Built out of house guttering to a scale equivalent to model railways HO the layout is approx. 4 x 3 ft. Mounted in a wooden frame and provided with a protective see through cover it fits into the car and can go anywhere. it has been an on-going project to build RC boats to suit. Those used at present are commercial products (loa 5" (125mm)) with simple two channel two prop drives - not proportional but with forward and reverse and by operating one or both props plus reverse steering is OK. Battery life limited to 6-8 minutes with similar recharge time. Built largely from scrap and odds and ends the project cost well under £80. The idea is/was to have several units and link them together to make a large layout!

Standard wood drills (as in this photograph) work well for cutting neat, point centralised plastic-card port holes, as good as they do for wood or MFD etc. (instead of high-speed steel drills, which can end up a mess).

For clear plastic glazing to match these ports. I use circular punch's which cut neat clear round plastic glazing to fit, also for cutting round plastic-card for circular objects etc. I have found that it works better if punched with a hard hammer tap onto a flat hard-wood backing.

Photo examples and tools. These tools are both available on-line in sets between 3mm and 8mm.

This boat is currently being cleaned and minor repairs to be carried out. Twin electric motors are going into hull and will be a r/c conversion. Super detailed interior.

Although not strictly speaking a boat it is a yacht and fun when you can't get to the pond but fancy a sail!

Built from magazine free plans mainly of balsa, carbon mast and drafting film it is just as challenging as normal RC sailing.

Operated on a 2CH Rc is has front wheel steering. The wheels are model aircraft wheels. The rear outrigger wheels and mast can easily be dsmantled for transportation. The outrigger is also ballasted to Improve handling.

This model was built from a model slipway Tamar kit. it was modified substantially.all rails are soldered brass. info was from the website of Peterhead R.N.L.I. Station were there are excellent photos. The models engines are thumper motors 4240' at 900kv and run on three cell lipos @ 5000ma. Which give me at least an hour. With a speed of at least 10 mph, which lifts her bow out of the water,way passed the bow thruster , which is a graupner 400. Radar works through an old servo . Flashing blue light on mast. Running and accommodation lights. These boats are normally red below waterline however Scarborough life boats have always been white below the waterline. The crew are star war figures modified with plastic putty and a sharp knife. Not an easy build but very enjoyable. Eric Plaxton was the chairman of plaxtons coaches, and platoons building services. He left 9 million pounds to the boro of Scarborough, and 3 million to scarborough R.N.L.I., for a new boat .

Scratch built in 2004 from my own plan. Two layers of planks on ply frames, ply deck planked with 3/8 1/16 strips. Length of hull 50" by 13" breath. No motor sail only, winch for main & mizzen, sail arm for fore sails. Featuers a centre plate lowered by gravity and raized be a drum winch, also an expanding rudder, this has two servos to opperate. sails can be reefed or removed depending on weather conditions. Very good sailer Just goes in my car with the top mast & gaff boom lowered.

Original kit refurbished from a car boot purchase. 2 CH RC. Tried to retain orignal type features only with few extra fittings.

Taycol Meteor motor contemporary with boat controlled by servo operated resistance with sweeper arm on servo to reverse polarity at approx. midpoint.

Motor not powerful enough and max. speed disappointing so am planning to upgrade wiht more modern gear.

Well, it took 24 years of "on again-off again" building but now its finished. I started the model the day we put the CAMPBELL in commission(I'm a plankowner) in 1988.The model measures 6 feet in length and is scaled at 1:48. The entire model is scratchbuilt from wood (hull, superstructure, deck) and few commercial parts were used. it's powered by two Dumas 12 volt motors as a direct drive system. I had hopes of adding working features such as lights, rotating radar antennas, articulating gun, working anchor but I was just happy to get it finished! it will probably make at least one run at the lake come springtime but the models ultimate "homeport" will be a museum, at 6 feet in length(and 40 pounds of ballast) it's a bear to handle just to get it into the car for transport. Still, I'm happy with the results, it was a model of a lifetime(but I'd never build another one like it)! 😉

Owing it's origin to the RNLI lifeboats of the 19th century, the US Coast Guard 36'MLB saw service from 1900 to 1987. The USCG built over 300 boats of this class in various "mods" spanning it's life history. Constructed of wood and fitted with a bronze keel it was powered by a 4 cylinder engine later modified with a diesel motor. Early powered 36' boats carried oars and sails as auxillary power. My 36500 model was based on the famous Chatham Lifeboat Station in Massachusetts, USA. On Febuary 18, 1952 the CG 36500 rescued the 32 survivors of the tanker PENDLETON during a night time nor'easter storm. Without radio or radar the Coast Guardsmen found the stricken T-2 tanker in the blizzard, taking the crew off one at a time. With each pass of the lifeboat a tanker crewman climbed down a rope ladder and "fell" into the lifeboat. With all on board, the 36500 found it's way back to Chatham harbor much to the delight of the towns people and the Coast Guard! The most amazing fact regarding this rescue was that the 36 footers were only designed to carry 19 people, including the 3 man CG crew, without capsizing.
The model was scratchbuilt of balsa strips and aircraft plywood, using official USCG blueprints. Powered by a 6 volt motor and a 2 channel radio, the Chatham lifeboat is pleasure to run in my local pond.

East coast Dory powered by oars controlled by 4 servos and a computer chip.
A kit about 8yrs old from Harbor Models.

This is my 1/24th scale S80 Schnellboot,it has a Metcalfe GRP hull,the superstructure is a mix of 3mm/4mm ply and 2mm plasticard,it has 3 x Graupner 600FG motors that have a 3.1 ratio gearboxes fitted,the props are 55mm witches hat type,and it has 3 x Electronize 30amp speed cont,it has a really good scale speed running on 2 motors but nearly jumps out of the water when all 3 are engaged,It was scratch built from plans,but not by me,I got it in plain grey,I did the paint job and added the crew,I sail her on a pond near to my home in Edzell,

This is a scratch built 1;16 fishing/motor sailor from a free plan by james pottinger, made from old teak furniture with mahogany wheelhouse, technobots sound system, 12 volt power shower motor, the original was built by james adams at gourock in 1946 and is still sailing in the western isles of scotland.