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[Neil Bastiman]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and thought I would post some pictures of my build of the Model Slipway "Dutch Courage" tug.  I bought the kit last year from the Doncaster Northern Model Show and started building that same week.  On opening the (very large!) box I found a huge fibre glass hull, sheets of plastic card and a great many white metal fitting.
I decided from the outset that the boat would be powered by 2 X 12V 7AHr gel cells and a 6V 4.2AHr gel cell that would power the bow thruster.  These batteries would the main ballast for the boat; I would wait until the boat was complete before deciding if any further was needed.  The two 12V batteries would be positioned as close to the centre of the hull as possible, I hoped that by doing this the boat would be easier to turn on the spot.  The towing bollard would be made strong enough so that the boat could be used for towing.

Below are some pictures showing the early stages of constuction.

The white cylinder shown in these pictures is the support pillar for the deck crane.  If this boat was to be used for towing then I decided that the pillar for the crane would have to be a part of the towing bollard and have the same strength so there was no danger of the crane been damaged.  The bollards are screwed to aluminium beams that also serve as support rails for the batteries.

[Peter Fitness]

Welcome to the forum, Neil.

Your tug is looking good. Keep the photos coming as the build progresses.

If each motor is independently controlled, and using the bow thruster, your boat should pirouette on the spot beautifully. I have a pusher tug with no thruster, but with one motor full ahead and the other full astern, the boat spins on the spot.

Peter.

[Neil Bastiman]

Hello Peter, thanks for the welcome.

Yes, I have set the boat up with independant control on each prop and now I've sailed it the boat does indeed spin on the spot.

Here are a few more pictures for you.

Inside of boat showing fixing of the towing bollards.

First coat of primer.

Deck painting

Masking off for painting inside bulwarks.

This is a jig I made for soldering the railings together, I did this for all of the railings, soldering makes them so much stronger.

Nearly ready for maiden voyage.

Found that DC was a bit down at the bow, added 400g of lead to the stern which helped.

This was taken in the new year after the superstucture and crane had been finished and painted.

Engine room, battery is to power bow thruster, which is controlled by micro switches on a servo.

[timg]

Hi neil
great looking model
whats next on the slipway?
spud

[ian kennedy]

Hi Neil,

This is the best looking D/C's I've seen on this forum !

You have obviously thought about the strength and bracing issues as you have gone along rather than an after thought, well done.

Keep up the good work and have you any more pictures of the build please?

Ian

[Neil Bastiman]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the kind comments.  Here are a few more pictures of the boat on and off the water.

Hope you enjoy these pictures, if anybody else is out there is building this model and has questions about my experience of building it then please feel free to ask.

[MCAT]

Welcome  Neil  what a nice build and well thought out to.  pinching a couple of idea's   I am building one gone a bit far to use all the bits
I would have liked too from your post.

I will be towing but not in competitions so wont need to be as strong in fixing the bollards but will certainly use your idea for fixing them

Just a tip I found when sticking the rear decking to the hatch cover when the glue has gone off  you may find the plastic decking has bowed. I have fixed the panel  per the plans by tabs and slots so have had to use a method of securing the stern end of the hatch
via two swivel latches using a small deck fittings to give something to twist them by keeping them small enough to miss the tow rope.

thought it worth a mention :  might help someone

Mick

[trawlerman2]

hi there now going to order one of these kits could you please tell me if the wheelhouse windows are easy enough to get out and are the scuppers on the main deck already cut away?