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[nwalker]

Here are a couple of photos of my Remora


The motor is mounted directly onto the propshaft tube with the brass flange, there is a water cooling jacket that I fitted in case it was needed but the moter does not get hot atall  so I never connected it up.

Nice! what is the name of such propshaft?

[zooma]

Self isolating sees a return to working on the Remora again as I also try to make something usable out of the butchered remains of a Rapier that I was given a long time ago.


I should have put the Rapier wreck straight into the bin as it has taken precious working time away from the Remora, but I have got the hull straightened now and hope I can spread my work time between them both by working on one whilst the other has adhesive or paint drying etc.


I got an inferiority complex about having the smallest motor out of all those mentioned on this thread so far, so I sent away for a couple of the bigger Turnigy 3648-1450 motors as I needed a bigger motor to shove the wreck (Rapier) along,  and thought I would keep one in reserve - just in case the Turnigy D3536/6 1250KV motor fails to deliver the pleasant performance in the Remora that I am hoping for.


Luckily they both fit the same water-cooled mount so swapping them over would be quick and easy (and I am using a 90amp speedo so it should work with either).


Tonight I fitted a shaft support under the 4mm stainless prop shaft and faired it in with Bondaglass filler and then wondered if I should have fitted a 5mm shaft to cope with the power (?), but I will complete the build and test it with the 4mm shaft and hope the slimmer size and lighter weight shaft will work well and justify its selection.


If not the hammer will come out and all the lovey faring-in will be wasted as the 4mm shaft is knocked out and an M5 shaft is inserted in its place !

[zooma]

I have not contributed to this Remora thread for some time - but I have finished the build and the boat looks good.


What is left to do is some minor finishing - and I like to do this after the painting is finished - and that is where this project has stopped!


I decided to go for another "sticky" looking colour scheme as a "nod" to my original late '60's -70's Remora and I started to spray the deck and lower hull using an aerosol Humbrol French Blue rattle can, with an orange cab and hull sides with spray paint from the same source (Humbrol rattle cans).


Unfortunately, my local model shop run out of Humbrol French Blue aerosols at the start of the "lock-down" so the model was put away until new supplies arrived, but now I am told that Humbrol no longer make this French Blue aerosol !


This is a bit of a blow as I am almost finished and only wanted another can to get the depth of colour in some areas that did not cover quite so well, so I am hoping to find a shop that may still have some Humbrol French Blue aerosol cans left in stock........or that Humbrol start making it again!


If anyone happens to know of a current source of Humbrol French Blue aerosol cans - please let me know as I would like to get this model on the water.

[Leaky Bottom]

Hi there


A quick google found this [size=78%]https://www.modelrealm.co.uk/shop/humbrol-aerosol-varnish-p1.html#SID=1081[/size]


Hope it helps your Remora to get finished

[zooma]

Thanks Leaky Bottom!


That is just what I need.



I have been trying to order two cans of Humbrol French Blue spray cans but the site does not work - a message says that the site is insecure and as I try to add the paint to my basket the screen just goes blank with a message - try again later..............so I will !


As long as they are still in business I should be able to order from them - maybe I could also try calling them tomorrow during "shop hours" to see if anyone is at home.


Bob.

[Leaky Bottom]

Hi bob


I just tried to put humbrol paint into "my basket" and I get the same as you did but if you put any other item into your basket the site works and you can place the order.


Might be worth a phone call as you say.

[zooma]

The new Humbrol spray paint range no longer includes French Blue, and so I may just have a re-think and start again with a new colour scheme.

[zooma]

I thought it was time to take another look at the Remora that I have been building from the free magazine plan as I have not looked at it since I run out of Humbrol French Blue paint during the early days of the first lock-down.


The hull and the super-structure are finished (but not fully painted !) so I just wanted to add a shelf to hold the ESC and another to hold the rx, drill the holes for all the wires to connect the motor to the ESC (in different compartments) and decide where to locate the LiPos and how to hold them securely.


I made a small shelf with supports to hold the ESC against the rear of the bulkhead that divides the "engine bay" from the next compartment with a pair of supports to stand on top of the keel doublers.


The ESC shelf was made slightly too wide, so I passed it though the bandsaw to cut off a narrow strip to make a shelf (with supports) to mount the receiver onto and fixed it onto the bottom skin on the opposite side to where the steering linkage will run.


The three wires complete with 6mm gold connectors were passed from the mounted 90A SeaKing ESC through to the engine bay where (fortunately) the guesstimate worked out OK and the wires were just long enough to connect them to the Turnigy D3536/6 1250 brushless motor wires.


This motor is what I usually refer to as the "aero-type" because the greater part of the rotating motor body is mounted in-front of the motor mount so it is mounted further forward in the hull than would be the case with any of the other brushless motors that I am using.


This is the one installation that defeats my "universal" inter-changability of any motor in any hull system, but if it does not perform well enough I will cut the mount out of the hull and re-position it to accept any of my other  motors.  The ESC can be used in any hull as it has been fitted with the 6mm gold connectors that I use to connect every motor and ESC together.


I found an old brass rudder assembly that is probably of the same vintage as the Remora plan.  The rudder is quite large and should suite this "steering design" quite well, so I cut the threaded brass mounting boss down a little and fitted a 5mm brass collar onto the shaft to prevent it dropping out if I should ever suffer a loose steering horn clamp when he boat is out on the lake.


I think I can mount two LiPo cells length-wise under the ESC shelf but I have not decided how to hold them securely yet, and I need to modify and finish the steering servo mounts so they will be my next jobs to do on the Remora..........and keep looking for some paint!

[tonyH]

Pic Section....

[zooma]

Now that the sulking about Humbrol no longer making the French Blue spray paint (that I wanted to buy to finish the paint job on this long neglected model) has passed and Rapier1 needs no more time consuming work, I have found and fitted the parts that I had intended to use in this model and connected everything up - and it all worked!


Freshly inspired, I will finish the small internal parts that I want to add to the inside and then take a look to see what paint I have laying about to cover over the orange and French Blue colours that I wanted to use (the wife hated this colour scheme anyway) and come up with something else so that I can get the boat on the water before it either dies or boredom or old age!

[zooma]

I have found some pictures of my Remora build and I will see if I can add them to this thread as it is an interesting model build from the old original 1964 Model Maker free Christmas plans.


The first small batch of pictures show the bottom skins fitted and the scrap balsa wood nose blocks fitted and ready to be carved and sanded to shape.


Also shown is the transom that has been over-covered with a clean piece of 1/16" plywood as the scrap ply that I used to cut the bulkheads from was so bad that I wanted to cover it up as it looked poor and was weak and split easily - I should never have used it!


The brass nails were used to hold the ply skin covering over the transom in place to prevent any air pockets and to give a good lamination between the two layers of plywood, but they were removed the next day after they had done the job and the aliphatic glue had dried.


The last two pictures show the side skins fitted and the model beginning to take shape.

[tonyH]

How to hold it all together!

[zooma]

The next series of pictures takes the Remora build up to having the hull fully skinned and the start of the cabin build.


The first two pictures show the rubbish quality of scrap wood offcuts that I used.  This was a mistake as I only intended using these parts to test my cereal packet templates to see if they would fit together OK, but as the parts went together I decided to wrap them in some new good quality ply skinning and make a boat out of them!


They also show the buoyancy foam that I added to the first two compartments as they will be completely sealed and inaccessible once the decks cover them over.


Pictures 3-5 show the deck skins tacked down with plenty of brass nails to hold them in place while the aliphatic glue drys.  All the nails were removed afterwards and the decks skins were trimmed to shape.


Picture 6-7 show the cabin build with the 1/2" balsa wood cut and fitted to form the first layer of the cabin top. The masking tape was used to hold the "wings" of the cabin to the deck to the correct angles while the glue was drying. These cabin sides are a bit awkward as they lean inwards and extend back past the rear window bulkhead so the tape helped to ensure everything could be aligned correctly before the glue set them in place.

[Andyn]

Now that the sulking about Humbrol no longer making the French Blue spray paint

Try DC Paint solutions, they'll mix any colour you want in any type of paint

https://www.dcpaintsolutions.com/

[tonyH]

2ND BIT!

[zooma]

This third set of pictures takes the build almost to completion.


Pictures 1 & 2 show the 1/2" thick top cap pinned onto the first layer of 1/2" balsa wood (already fitted to the cabin) pinned in place until the aliphatic glue dried. They also show the last two triangular shaped sections of deck covering fitted just in front of the cabin windscreen frame.


Pictures 3-5 show the cabin with the top sanded to shape and the plywood combing on the aft deck ready to accept the large rear hatch cover.


The last two pictures show the completed hull painted with a white undercoat , and the cabin sprayed in the Humbrol orange colour that I had intended using originally.


Also shown is the balsa wood "plug" that I made to push fit in-between the rear deck combings.  This will later be covered with a 1.5mm ply skin to finish it off and complete the hatch.

[tonyH]

CHAPTER 3

[zooma]

The last three pictures in this build sequence brings the models slow build progress up to its current state.


I decided to add a small wind shield/deflector to the cabin top and cut a shallow trough in the cabin roof to sit it into.


As I fitted the windshield I also added a matching small sized mast to complete the cabin top so that it did not look quite so bare.


Likewise with the large rear hatch cover.  The plan shows this to be a flat push-fit lid that looked a bit like a sandwich box , but in my Remora prototype I imagined the engine to be located under this hatch so I added a pair of access doors and an air intake.


With a couple of brass handrails bent up and added to the rear of the cabin and some lift handles added to the engine access openings I have added some basic detail to an otherwise fairly bland superstructure.


The next job is to complete the interior fit so the motor and ESC are in place and I work out what size of LiPo I can fit that will bring the recommended balance point close to bulkhead B3 and then make a battery tray to hold it in place.


Once this is done the components can be stripped out so the inside of the hull can be painted whilst I make a decision on a suitable colour to paint the outside of the boat.........and this is where the build stopped the last time so I will use the paint that I already have so it could end up being back/white/red or blue - or maybe a mixture of them all?

[tonyH]

STARTING THE GOODIES.

[zooma]

Try DC Paint solutions, they'll mix any colour you want in any type of paint

https://www.dcpaintsolutions.com/

Thanks Andy,

That could be a good contact for me to use in the future as I am having problems finding a good choice of available colours in Trade Gloss paint to brush on.

Most "brush applied" paint now seems to be made to the latest environmentally friendly recipe that also allows easy brush cleaning in water, and any that are still "spirit based" now seem to be described and sold as "Trade Gloss".

Unfortunately, I have found this new formulae for domestic paint has very poor covering power,  and even after several coats have been applied, it is still not truly water resistant and therefore not the best choice of brush paint for use on a model boat.

I painted the stand for Rapier1 with a top quality branded paint that was advertised as being suitable for "outdoor use on wood and metal" and it took 5 - 6 coats of paint to achieve the colour even when applied on top of a primer and suitably coloured undercoat - and yet when a few drips of water fell onto the fully dried and aged paint finish (as the boat was put back on the stand after a run) - the paint on the stand was marked and showed water stains!

This paint was chosen from one of the current ranges of domestic paints that most brands now offer for sale.

Goodness only knows what would happen if it actually got wet!


As a matter of interest,  I called the paint manufacturers own technical advice dept and asked about this paints suitability for use as a durable outdoor paint or for use on metal (as printed on the tin) - and specifically for use on a boat, and I was advised that they would not recommend it's use for any of these purposes !   

Bob.

[zooma]

The mount for the ESC had already been made previously to keep it up above the floor of the hull to help prevent it getting splashed (or worse sitting in a puddle) in the event of any water getting into the hull, but tonight I fitted some side rails to the platform to give a good tight fit against the sides of the Seaking 90A ESC to keep it in place.

The little raised platform for the receiver was also fixed in place and the rx held in position on top of it with an elastic band.

Then I looked at the best place to position the Turnigy 3C 5000mah LiPo that I intend to use and checked how its position could be used to help give the suggested balance point as shown on the plans.   Once this had been established I made a LiPo tray to fit the battery that would grip it firmly and hold it in the correct position, and after double checking the fit and the balance point again I glued it into the hull.

With everything now fitted into the hull and held firmly in position I connected the LiPo to check that everything still worked OK, and had no problems - except the rudder arm was not as good a fit on the shaft as I would have liked so I will change that for a better one when everything is put back into the hull for the final time.

When the glue is dry, I will remove everything from inside the hull and paint it after splashing some resin about to seal the wood grain and check to see if any areas would benefit from a little glass fibre chopped matting to strengthen it - although this is not a heavy duty hull like my bigger deep V models that I have and I have tried to keep it quite light (but strong) so I won't be "going to town" on this part of the job.

A small pressed steel flat spanner is held in place with a pair of small magnets in the rear compartment so I can make any propeller changes without having to carry any tools with me when I first test the boat on the water.

Although I only made some small progress tonight, I am happy with the layout and know that everything fits into the hull tidally and works as it should,  so now I can go back to the bit I am dreading - putting some paint on it.......after finding a colour scheme that I like with the colours of brushing paint that I can find to work with.

[Circlip]

Can't you buy "Valspar" anymore? 


  Regards  Ian.

[tonyH]

The Zooma engine room etc.

[zooma]

Can't you buy "Valspar" anymore? 


  Regards  Ian.

Thanks Ian,

I think most of the paint sold in B&Q is branded Valspar these days - but I also remember some smaller tinlets of model paint that used to be available years ago with the same name?

These were a little larger sized tins than the Humbrol types, but still ideal for modellers - and they would be a nice size for me to buy and work with if they are still made.

I need to search online to see if I can find a colour chart and then find out where I can buy some.

Bob.

[zooma]

A Micro-Flex coupling was purchased some time back to replace the Huco type plastic coupling shown in the previous photographs as I like the Power Flex couplings that I usually choose to fit but they would be too big to fit in this Remora due to the rear mounted out-runner motor positioning.


The Micro-Flex coupling is advertised as being a replacement for the Huco type so this looked like it should fit easily and give a smoother more reliable power transmission, but unfortunately the one that I bought is very much out of alignment on the tapped M4 end .


I checked this and noted that as I turn the prop shaft slowly by hand (with only this end connected) this end of the coupling can be seen to move up and down by quite a large amount!  The tapped hole is clearly not central so rather than turning concentrically it throws loops, and if this was coupled to the 5mm motor shaft this would cause vibrations and possibly the longer term failure of the Micro Flex coupling and accelerated wear on the prop shaft bearings?


This was very disappointing so when I get back I will give modelboatbits a ring and maybe buy another Micro Flex coupling that has a 4mm unthreaded bore on the prop shaft end as well as the plain 5mm bore on the motor end. Without the threaded end it may be more likely to get a coupling that can run "true" and not wobble like this one does.