First outing in 51 years for my 1/16th scale Seaplane tender, built originally by my father in 1953 and believed to be an Adamcraft Kit, found with a damaged hull and virtually no superstructure in the loft of their house after my mother had moved to a residential home several years ago. I had moved to Lyme Regis in Dorset where several of these craft were based and which was my fathers inspiration for building this initially, so I thought it time to try and restore her.
I had some difficulty finding plans of the ST and eventually bought and built the Deans Marine 1/24th version of this craft, which I then scaled up to rebuild the original.
Power is by a 600 motor with 2 channel radio and seems to work
well on a 7.2 v battery pack.
I've now joined Exeter & District MBC as it appears to be one of the nearest to us in Lyme and the pics show the ST on the Dragonfly Lake at Crealy.
I would be interested in any info. anyone might have as to Adamcraft as my searches have turned up very little. I believe they specified a Tacol electric or Mills 1.3 petrol engine at the time, but my memory might well be flawed as I was only around 10years old at the time.
free down load plan of swordsman scratch built looking for more plans Iam a new boy at 74 years old to model boat building so find your web site help full . larry
This is my second attempt at scratch building using a a grp hull. My first boat was an MTB/MGB built on a Perkasa hull as a semi-scale model. (see All things Rc - Power setups).
This time I have concentrated on keeping things lighter but it still weighs in at 2.5kg!
I have built without plans, relying on internet photos scaled etc using "Photo deluxe" and "Photo Express".
Virtually everything is built from plasticard apart from a 3mm liteply deck.
The dinghy is epoxy resin and microballoons, ths scramble nets are Lego!
Power is again courtesy of Graupner -2, Speed 600 8.4v using lh. and r.h 35mm props. Esc is one of those 50amp ones from the far east. These are far cheaper than the Viper Marine 40 used in my MGB, but slightly heavier and less sensitive at low speeds. Current drain (in the bath!) is up to 30A but this gives a superb on the water pace of an, estimated,8mph. Battery is a 4,600 mAhr NiMh.
(A true scale speed approaching 150mph plus).
I sail it on Ullswater in the Lake district and the Vosper Perkasa type hull shape is superb in the real waves that we get there, flying over the crests and taking aboard No water!
It really looks the part as my photos would show if I could learn how to load more than one! Can anybody help with this?
Hi" there fellow model maker.
You have done a great job on your ASRL 😊 👍 .
I have also had problems in uploading more then one photo on this site ! I dont know why ? it used to be quick n easy but no more . 😯 Albert
Scratch-built paddler by Pete Smith. Model was built fom Richard Webb's MAP plans and electrically powered. Pete added a redundant IOM keel cut down to provide extra stability and the boat now performs very well having suffered the vices of most model paddle steamers. The boat is 54 1/2 ins long and 13 1/2 ins beam, plank on frame construction.
Original Aerokits patrol torpedo boat,first time out after referb.This was found in a semi-uncomplete nature but did have the box and plans with it.Power by 600 motor and 7.2 nicad very surpisingly fast,very tight handling around the bouys.Finishing details will be added as I go but for now very pleased with results.
Patrol boat in action latest picture taken on a very grey day at Gang Werily Hants.
Changed battery for a 4200 nicad much better run times now entering 15 mins plus,usually at full pelt.
HI harleydreaml, still looking at your Aerokits Torpedo boat and it is a very nice model from a colonials perspective. if I live long enough I may be lucky to obtain a set of copies of the hull formers and keel for a build . I have the Hebert Adams book of his model boats which he later led to his model boat kit company 'Adamcraft' and he did a set of drawings of a/the Elco type Torpedo Boat in his book. I always wondered whether the Aerokits EVER BORROWED the drawings to make the commercial model? Whatever happened, it is nice to see such a stunner model which was not too populace as the Crash Boat/Sea Queen sales etc. A now passed away mate had one 20 /30 years ago with a I/c 25/30? and it planed and turned flat and nicely. in OZ we still CAN operate I/c easy and do not need to trail out an electric cable for power to get more than 5 minutes on the pond? Keep building good craft. See ya Lyle.
HI Harley
I recently acquired a model that looks very similar to your model.
Its all wood hulled about 3ft by 7ins. I was on the point of dispatching to the tip as it is so heavy I didn't think I could ever make it go on the plane.
However having seen your Aerokits box and model its possible this may be an original or copy. Construction is very similar to the Fire Tender inside.
Any chance that you could post a picture of your model with the lid off?
Model looks the business in action.
This boat was scratch built from Harold Underhill plans, available still from Brown,Son and Ferguson. The hull was mahogany on 6mm ply frames. The engine was a Caton from Maxwell Hemmens supplied bya gas-fired Cheddar Puffin boiler. The propeller was a two inch four bladed brass job from Rivabo I think. The displacement of the boat is 25lb- a bit of a lump to carry to the water but it does work well once in the water. She has now been converted to electric using a MFA geared 540 type motor witha 7.5ah lead acid gel cell. Looking again at this video I begin to wish I had left it as steam but there is something to be said for 'switch on and go'.
I started building the boat in the mid nineties and it has now had a repaint- it always been a favourite. This video was taken in the early noughties at Crealy in Exeter.
I built this model from the astec mouldings semI kit
it has two monoperm motors in running off two 6 v
buggy packs twin shafts ewin rudders I bought plans
of original whaleback and modified it to suit the
hull and top the figures where modified 1/32 eighth
army multipose figures from airfix they had tin hats
and a captains hat in figures so not too much to
modify the guns where bought from nautical marine
models came as kits I think it didnt come out too bad
Rescued from e-bay.
Decaperm, MonoPerm motor ? was wired for 6 V but very slow so have fitte a Viper Marine ESC and wired for 12 V - not sure if it would take 18 V - any advice would be appreciated.
As no pond near Camberley I boat Sunday mornings at the Stoke Park pond, Guildford. Not a large pond but great for scale and small to medium speed boating.
Second picture of a Skimmer scratch building (plans from Model Boats magazine Sep 2007) - work in progress.
Name of the Boat is the OCEANIC. This boat was in my friends garage for 18 years, when I was given it, it needed some T.L.C. the kit from what I can gather was late 60s.
I had to send a way to Germany to get the plans so I could refurbish it, and some of the bits I had to make myself. it is powered by twin monoperm super 5 motors. it has rotating radar, working mast lights, and bow thrusters. Sailed at Cheddar Steam Modals lake.
Really nice model I did see this kit for sale about three years back on fleebay.It was along with the Calypso which I was keen to buy and did successfully get for £150 ,The other boat from the same seller was the Oceanic, which I later wished I had also bid for sold also for £150 ..Your model does look superb
This is BG Coulies built by Geoff Lewis. its a French Harbour tug that he built following an article in a well know magazine, advertising a set of plans, thanks to the office photocopier he saved himself several quid.
Coullies is driven by 2 550 motors driving Graupner scothell drives (not yet independantly controlled). 12v 4ah Gell battery and some roofing lead makes up the balast.
The frames are 3mm MDF with a balsa and ply skin built to 1/32 scale, the figure sat on the anchor winch used to be a German infrantry man. He recently obtained some Beccs transfers to add some more finishing touches including the french flag.
What does Coullies mean? (pronounced cooee) find a dictionary...
Do you still have yours?