The next picture is an aerokits Patrol Torpedo boat.
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2,624 posts · Page 217 of 219The next picture is an aerokits Patrol Torpedo boat.
I think it has been scrach built, but is a copy of the kit above, it has a large petrol engine but I have no idea what cc it is. I would be greatful for any help or suggestions as I require some parts to finish restoring it. and converting it to an electric Motor drive
I sail at King Lear Lake at Watermead County Park in Wanlip Leicestershire. it sat in my attic for 22 years and 2 years ago I dragged it out and gave it a bit of TLC and started to use it again and it has been ran most weekends for the last 2 years.
I ran this boat virtually all day of the Burton Model Boat Club's Fireboat day in September 2006. it is currently in dry dock having a full de-barnacle and repaint.
The boat shown here depicts my effort to copy a 1958 ChrisCraft Cabin Cruiser at a scale of 1" = 1'.
The hull is 1/8" thick pine planks on frames with hand cut Walnut decking and 3/16" Walnut cabin sides. No epoxy or glass was used on the hull - just a good paint job.
The big change was to replace a bulky & heavy 12VDC leac acid battery with 9 AA dry cells connected in series. Bathtub testing indicated I could expect about 2 hours running time at full speed and that estimate was about right. A Dumas 12VDC motor and mechanical speed control were used with a JR XR 2 control.
The reduction in battery weight made a very large speed and appearance difference. Availability of the AA cells was an economic plus.
The dimensions were taken from a book that highly detailed the building of a real Cat Boat.
The hull is plank-on-frame with epoxy and glass cloth as the final surface. A separate and detachable fin keel was used for sailing of the centerboard model.
Radio controls were a Hitec sail winch [HS-785HB] and one servo for the rudder with a 2 channel JR transmitter.
Copying the book plans, scaling them down, and construction took up the winter of 2006/2007. The model is sailing better than anticipated on a local lake in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
Power is now by Electric motor, but it was originally "Diesel" powered. I sail on Southchurch park pond, Southend on sea Essex.
Had it in water this year about 1 month ago. This boat you will not find anymore. The plans are included with it.
We sail her at Mote Park in Maidstone.
Because of his basic 'Sedan Cruiser' he designed all the mechanicals and electricals beneath the main cabin floor, including the battery. There was quite a bit of detail put into the main cabin - unfortunately not shown in the photos - including a galley, eating area, furniture and the helmsman's station. The scale is 1" = 1ft.
This hull is plank on frame using 1/8" pine planks. Below the waterline there's epoxy & glass and above there is just epoxy. All the brightwork, cabin housing & decks is natural Cherry with a clear urethane finish.
The power is a Dumas 12VDC motor with a mechanical speed control. The bottom photo shows that he added a 2:1 gearbox to the motor and ran it in reverse to increase the prop RPMs. He also included a constant running fan to cool the motor due to the confinement of the space.
The single propellor is 2" - 2 pitch - 3 bladed bronze. As on all his models he used a 2 channel JR XR2 75 mhz.
After reading of his exploits in an original copy of his book, 'Sailing Alone Around The World' 1899 The Century Co., John copied the drawings that were in the book, established a scale for each and then converted those scales to just one - 1"=14.6" and proceeded to make a model of the famous boat. At that time [2003-2004] there was a commercial kit available but after much research John concluded that he had enough information from the book to build his own version. Actually the available kit contained some mis-information about the boat and that settled the matter.
The model was built plank-on-frame and then covered with epoxy/glass since it was intended for RC. He sailed her during the summer of 2004 and was quite pleased with her performance. An opportunity to sell the model came to him and he did so in January 2005.
I'm still looking for the deck fittings and such for this boat as well.....
- HuntsmanmanAble SeamanIf I may suggest, a 21 size engine will be far too small and you'll be disappointed if you want it to plane, you would need something more like a 52 or even a 61 for a 46" hull. Moreover with the monotonous high pitch whine they'd also sound and therefore look pretty un-realistic. With an abundance of highly efficient brushed or brushless electric motors now on the market, electric is really now the way to go. Although initially electric propulsion is a bit more expensive to set up than I.C. electric motors are now equally as powerful as I.C.,if not more so, and there is a size to suit practically any model. They are also extremely reliable and convenient and due to environmental issues you are going to have a far greater choice of sailing locations to choose from and with the bonus that your model will always stay clean!