly it could end up as a simple hook (picture later)) This device then attaches to the eye, which is fastened to the deck. As I said in the original plan, it shows a piece of 1mm brass wire pushed through the deck and epoxied under the deck leaving a loop on deck. Although this works, I wanted to do something a bit more robust and challenging and bring a bit of finesse to the yacht. Therefore, I produced a fitting for each of the four securing positions.

These were made from 1.5mm brass sheet which was cut and filed to the double bulge on deck and straight on the sides the joint line was also filed to the curve of the sides to make a snug fit the two pieces were then silver soldered to form an angle piece. After trimming and polishing each piece had the 3 holes drilled and tapped M2 to take treaded eye bolt fitting, these will go through the deck and help make a secure fitting