Models

[martin]

Not, I am afraid, the blonde type of model. Wooden boat models. Recent Birthday prezzy was an all wood, barrel backed chris craft speedboat. Its about 2 foot long and has all the electric motor gubins to make it shift down the local river. Despite concerns at first i found building it quite interesting. So much so, that I am thinkin (probably stupidly!) i wouldn't mind buildin a real one... Anyone done anything like this? Got any advice?

 

[byron]

Jeeze Martin, the crowd here use 6" nails to fix things to their boats and the hammer to make their engines work. Try asking the question in the PBO forum but I'll tell you this. You would have to be some kind of DIY man to build the sort of thing you are talking about.

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[stewart]

stick to the blonde type - more fun though probably more expensive and more complex!

 

[martin]

Yeah..I realise its a bit of a mamouth task. But from the plans I have, which I am told, are scale versions of the real thing, it doesn't look to techy/specialist. The worst bit is bending the plywood around the shape of the hull. But I seem to remember seeing something about a new type of plywood that can be bent really easily without going through the whole steaming process.
Still having said all that...perhaps owning one pile of truble is enough without trying to build another.



I mean they used to sell these things in kit form anyway. In those days (1940?) they didn't have power tools etc and they used to build them at home!

 

[martin]

Complex blondes?

 

[paulineb]

They're not all au naturel you know!!! Beneath quite a lot of blondes there's an intelligent brunette - I think I should rephrase that. No sounds quite fun!!

Pauline B

 

[stewart]

Well that's a gauranteed invite to the Med anytime you want!

And yes I've noticed it's not always natural, there's only so far you can go to hide these things though. Obviously I'm talking about conversation - how else could you possibly tell????

 

[Guest]

When I was a kid I used to build radio controlled model boats of various types and, yes, many have similar construction techniques to full size. I then got involved with a mate building a little plywood runabout (his) from a kit from the Bell Woodworking company - I have no idea if they are still around. It was a lot trickier. Bending 3/8 marine ply is more difficult than the 1mm stuff of models and needs quite a lot more tools etc. However we did eventually get it done and mounted a 18hp Johnson (which seemed quite big in the sixties) and the thing went like a bat out of hell. Incidentally, said boat was painted with undercoat and paint straight out the painters and decorators (Dulux or the like) and it was still OK when my pal sold the boat after a couple of years.

By the time I was buying my own boats, GRP had replaced wood almost 100% so I never ever did anything like that again.

Nick

 

[jfm]

Bell woodwking Memry Lane

Aaaah Nick, yes the fine Bell Woodworking company, in Leicester I think. I remember going there as a kid, with my father, to collect my Mirror dinghy kit in 1976...sail number 56816. Brings tear to my eye

 

[martin]

Thanks for the info ... doesn't sound quite so impossible then!. I have been watchin the dreamboats prog on sky also. The trub is that they awlways feature bl&***y sailin dinghy's.. You never see progs on anyone building a small classic motor boat! cant understand it really cos at under 20 ft I think the lines of speedboat are face nicer than sail !... books also...tons of books on buildin replicas of old wooden sailin tubs but never how to knock up a decent lookin motor boat!! I think we motor boaters are missing something here.