This is a new thread of my refurbishing of an old ship model that was built back in the 1980's or so.

Background:
I managed to get this model when a fellow boat modeler knew that I have multiple scale RC powered boats and would be the right person to give it to. This was during a sailboat regatta and I was videoing the races from my big fishing trawler using a GOPRO camera.

The story goes that this particular person had the boat built, wired and fitted professionally. It is a huge model spanning 76 inches in length and weighing 35 lbs fully loaded ( of which 21 lbs were lead acid batteries ; six of them ).

however, that person passed away years ago and after a while, his widow needed to clean up the house and was about to trash all the models into the dumpster. Fellow modelers were able to save two of his huge boats. One being the German U99 submarine that went to a collector in Texas and the second was this un named old ship. It languished for years in a garage. The person that saved it was not interested in powered RC boats, but kept it.

Apparently there was an email offering this model for sale back then, but I have no idea what came of it or when it was written, nor any details as to what it was.

So what is it?

next thread 😎😎😎

Isaac

There were no documents of any sort that came with the model. No plans, no name, no clue as to what it was. So based on the model photos and my research, I narrowed it down to an American torpedo boat built in the 1890's just prior to the Spanish American war.

The low draft, minimum superstructure, steam exhausts narrowed it down to a cross between the USS Cushing TB-1 and the USS Porter TB-6.

The Cushing had two exhaust stacks with a forward raked bow and a rounded stern with two armored stationary turrets fore and aft. The USS Porter had 3 exhaust stacks, a straight bow and a straight stern, with an elongated rear turret.

The model has features of both and so far, I could not find a 100% match to it. So it is possible that the builder took liberties based on the research material available to him back pre internet days.

Attached are pictures of both historical boats.

Isaac 😎

Here is the actual model as I got it.

It is huge. 76 inches long and weight is 35 lbs.

Isaac

The model was dormant for many years.
It had 6 onboard sealed lead acid batteries probably dating to the 1980's. All read close to zero volts ( 4 were 12 V, and two were 6V batteries ). Total weight was 21 lbs for all 6 batteries.

The motors, controllers and all wiring were neatly laid out. However, I did not know what many of them did or why. There was no documentation for it. I could not test it as is since the batteries were all dead.

All of the controllers were old type, unfamiliar to me, but looked functional externally.

The rudder and props were frozen stiff.

There was a significant damage to the bow with visible holes in it.

External parts were fragile and some broke off with a slight touch ( glue got old and brittle ).

The beautiful Ace nautical Commander 7 channel system was not functioning again due to a dead battery pack. otherwise it looked good both internally and externally.

My concern is can I refurbish it with the old stuff inside of it, or do I modernize it internally? 👍👎🤞😎🙄🤑

More next.

Isaac

I decided to recharge one of the old batteries to see if it could be brought back to life.

Unfortunately is was damaged in the charging process and overheated internally. Failure #1.

Attached are pics of all the batteries and the one that burned.

I knew to play it safe as I recharged it outside,

So based on that, I decided to ditch all of the lead Acid batteries and go with what I do with all my boats, planes, gliders, drones, helicopters, trucks and use LiPo batteries. Based on my other large scale boats (4 foot long only ), I knew that either a 2S or 2S will be OK (7.4V or 11.1V). Only question was the mAh capacity which will control duration.

Isaac

One of the early tasks was to repair the hull. Specifically the underside of the bow was cracked and had multiple holes. I power sanded that entire area and filled it with epoxy. sand and repeat a few times. It is completely sealed and smooth with a small area on the very bottom that I should have filled in a bit more. I am not a perfectionist.

There were two stuck on foam bands from the stand. Years of just sitting around bonded to the hull. All was sanded and cleaned up.

Also, there was some minor wood rot on the inside. It was under the two large lead acid batteries and would have gone un noticed unless the batteries were removed. All filled in with 5 minute epoxy.

👍

Isaac

After the hull repairs, I needed to repaint it all. Obviously I could not match the old 40 years plus reddish color so I decided to get an ruddy brown primer which was really not the same, but representative of old hull color. It was also dull color and not shiny.

Also, for the sake of simplicity, I painted the bottom in two stages. One with masking the entire drive, props and rudder metal parts, and then again masking only the metal parts and leaving some of the original paint in between. I just hate masking.

Results were very decent in my opinion.

It will not be a contest winner ......😁

Isaac

The model came with a bilge motor connected via a silicone tubing. There is a toggle switch on the transmitter dedicated to its operation on and off..

I followed the line from the brass scoop in back of the center propellor, thru the rear of the boat, then to the pump and finally overboard.

Other than pure looks of a boat pumping water overboard, this has no function. It scoops water from below directly to the pump and then overboard.

So, does the model really need it? The answer is NO. It is purely a visual.

In testing the pump separately, the motor could not turn the pump at all even after lubricating it. So for now, I have a replacement pump on stand by. I have yet to decide what to do with it here.

Isaac

I removed all the dead batteries and that opened up all the internal bays to relocate the controlers and wiring.

I decided to place each of the original motor controlers in front of their respective motors. The original configuration had them in various locations.

That meant cutting the original wiring, keeping the connectors and for this round, connecting all three motor controllers together in parallel because the original Ace transmitter did not function properly.

Attached pictures are the position of the controllers and re routing the wiring ( a bit messy for now, but I needed to test it all together first ). I added a connector for all the red and black wires in the middle bay.

The test run was done using a 2S 5200 mAh battery ( 7.4 volts ). It should give me a run of approx 15 minutes or so at cruise speed.

it all worked from a single throttle on my Spektrum radio.

Also a picture of the leftover wiring that will be cut and removed.

Isaac

The last time the boat was in the water was many years ago. After repairs, it was time to test her again in the water.
I finally got all the propulsion wiring and battery acting properly, got the hull repaired and repainted, got the Spektrum radio set with a single throttle lever controlling all 3 geared motors, so it was time to see if she floats and can run in my pond ( yes, I am lucky to have a large one in my back yard ).

There is no ballast yet ( recall I removed 21 lbs of old lead acid batteries which acted as ballast ). The original boat was about 35 lbs which was too heavy for me to carry. I will make a drop in ballast later.

I got the shafts, universal joints all lubricated.

I did not open the motor gearbox for fear of damaging it.

Pictures here of its initial voyage after many years being dormant.

It floats, it runs, it makes sounds.

I will need to make some modifications to reduce the turning radius ( more rudder throw ).

As for the ballast, I will probably only add a few lbs ( not the original 21 lbs ).

The fun continues.😊😎

Isaac