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[Mark T]

Hi David - I've been looking at your pictures and I thought that the deck looked really spot on.  A very brave decision on your part and sometimes we just have to get things exactly the way we want them - fantastic build.

[DJW]

Hey Mark..!

Thanks for your note, and I dithered about removing the decking for weeks, but now pleased that its done.  I think it's now a lot better second time around, so worth doing for sure.

This is the new panels being shaped to fit, and so much better colour and grain match:



And have been able to sort the level change between the birch ply and the fore deck planks, here's the before and after:





This build is getting so much mileage out of the Proxxon belt sander..!

Had to work hard to get the mahogany deck panels held down while glue cured:



I've since moved on the the bow inlay, I've been looking forward to this part of the build, so really hope I don't screw it up... 

Started with the central section, it's an immediate challenge as the deck planking shape is curved for / aft and port / stbd.  I'm using 1.5mm mahogany so used the 3D printer to create clamps that grip and push down on the edges of the mahogany, and flex enough to conform to the for / aft curve.








And the result:



And next the fun part:



2 x 2mm lime / bass, and 6 x 2mm mahogany strips.  I'm having to chamfer the inner edges very slightly with the disc sander so the butted up joints are tight as they go over the curved surface.

And some more 3D printed clamps specifically for the 2 x 2mm strips.



Same clamps used to pull the 2 x 2 into shape:



As an aside, been trying hard to keep the grain all running fore / aft.



While I wait for the glue to cure on the endless inlay...  This is the throttle servo getting sized up / prototyped to be recessed into the side of the cockpit:



That's going to have a cover, then 'drive' the articulated arm of the skipper. That's the plan anyway.

Also been playing with and testing the GPS for the speedo, I now have the module / Arduino deflecting a servo depending on how fast the GPS is moving, so that's a good start.

That's about it for now, back to add another piece of inlay...   

Best regards to all.
David.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Making progress...


My method for the inlay...  (and I'm sure if you ask 10 folks, there'd be 10 different methods..!)


I'm using the 'plank' clamps, here they're not clamping, but holding the rubber bands out of the way and ready to use:





Then I shape the next strip to be fitted and add that chamfer to keep the join tight:





Add a bead of glue, get the strip tightly fitted, and importantly remove excess glue. (Removed left of my thumb, still present at the right...):





Bring a clamp over to that first part, and adjust to get tension, forces are down and lateral to press new strip against existing:





And work along doing same, fit, remove glue, clamp:





Then let it dry for at least 30m before adding another strip.  All being well I end up with no glue residue that could cause an issue with next strip.


I had to order some more wood from CMB (as they originally supplied the wood I'm using as inlay), and mercifully it's same shade as the original...).


Getting closer now with the speedo...


I've added two LEDs that will sit in the dash, a red one for no GPS fix:





And a green one for when there are more than say 6 satellites:





Just a bit of fun really, they'll make the dash a bit more dynamic.


This shows some output from the GPS module, and some calculated values:





The 'GPS Speed Value' is data that comes out of the GPS module, it's in 100ths of a knot...  So the value fluctuates a bit even when the unit is stationary.  The 'Speed in knots' is a calculated field and rounded, so the small fluctuations are lost.  'Servo Deflection' is again a calculated field, in microseconds, sent to the servo.  I need to play with the ranges once I get the unit moving around to see how it behaves.  At the moment I have a speed range of 0 to 20 knots mapped to 1100 to 1900 microseconds, to get the servo to move based on the GPS 'speed in knots'.


That's it for now.
Best regards to all.
David.

[Tom-C]

Beautiful planking David!  You make it look all so easy.  Your clamps are a work of genius, even if they are all held together with rubber bands!
I was amused by the date on you GPS output - you are into time travelling as well, until I realised that our American friends always write their dates backwards!
All the bestTom

[DJW]

Afternoon Tom

Thanks for that.  And excellent plan for a time machine, that's just what I need to get this build finished... 

Might need something with more power than an Arduino though.

A few more strips added to the forward deck inlay today:



I am pleased with the clamps, they're a bit fiddly at times, and occasionally if I set them up wrong there's a 'ping' and clamp bounces off the wall.  But overall they do the job, still no pins used / holes created and very limited ways to use conventional spring clamps in this situation.

Very best regards to all.
David.

[Mark T]

Those inlays - that really is top notch joinery and much more difficult than you make it look.

[DJW]

Hey Mark..!


Thanks for that, I do enjoy doing the inlay, and I know it's the area of the boat that'll get a lot of attention when it's varnished and finished, so it has to be right..!  It's a rewarding part of the build for sure, but it takes a while..! I'm getting a few of the strips on each day so this is the current position:





Also been working a bit on routing some wiring for the dash, and putting together the controller modules for the various dashboard functions.  The controllers will work together in that they will power up at the same time, power in will be at 12V, one of those step downs is fixed at 5V for the Arduinos, the other will be set to 4V for the micro servos. I'm not sure about best way to power the LEDs at the moment, I think they are 3V, so I could run 4 in series from the 12V supply to cut down on wiring and resistors... 





They should end up mounted just behind the dashboard and attached to it, the dashboard is mounted on magnets so I'm trying to keep the modules hidden but accessible.  And I need the modules close to the dash as there's going to be quite a bit of wiring with the servos and LEDs, that should then reduce the wiring going back to the aft of the boat:





And in situ:





Still thinking about the dash I'm not really happy with the 3D printed instrument bezels going forward, they've been fine to work out sizes but my thought was to prime them and see if I could chrome spray them.  I now think that's a bit of a waste of time as the result will be dubious at best.  So I'm using some of the spare brass 25mm OD pipe that was used for the exhaust stubs, machine it a little then silver solder a plate to the front and machine it a bit more to see if I can produce a brass bezel...  That I can then get chromed properly when the various fittings get sent off for chroming.  25mm is right for the tachos, I'll then need some 20mm OD if it works and I go ahead with the approach for the remaining instruments.  Early days, we shall see:





That's it for now..!


Very best regards to all.
David.

[JimG]

Instead of chrome spray try one of the chrome paint pens. These give a good shiny finish when used on resin castings. They also do refill ink bottles which could be sprayed in needed.
Jim

[DJW]

Hi Jim


Thanks for the recommendation, I'll pick one of the pens up and see how it behaves.  I don't have a resin printer, just the filament (FDM..?) type, so I'm thinking to use a primer / filler to get a smooth surface.


The inlay is now complete on the stbd side:





I've not glued in the last few strips as I want to make sure the other side matches...  We'll see, then any adjustments can be made.





Also a little progress with the dash modules, they're now mounted and ready to get wired up to servos.





And in place:





I've been printing a case for the GPS too, pics to follow.


Best regards to all.
David.

[Capt Podge]

Totally in awe of what you're achieving with this build but nonetheless fascinating to follow...


Cheers,


Ray.

[DJW]

Afternoon Ray


Thanks for that, and good to hear from you..!


I wanted to get the forward deck inlay done, and it's now complete:





I actually used 2mm high inlay, with a 1.5mm surround and centre strip, you can see the height difference here:





This gives me a bit more scope for sanding to get the deck curve spot on, I hope...


Great job for the Proxxon belt sander (@ChrisF...  You need one..!), I'm on 240 grit at the moment:





Then I've used a flat ply sanding block with some more 240 grit to smooth any high points:





And so far so good...





The inlay took about 2 weeks to cut and get attached...





You can see a low spot to the right of the above pic, I'm not too worried about that area as there's another piece of mahogany to go on top in that area.











You can see the curve on the above pics, also the thickness of the inlay strips, this is after initial sanding so plenty of wood left this time around...   You can also see the symmetry is not bad, it's out by about 2mm over 420mm of inlay, very hard to see any issue by eye, each edge has a 'one and a half' width strip.


So I'm pleased and more than a little relieved that the inlay has gone well, it's such a visual area of the final build and important to get right.


Also been working on the dash instruments, pics to follow. 


And this is the GPS module that will provide speed input in it's final form:





It's going to sit in this kind of position (well under that part of the deck...), as this gets covered with a faux leather cushion.  So I plan to cut out the mahogany above the antennae so it get a good view of the sky, just the faux leather covering it.





That's about all for now.


Very best regards to all.
David.

[ChrisF]

David - superb workmanship as usual and all the technical installation etc. is intriguing. This is going to be a fantastic model once finished.

As regards the sander I'm ahead of you there! I bought one and a narrow belt sander sometime ago but they were gathering dust (instead of making it!) until I started on my Fisherman build where it was great for the initial sanding of the hull.

Chris

[DJW]

Afternoon Chris


Thanks..!  And pleased to hear you've been getting some use from the belt sander, I don't have the narrow sander.  But I suppose if I've got this far without one, I probably don't need one.  Good to see progress with your fleet, hope we can catch up again at some point to get the boats on the water.


I forgot to mention in yesterdays update that I had put the Riva on the scales, I was a bit concerned and had been putting it off for a while...  To my great surprise it's currently 'only' 12.5kg.  That's most of the major woodwork, two quite heavy speakers in the bow, the motors / shafts / rudders, and the two electronics cases.  To be honest I thought it was going to be a lot closer to 20kg, it feels like it, but maybe thats because it's just a bit awkward to lift.  The 1/5 scale allows for a weight up to 30kg, but I don't want to be anywhere near that.  Anyway I'm quite pleased with 12.5kg at this stage of the build.  There is some more mahogany to be added, plenty of brass fittings, and the batteries of course, another 2kg ish there just for the batteries.  I guess the varnish and other paints will add weight too, I've got a kilo pot of Epifanes ready to go on.


And a couple of pics today, I had to see what the deck vents looked like in place:








And on the subject of brass fittings, I'm starting to consider how the Musetto up at the bow is going to work and what I'll need...





Just ordered some more mahogany for the raised side pieces at the bow, no idea what they're called, this is them on the 1/10th:





On the 1/10th build each side is made up from two pieces of mahogany 2mm thick, so 4mm total when laminated. The top surface has to end up horizontal (rather than have the camber that the forward deck has) so it's not possible to just clamp down and glue it without shaping the underside first.  I'm planning to build up another laminate from 2.5mm mahogany, ideally just 3 layers giving me 7.5mm.  I find the thicker mahogany just a bit more of a challenge to make it bend.  On the 1/10th, after the varnish it's impossible to see the two layers at all, it looks like one piece of wood.  Hope I can get same result from this one...


And finally, @JimG - I've just received a 4mm Molotow Chrome pen to do some testing with, I'll report back whether I can get a decent result on suitable parts.


Best regards to all.
David.

[ChrisF]

Interested to see how you get on with the pen. I use Gild Chrome gilding enamel on my plastic window frames and I'm not that satisfied with it as it shows the brush strokes even though it looks as though they should flow out. Also over time it loses the chrome look and looks patchy. I can live with it on my narrow approx. 3mm frames but wouldn't be happy on larger items so hoping the pen gives better results.

Chris

[DJW]

Afternoon All

Some updates.

I took the 1/5th to the recent Chantry MBC open day over at Bluewater, also took the 1/10th to have a play on the lake.  Very friendly bunch they are too..!  While there I met up Martin from 'Dockyard Models', very nice and knowledgeable chap, kindly let me get the 1/5th under his Gazebo when a shower or two went through.  He had a range of mainly 3D printed fittings to look at, various scales, beautiful quality, primarily resin prints. We got chatting about the build as you do, and he's now supplied me with some custom resin printed bezels to see how they look on the Dashboard.  Have to say they are way better than I've been getting from my FDM (Filament) printer.  It's these versions that I'll be testing the chrome application from the pen, and also airbrushed.  Martin was also able to supply me with the 0.5mm acetate needed for the gauges, machine cut, perfectly round, just what I needed.  As the build progresses toward detailing I know I'll be getting back to Martin for some assistance..!   https://www.dockyardmodels.co.uk/







In other news:

The two rear rubbing strips (?) are now on, glued and bolted, 12 x 12 Mahogany:





They eventually get a strip of 8mm half round chromes brass to finish them off.

And up at the bow I've cut and am shaping the two forward strips. (Gunwhales..?)






And you can see up at the bow the start of the 'Musetto', at the moment its the top shape in brass sheet, with some mahogany ready to be shaped under it.  Idea is to get that brass plate butted up to the two gunwhales, and sitting flat.  Then I can remove it again and at some stage start to build the Musetto properly, it's classic Riva.

Also been cutting and attaching the cockpit sides, 0.8mm mahogany over the birch ply.



And on the port side I've recessed the throttle servo.



And here's the start of a cover for the servo, the cover is 3d printed with text hollowed out so I can add some black plaint.  Thats plan A anyway, we'll see.



I'm working on bending some mahogany to go either side of the dashboard, I'm doing it as a laminate of 3 x 0.8mm, but trying to bend it 'with' the grain, so it matches the dash.  This is the current approach, soaking the wood, then apply some force...





It's getting there.  Once about right I'll add in some glue between the layers, then keep it curved while it sets, then shape it to fit.

I also decided to revisit the creation of exhaust vapour...  And I'm not to happy with the nichome wire approach for two reasons.  One I need mist, not 'smoke', and two, a hot wire is just a risk too far.. So have built a new solution that takes two of the water misting discs, here's (a poor picture of...) the case at the moment, I've had the discs working and it's now a matter of getting the electronics into the case:



On the subject of the misting unit, I want to integrate the misting into the startup sound sequence, so everything happens as it should.  The controllers of the misting units tend to have a little button on them that when pushed starts the misting, I was watching a YouTube video about controlling a unit with an Arduino, it showed shorting out two of the terminals on the push button to allow the unit to power up as soon as power is applied, and it works.  Not sure whether this was widely known by everyone (except me...), but it makes the units a lot easier to turn on and off via RC.

That's it for now.
Best regards to all.
David.

[minimariner]

                       David,
                                  I use two wires one each side of the push button then to a RX latching relay switcher.
                                   It then it can be switched on and off via the transmitter.


                                                               Bryan.

[DJW]

Good Afternoon Bryan


I did not know that, thanks for the tip.  I've never been quite sure what that switch does, it seems to be responsible for power and mode of operation depending on number of presses, but good to have another option re how to just make the unit power up when required.


And in other news. I had one of those rare moments of joy yesterday.  You know when you've kept something ridiculous thinking that it might be useful one day...  Well, about 25 years ago I kept a TV stand, bought for office use, steel, very strong.  Built for when TVs were as deep as they were wide and weighed as much as a small car.  Yesterday I saw it in the shed, and realised it would make a great build stand for the Riva.



I'm going to add some blocks on the top surface so the stand can't move around, but it's pretty non slip anyway.  The stand can be altered in height and gets the boat to a good working position, saving my back... It's on lockable castors so it makes moving the boat around a lot easier.  I just wanted to share that with people that might understand my delight.  Unlike my wife, just saying. 


Very best regards to all.
David.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Quite a lot of work around the dashboard.  In the previous post you can see first attempt at the panel that sits above the dashboard, and defines the shape for the windscreen with its curve.  It was cut too early, straight from plans, and is too large, just a shade too wide, so it's in the bin.


So I've worked on the side panels for the dashboard:








They provide a lead in to the upholstery that will surround the cockpit as same height.


And that top panel, this time I made a laminate for 2 x 1.5mm mahogany, and clamped it into place to get it curved rather than flat.  (Parchment paper underneath.)








And the result:





That's after cutting out from a template:





To end up with:








And finally the result when glued in place and held with some light clamping:





There is intentional clearance at the top of the dash as the dashboard has to remain removable.  Now working on the mahogany cap that goes above the dash and provides an overhang / sunshade for the dashboard.  I was thinking of using a sold piece of mahogany, but will try the laminate of two 3mm pieces first, then get them to bend over a former and glue to get the curve...  We'll see how that goes.  Cutting from solid is now plan B.


For the eagle eyed...  In the pic above you'll see the anchor hatch is now also in place... 


Best regards to all.
David.

[DJW]

Morning All

Made progress with the dashboard cap / sunshade.  It's not faithful to the Amati kit build, but I made this full width type for my version of the 1/10th build and feel it's a better representation of the full size boat.

I made a laminate from some 1.5 and 0.8mm mahogany, 0.8 on the bottom, very approximate shape, but clamped it in place while it cured to get the curved shape:





Then added another 1.5mm layer on to as the actual sunscreen:



Clamped again while curing.  Then some initial shaping and I ended up with this:







And while not fully finished, this is current state of play with the sunshade glued in place:





Still a little work to do to get the fit better, and some more sanding to blend it in a little more.  Dashboard remains removable, so I'm happy with the approach so far.

Very best regards to all.
David.

[Martin (Admin)]

 
Re:  dashboard cap / sunshade

Did it need to be  preformed / Curved before fixing down?
 
 

[DJW]

Hi Martin


Well I felt it was best approach for a couple of reasons.


1. I tried with a piece of mahogany that was 4mm thick, and it wasn't too happy about bending.
2. The shape I needed on the underside to accommodate the raised section of the dashboard where the tachos go was going to be tricky with the thicker 4mm wood, routing out and so on.


So being able to build up the layers of thinner wood, of slightly different shape seemed easier.  I've used the laminate / glue on a curve to end up with a curved result a couple of times.


Very best regards
David.

[Mark T]

Such lovely bespoke work - David the boats looking amazing and one of a kind too.

[DJW]

Afternoon Mark, thanks for the kind words, trying my best and having to make some parts several times before I'm happy.  Build timescale seems to be extending rather than closing in on a launch date..!


Some progress in the right direction to report.


I've been testing with the Hempel 599 two pack sealer ( https://www.mbfg.co.uk/hempel-epoxy-sealer.html ]





It is very thin, and I thinned it a shade (5%) further to improve penetration, and extend curing time, it's now workable for at least an hour, and solid in 24 hours.  Brushes on easily and is all absorbed, ideally so there is no 'shine' to the sealer once applied meaning it's all been absorbed.  I've since used it on the rear hatch, and the cockpit sides, very pleased with the result.  So I've also done a final sanding of the hull and deck ready for a sealing coat in next few days.  It's applied once, no overcoating and I'd like to apply it in one session.  I've already sealed the planing surface of the hull so the boat will sit in it's stand for application.  The epoxy sealer will become the base for varnishing.  (I used thinned Z-Poxy Finishing Resin for the 1/10th Aquarama, the Hempel is a lot thinner, and has a longer working time.)


So here the hatch and slipway is sealed, but not yet the surrounding mahogany.





Filled, sanded and rubbed over with isopropyl to degrease:





A sealing coat added to the planing surface:





Also been busy with the dashboard...  And getting a bit carried away I think.


All the gauges are now functional, as in the dials are correct and the pointers rotate, and there are 2.2g servos behind each, and the LEDs are in place within the dials, but not yet connected up.





I've got the code for the various dials working individually, now trying to integrate...





And the servos...





Tachos feed from the port and stbd ESC throttle position, the gearshifts which are dash mounted either side of the steering wheel as stalks are also functional and use same ESC feeds to know where to move.


Speedo is fed data from an onboard GPS. Fuel gauges, they take the voltage of one cell of their respective (port / stbd) LiPos via the balance lead, then give a servo deflection for a range of (at the moment) 3.5v to 4.2v, a dash light will turn from green to red if voltage reaches 3.6v.  And in the spirit of getting carried away, I may get the temp gauges running and displaying a value representing ESC temps.  That leaves just the Ammeters, I may just fudge those with an arbitrary deflection.  All the gauges do a full sweep on power up, then settle.  Once it's all running I'll put up a video.


This functionality will take 2 or 3 Arduino pro minis.  I think some electronics oriented folks could do it with less or alternative hardware...  I'll just be pleased to see it in action.


On the subject of electronics, I've decided to create two new cases and rework the contents, plans have changed and extended during the build.  I'm moving away from the MPX 6 pin connectors.  The new cases will be 3D printed and use 25 pin D-Sub connectors, more connections available, and more robust the the MPX connectors.


I'll report back when the sealer is all applied.


Very best regards to all.
David.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Well the sealer is now applied to the whole hull. Feels like a build milestone to see the mahogany change colour.





It went on well, very easy to apply and 14 hours later (basically this morning after applying yesterday late afternoon) it's touch dry but I'll leave it for a while before doing too much in terms of manhandling the hull.










I'm in two minds about carrying on with the varnishing, or at least making a start with a couple of coats.  I wanted to get the sealer on to protect the woodwork as a minimum aim. Before this any touching of the bare mahogany leaves traces. I'm aware that varnishing when the temperatures are on the way down is less than ideal.  I'm going to see how stable I can keep the temperature and humidity with heating and dehumidifier.  If that's OK I'll look to get several coats on.  I have some Epifanes Clear High Gloss single pot and will pick up some thinners before I start. I've been watching some of the Danny Lee videos on YouTube, he seems to be the Epifanes guru and gets some truly astounding results.  His approach is to thin first few coats down by 40% ish to fill grain, then use scotch pads between coats for keying, not attempting any sanding / levelling til later coats. So that'll be my approach.


Best regards to all.
David.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


I'm not sure whether the Arduino work is of interest on this build log, by all means let me know either way..! I'm no guru myself and it's taking me what seems years to get my head around the basics to get the results I'm after.  I've cracked a few important techniques that open up options for my Aquarama build like how to take an RC (PWM) input and how to control a servo or servos and how to do a bit of manipulation in the middle.  Apart for generating sounds, most of the projects I'm using Arduino's for on the build usually involve reading an RC channel and doing something, usually with a servo.


I spent a few hours yesterday getting code for the 'Fuel' gauges to work properly.  I'll have the voltages of the Lipos available via telemetry, but given the large build scale I quite like the idea of the dashboard delivering the same information it would on full size boats.  The gauges will be large enough to see when the boat is close, as will the LEDs in the dash.


My port and starboard fuel tanks are the two 6S LiPos and as I understand things (googled) a Lipo cell has a normal usage range from about 3.5 to 4.2V, and during discharge a long duration is spent around the 3.7V point. This is handy as the Arduino's Analogue pins can read up to 5V directly without getting too fancy by having to deal with and read in excess of 22V for a 6S. As the voltage goes up you get a reading of 0 for 0V to 1023 for 5V, and all the points in between...  My fuel gauges need to read 3.5V at empty and 4.2V when full and I have 160 degrees of servo movement available to represent that range.  I've hooked up a bench power supply that can provide the 3.5V to 4.2V range to test with and the output from the code currently looks like this:


This screengrab is emulates if the Lipo is almost full, providing 4.18V from the cell being measured via the balance lead:





The analogue reading of 855 is from the 0 - 1023 range measured by the Arduino, then the conversion of that reading to 4.18V, last line shows the servo travel of 154 degrees indicated, and shows that a green LED will be illuminated on the dash (1 for on, 0 for off).


Pic below is just above the 3.6V threshold at 3.68V, LED still green, with servo now at a reduced movement of 56 degrees indicated:





And finally just below the 3.6V threshold to test the LED change.  This time the voltage is 3.58V so now the green LED is out, and red is illuminated, servo is now at just 34 degrees indicated:





I'm happy that the code is fundamentally working as required, I can change the settings a bit if required once it's all hooked up and we see what happens in the real world.


I've thought of another albeit related challenge.  There's the notion of port and starboard running through the code for the gauges.  So now I'm thinking that rather than just 'power up the dash', I can try to power up the port motors gauges as it starts, then the starboard set 5 seconds later.  This is already how the sound system works.  How difficult can it be...   


Epoxy sealer applied a couple of days ago is now fully cured, waiting on the Epifanes thinners before adding some varnish...


Best regards to all.
David.