meowy84

Does anyone have any info or experience with the Model Shipways 1:6 scale Miss Adventure kit? I'm looking at purchasing one and was wondering about its quality, in particular the wood quality.

LtDoc

meowy84,
I can't answer your question directly, I haven't any of 'Model Slipway's 'wooden' boats. I can say that their plastic/fibreglass boats are as good as they get. I would tend to think that would hold true for all their products.
- 'Doc

Huh, lot of help, isn't it?

meowy84

Thanks Doc.

patmat

Doc- Model Slipway is not to be confused with Model SHIPways.
Miss Adventure is at: http://www.modelexpo-online.com ; search on the kit name.

Sorry, no experience, but they seem to be fine kits anyway! Let us know how it looks, I've been thinking about one. You can see some detailed photos and read the instructions at the site above.

Pat Matthews

LtDoc

I have days like that. Unfortunately, they seem to be getting closer together. Sorry, disregard my first post.
- 'Doc

(the odd sound you are hearing is my head making contact with the desk top.)

meowy84

Heh he heh.

Patmat, yup it does look very nice. But then again that's sort of like cereal/cookie/chocolate boxes....the cookies always look better on the box. The actual cookies are almost always somewhat disappointing. LOL I shouldn't knock it but it's been my experience with a lot of kits not living up to expectations. The wood invariably seems to be dry and twisted and of poorer quality than expected. I wish I could see the boat in real life to get a better idea.

Papower

My dad has the kit and is ready to glass it. Not a bad kit, ok quality. Better than dumas. But it is not double planked. Mahogany directly over framework. You must use care when building as to not have any gaps. The hull is definately weaker and lighter than dumas kits. But the quality of the metal parts are better. Heck, a 10 year old could carve out fittings from balsa and still look better than the stuff dumas includes in thier kits! Any other questions and I'll ask dad.
Bruce

patmat

The originbal's single layer of planks would have been screwed or riveted to backing strips along the plank seams. But for more controlled outer planking, it probably wouldn't be hard to lay down an inner layer of basswood or even balsa, without adding too much weight. Either way, the fiberglass layer is a MUST.

Pat M

meowy84

Thanks for all the comments/info. Does the kit come with the fiberglassing stuff or is it something that should be purchased laer? In fact I wasn't even aware that fiberglasing was necessary. Can someone fill me in on the fiberglasing aspect of it. I was under the impression that once you put the planks on (and the gaps are nice and tight) you can just sand and then use marine varnish.

patmat

Per the instructions, no mention is made of fiberglass. But if you want a worry free/leak free boat for years of operation, 'glass it.
A good primer on glassing mahogany models can be found [link=http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329811]here[/link].

Pat Matthews

mr_impervious

Hi,

I just happen to be working on the Miss Adventure as we speak. It's a pretty easy boat to build and very complete. From the pictures, you can see how it goes together. But be forewarned, I deviated from the kit instructions in one big way. The kit tells you to plank on frame using the wood strips (I don't know the name of the wood) right over the frame. I know from experience that this wood would not do a good job to be a single layer on the frame, so I'm using it as the second and final layer. I decided to cover the entire frame with thin sheet balsa, sand it down nice and even on the outside, and Z-poxy the entire inside to make it waterproof. I then used the strip wood over the balsa, making it nice and even. I've got a few more pictures, but I need to make another post.

All for now,

Brian

meowy84

In regards to deviating from the instructions and covering the frame with balsa first and then the planking that came with the kit I have a question: won't you need to obtain some additional planking somewhere since the balsa layer will actually make the boat "fatter" due to the extra layer of wood? I suppose this is not an issue if some extra (more than needed) wood planking is included in the kit.

mr_impervious

Well, there is a ton of planking strips that come with the boat. I really never thought about it being a "fatter" boat, since I was only using thin balsa (1/16") sheets to cover the frame. I knew I had enough strips for that.
The reason I went to the balsa first was that I was more concerned on how to keep the boat watertight. I was going to have a million gaps to fill in between the planking if I had used the strips alone. Even if I used any epoxy on the inside, it all would have crept out through the gaps and ruined the outer surface of the "shell".
Thus the balsa gives me more glue area to the frame, a sturdier, watertight boat, and a nice even surface to attach the outer decorative wood strips.
Hope this helps.[8D]

meowy84

Thanks for th clarification. It helps a great deal.

Press_the_8

Hi Brian,
Your pictures for the Miss Adventure kit have been very helpful to this beginner. I realize its been about 15 months since your post but could you post the rest of those pictures?
Also, thank you very much for the advice in your message.
Gratefully,
Henry

mr_impervious

Sorry for the delay, Henry!

I did more work on Miss Adventure since I was here last. I coated the inside of the balsa with 2-part epoxy. This added weight but it's totally waterproof. I'm not going to race it, so the weight doesn't matter to me. I applied the mahogany strips over the balsa sheets, then gave it a good sanding. So good in fact, I wore the strips through on the edges. Fortunately, I've seen pictures of other boats of this type with silver trim. I just happened to have some leftover silver trim tape from an old r/c car and it covered the edges quite nicely. I then applied a couple of coats of clear spar "outside" polyurethane to the boat. I didn't use any stain as the mahogany strips were dark color enough. Because of it's open inside design, I was concerned with water entering the boat through the cockpit. I decided to enclose the cockpit area with balsa sheets and that's as far as I got...
I did put in an aristocraft $15.00 motor, dumas couplings and a Proboat speed control. Everything works, I just need to tie down the receiver and speed control. Lastly, I just need to know how to put in the rudder servo behind the sheeted balsa cockpit! More later...

Press_the_8

Hi Brian,
Your boat is great looking! I often refer back to your pics and am taking your advice on several points.
I cut up a block of dark walnut wood into planks for the cockput sides, kickboard and floor. All were glued to 1/32 ply. The dash was also cut from walnut; didn't want to use the kit-supplied ply. Will try to heed your advice on waterproofing the cockpit. I built a battery platform just forward of double bulkhead G/H according to figure 11-1 in the plans. That seems to be the logical place to start the balancing/trimming steps. Will use two Trinity 9.6 volt batteries at the suggestion of my local hobby shop.
I mounted the servo on the forward starboard side. Will connect it to the rudder with a flexible plastic cable inside a plastic tube. This way I'll be able to service/replace the servo. As per the local hobby shop: the receiver was mounted on the port side so "noise" from the servo won't interfere.
Questions: Are those set screw collets at each end of the shaft just outside of the stem tube? Doesn't that add friction and drag?
The shaft strut appears to be chrome plated. How did you attach it to the stem tube and hull? Solder, propane, Gorrilla Glue?
My previous experience is kit and scratch building model planes. The transition to model boats is a little bit painful.
Thanx for the great pictures and advice.
And patience,
Henry

mr_impervious

Hi Henry,
Regarding your Questions: Are those set screw collets at each end of the shaft just outside of the stem tube? Yes

Doesn't that add friction and drag? Possibly, but because the collet is just a little bit bigger than the tube, I don't think it will matter much. I don't think I would notice much difference in performance anyway.

The shaft strut appears to be chrome plated. How did you attach it to the stem tube and hull? Solder, propane, Gorrilla Glue? The shaft strut had a bit extra to it (tab, of sorts) that I put through the hull and superglued on the tab and the bottom. I also put superglue on the portion that came through the hull from the inside to seal it. I sanded the top of the strut and the area of the tube where it attached, then also used superglue (Med CA).

By the way, that little Dumas Prop does fit, but because it looks too dinky, and because I have room, I will be going to a bigger 2 or 3 blade brass prop.

Check out RCGroups. There are now 2 guys doing Miss Adventure as we speak. With a third doing a sister boat.

Brian

mangulator

Hello All,

The photo's of the model's above are Fantastic! Great Work!

Im new to this Site and Forum, so Please! forgive any mistakes or stupid questions or remarks I make.

I wanted to add to this post to say, Im also in the process of (Starting to ) building Model Shipway's "Miss Adventure"

My interests in modeling are mostly static wood sail ships of the "Revolutionary War Period" and recently those of "The War of 1812" and the "Great Lakes". I am also very much into 1/35 scale Tanks and Armor of WWII. I have built both plastic (1/48-1/32) Scale Planes, and a few "Gallow" Balsa Planes.

I recently had taken a trip to "Put in Bay" to tour the "US Brig Niagara ", and got the bug to pony up the cash for theModel Shipways Niagara Model i ha been wanting for years. Well I had not built any models in a few months and had never purchased a "Model Shipway's" kit due to their high cost. But I was extremely lucky when I went to Model Expo's web site and seen the $379 dollar kit for $189, I purchased the kit right then and there, and when it arrived, I wasextremly pleased with the quality of the wood and and all the extra material, plus the6"Full Size ScaleDrawings"and spiral boundinstruction book(Includinga Full Size Drawing of all the included"Laser Cut" Parts) and the overallpackagingof the kit. Model Expo was having several sales running at the time I purchased the "Niagara"and a few weeks later,I seen the "Miss Adventure" for $129, normally $269!, with the quality of the materials in the "Niagara Kit" Ihad a good feelingI would get the same from the "Miss Adventure Kit" and I did.

However, even thoughI had download the instructions from Mode Expobefore the kit arrived, I was in shockI had not noticed the kit was just"Single Planked". I too agree with all here who feel that the 1/16" thick Mahogany single planking would not be strong enough orwoulditkeep water out of the hull. I have decided to double plank my kit using a South American Red Ceder for the base planking and then use the kit supplied mahogany planking. I purchased several 1/4" thick x 6" wide and 36" long boards from my local Wood Store and I have a thin kirf blade on my table saw to rip 1/16 strips, creating a plank 1/16Tx 1/4W x 36" Long. I plan to lay the two layers so that no joints line up between the layers, and the first planking layer Im going to treenail to the frames for added srength. I have a lot of treenail stock so this will not make the build tougher, just take a little longer. I prefer treenails to brass nails or just glue alone, and also the Red CederI purchased is just as strong andlight weight as balsa or basswood and I picked out the best boards to replicate the Mahogany Exterior.

Im wondering if anyone here has noticed some changes to the kits materials,in their kits compared to mine? Besidesmy Planks being only 24" long compared to the parts lists, listing them at alength of 30" long, I have a added "Supplementary Instruction Sheet" in my Kit. It contains information on how to construct the rudder out ofa supplied "Laser Cut" plywood rudder and a brasstube and rod. It also contains a drawing ofa Servo Crank Arm, that "You" the builder has to make from a supplied piece of 1/64"Tx5/16"L Brass Strip.(Mine is like Tin Foil" no way is it a 1/64" Thick) I was looking at the pictures on the box and other completed models on the web and all have a "Black Plastic" Rudder. Also I recievedmy BowCleat in plain brass with an ugly solder job, with no plating. Im thinking of makingastream-linedhollowrudder out of brass sheet stock,then soldered to the rudder shaft. Then mated with a grease filled brass tube and a thicker servo crank arm soldered on topmaking for a stronger rudder set-up. I was lookingover the supplied Brass "Fake" exhaust outlet tube andhad an idea.If I make a flange (Similar to the Fake Exhaust part) sothat the rudder shaftpassed through it and was in turnsoldered to the bottomof the rudder shafttubewith three hole drilled through fornailing itto the firstlayer ofhull planking it would add strength and make for a good seal. Using epoxy with the nails anddoing the same for the top ofthe tube andcreating a wood brace that would keep everything in alignment to the frame, I think thistype ofmodification couldmake the whole rudder system more robust andprecise.

Since this will be my "First Remote Controlled Boat" Im wondering ifsomeone could"Please"suggest "ALL" the componets Ill need to run the boat onmy local pond. I have a R/C Truck, but do not want to take parts from it for the boat, and Im not sure if they are compatable anyhow.If someone could suggest a good radio controller, speed controller/reciever a more robust motor and brassprop combination, plus aquality brand and long lasting battery pack and charger, plus a goodservo for the rudder. I think Im going to rig my rudder with a cable system like someone described above, so if someone could let me know what kind and where to get one, or ifthe use of a sold wire link is better, plus where are good locationsto mount theservo and battery packs along with the reciever/speedcontrol in order to trim the boat out?. Im also going to enclose the cockpit to keep water out. I will be makinga cloth seat, but I am wondering also, if anyone knowsif the floor and side walls in the real boatwould have been covered with something or made of mahogany also?Im alsowondering ifon this type of race boathad agas pedal or throttle lever, I noticed that the steering wheel is on the "Port" side of the boat?

Im going to make other changes to the kit besides the planking, but for now I would be very grateful to anyone who canhelp me find allthe running gear listed above, and any other suggestions that anyone might have.

My goal is to havea boat thatlooks as closeto the realboat as possible ( I will be using sometricks I have learned over the yearsto addscale realism to the model)and I want it to go faster than scale speeds, I want it to really turn heads at the park.

Thanks, and Im so sorry for such a long post.its just that besides the wood working and build, Im totally Lost when it comes to R/C Boats.
Ill be adding more about other upgrades Ill be doing along with photo's

mfr02

A collet on the shaft won't add any friction unless the builder has adjusted things really badly.  When running forward, the prop is trying to push the shaft forward, so no friction at that end.  It forms a very handy thrust bearing when reversing, reducing the tendency for the prop to set off without the boat.  At the prop end of the shaft, a thrust bearing is a good idea anyway, it wears something other than the face of the prop bush and/or the shaft bearing.

tstone52

Good afternoon,
I am building my first wooden boat the "Miss Adventure" and I have been wondering as to how to finish the Step in the Hull? The directions are unclear and I have not found any discussions on the forums.

Any assistance would be great.
Thank you in advance

Tim
RC Sailboat skipper in VT.