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[gregk9]

Right, back on track again now. I'm leaving the repair on my Sun Tug on one side for now, untill I "feel" ready to start taking it apart, always not a very nice task to do, once you have spent so long building something.

I have now managed to do some work on the foredeck of the Mersey, Starting with the fore tow post.
I started the ball rolling with a Mac's models resin cast jobby, BUT the base plate was too big to fir the mersey, so rather than just cut it smaller and risk it cracking, I cut the whole thing off and just used the post. I then made up a correct sized plate for the deck. I then drilled both the deck and plate togewther to ensure the hole was in the correct place.
After checking the post heinght on the RNLI drawings, there is a nice juicy excess of post on the resin one, to allow it to sink below deck. So for added strength i cross drilled the resin post, immediately below the deck plate I had made and passed a plastic rod through the hole [brass rod would also suffice here too]. This was bonded in with superglue.
I then cut a couple of slots in the deck [fore & aft] to allow for the ends of the cross bar on the underside of the tow post, so this sits in to the deck too, giving more area to glue bond. the post was then lowered in to place with a generous coat of epoxy, but leaving the plastic base dry, as i will use plasticweld to bond this to the plastic "topped" deck for a stronger bond.










* You will also notice from the images, I have now added pencil lines in for the angled cable runs from the bow strops, to make sure they "pass/miss" the tow post and also clear of the anchor mounts on the other side of the deck.
The foredeck slot has also been routed out and some filler added, to smooth out the guide for the cables to run down the bow guide slot.

[gregk9]

Time again for another minor "challenge", the "Stemhead Roller" assembly. I wanted this to be able to hinge, as the original, so the tow strops can be clearly seen running underneath it, plus it makes it easier to put the cables in later, now that I have managed to perfect the manufacture of the inner cable eyes for the strop ends [see earlier post].
I first  cut some simple pieces of flat plasticard, then after gently applying some heat, sufficient to "soften" the plastic, I then "shaped" the plasticard around the forward/bow rubber fender to get a profile that replicates the ovalness. this was set aside to cool, whilst I then cut the flat deck pieces. I then plasticwelded the two pieces together and once dry, added some plasto filler to the join line, for careful sanding off later once fully dry. the roller assembly starts off with a simple square flat base plate, with an inverted  "U" shape on the top [with a flared outer end towards the bows.]. The U shape was easy enough to shape, again using heat on some plasticard strip, this was cut to correct height and bonded to its base.
The hinges are pieces of hollow plastic tube, capable of allowing passage of a plastic "pin" through later.
The roller itself I made from a piece of wooden dowel rod, not having any plastic rod of suitable diameter, having used several "knitting needles" on an earlier project, I had none left !
 But again, by slowly rotating the dowel, a round file was easy enough to use to add the shaped cable though.
I small drill was run through the centre point of the dowel, once cut to size, to allow a pivot rod to go through it and the roller frame.
I then heat shaped a front/bow piece to add on the the roller assembly, to guide the cable hawse, over the split gap in the lower sections. This piece was cut so as to run inside the roller, so the join did not show.
The 2 earlier made fender covers were added to the deck and the roller assembly, placed in position, so the deck halves of the pivot pieces could be bonded in place, by using plasticweld, for both ease and quickness of bond.
I have just got to make the rounded face for the roller assembly now, Ive made a wooden former, from which I will make it from.

[gregk9]

I have now finally made up the two bow tow cables. I have previously shown you a picture of "one end" of the cable hawse, now heres the build.
The hawse ends were formed from plastic strip, 3mm thick x 6mm tall. the galvanised wire is 2mm, purchased from a local DIY store and only 98p /mtr too!
I then drilled the inner hole with some pilot holes to start with, carefully "joining the dots" with a sharp blade, the cut the majority of the rough stuff out, finishing off with a small rat tail file.
I then used a knife to cut the outer profile away, finishing off with a file to round off the profile.
using the rat tail file, its  simplicity itself to then "file around the edge" making the inset to allow th wire cable to sit snugly in.
I then bend the wire around the hawse end, holding toghtly and then winding some black thread around the two wires to secure. Once in plase, the thread was given a few drops of superglue to fix in place.
Once the glue was dry, I slid a small piece of heat shrink tube over the join and moulded to shape.

WORD OF WARNING.

BEFORE you shape the other end of the wire around the hawse end. DON'T forget to slide the heatshrink tubing on the wire ! [ha ha] Sliding a piece that will fit over the hase end later wont shrink down tight enough .  I LEARN'T !

[gregk9]

Now I have the two bow cable strops, i have made uo a "prototype" lock handle on the deck for them. I say prototype, becase I have not yet decided if this version is going to be robust enough to leave on,or make a sturdier frame out of brass strip. I know and appreciate I will not be dropping the cables down, ready for beach retrieval every time I launch the boat myself, but its an item that might as be as authentic as possible, as it takes so little to produce.
Please axcuse the overly long plastic rod thats run through the pivot in the pictures, its only temporary, till testing is complete.

[returnee]

Hi Greg,
Your build is a credit to you.
Have just been going through it again, can I ask ,what did you use to make your mast nav and blue lights, or are they comercial items, if so where from?
Thanks
Gerard

[gregk9]

The Nav light lenses are commercially available from Maplins, they are the 5mm versions.

they can supply, red, green, amber or clear.
for the blue version, I simply used a clear one and painted the inside of it with some "clear blue" paint.

If you paint the top [outside] of the lens silver, allow to dry fully, then paint over with black, it acts as a reflector, and throws more light through the sides of the lens, giving a better light output.

[gregk9]

The Paint I used to colour the blue lens is: TAMIYA X-23     "Clear Blue".

Its an acrylic paint, so brushes wash out in water too.

Be sure to give it 2 good coats, to make sure the colour coat is nice and even.

[gregk9]

Decided to "upgrade" the bow tow cable lever sooner than originally planned. Well I fancied a bit of a challenge plus having half a day off work helps too!

I decided to make the lever arm side plates from brass strip, being a bit more hard wearing and all that, plus soldering the bits together give a bit more strength in it too.
the side plates were easy enough to cut to shape and add the bends where appropriate, Once i had made 2, I then drilled the holes for the pivot in both and the grab hook in one of them. I also used a piece of brass tube to make the top handle.








If you look at the grab hook, you will notice its position as it slightly "angles to one side". this does have a point !




Now if you see where the hook arm now "sits", it "self locks" under the pivot arm support i made up, so the actual "locking pin" that is put through on the full size [and will be on this] its only "cosmetic" on the scale version, as this "cam lock" mechanism works fine for me,as it will prevent the cables from coming loose, even if the lockig pin vibrates out or someones "light fingers" removes it, not knowing what they are doing.

[gregk9]

I have now made up the Slip bracket base plates, but did not want to have to make the fender protectors as a seperate item, so have made them as a "one piece item". Firstly after taking the measurements off the drawings, I made up a couple of paper templates, to "try against" the hull/deck. it looked like it would work, so traced around the templates on some plasticard.
I used a piece of wooden dowel to enable me to "curve" the plastic sheet for its shape around the fender. Once shaped, I trimmed the excess plastic off to suit. I painted the insides of the shields silver first before fitting to the deck.

[gregk9]

Time for the actual slip brackets themselves. I was just going to make up some plasticard ones, purely for show, but as I was making them, it was just as easy to actually make them work!
Firstly, to save some time in shaping the slip hooks, i decided to make some sandwiches up of thinner plastic sheet, so by cutting the rough basic outline on 3 pieces, then bonding together with plasticweld, I think saved me time trying to carefully cut through some 5 or 6mm plastic black.
Whilst these were drying, inside some "clamps" to make sure they bonded fully and stayed flat, I made up the basic shapes of the brackets, drilling the holes  in the side plates prior to bonding them to the base plate.
I then attacked the hook bars and shaped them by using a combination of knife, sander and file to smooth out the shape/profile.
The other operating part was made up from flat strip, apart from a piece of half cut plastic rod to make the hammer strike. This I did attack a little with my knife, to flatten in places, to make it look likes its actually been hit a few times, rather than pristine. this will show up better once painted.
Last job was to assemble it all together in a "dry fit" stage [without glue] to make sure the rear lever arm, cleared the pivoting hook arm. mine didnt first time, so careful bit of cutting with a sharp blade and was soon working fine.
I then drilled a set of holes around the base plate, as through which i will insert some plastic rod to replicate the mounting bolts, but these will be drilled through the deck to act as further strenghtening the bond between both components.

[gregk9]

Ihave not completed putting all 4 of the slip brackets together. After designing the first one and making sure it all "worked", I made up some templates off this one and then cut sufficient duplicate parts to make the other 3. I have put the templates in a plastic bag and will keep for future use, just in case of accident I suppose.
I just had to drill the base plates for the mounting bolts and give them a coat of paint before installation.

[gregk9]

I have now managed to attach the slip brackets to the deck plates, bonding down initially with plasticweld to get a decent bond. in fact they are so sturdy I ahve tried using these hooks as "ties" whilst on my buggy trailer to get the boat to and from the sailing pool and they hold her down a treat, no problem. Well it saves having to delicately place a web strap rigth over the complete boat and risk damaging the handrails or hatches for example.

[gregk9]

I am now in the process of completing the toe board fitting, in preparation for making the handrails. I have decided against using the white metal ones originally supplied by Metcalf, as every time I touch the white metal ones, they break in  half! So rather than risk using them and having to replaces them after the slightest of knocks, Im going to make some brass versions.
Sorry but no picture images tonight, due to communication errors to the site.

[gregk9]

Whilst waiting for the toe boards glue to fully bond, Ive made up the pair of anchors to site on the forward deck. I first cut out a paper template and folded it to make sure it "made up" correctly before then cutting out of plasticard. The upper are of the anchore was built up of sections of thicker plastic strip.

[gregk9]

Now that the two anchors are dry, it is time to make the mounting plates and brackets. The base plates were cut from some chequerplate embossed plasticard sheet and then the anchor stowage "wedges" made from plain smooth plasticard sheet. I have added a small piece of brass wore, bent to replicate the rope tie handle, so along with the drill hole in the anchor arm, I can secure the anchors to the base plates easily and without bonding them down fully.

[gregk9]

I have now started work on the stanchions with some committment, as I may be out of action again for a few days. I am having to have further surgery on my left hand to rectify/repair a damaged tendon, causing  "trigger thumb". Its a reasonable minor "op", but is going to mean my left hands out of serious action for a few days, but I will see what i can still cope with doing, once ive had the operation so to speak.

So heres fingers crossed !

As I have said previously, the Metcalf white metal stanchions I purchased with the hull are way too brittle to fit, seems more pewter than lead in the mix and they take very little to snap in half.
So 3.2mm hollow brass tube is the way i'm going, these were soldered to some triangular base plates and the stanchion supports, mounted to some flat rectangular plates, so i can bolt them to the tow boards easily.  After reading the Model boats magazine build, I followed some advice there and purchased some acrylic plastic beads to make the "balls" on the stanchions, they only needed a drill running through them to get to correct internal size. A dab of superglue and fixed in place.  I also then found it much easier to cross drill these "balls" for the grab wires too.  The eyelets were simply bent and soldered in place from some brass wire.  I just have some cleaning up to do on this lot, as Ive managed to make up one "side set", but thouhg I should be able to cope with this job later this week.

bit of physiotherapy !!

[gregk9]

Following on from the operation on my left hand, im stuck on "light duties" for a while,or untill the stitches are removed in 2 weeks time, so kindly appreciate, work on the Mersey will be a little laboured, but I will try my best to plod on, doing what I can, untill back to 99.9% fit again and able to use both hands fully.
So, for the first bit of physiotherapy, to try and remove the screw lid top, off a bottle of tamiya paint! Well after several "yelps" of pain, I decided to use a pair of adjustable jaw pliers and jam them between forearm and thigh, being careful not to loosen the lid too much and paint the leg of my jeans on one swimming lesson.
I had previously made up the flying bridge cushion panels a few weeks back, but the front faces needed painting, so an oppertune time to do now. so they were duly painted and affixed once the paint was dry, the back of the centre panel will be cleaned up once the glue has set.

[gregk9]

After a few days of gentle coaxing, I am partially able to re use my left hand again, albeit, minus "thumb assistance" currently [ha ha], so my left hand is more use as a clamp than anything else yet !

I have managed to make up the fixing brackets for the jackstay cables. making from plastic strip, drilling holes to suit and a little filing seems to resemble the item concerned ok. I have made the actual plates that will carry the cable, long enough to pass through the cabin side wall, so with the aid of a drilled hole and a "cross peg", helps secure it in place, plus makes a better surface area for the stabilit express to bond to.
The backing "diamond shape" plates were again cut from thinner styrene sheet, a slot cut inside to allow the port to slip through it, plus acts as a trim cover for the slot in the panel sidewall.
I will leave off fitting the cable standoff point, untill all the main posts glue has set fully and I can attach the cable, so I can ensure the standoff post is in the correct place and position to keep the cable clear of the panels.

[gregk9]

I have now made up the safety cables for either side of the cabin. the end tips [with hooks] are simply shaped brass rod, with a piece of plastic tube slid over to replicate the tension adjuster [still needs a bit of end shaping yet] and the cable itself is some silicone tubing, which when cut slightly shot, tensions up just nice, once "hooked" on at both ends.

the cable spacer was made from 2 side plates of plasticard, with a centre "spacer bit" from some thicker plastic rod. Once the spacer glue had dried, i drilled the centre piece to accept a short length of brass rod, and drilled the side of the bodywork in the appropriate place, ao the brass rod passes through and can be bonded in, on the inside of the hull.

[gregk9]

Finally getting a little bit of use back in my left thumb, have to admit its really frustrating trying to do things with only one thumb, you get to appreciate what it is like to have "all 10 digits" working!
Ive made up the stowage frame, thats sits on the back of the flying bridge, seems different stations use these to stow different items, some put the drogue anchor in it, others it seems use it for the pump hoses, So, I'm yet to decide upon its "items", till ive studied the barmouth stations pictures to gleam a bit more info.
The basic frame is hollow plastic tube, gently heated and bent at the corners, the mounting brackets are from plasticard and the lower diagonal bars are plastic rod.

[gregk9]

Sorry for no recent posts, but had to go back to the hospital to have the stitches removed from my hand, so that alone set me back a few days, till all was healed up again, now starts the physiotherapy road [again ] to gte my thumb fully operational again!.

in the meantime, i have been attempting certain "things" within my scope of dexterity. painting a few items, although screw lids on bottled paint has been a "no no". I have managed to find a UK  supplier [at a reasonable price] for the brass nuts and bolts for fitting the stanchions, they are also a good shipper too, my order arrived in 2 days, so cant be bad.

no pics as yet, well you try taking a thumb out of the equation of holding a camera and taking pics !

[gregk9]

I have been steadily working away in the background, trying a few different methods of producing the stern [push pit] railings. I have tried plastic tube and rod, but had difficulty in shaping the curves and radii of the rail tubes, so put that idea to bed!. I tried hollow brass tube for the rails, but snapped on attempting to bend, then tried filling the tubes with water, taping over the ends and sticking in the freezer for a few hours.
Then I was able to bend the tubes with ease, but remember to not hang around and let the tubes thaw out!
The main uprights were cut from 5mm diameter tube and the cross holes drilled accordingly. The rail tubes are 3mm tube. I then mounted a small piece of 3mm tube to a triangular bolt plate and attached to the toe board, then dropped the uprigth tubes to the posts, then slid the rails through the uprights, till in correct places/positions. they were clamped and removed from trh deck mounts and soldered together.
I added soem saw cute to the ends of the rail tubes and soldered in some small brass plate, to then drill and shape in to the rail attachments.
I just have to clean them up with a little filing, remove the excess flux and etch prime.

[gregk9]

I have managed to do some filing and sanding of the push pit railings, drilled out the mounting holes and also the holes for the stanchion cables. The rails have been etch primed and once dry given a coat of white paint.

[gregk9]

I have managed to cut our and apply the rudder emergency access plates today, as well as applying the main deck anti slip coating. Yes, I have used the "spray on version" for this part of the build. Once this is fully dry, It will be overpainted correct colour as its a bit too dark "as is".

[gregk9]

I have now remasked and painted the main deck area with a lighter shade of grey, to replicate the actual colour. I "chip matched" this with the, er "preferred" colur of Hurricane grey, used on Rover's.



thats the "before" colour






thats the "after", so to speak. The white square left on the rear deck is for the liferaft mount, which I am yet to construct, but its far easier to boned to the bare plastic, than it is to have to try and remove the paint later.