#8 9 hours ago 10

Bob, interesting comparison which shows the benefits of incorporating lift strakes on the hull bottom. Thanks for posting. It looks to me that the other boat is bow down when not moving. Particularly noticeable when looking at the stern. A bit of weight redistribution would also reduce the wet boat issue. That along with adding chine strakes & your lift strakes would make it a different boat.
State side when we still had model lobster boat races, the guys who incorporated lift strakes on the displacement hulls consistently were quicker than those of us who didn’t.

Liked by hermank and Madwelshman

#7 11 hours ago 12

@Madwelshman . The pale beige coloured Sea Commander is the one that is running with no chine rails ( sometimes called spray rails) and is probably also why it sits lower in the water and is slower to rise onto the plane.

It is almost certainly why the boat runs “wetter” with plenty of water awash on the decks. The spray rails would help with both of these if they were fitted.

The red/white/blue boat is my Kopy Kommander that does have spray rails fitted but is probably a very similar weight to the beige coloured Sea Commander.

The Kopy Kommander also has strakes fitted to the hull, but I am not sure has much difference this makes (apart from looking nicer out of the water) but they may also contribute to the improved attitude of the boat when running briskly?

Bob.

Never too old to learn

Liked by hermank and Chum444 and

#6 11 hours ago 12

@zooma You can instantly see the difference in attitude on the water of these two Commanders Bob, the mostly white one being a much wetter boat. I did notice that it looks a heavier boat on the water too, so that probably wouldn't help how wet it gets, and how easily it rises onto the plane. The blue and white one appearing far more 'bouyant' and much less heavy. Perhaps its battery and running gear were heavier.
Will

Precedent Perkasa MTB 49 1/2"
Precedent Fairey Huntsman 46"
Veron Fairey Huntsman 28 42"
Precedent Fairey Huntsman 36"
Aerokits Sea Commander 34"
Aerokits Sea Rover 29 1/2"
SLEC Fairey Huntress 23"

Liked by hermank

#5 1 day ago 25

@PhilH
The “nose” that you could see in the static picture of the third Sea Commander alongside my Kopy Kommander was my Remora sneaking itself into the picture!

I just noticed that this third Sea Commander does not have a “wave breaker” fitted. They were included in the kit, but everyone liked the look of them so maybe the original builder did not fit it?

Bob.

Never too old to learn

Liked by hermank

#4 1 day ago 30

@zooma i thought you may got a photo of all three together in the picture i saw was two boays and a nose of the other hence the coment 😄
Philuk👍

Liked by hermank and zooma

#3 1 day ago 31

@PhilH

All three Sea Commanders were in the water yesterday morning Phil.

The one shown in the videos was in the water quite a bit (as was my own Kopy Kommander) and the one pictured alongside my boat at the side of the lake arrived a little later, but was also on the water quite a bit, and was still on the water when Adam and I left sometime approaching mid-day.

Bob.

Never too old to learn

Liked by hermank

#2 2 days ago 32

Hi i only saw two was the other one shy or they not put it in the water ?
Phil uk👍

Liked by hermank

#1 2 days ago 61

Three Sea Commanders !

When Adam and I arrived at the Southport Club lake with my Sea Commander this morning we were not alone as there was two other Sea Commanders in action alongside my own Kopy Kommander.

Each Sea Commander was different, they all drove well, and they all performed differently.

One of the Sea Commanders was an old original model that had been recently “done-up” by its current owner and was interesting because it was running without any of the kit specified chine spray rails or deck edgings.

We took several videos of this boat as it rode differently my own Kopy Kommander and it was not as eager to come up onto the plane even though it was not a slow boat and it also had a “dirty” water dispersal that saw the decks flooded most of the time during turns and when crossing wakes etc.

The other Sea Commander had recently been purchased as a used model by a new-comer to the hobby and following a little ‘sorting-out” (mainly electrical) by a fellow club member, it was driving very well.

This Sea Commander rose up onto the plane quite quickly and had a much “cleaner” water dispersal that kept the decks a lot drier than the first one I mentioned - possibly due to having the kit specified deck edgings and chine rails fitted.

Both of these Sea Commanders had more fittings than my own (it has none!) and both probably looked better than mine from that point of view.

The strakes that are currently unique to my own Kopy Kommander made it look much nicer when the hulls were out of the water, but they also worked well when the boat was in the water providing a more easy lift onto the plane and they kept the decks drier too.

I am looking forward to running alongside these other two Sea Commanders again in the future. When Adam gets his original Aerokits Sea Commander finished we will have four of them in our club and it would be nice to see them all running on the club lake together.

The Sea Commander is a Les Rowell design from the 1950’s when its deep keel helped it to run “straight and true in the days before proportional radio control was in common use, but with this keel cut away it makes a good handling r/c model that performs remarkably well for a design of this vintage.

The Sea Commander is a fine Classic Model Power Boat that performs really well with a modern brushless motor that can hold its own against any similar sized model power boat.

Bob.

Never too old to learn

Liked by hermank and Madwelshman and

MODEL BOATS WEBSITE

Three Sea Commanders !

Three Sea Commanders !