Last Sunday KMBC held an open day focused on lifeboats
There was a great turnout and numerous other clubs joined the event.
Here are a few pictures that I took with my phone, I will post more as soon as I have downloaded and sorted those on my camera.
Had a nice meet today, albeit a little cool. (Nice break.) Got some photos I am posting here. (The close-up photos of the American Scout are posted in the Media Gallery.)
It is taking a lot of work (like building another medium size detailed RC scale model boat), but I am getting the new site running. It is not complete but the basics are in place.
The opening video is also on YouTube with the link below. Short and to the point, it has model boat videos in it if you are interested.
Suncoast Scale Model Boat Club meet on April 19, 2024
A light turn out and heavier that normal winds limited the number of boats in the water at this meet. Got some video and for the boats that did not "go for it" I have some video of them on the tables. On top of that we had to make two "rescues".
Hi all, I thought I would Sher with you a few photos of my paddle steamer I have just Made! it is not from any plans! it came from my head!!! I hope you Like? Brian.
Stunning weather most model boaters would be jealous of. Warm, but not hot! Very gentle breeze. No rain! But not many showed up. Wait 'till the summer comes" No complaints about it being too hot for model boats!
Anyway, I wanted to get back to my trawler with another video. This time on board with my old GoPro. Had some issues with the battery packs slipping inside the hull. I'm going to remove the one for the lighting as I don't use them anyway. Then I will add some fixed ballast in the bottom. The video with the camera (and waterproof housing) on the top of the pilot house made the boat heel quite a bit. Going to try for some more on board videos in the near future on my other boats.
Got the 4 minute YouTube link here:
I hope you enjoy it!
Lew! This is great!!!
When you have a moment can you post a picture of the rudder and prop set-up you've used Elena? Or is it in your harbor or build blog? I have a trawler in my future.
Many thanks!
👍
Nothing fancy about the prop and rudder. The rudder pivot axis is about 35% back from the leading edge. This way the rudder forces more of the prop back wash to the side to help the boat turn sharper.
Suncoast Scale Model Boat Club - March 1, 2026 meet
SSMBC - although a little windy, only four members showed up. The wonderful temperature and no rain was great. I decide to run my trawler, "Elena", which has not seen the pond in over five years. It handled the wind quite well and is perhaps my best operating boat for rough conditions. I know there is a limit with that much above the deck to catch the wind, but I must admit this was a very good run with a little challenge!
Ronald, the reason I built this boat with the nets up is I wanted it to show it in action. The net is loaded with fish and two men are working to bring the catch aboard. See photos.
Lew
Yes Dave, is was the Helen kit. I bought it (2016?) partially built (up to the deck) but had to rip it apart to get the big dead battery out.
Worst part was the entire hull was covered in masking tape for many years. What a pain it was to remove it. In the long run it worked out.
I renamed it "Elena" after my wife. It sits in our front room and is the first model one sees in our home. Still uses the old FM radio. Runs perfect as I have alluded to.
Lew
Finally our first meet of 2026! Very unusual weather for us, like the rest of the country. Normally we might miss 1 or 2 weekends during the winter season but this was our first meet since December.
This would have been a great perfect day was hampered by wind, a little much for many smaller boats. Also a lot of dead fish around the pond, probably caused by a lack of oxygen because of a lack of rain. We are in the middle of a drought, but it is supposed to rain tonight.
Got a new tablet and when I placed my SD card in it I found this old video (~8 years ago) video of my towboat pushing a barge under the bridge between the dock and shore.
Lew
WOW!!!!
You guys are simply amazing, no . . more . . . Your work is just fantastic. It's a treat to see such beautiful models.
I looked at my Aline (shrimp trawler) and noticed that there's still quite a bit missing. Yippee! More work to do!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I enjoy watching the real towboats pushing their "tow" LIVE (hence "towboats in the US) through the locks, especially Lock 19 on the old Mississippi River.
Towboats straining to push 1,000's of tons with the turbos screaming . Too bad I live so far away.
The video link show one of the towboats pushing 42 barges on the river. Each barge is 200 feet long. (Copy and paste the link in your browser.)
Hi all built this robbe le courage a few years back and wanted to share a few pix...recently refitted👍 sails lovely and the trawl net and otter boards are a nice extra!
