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[madwelshman]

That's one smart looking boat Andy and went together very quickly. Even with the increased build speed of depron, you sure don't hang about.


Glad to hear that the sea trials went pretty well. I'm sure that the 4mm shaft will sort things and as you say, the coupling won't need modifying then either.
A nice light, easy to transport model to throw in the back of the car and head for the water.


Look forward to seeing some action shots/video.


Will

[Andy M]

Thanks, I am going to try and improve my coupling and try and get a propshaft bush made out of nylon and pushed halfway up the tube to eliminate the bowing in the thin shaft.
I will get a pic of my improved coupling adapter,  and propshaft mods. Shouldnt slip round, and I will loctite it as well.
Looks like it might end up too fast for the small bit of river we use. Turns really well tho, very impressed with that.

[Andy M]

Harry kindly sent me plans for building a Sea Rover, started on it last night. Not bad progress so far, looking forward to getting into a wood build after my depron one.

[Andy M]

I tried one of my 3d printed outboards on this boat, but it was extremely tail heavy, so I am going to fit a 4mm propshaft as I mentioned earlier, and get it running.
 I am not sure which motor I will use, it may just be a 540 brushed. The boat is very light so a 540 might be enough. If not, there is always brushless.
 The brushless I tried already with the 1.7mm propshaft went into one of my outboards on the Javelin, so I dont want to take it out just now.
I decided to leave the outboard bracketry on the hull to mount a rudder. The rudder is made from 2 bits selected from a bath panel and glued together with Tamiya plastic cement, the rudder bolts to a modified outboard bracket. It pivots on a 4mm brass pin and lines  up exactly with the servo pushrod I used for the outboard.
 There is a rudder tube in the boat already, but it is just a bit of transmitter aerial, I used the rudder on another project. I will just bung the end of it before use, if I remember. 😁
 I have a propshaft that is close to the size needed but I will need to check it with the coupling and motor attached to know for sure.
 If not, I will order one soon.
 The hydro looked as if it was going to be quick when it had its maiden voyage and shook its coupling loose.
 The outboard trial on it wasnt good so I have wanted to see it go properly.

[Andy M]

I originally built this boat as a quick build to try the original brushless setup. It had an air of disposability about it, like a polystyrene cup.
It has had some changes since building it, some balsa sheeting to try and reduce ding-ability and now heading on towards its 3rd power setup. I have removed the original mount for the 380 sized brushless and will make up a new one for the 540 brushed motor.
 It does look its age, but it still runs nicely, I gave it a good clean out with contact cleaner and oiled the bearings before trying it. It hasnt had much use, so should be fine.
 The ply mount came out relatively easily, I flexed the depron sides a bit and the epoxy let go enough to wiggle and snap it out . In normal use it would never flex that way so I am happy to do the new mount the same way.
 I still get the feeling it is not really a 'proper' boat, and at times I have wondered if it is worth the effort, why not just do a proper ply version?
 As it was my own design, and not having seen it going properly yet... (I dont even know if it can?) it seems a better idea to wait till I get the depron version working first before embarking on a more durable, maybe slightly larger ply version.
 I think if I get this one running nice, I might be tempted to skip building a ply version. It would be a good bit heavier even at the same size.
 I have my stretched Javelin twin motor project to build (not even finished my plan yet)
I have a lot of projects on the go at the moment and more lined up.
 Projects can happen at any time......
 I made the 'mistake?' of finding a plane wing in my storage area, looked quite good condition, so I cleaned it, looked really good condition, I repaired a tear in the solarfilm and it looks almost as good as new! Awesome.... But now I feel I have to build a plane to suit it...... 😁
 Then I found another wing, which is the same chord, so it would also fit the same plane but is 2 feet extra span, effectively making a motor glider version, if I get round to building it.
 Anyway, back to boats, I will get a motor mount made up for the hydro, I think my propshaft is close to the right length, depends on which coupling I have that I can use, but the process of extracting the original weedy propshaft has left an oversized hole. The ply propshaft mount/keel section is still very strong, so any loads will be taken by this, I really just need to seal the hole. Maybe a thin ply plate cut out to fit around shaft and keel.
 I am not really that far away from getting it running.

[Andy M]

The rough painted blue bit is mostly under the canopy front edge, so not usually seen, just realised how rough it looks. 😁