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Author Topic: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build  (Read 18584 times)

hpergm

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Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« on: May 19, 2016, 05:04:28 pm »

Just thought about starting my first thread on Mayhem - hi to everybody!  :-))

A bit of backgound: I am a long(?)-time modeller (since the ~mid 80's), but have been active on cars initially and planes for the past 25 years.

My first boat was a Kyosho Seawind which I sailed in the Round Pond of Hyde Park during my studies in London (that's about 15 years ago... ). Good times.

Just recently, I decided to give power boating a try. I came across some beautiful wooden boat builds and was looking for a kit to build. The Aeronaut line of kits is excellent value for money and is very well engineered for a rookie boat builder like myself. The Princess was duly chosen, being the larger scale kit.


Surprisingly, I found no thread on this forum about this model, so here goes - let the build begin!

Hector.
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2016, 05:09:00 pm »

Parts and materials quality is great, laser cutting is crisp and everything is included to complete the kit, apart from glue, paint, motor and electronics. Even the leather covers of the seats are laser cut..! :-))
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2016, 05:14:37 pm »

Framing up the hull takes about 3min. Aeronaut gives a Depron sheet with slots to serve as an alignment jig for the formers. Cleaning up the burnt edges of the parts is highly recommended to obtain a good glue joint. OK, this takes another 10 min...!

I used an aliphatic/PVA glue (white wood glue) and let the whole thing set for 24hrs before continuing.
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2016, 05:40:57 pm »

Next up, glueing some pine stringers... Here, there is a triple strip which later on marks the "step" between the bottom hull planks and the mahogany sides.

Manual is excellent (for... German speakers only!) but does give out some tips to complete the more difficult steps successfuly.
Motor and shaft has also been trial-fitted.


I opted for a Speed 650 - basically a Johnson HC 683 LG - 6421 coupled to a 40A speed controller. This choice was made for longer run times, scale speed and cost effectiveness (i.e. vs. a BL "rocket" setup)..





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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2016, 05:56:09 pm »

All stringers attached - "planking" to begin (essentially the sides & bottom are one piece)
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2016, 05:58:24 pm »

Time for the mahogany sides...
Care was taken not to pollute the mahogany finish with any glue - as this will show later on under the varnish...


Part design is so good, the whole sequence requires absolutely no sanding/fitting.


I also employed UHU Hart, due to its nice gap-filling/no-shrinking properties to fill small gaps between stringes and the inside surfaces of the panels. All joints were filleted with this glue to ensure a sturdy construction.
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2016, 06:03:08 pm »

Bottom plywood panels we treated with a sealer before glueing, again to a avoid risking runs on the mahogany once glued on.
[size=78%]Then the sides were protected before any glue was spread on the mating surfaces.[/size]

Despite the fact that the manual calls for simultaneous glueing of both bottom panels - obviously to avoid warps, I opted for a step-wise installation, mainly to make sure everything underneath was aligned.


Care was taken to sand the mating edges of the keel so as to achieve a perfect edge of the V.
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #7 on: May 19, 2016, 06:04:09 pm »

The other half...


Weights were used sparingly to ensure there was no warping. Once in place, the first half acted as a perfect alignment adge for the second half. Only trick is to succeed glueing the first half right...  ;D
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2016, 06:06:43 pm »

Perfect edge...  :-))  The pinholes will be faired over by filler at a later stage.
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2016, 06:08:37 pm »

Looks more like a boat now...
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Stavros

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2016, 09:30:27 pm »

excellent build keep up the excellent work ill be following this with interest

Dave
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #11 on: May 19, 2016, 10:23:51 pm »

Thanks Dave!


Plodding on - the rudder mount. The kit gives a nice brass tube and shaft, but - inexplicably- the rudder slab was plywood. I ditched that lot for a Radio Active part. To make sure there would be no leaks from the modified mating of the Radio Active plastic tube to the hull bottom, I fitted an aluminum tube from my spares box over the Radio-Active assembly and epoxied that to the hull botom for double water-proofing.


Pics say it all..
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Vintage

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #12 on: May 19, 2016, 10:36:51 pm »

Looks a great build and one I'll watch with interest, thank you for taking the time to post  :-))

Mark
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Stavros

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #13 on: May 19, 2016, 10:51:04 pm »

One thing that does concern me in this build and it NOT your fault at all....seems to me a large part of the shaft is unsupported and will allow the shaft to occilate a bit ...in my opinion it needs some sort of support between the hull and shaft


Dave
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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #14 on: May 19, 2016, 11:09:08 pm »

I would think there is a supporting "skeg" fitted between the hull and the shaft tube, that's what I would do.
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #15 on: May 20, 2016, 05:02:52 am »

Indeed there is, the kit includes such a piece. It just needs sanding on one side to get rid of the laser ash, a light pass with a Dremel sanding drum on the other to profile it for 100% fit with the shaft's curvature and a final light pass over the belt sander to form a sharp trailing edge.

The prop shown here is a Raboesch 35mm x 26.7mm pitch 160-series. I will start with this and go larger if the motor temps behave during long runs.
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #16 on: May 20, 2016, 05:17:02 am »

Next step - glueing the shaft. Here, 2hr epoxy was used, filled with microfibers for strength. The shaft was sanded with 150 grit paper to roughen it up first.


Since it is very difficult to physically "push" the glue with a stick under the shaft so that it floods all mating areas to provide a water seal before it starts curing, I went for a little trick; heating the epoxy with a hair dryer reduces its viscosity and allows it to flow with gravity, while removing the heat returns its surface tension much faster than viscosity. The end result is that it flows easily with heat application and fillets great upon heat retraction. The only thing here is to apply just the right amount so that there is enough to seal the shaft but not too much so that it runs out (also ruins the fillets)...


The pic on the bottom shows just how nicely the whole thing worked.. Glue is just visible - filler will be uncecessary.  %%
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SailorGreg

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #17 on: May 20, 2016, 07:27:59 am »

Nice build and lovely neat work.  This is clearly not the first time you have stuck two bits of wood together.  One question - are the hull sides veneered ply or is there a plywood piece which has mahogany planks glued to that? From your description it seems the sides come ready prepared with a mahogany face.  Also, I don't know if you plan to seal all the internal woodwork but I certainly would, and it's much easier to do at this stage than when the decks are on.    Tricky bits like the underside of your rudder support can be got at now but may be inaccessible later.
 
I'll be following closely because I think this will turn out to be a real gem.    :-))

Greg

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #18 on: May 20, 2016, 07:36:13 am »


I know it's trite (compared to the whole quality of the build) but that's probably the neatest shaft exit I've ever seen!   :-))


   
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #19 on: May 20, 2016, 09:00:35 am »

Nice build and lovely neat work.  This is clearly not the first time you have stuck two bits of wood together.  One question - are the hull sides veneered ply or is there a plywood piece which has mahogany planks glued to that? From your description it seems the sides come ready prepared with a mahogany face.  Also, I don't know if you plan to seal all the internal woodwork but I certainly would, and it's much easier to do at this stage than when the decks are on.    Tricky bits like the underside of your rudder support can be got at now but may be inaccessible later.
 
I'll be following closely because I think this will turn out to be a real gem.    :-))

Greg


Thank you Greg. I have been building scale airplanes for some time now, so some miles are indeed under the belt. The novelty for me is the absence of weight-consiousness in boat building - for aircraft this is a constant headache... For example, PVA glue is strictly off limits due to its weight penalty. But here, I can align stuff taking my time - lets me enjoy every step more.


Now, the side comes ready made and it is indeed some sort of poplar veneered with mahogany. I cannot make -for the life of me- whether the veneer is one piece or tightly stuck planks. I see some lines running through the grain but on the other hand the grain does not looks disrupted in any way. Go figure...

As for treating all the internal woodwork - see the next posts (Note:
the postings are somewhat lagging behind the actual progress)
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #20 on: May 20, 2016, 09:06:34 am »

Martin, thanks - truth be told, it is my first and I am also quite proud of it. Either that or.. begginer's luck! But, let's see what happens in the bathtub test.
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #21 on: May 20, 2016, 09:14:45 am »

Next step is the internal sealing of the woodwork, as pointed out by Greg above - before the deck is glued and no access will be possible. To get to that point, I glued all remaining reinforcing strips and proceeded to brush everything with 2 coats of sealer.


Care was taken not to seal wooden surfaces where the deck would be glued on, since sealing the pores of the wood will yield a much weaker glue joint...


Then, I decided that the interior looked a bit bland and took some inspiration from restoration pics of Riva Aquaramas - the grey/blue paint inside looked quite nice, so why not give it a coat or two? All mating surfaces with the deck were duly masked and the closest enamel color I had at hand was sprayed with an airbrush..
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #22 on: May 20, 2016, 09:30:31 am »

Martin, this pic for you..  :-))
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hpergm

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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #23 on: May 20, 2016, 05:21:23 pm »

Having done that and with the images of Aquaramas still in mind, I decided that it would be cool to "Rivatise" a bit the model.
OK, its nothing like its curvaceous Italian brethren - more square and Teutonic. But still - it could be dressed up a bit.

So, before the deck is glued, one could take the opportunity to install a couple of headlights.


First up, cutting out the holes on the sides. Using the TLAR principle from photos and measuring twice before commiting (for symmetry's sake), I marked up everything and used the trusty Dremel with a carbide bit and a bit of filing at the end to round everything nicely.
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Re: Aeronaut Princess - Mahogany runabout build
« Reply #24 on: May 20, 2016, 05:23:45 pm »

Next challenge, the light buckets. The flare of the bow is such that the LEDs can only look forward if mounted at an extreme angle. This means a highly assymetrical light bucket...


First off, a block of pine to serve as a female mould. A carbide bit was used to crease a cavity.
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