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[Plastic - RIP]

I've seen many model boats over the years, some amazing examples of workmanship and others....not so good.

When you build your boat, are you 100% confident that it will 'just work' and it will be just a case of grab it from the shelf in the spring, charge the battery and off you go or are you always worried that it will fail/capsize/sink when on the water? 

Do you build them to be able to easily swap parts like servos & motors or do you need to wreck the model to change a propeller?   

Are you so confident in your abilities that you happily build a 'fit & forget' fully sealed model with no access to the internals?   

Is every trip to the lake an adventure that you have to take the contents of your workshop along for solving 'niggles' on the day?   

[unbuiltnautilus]

I find that normally modellers fall into one of two camps.
1) The super tidy, practical to maintain internals, with a gloss varnished, glue stained monster on the outside..
2) The beautiful, museum standard model, with detail to die for, while the electrics have been bundled up with insulating tape, and thrown in from a great distance..
I generalize, just a bit! However, the majority of models seem to fall into one or either camp. It is a referendum majority though!
I think we all improve with experience, given time and the right guidance. My first four or five models suffered from breakdowns, cooked Bobs Boards ( yes, that long ago!!), grubby connections for the electrics, fittings dropping off at every opportunity, and so on..
Then things started to improve, now, with proper design and maintenance ( keeping your batteries topped up being the main thing.) I can charge up, plug in, test the motor, and so far my big SS Ohio tanker has worked every time, without fail. Don't ask me about my U-Boat though!!

[Bob K]

Personally speaking, I find it strange that someone may spend six months or more building a boat (one assumes with the primary role of sailing it) and yet gets bored by skimping on the fitting out of internals.

Most of us have a bath at home, yet boats seem to leak like a sieve on their maiden voyage.  Not being properly ballasted is another bath test omission. Make everything inside accessible for maintenance.

Electrics should be properly soldered as well as crimped, in as heavy a wire gauge as possible.  Mounting the Rx low in the hull is as common as the surprise generated when signal gets lost.  IMO always fit a C/O power/charging switch with charging sockets to avoid having to keep pulling internal power connectors apart.
Cleat wires neatly in looms, with power away from signal.  Secure batteries and ballast weights.

Needless to say you don't save money by buying cheap Chinese 1000A ESC's or Pound Store batteries.

Always fully charge all batteries the day before, and do a full pre-flight check before leaving for the lake.
Lube shafts and check grub screws etc for tightness.

Unfortunately rescue tugs appear far too necessary.  I reckon I have only had 3 breakdowns in around 500 sailing sessions.

[CGAux26]

My observation is that those who ignore the KISS principle have far more pond-side failures.  The guy with all the lights, working radar, horns and other bells and whistles spends most of his time fiddling instead of sailing.  My boats are rather plain looking, but they are reliable.

[raflaunches]

I think I can count on one hand the amount of break downs we've had due to the triple P system (p*** poor planning) !!!


The second time we took our first boat out stopped working in the middle of the lake due to the battery lead not being pushed on hard enough!
We've always tested the boat without all the detail work to ensure it works before all the time consuming fiddling bits are added. Our insect class gunboat is an excellent example of good layout internally and access to all the essentials, we have yet to have a break down with Gnat, and the repair I had to do the other day due to me catching the rudder chain took minutes to repair with a pair of surgical clamps and snips.

[RAAArtyGunner]

Summing up;

Serviceability is actually determined by the experience and ability of the builder.

Even good reliable parts/items will fail if misused and/or poorly applied.

[ballastanksian]

I heartily reccomend testing the hull with drivetrain etc prior to even planning the decks and superstructure, and agree with buying better known components from reputable suppliers. I agree that even the best can malfunction, but with pre testing and then testing before completing the model, you can minimise problems.

My issues have not been electircal so far, it has been related to mis-scaling components and clumsiness 

[derekwarner]

If each individual function [working lights...radar etc] is considered an element on it's own, properly researched, correct components installed, bench tested....... then the chances of failure at the lakeside should be minimal

We also see many vessels with pristine externals .....then a dogs breakfast of internal wiring.......naturally such work does not comply with the first statement and may be susceptible to failure of the day 

Same applies to steam builds.....we see many examples of superb steam components then under a hatch see poor quality spaghetti wiring controlling these functions

The pilot of an A380 Airbus aeroplane has a check list prior to take-off.......why don't more model boaters have a similar [if not simplified] version of this?

Derek

Derek

[Klunk]

I think I can count on one hand the amount of break downs we've had due to the triple P system (p*** poor planning) !!!

Typicall.  It 7 p's!
"xxxxx" poor planning preceeds "xxxxx" poor performance


Typical RAF taking shortcuts