Fairmile Type C - ML .. M.G.B. MM Plan No: 585 Part 1

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muddy Opening post 1

Fairmile Type C - ML .. M.G.B. MM Plan No: 585 Part 1

The comment was passed that there was not a warship in the club. Muggin's here decided to have a go.
A Drawing was found by another member, I'll just call him TC. Having built this boat in the mid 1980's with a single screw, and a variable speed controller from a car, which gave FULL speed in reverse or the alternative was a Bob's Board, I hate them things, but they work, to a degree, if you match the motor Current to the model of board. This all drove a 540 motor, this was all in a balsa hull and upperworks/cabin. Its fate was a Viking funeral, not planned, the speed control must have overheated and it all caught fire, most sank, a few remnants surfaced but it was all scrap.. Anyway here we go again. Decided on a 6mm ply keel and Bulkheads and planked in 1/2" x 1/8" Balsa with a .8mm ply deck and upperworks, details probably in plasticard and wire.
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3 comments
  1. muddyBronze
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Thank you for the comments Steves-s.. Its a Model Boat Plan, No: MM 585 Fairmile C .. Not sure of the scale, have a look on Cornwall model boat site they list a lot of model boat plans or Google it, just found info on Sarik hobbies site they say the scale is 1/24 th ... Go for it, winter is coming plenty of build time.. ATB
    Liked by Steves-s
  2. Frankiesays1953Bronze
    Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class
    I used to spot this boat regularly when I worked on the Norfolk Broads in the 70’s and 80’s. I believe she was a Fairmile. Now scrapped unfortunately.
    Liked by Steves-s and premecekcz and

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Fairmile Type C - ML ..MGB MM Plan No:585 Part 2

Cutting out the keel and bulkheads , lightening wherever possible by removing the innards of the bulkheads.
Stringers tacked in or onto a dry fit trying to keep the whole square.
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2 comments
  1. AlessandroSPQR
    Fleet Admiral
    Hi Muddy, great work.

    Congratulations on documenting your work. Excellent sequence of stunning photos.
    You've beautifully illustrated and described every step of your work.
    This not only helps anyone who's starting a similar project for the first time, but it also leaves a personal mark on your work.
    I really enjoy seeing so many photos of the construction phases.
    Liked by Steves-s and premecekcz and
  2. muddyBronze
    Sub-Lieutenant
    Thanks AlessandroSPQR. Pleased someone has read the notes/Blog.. I think pictures tell a different story more than text, several things were missed out by me, mainly I forgot. One stuck out imediatly that was the Bow, Cut back about 1/2" the sharp end, and replace it with a piece of hard wood, Balsa is tough but dents easily so a hard wood bow is certainly a must in my opinion.. This bow strengthener is made up of mahogony strip about 6mm x 3mm laminated widthwise and in depth, then sanded to shape...
    ..............
    The interior bottom skins upto the chine usually is painted with resin, the rest of the inside has a coat of Dope thinned of course, The exterior has about 3 to 5 coats of thinned Dope, to fill in the grain and then tissue is applied with dope, good practice for wallpapering, then a further 3-5 coats again thinned dope with a light sanding between all coats, I was surprised by how strong balsa hulls are if they are treated especially tissue covered, and finaly paint it on the outside, usually use a spray can from the local car accessory shop of DIY type shop ...TNX .. Muddy
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Fairmile Type C - ML ..MGB MM Plan No: 585 Part 4

Planking the Hull in 1/2" x 1/8" Balsa and tissue covering the hull. Start with 3-5 coats of dope and thinners 50/50 then apply the tissue with dope again thinned and finally about 3-5 coats of dope/thinners, lightly sanding between coats.
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Fairmile Type C - ML .. MGB MM Plan No: 585 Part 5

Marking out the cabin/upperworkks and fitting the .8mm ply deck, the cabin is 1.5mm ply.
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Fairmile Type C - ML .. MGB MM Plan No: 585 Part 6

Further pics of the hull build.
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1 comment
  1. AlessandroSPQR
    Fleet Admiral
    Yes, you're right, balsa is too soft a wood. The advantage is that it's light and sands easily, but it dents and scratches too easily.
    I've never used balsa wood for boats.
    Will you waterproof the balsa wood only with varnish and also harden it, with resins for example?

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Fairmile Type C - ML .. MGB MM Plan No: 585 Part 7

Motors and drive shafts. 3 drive motors fitted and independently controlled. Managed to get hold of an old Futaba Navy with marine sticks fitted, so the outboard motors were controlled from the twin stick's andd the centre screw was controlled off the rudder stick, hopefully giving a one stick operation on the rudder side, if required and the twin stick if wanted giving extra propulsion, although having a slender hull not a very big beam, 3 drive motors made it a bit tight, for me that is.. Also the rudders are not fitted as scale, i wanted more control of the steering. so they were moved forward towards the screws. Several motor types were tested for fit, but i settled on some 386, with the opertunity of slightly larger and more powerful motors.
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Fairmile Type C - ML .. MGB MM Plan No: 585 Part 8

Motor Mounts and Rudders, have always used 2 UJ couplings to a shaft from motor, and the brass bar is just drilled out either end to suite the motor shaft or the drive shaft, just an alignment assistant really. Then came the rudders.. Ohh deary me, what a performance trying to get them all to rotate in the same direction with the commercial types I had chosen, but finaly made it with the help of a mirror jiggery poker'ed into the hull to assist the fitting. One of the last things to be done was to fit the Transom ( shaped ) and rubbing strips..
So we are nearly there...! Regards Muddy happy Building..
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