ProfLooney

Hey guys you know me from my plane stuff but now I have grandkids that are 4 and 6 and at the right age i feel safe taking them down to the river where we feed the ducks and geese.

since they listen and act way more mature than their age I thought it would be fun to build and sail some boats with them.

I look for plans online and most dont even compare to the stuff we get for planes as they are very sparsely drawn with not much details. I want to bring my plane drawing into ships and possibly come up with a super detailed set of plans.

so here my delema,

1: I cant seem to find anything cool that trips my trigger to start with

2: dont know crap abt boats

3: I would love to do something eventually like a tall ship like the constitution or the sorts

4: has to have lot of cool scale detail goodies

5: would like to maybe do something like an old sail cutter with motor too like the old steam cutters.

6: doesnt have to have sails for first one just something super detailable like maybe a paddle wheel delta queen would be awesome since sailing will be on the mississippi river

7: like all my stuff it will be large boat prob 4-6 ft long range

Any help and ideas i would love as i am totally lost at the moment. I want to go as scale as possible with the hull as i notice some ppl orry abt above water but use an unscale hull and the ship or boat doesnt seem to look right if you know what I mean

ProfLooney

Well since my solidworks wont open I guess for now will try turbocad 2015 pro to do my 3D drawings.

I will be Modelling the Andrea Doria and as soon as I get familiar with the software and get going will start a thread for my design/build so hopefully I can get some guiding hands to steer me in the right direction and some hickory switches to say Bad Boy when I do something stupid lol

ProfLooney

ok well i got solidworks to install finally but got a little bug in trying to run it to figure out but I am getting closer.

Now some design questions

1: with the boat going to be 7.3 foot long I was wondering abt how you determine the thickness of the keel and I am assuming probably 1/4" ply?

2: should the upper superstructures be 1/8" ply?

3: I was thinking in the keel having a box the length of the keel so I could put poxy and buckshot mix in for ballasting

am I on the right track so far?

mfr02

Have a look for build threads involving large models. Build materials vary widely, as do construction methods. For a fairly extreme example - http://www.marcle.clara.net/sd14.htm
Most liners have a lot of upperworks compared to the underwater part, so a lot of attention has to be paid to keeping the weight low down and building light higher up to ensure that it floats right side up. It is conventional wisdom to start with something smaller and simpler. The inevitable mistakes are cheaper.

ProfLooney

Got the Hull started still trying to get my 3D cad going so I can work on incorporating the ballast boxes in the hull and the motor stuff

Hydro Junkie

ProfLooney, if this is your first ship build, might I recommend starting on a slightly different tack?
Before spending a lot of time and money on your liner, you might consider building something easier and slightly smaller to learn how a scale ship will handle. This may sound crazy but you might want to start with a plastic model kit. How about something like this:
http://www.micromark.com/uss-missour...ale,11460.html
This would give you a chance to figure out drive systems, basic ship controlling, etc. Since you're used to flying aircraft, boats might require totally relearning how to operate a model. Since you're only dealing with throttle and rudder, a simple radio might be something else to look at rather than the more complex 4+ that you're probably using for aircraft. Just a thought

ProfLooney

I hear ya Hydro but I have done the plastic model bit like that before hen I was younger and I have built a hydro long ago with the old K & B outboards. but never seriously got into it and now I am wanting to. But also after 40+ yrs of planes I have lot of scrap supplies lying around and it doesnt cost me anything to laser cut me a kit out. Remembering I am a plane designer its the same thing I design a scale warbird build it all up not knowing if it will fly put a big exspensive engine and retracts in goto the field and hope it actually flies.

with boats I can put it in a pool where it is easy to recover and strand there see if she floats if she starts to go down i am standing there and can just scoop her up and figure out the problem. so to me there really is less risk going all out on a boat than a plane as I have control over the boat where as a plane once it is in the air i dont have no control over it either i crash a 2k plane or it flies

mfr02

29,000 ton ship at 1:96 gives 73 lb. Its going to need some serious scooping if it takes on water, because it will weigh even more then.

308jockey

With your building ability and for what you want to do with it look at some of the Dumas kits. I have the Crockett gunboat and PT 109 both waiting to be built and a Tuna Clipper currently running, built by my Dad in the 70's. These are all smaller than you mentioned but will be a good starting point. The PT boats seem to have many sources for scale parts and plenty of places to find detail information. For something fun to run with the grand kids you might keep an eye out for a Pro Boats PT 109. No longer in production I think but they can be had, are nicely detailed and a ton of fun to run.

Rick H.

ProfLooney

Thanks Ill look into the PT meantime I been cadding up a 70" 1/24 scale Daman Stan Patrol Boat as something less time consuming than the Andrea Doria. the Daman Stan is the newest line of Coastguard cutters for around the world. pretty basic outlines with just enough detail. I just have the upper deckhouse left to part out and then can start tweaking the parts etc for balast motors electronices etc. the one thing I need to figure out is how to do bow thrusters

ProfLooney

Decky ultimate

What about this?
Riva Aquarama Special 1:7 125 cm long, 40 ccm gas engine

joeytooker

2 seater electric rc https://www.facebook.com/joey.tooker...9763854280444/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LetxRV5IKJo ,

wrote all the programming my self,,,if it had or when i put the gps and compass on ,itll be a drone.

Hydro Junkie

How about this?

ProfLooney

hydro junkie that ones up my alley sry guys been lil quiet am out of town for work now trying to get something drawn up to build this winter

the rivera is ok but at my club you see tons of them and others like them i need unusual and a side wheeler no one has yet a couple large rear paddle wheeler riverboats but nothing like hydros side wheeler

rcboaterbill

A guy in my club has a Dumas Creole Queen. Some observations:
- A sternwheeler is nearly uncontrollable in any sort of breeze-- it is a flat calm model.
- Steering is also vague-- there is no propwash over the rudder, especially at lower speeds.
- Model paddlewheelers are not very efficient-- the paddle gets scaled down, but the water isn't.

I think your youngsters would be rather frustrated by such a model-- due to the narrow range of conditions in which you could dun it.

ProfLooney

the club runs sternwheelers all the time at our pond without problems it is sheltered and almost never any wind. but i making a couple springers for the grand rugrats the sidewheeler would be for me for a nice scale project I can do all kinds of fiddlys with

the paddlewheelers at our club are around 4 and 5 ft long

Stephen Vick

If you have plenty of experience scratch building planes then you understand how to frame up a boat no problem. Make your hull much the same... Be sure to seal it thoroughly inside and out. Fiberglass is best. Topsides should be strong but light, I like to use polycarbonate plastic (Lexan) for topside decks and bulkheads. Very strong, very light.. I use carbon fiber tube and rod for masts and yards. Strong and light. Example: My USS Atlanta CLAA 51 very narrow hull with high superstructure. Topsides are built with Polycarbonate and carbon fiber, fittings are all cast in Alumalite, She takes high speed turns with little heal...

Hydro Junkie

After getting home a bit ago from a weekend of camping, I started looking for info on the Mt Washington. I found where and when it was built and that it was destroyed in 1939 by a s suspicious fire that started in a building close to her berth. I was unable to find anything else other than that Dumas Products has a kit of the ship. Here's the Dumas write up:
The Dumas kit of The Mount Washington includes everything needed to bring the original grandeur back to life. An ABS plastic hull and a birch plywood die cut superstructure provide the basic shape, while embossed plastic, cabin detail, cast metal fittings, and full color decals add the touches that make the model complete. Our step by step instructions will help you transform your kit into an historic model that will be sure to find a place in the history of your family.

Length: 44-1/2" inches
Beam: 12 inches
Scale: 1/48th

[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]*Additional parts required for R/C:

Running Hardware: Included in kit
Power: Dumas #2029 12v Gearhead Motor
Speed Control: #2023 12v Speed Control
Battery: #2032 12v Battery
Charger: #2028 Battery Charger
Radio Control: #8812-2 2 Channel Radio Control w/ two servos



[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


$525.00

mfr02

One additional part from the list that I would forget is the resistor speed control. Any ESC capable of handling 12 volts would be better. Save on one of the servos as well.

ProfLooney

well i have gotten 2 dumas kits and was not happy and for the cost of them naw but i did find an awesome ship i need to find info on at the mississippi river museum here in dubuque iowa this weekend. its areally cool train ferry dont think seen an rc version so will be cool to figure out. pics from my phone so not greatest as i tied to fit it all in they are littke fuzzy but it is a twin side wheeler called the Pelican

bensid54

There's a side paddle wheeler called the Comet that is on display in Scotland, looks like a sailing ship but has the strangest looking side paddles. I have been thinking about building that one myself.

mfr02

The strangeness is probably related to the year of design - 1811 - and the fact that the designer had nothing to copy from and everything was then at the very start of the learning curve. Originally two paddles each side, it was later fitted with larger single paddles.

bensid54

Do you by any chance have plans for that particular ship?

mfr02

No, just the museum information from a web search and a bit of faint background memory from a TV documentary about canals in Scotland.