Securing straps for foam hoses
(This was done some weeks earlier)
The hoses in the rear cockpit need to be secured to the foam tanks so I decided to make some leather straps with brass buckles. I used some 2mm brass plate and drilled a 6mm hole, then filed it to a square and then a radius was put around all the edges and then it was finally polished. I fitted a brass pin that swivelled to lock the leather strap to complete the buckle. The leather straps was cut to 6mm and then drilled with holes to secure it around the buckle then at the other end a number of holes were drilled.

And some more
Back to front cabin windows, the two side windows are opening on the real boat so I thought I’d give it a go since there’s time to be used up. I actually made 3 attempts at the windows, the first two were OK but not to the standard I envisaged at the start of the job, so I’ll just detail the final ones which are fitted.
The first attempts had ill-defined frames made from ply so I wanted to make these better, I used brass wire to form the outer edge which was bent around a former, a left and right hand version being port and starboard, these were silver soldered together at the joint. These wire frames were epoxied onto a ply backing and then the ply was shaped to the form of the wire frame, the centre aperture was marked out using a "pencil and washer" to give an exact width and form following the outside profile this was then taken out with the scroll saw. A final trim and sanding followed by a coat of etch primer they were then put aside whilst I made the Plexiglas window. After final painting the window “glass” was secured in place using canopy glue. Since the windows are opening there had to be a hinge system, and for this I used some brass piano hinge that was only 2.5mm when closed. I used some 0.5mm pins to secure the hinge to the frame along with a careful dab of cyno. Now final fix to the cabin again 0.5mm pins were used. The window needs some sort of “hold open” system so I bent a piece of brass wire and drilled a hole in the lower front frame through the cabin structure, this formed a sliding action capable of keeping the window open. As the window opening is effectively double-glazed there’s no chance of any water ingress,🤞 hopefully

Whilst putting some finishing touches to the boat, like raising the ensign, I find ,as I thought that the cleats to which the ropes that hold the mast and flag in position are really not up to the job, white metal fittings not my favourite. Solution get on the lathe and manufacture some replacements. Using some 16 mm brass bar I first machined flats along a length long enough to make 4 cleats (40 mm)to a thickness of 6.5 mm. This was done to make it easier rather than trying to hold each individual piece in the miller and put two flats on.
Back in the lathe the diameters were machine and threaded 8 BA, then each one was parted off. Then back on the bench and the profile was filed and the top radius-ed followed by polishing, all done holding each one in a split jig and toolmakers clamp, and finally a coat of lacquer

The final craft 😜 I thought I'd just post some final pictures that I sent to the manufactures of the kit. The build has taken nearly 3 years to complete and I have to say its been an absolute pleasure to build. Although it was a "kit" and very comprehensive it is, with all the parts to build a complete structure and of course you need to add all the power system and control equipment I found that it allowed the individual to add as much or as little personal touches as you want whilst still being able to produce a sailing model with a minimum addition of personal touches
You will, if you have read the full blog realised that I have taken full advantage of adding all the additional personal touches I can. There is an awful amount of credit to be given to the members of this site who have contributed to my build in the form of advise, comments both truthful/cryptic but mostly very helpful, and also in the form of electronic devises custom built to my specification.
I finally finished the "Display stand" and the transport box and thought people may appreciate some pictures of the boat in "display mode" showing all the internal detail, I often visit shows and want to be looking inside models to look at the construction methods and individual details that I can use in my future builds.
Anyway I hope you have enjoyed the blog as much as I have writing it but most of all all building it. This is a fantastic site and my thanks also go to Stephen who is the creator of this facility and has given so much pleasure to so many modellers.
Keep an eye out for the next build

Well eventually the day came when the conditions allowed the maiden voyage, so all systems checked and a dry run at home before we set off for the 1hr 30mins round trip to my clubs lake. I only joined this club in January after visiting a few in my area (50 mile Radius)and finally having talked to these clubs at boat shows and assessing the “warmth”of the welcome I decide to join The York Model Boat Club. They sail at Lathem on a lake owned by a nearby caravan site and the site is really nice with a club house and toilet facilities, landing stage,two rescue rowing boats in fact all that you could wish for. There seems to be an even split between power and sail and the lake is big enough to allow both to sail at either ends of the lake.
This is the first opportunity to sail with the virus issues. We arrived at the lake and the first job was to get my grandsons Freeman 22 on the water to keep him occupied whilst my son and myself prepare the Crash Tender. Again a final check of all systems however we noticed that there wasn’t any reverse, OH NO! we set about checking the ESC settings but with no change (more on this in the forum later).We decided having driven all this way to at least put it in the water and “Go Forward” as it were. The club has a launching cradle which allows the older generation to put the boat in the water with a minimum of effort, place said boat in the cradle and lower it via the rope until it floats, and float it did, so that’s a plus.
The smoke generator worked well to simulate engine starting (but we failed to capture this effect on film) sorry. We sailed the boat around the lake at various speeds and turning both to Port and Starboard and I’m pleased to say it seemed to perform as expected. So in general I’m pleased with the performance. I am going to post in the forum about the issues with reverse and battery life, I'm sure that something simple is wrong as Robbob has exactly the same set-up in his Crash Tender and his seems to work well so I’m hoping for some help and a solution.

JB asked if there were any video's of the Crash Tender I had forgotten I hadn't posted any, here are a few