Things That Go Wrong ..........A New Appreciation: Problems with R/C!!!
This is a tale that probably plays out many times. R/C model boats and in particular model yacht racing seems to be continually plagued by glitches of many sorts, and servo problems can be infuriatingly difficult to solve. Most can be resolved once you understand the core of the problem but getting to it can drive you “nuts”. Many years ago, one of our members (John H.) gave some very wise advice, “use alkaline batteries and buy good quality when they come on special”; he


Making a Fibreglass Hull
These notes cover much of the process used to build the hull of a small model tug (18 inches LOA). The hull is formed from two layers of fibreglass. I have built several model boats up to four feet long, using this technique (though with more layers). The model airplane dope I used on the tissue paper is called “Eze Dope”, it’s non-toxic and although I bought it some years ago, I think it’s still available on Amazon. It keeps for ages. After its applied, you can use an a


Progress Reports
Hello all ......... for those who have shown an interest in my skiff, here is a summary of where I am at the moment. The hull is finished and the electronics are basically in place. I decided to raise the floorboards and locate the electronics under them. The winch (from a DF 65) is mounted on its side to lower its profile and I have doubled its range with a block arrangement. The rudder servo is mounted under the after deck and will control the rudder with the equivalent of


We've been Sailing
The weather has been very cooperative, if a bit hot, but we've had some good days at the pond. This is a "bit of this and that" from our recent get togethers. My thanks to Bob for providing several of the images in this blog. Don brought his model of the Tirpitz along to show the camouflage pattern. No, it did not go in the water but we had a good opportunity to see progress and just how different each side of the ship appears. Next, all the seamen have to get dressed up
3rd Pond Day - August 1st
We had nine members on hand to enjoy another great day of testing, talking, and having a good time. Bob had his new build, an East Coast lobster boat, out for her maiden voyage. She showed good scale speed and control. Peter put his fire-rescue boat, the W.L. MacKenzie in to test out all the systems. the fire monitors and giraffe worked well. (You can see her in action on the video) Stan showed us his progress on the City of Kingston packet freighter. John demonstrated his po