RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Some of the measurements on Rich's model as I start my windshield rebuild:

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Hi Dauntlessfan,</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Thanks for posting those measurements! The measurements show the arrows 8/16&rdquo;-9/16&rdquo; but they only go from the window to the trim. Note that the measurements are from the window to the top of the roofline.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">This brings me back to the photo we discussed. I am eventually going to do a correction to my windshield area based on the &lsquo;bow 1&rsquo; photo. I was a bit conservative as to how far the trim should come down and go across over the windshield because there was no real info available at the time the trim was installed. With the &lsquo;bow1&rsquo; photo I will redo the main cabin windshield trim so that the trim will come down and touch the first corner window frame that reads &lsquo;9/16&rdquo; and ride along over the rest of the frames before going back up at the 9/16&rdquo; corner on the other side. The result will be more gray paint around the windshield area and the trim will be lower and close to the frames. This may be something to consider when adding your main cabin windshield trim.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">I plan on revisiting this when I finish up the details over the forecastle and bow section which is the last stop before completing the interior which starts inside the forecastle. This is an easy fix.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Hi Captains:</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Thanks to Dauntlessfan&rsquo;s post I found a detail on the full sized Dauntless that I had never noticed before. A picture taken in the early 80&rsquo;s reveals the outer rim around the forecastle windows were painted flat black. This was a neat little discovery that can bring an added detail to those windows. I compared it to a few other pictures from the 1950&rsquo;s and found they weren&rsquo;t always painted black. I&rsquo;ll decide later on whether or not to paint them but as of now I really like the look. I&rsquo;m not sure if it was Rockefeller or Marshall that ordered the look but they appear in the early 80&rsquo;s pictures. It gives those windows an added dimension which looks pretty cool. </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">The equipment locker over the forecastle is another detail that&rsquo;s finally growing on me. In the past I didn&rsquo;t want to add it because it seemed so unnatural on the deck against the windshield. But, in almost every picture I had seen of Dauntless it was always there, so I will fold and go with it. It was painted light sea gray which matched the other gray exterior details. The thing was big. It had a long white cushion on it so it doubled as a lounge seat. Now that I&rsquo;m looking at the locker there seems to have been some changes done to it as well.</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"></div>-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hey Bill,

You did a nice job wiring and installing the electronics inDauntless. It looks like she will be ready for a spring launch and she should run beautifully with those twin 700's! I can't wait untilthe sea trials begin! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Thanks for the positive comments guys. The lacing with waxed cord is a carryover from some of my time in the telephone industry. (see photo below)

The steering is now complete and fuctional. I decided to try the cable method from Tower. It seems to work well but we will see when it gets christened.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hi Bill - I remember from my days as an installer at Southwestern Bell, using that same wax twine while hooking up equipment for some of the first cell phone towers. That stuff is priceless for keeping wire neat and organized. We called it "twelve cord"... not sure why!?



Hey Everyone - Here are my before and after shots as I finished rough body work on the heavily damaged starboard side tonight.

I re-installed the old window plugs during the process to make sure the original shape was retained.

I used scrap I had on hand from cutting out the rear deck doorway. It matched the original paint and wood grain.

One measurement was off a bit, so you can see where a sliver of basswood stock corrected that.

This will complete a solid foundation to begin work on the main cabin windshield.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Nice to see another old Bell man! I started with New York Tel in 1956 as a Splicers Helper. Went on to Frameman, Switchman in SxS, Xbar5,Tandem and Toll. Then Central Office Foreman putting in the first Electronic Switching Systems in NY. Retired as Midstate Area Operations Manager for computer operations. We also knew it as 12 cord and as you can see I still have a roll of it even after retiring in 1990. Don't know why the name for it but suppose it was to do with a WE ks number.

Keep us up on the repair process. You've a great start.

It finally turned seasonably cold here and the water has gotten hard or I would test the Dauntless. Wonder if my son would let me use his hot tub?http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/biggrin.gifhttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/biggrin.gif

Bill

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Hi Bill,</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">That&rsquo;s a great picture of your telephone company days. That photo looks like something Norman Rockwell would have painted! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Well the ponds are officially frozen in our neck of the woods so float tests and bench tests are all that can be done for the next four months. There&rsquo;s still plenty of time to tinker and fine tune her. I have a feeling that at the first thaw it will be the beginning of a fun season for you! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Hi Dauntlessfan,</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">I agree with Bill, she is patching up just fine. One great thing about being the original builder is that you have the skills to take on whatever crisis&rsquo;s or challenges that dauntless throws your way. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">-Rich.</div>

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hi Captains,

I put a little forethought into the radar mast because I plan on making it after the bridge deck is done. So I found a mini geared motor for the mast. (a pricey little bugger) The geared motor will be on the mast and not hidden below deck. I plan on making a replica of the outer case of the mast to put this unit inside of. It will likely have a wood foundation and aluminum skin that will be painted and slightly weathered. . The rotating radar head will be connected directly to thegeared output shaft. As soon as the boat starts, the radar will begin to turn. I'm still deciding how many RPM's to make it. The radar mast will also have the reciever antennae hooked to it as well. More on that later but here's a sneak peak on the 'guts' for the unit.

The RPM options are:

16rpm
26rpm
50rpm
150rpm.

Off bat I think 150 is too much.

So tell me guys, How many RPM's do you think this thing should turn? I will take in your suggestions before ordering it. thanks.. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...wink_smile.gif

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Rich, I guess I would investigate how these early radar rotated if in fact they did. I know some were forward looking and swung back and forth through an arc rather than rotating continuosly. That might also let you find about rotation speed if in fact that is the way to go. Notice her radar was a reflector and not a bar like todays.

Bill

Upon further review: haven't found out if this unit swept or rotated but did find that rotation speeds of the time were 20-100 rpm and commonly around 30 rpm.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your help so far, I think thiswas a rotating radar.

What was the difference between the two?

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

After sorting through the pics and info I have, I think three different radars adorned Dauntless...

1. Very military looking radar, in the stock S&S photo we all know so well. I think Rich's boat would look awesome with this one[8D].

2. A simpler radar design that appears in most of the images I have of her. I think this is the one that Dumas modeled their radar after. Dumas plans call for it to be mounted with a stick pin so it will pivot, not that their plans reflect any sort of accuracy :eek:. In every pic the long curved reflector is positioned toward the bow, although not always perfectly centered. No idea if this is of any significance or just coincidence.

3. A modern yacht radar that rotates inside a dome during her final operating days (not pictured).

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hi Dauntlessfan,

Wow Dumas did a crap job with recreating the radar head! Thier radar is so puny compared to the actual one. I don't think they really bothered taking real measurements for half the details on this boat. Thank goodness they got the overall superstructure right. sheesh..http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...n/rolleyes.gif

After seeing the pics you posted next tothe Dumasdiagram it puts it all into perspective.

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Post left a couple days ago on S&S blog for the mighty Dauntless:

"My son was conceived onboard this boat way back in 1978 in fort Meyers Florida"

Anonymous Jan 15, 2012 08:58 PM

[link]http://sparkmanstephens.blogspot.com/2010/08/design-621-commuter-yacht-dauntless.html[/link]

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

LMAO... How special!!! lucky them!! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/biggrin.gif

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

I'm nowhunting for some butter soft red lambskin leather for the exterior seating...I have soft black leather but then I have to go through the dying process...http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...used_smile.gif

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hi Captains,

I just bought some INSANE quality Red Lambskin for the exterior seating. This cost quite a bit of money but the quality will blow anyone's mind when it is felt. The guy that helped me personally located his best pieceand cut it while I was on the phone with him. (This is a fashion leather boutique) The skin's were imported from Italy and they will be covering Tempur-Pedic material.

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Rich - great score on the plush leather!

Crew - here's a more detailed radar mast drawing I came up with based on historical photos I've been able to find here and on the web. Can't say it's 100% accurate, but definitely one giant leap from the Dumas plans....

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Very nice! Thanks for that drawing. From what I found, trying to get info on rpms, the early radar had so much heavy electronics etc that it made it necessary to put that "box" on the bottom of the mast or there would be to much weight at the top.For our models it provides a sturdier base than just attaching a dowel to the deck. If I read it properly the drive motor was at the bottom and the shaft ran up the tube. Your drawing looks very much like the operating unit sold by Harbor. Theirs has a rotating bar antenna but it would be easy to replace that with a reflective one like the one on Dantless. In fairness to Dumas I don't think the average builder would make it that scale. Very few, If any, Rc models are completely scale down to every detail. I think they did a reasonably good job, in general, on Dauntless and provided a good platfom for those of us that want more accurate detailing.

There is a nice Dauntless on evilbay right now at a very fair price. It has 3 Graupner 700's in it!

Bill

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hey Dauntlessfan,

That's a sweet drawing of the radar mast. That is an awesome resource for Dauntless owners.

Hi Bill.. That's a great looking Dauntless on e-Bay. It looks to be nicely built and it's ready to run. I think this is a 'golden' opportunity for someone interested in the Dauntless that hasn't already built one. I'm sure the the three 700 turbo motors would get her up on plane in a hurry.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dauntless-Du...item27c27913df

It would be cool if one of the captains here bought it.

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Wired in switches on the 2battery supplies today so shes already for lauching and sea trials. Just might have to make a road trip south! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...ades_smile.gif

Bill

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hi captains,

Today i'm home with my son because he is not feeling well. So when we were on the couch he wanted to see my Danbury Mint 1953 1/16 scale model Cadillac convertible that was sitting high on a shelf. I brought it down and showed him the car when I realized that the front seats are the same size and thickness to what I need for Dauntless. So I am going to use these seats as a template for sizing to create the seats on the bridge.
There were four individual seats near the helm and bench seating across the rear. There were two seats with backs just behind the helm and pair of map tables on port and starboard with cushions that doubled as seats. The two map tables were next to the windows on port and starboard side.

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hi guys,

Here are a few pics of those seats. These seats are also genuine leather.

A fun future project for this carwill beconverting it to RC. The car is so heavy that over time crushedit's own plastic front suspension so I don't feel bad converting it.

-R.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Hi captains,

The work has officially begun in the bridge deck. I'm not moving from this area until it is complete.

Here are the beginning stages of the seating.

Photos are of the beginnings of the two seats behind the helm, the back wall seating foundation and the sides of the seats with entrance to the owner's cabin. Some of the rug will have to be cut away when the seating gets glued in place..The aft wall seating foundationwas made froma solid block of basswood.

-Rich.

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Any have any recent information as to the status or whereabouts of Dauntless?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xibOL9FZPE

Steve

RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
 

Awesome work on those details, Rich!

Here are a few pics as I continue to rebuild my cabin windshield. On Rich's advice I cut each piece too big on purpose, anticipating that I would later sand (sculpt really) them to the correct size and curvature.

So far I'm REALLY excited about the results. Even though I'm using scrap wood on hand and not always sticking to prototype measurements, I think it will represent the original Dauntless a lot more accurately when it's done.