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Author Topic: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)  (Read 9227 times)

Martin (Admin)

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #50 on: June 18, 2021, 08:35:35 pm »


That looks quite wonderful Andy!   :-))




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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #51 on: June 19, 2021, 12:04:20 am »

Thanks very much Martin, much appreciated.
I have loved building this 'little' boat, I have to say it has quite a big boat feel to it even though it is under 30 inches.
I have been glueing lots of little bits of wood together to make bigger bits too, just like your matchstick kit.
I am quite impressed with results from using coffee stirrers, laminating them is fairly easy and they are quite uniform in dimensions, not needing an awful lot of sanding if laminating is accurate.
I love this little boat, it has lovely lines, and nice proportions. It was also a nice build in the Hobbie's lightply, which isnt really lightply, it has a very fine grain and is about 75% weight/density/bendiness of birchply.
I never checked what the original Sea Rover was skinned with, I am guessing 1/16 birchply, using my 1/8 'lightply' was a bit more of a challenge, but I managed to get it to meet up fairly nicely at the bow with no noseblocks, which I did consider, when I found out how tough it was to bend.
Anyway, I have changed a few things from the original but I think they look ok, some are for durability, some for performance and some just for looks. I am sure everyone adds their own little touches.
I have started on a smallish side project... Lifebelts. I have painted 6 curtain rings white. More to follow...
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Stuw

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #52 on: June 19, 2021, 09:45:36 am »

Looks great. All the details make it work really well. Ingenious wood reclamation/alternatives use as well.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #53 on: June 19, 2021, 06:11:51 pm »

Thanks for the comments, they are encouraging me to keep putting the time into the Sea Rover.
 I have lots of other stuff happening just now so I am happy to have a break from it all and just plod away at the boat, it is relaxing compared to my list of other tasks, which at the moment is mostly related to my motorbike and involves getting bolts undone that haven't been touched for 20 years. My wife's bike is even older at 23 years old, so it has much the same problems/things needing fixed or replaced.
 Anyway, back to the enjoyability of working on Sea Rover, I have a good few more jobs to do on it, but it is heading in the right direction and no pressure on me to rush it means I can take my time and make sure I really like bits before they get glued on. The hull is close to being finished(apart from painting/varnishing) , just needs a tidy up around the propshaft area, might need to do a bit of filling with more epoxy but it doesnt need much, I was careful not to make much mess when I fitted propshaft so that is helping now.
 I am still not sure about the handrails on the canopy, it looks much cleaner without them, the original Sea Rover never had any, so that might be a good excuse to leave them off. The cabin roof handrails were used on the original, so I want them on it, they will get glued on at some point.
 Recycling bits of wood was mostly to save having to buy wood and wait for it arriving. Up until I glued the sprayrails and rubbing strips on, I still had the option of buying wood if they didnt turn out as nice as I wanted them, I am happy with my home made bits though and would not hesitate to consider them in future builds.
 My lifebelts are ready to have the red painted on them, I have 2 for myself, 2 for my friend's boat and a couple of spares. I made lifebelts for my Vivacity model years ago and they turned out pretty good, hope I can get these looking as nice.
 
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #54 on: June 21, 2021, 06:46:26 pm »

I did a few jobs on Sea Rover last night, I made up a template for the cabin door window and then fitted framing pieces. Windows will be made and fitted once exterior is varnished or painted.
 I also filled in the small gaps in the front of the well 'tray' (hatch?) that had to be left to allow tray to be angled to lift it out. These little bits are attached to the front sides of the lid on the raised helmsman's area and the passenger area on the starboard side. They are pretty snug fitting and help lock the whole thing in place. Final sanding of these will happen when I finish working on the rear well area.
 I intend adding seats to both sides, just not totally decided on the best shape to use, I have a design drawn up and will make one to see how it looks. I may have these screwed on instead of gluing in case I change my mind about them.
 I also made a start on the dashboard/wheel area. Glueing coffee stirrers together for the backing and a piece of 1/32 ply for instrument mounting and a 1/16 ply area for wheel to attach to. I am still making it up as I go along but seems to be going together nicely, I spend a lot of time just looking at it wondering what to do next or what to make next.
 The cabin handrails have been glued to the hatch/roof, I am very happy with these, quite a bit sturdier than I expected. The canopy handrails have been ditched for now, the canopy looks a bit cleaner without them.
 The canopy will probably be the last bit to get varnished or painted, I can still fit the handrails up till that point if I decide I will have them on it. They are an extra feature and do look good though. Plenty time to decide, lots more still to be done first.
 Last job of the evening was to paint the 6 lifebelts with their first coat of red detailing. I wondered about leaving them kind of faded and patchy looking for an aged look, then decided I will go for a second coat. I will hopefully get a chance to do that later.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #55 on: June 21, 2021, 07:44:20 pm »

Also shown in the above pics are my fake cabin door hinges from scored brass wire. These are superglued in place. I am not too bothered about how good my seats look just now, they could do with refining a bit but they are better than a bare space so they will do for now....
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #56 on: June 22, 2021, 11:08:09 pm »

More coffee stirrers! About 80 of them, or bits of them. This time I am making a floor for the cabin. First I drew out and adjusted a card template and used it to keep checking how many more stirrers I had to select and hold in place then superglue. First pic shows template and how much I managed to do in the first hour. As some had curves, these had to be forced into shape then spot glued, then full join with superglue and wipe off excess. Took a few hours, in 2 sittings but I am happy with it, theres a few gaps but I think that helps to show it is made from individual planks.
 The strangely shaped cutout is for motor mount, motor and propshaft coupling. I will be building a table/cabinet or something around the motor. 
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #57 on: June 23, 2021, 06:16:24 pm »

I discovered my floor was sitting on a slope, even though I had already added a riser piece to b2. I added a further 6mm square to bring it level, I used a straight bit of wood to ensure floor was level then marked where the front support was to be glued to B1. All good, apart from the fact that raising the front of the floor has put the floor well above the propshaft, so that portion I cut out was glued back in place with a sliver of balsa to make up for the bit the saw cut takes.
 Looks not bad, I wondered how I would cover the hole in the floor anyway. The motor doesnt stick up as much through the floor now. About 6mm, but I wil be putting a higher table in, with plenty airspace for motor cooling.
 I want seating in the cabin, hopefully I can find better seating material but the other stuff is ok, not the best but I  have enough of it.
 Main job I have now is making sides and a front for the cabin, I dont know if I have enough stirrers left to manage them. I have taped together the best ones out of my selection, these bundles will have the rounded ends cut off and the ends sanded square on my mini sander. Some of them will be unsuitable due to bends or thin ends etc. About 25% have been like this so far.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #58 on: June 30, 2021, 05:51:50 pm »

I made a start on the front and sides of the inside of the cabin by making up templates from card. I thought the sides should be planked vertically as the sides curve a lot here. They cant be glued to the floor either, as the floor wouldnt come out for motor servicing. I might use screws to hold them in place on the cabin sides, there is plenty space inside for screwdrivering. I dont see me needing into the motor very often but I need to be able to. Getting the floor in is quite tight anyway, I had to remove bits of b2 to make it go in without having to flex it in the middle.
 For the sides, I made up horizontal bits for the vertical stirrers to go onto, these will need to be curved the same as the floor side edges which now had a double layer of stirrers to make a lip for the sides to butt against. It was too wide so I had to plane one layer of these off to get it in the cabin. It is still extremely tight tho, requiring some bending and flexing to manoeuvre it in or out of the cabin. I prepared a batch of stirrers and 4 double length horizontal stirrers with 3 inch joiner piece on rear.
 Using my templates, I made up my side pieces and a front piece. These were test fitted and adjusted to fit nicely. I fixed the sides in place with  1/8 light ply 'clamps' screwed to b2 with the front screwed to a hardwood block glued to b1. Getting there steadily. I need to plank the front of B3, with a door and framing for my louvred vent. This will also be holding my floor level at the back. Once that is all done I can move onto a table or something to cover the motor.
 I didnt originally plan on doing any cabin detailing, but I am enjoying the coffee stirrer construction, just a pity they vary quite a bit. Its not much but at these sizes its noticeable.
I havent done as much as I would have liked over the last week or so. Changing tyres on my motorbike revealed that they needed the wheels sandblasted and plastic coated as there was lots of bead sealant around small patches of corrosion. This means removing wheel bearings, on inspection, they needed replaced anyway. A set of front bearings is £20, rear set of 3 is £45. Add the plastic coating at £150 and the new tyres puts it well past my modelling budget for the last 5 years!
 I will feel better knowing the bearings are new and that the tyres arent glued onto corroded beads.
 Anyway, I am looking forward to detailing the cockpit, even if it ends up a bit basic, it should still look better than the bare hull and motor.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #59 on: July 08, 2021, 06:58:27 pm »

I needed to make the interior side of B3, as close as possible in appearance to the outside. I used stirrers for that, so stirrers it is. I made a cardboard template, marked my window on it, then made window frame parts to dimensions of the existing frame and started building outwards from that, I made the whole  assembly slightly oversize, compared to the template, this allows for some adjustment for a nice fit around the window. The louvre and window lined up nicely and I drew on the cut lines based on my template with small adjustments made to tighten joints up a bit.
 I am not sure how I am going to fix the panel to B3, maybe door handle? It will probably be quite hard to remove once it is in place anyway, if I can manage a good fit. A handle would help for getting it out. Once this bit is done, I will probably make a start on cutting out the windows from my selected plastic. I had 2 choices, one was slightly thicker and it would have been hard to get 2 boats worth of windows from what I had, the second was given to me today and is plenty for the 2 boats and some left over. There is still a lot to do before I can start varnishing, but I cant wait to get started. All the fixing points for my interior walls are in place and I have added 2 braces for my motor mount.
 In preparation for varnishing, I have been sanding virtually all of the exterior, apart from chine rails as I think they are fine. I did more sanding on rubbing strips for more 'roundness' I dont want to varnish the cockpit yet, not finished in there yet, I may be able to catch up with my woodwork while varnished parts are drying (once I start)
 Last bit to be varnished will be the cabin roof pieces, as I have still to figure out how I am going to mount it, I have left it a bit late but I like a challenge. It has to be removeable, and possibly have a light, though not essential. I left a channel inside my mast to take the wiring, but...... No such channel in the window frame/lower mast section. I could drill through, but it would need a long 2-3 mm drill and a lot of luck to not split the 2 layers of 3mm ply apart. Also I want the wiring to separate without unplugging, thinking towards magnets and nickel strips stuck on underneath, let into the ply roof bits either side of mast. A base to the mast would let me sink magnets and contacts in there. I just havent drawn one I liked that can take the magnets I have. My friend suggested using the lighting plug (whichever type I choose) as the mast fixing. Very good idea, but a bit hard to do now without major surgery. Should have planned that earlier in construction, as I should have done with quite a few bits, nothing that didnt have a solution, but still better being done before gluing stuff together.
 I have now gone round all my chine rails and rubbing strips and along both sides of the keel/hull join with waterproof pva to seal these before varnishing. Also to make up for areas where superglue wasnt thick enough to fill gaps. These were left to dry and done again as most of the glue had soaked down the gaps.
 Approaching varnishing stage so what else needs done first?
 I spotted my cabin floor had bowed since I made it. A lot. I noticed it when it was raining outside, I glued the underside of it which seems to be sealing out moisture, the unglued top surface is swelling up and bowing it. The next day was dry and it was flat again, its now bowed, and raining. I  need to varnish the whole thing next time it is flat. Hopefully sealing in just the right amount of moisture😁
I also managed to get one lifebelt finished, I need to find more of the binding thread.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #60 on: July 10, 2021, 01:34:55 am »

Varnishing has started, a slightly thinned coat first, then a normal coat. The outside of hull has 2 coats so far, cabin roof 2, deck and cabin outside have had one thinned coat and the  inside of hull has had 1 coat unthinned. Still loads of bits to get to, up under the deck mostly. I need to make a bendable brush.
  I also finished another 2 lifebelts for my boat. I also did one for my friend's boat then he did another one. He has one more still to finish.
 His boat has seen some progress, with the cabin roof/hatch frame made and finished off with 1/4 balsa gussets and the pre bowed roof panels shaped and glued on.
 Front windows will be next then the two small roof pieces. His rear well floor has been trimmed and will be getting bits added to it soon. He has also ordered his propshaft. He is not going for detailing in the cabin. He could always add that later. He can come up with his own ideas for detailing the well area, or copy mine.
I hope to get a few more coats of varnish on mine over the next few days, at least one more inside, and 2 coats on underside of deck and maybe 3 or 4 more on hull and cabin and roof. Lots to do still, well area needs finished off but I can get things done on that as my varnish coats are drying.
 
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Stuw

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #61 on: July 12, 2021, 10:03:01 am »

Coming along nicely Andy. What sort of varnish are you using out of interest?
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #62 on: July 12, 2021, 06:03:23 pm »

Thanks, I am using this stuff, 151, pretty cheap and seems good, certainly smells enough. Kind of diesely overtone to it. Dries nice and hard though.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #63 on: July 12, 2021, 06:08:49 pm »

I bought the 6 tins to do our 2 boats, some sellers are selling one tin for 5.99.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #64 on: July 23, 2021, 06:20:42 pm »

Not done much varnishing recently, I needed to catch up with some stuff before I could varnish any more. I made up a measuring device to get the widths right for my cabin rear wall panel. I brought the rear part of the cabin sides in a bit using the bits I cut off the sides of the floor to allow the floor to go in past the windows when they get fitted, I hadnt allowed for the window thickness.  No problem though, it ended up looking quite good. Still not got any furniture for in here yet. Working on it though.
 I did the final fitting of my rudder tube and cut out and made up the captain's seat, and a throttle, complete with moving lever. I also made up a panel to fill the area under the helm.
 The canopy supports were drilled so they can be bolted to the canopy, these are made so that they fold for less chance of being broken off when not on the boat.
 I didn't have enough of the (new) light ply left to do another seat, so this was  made from my older liteply. I will probably be painting them anyway.
 I am trying to get things to the stage where I can varnish all the well and cabin bits, still got a few bits to do before I get to do that. I have still to decide what I am going to do with the  inside of the cabin, I may have to leave varnishing the 'liner' bits until I decide in case I need to glue seat supports or other stuff to them. No rush for the cabin though, I can get on with other bits and get the boat up and running before I need to finish the cabin. The hull has now had a coat of red on the bottom, I dont know what else I am going to do yet for a colour scheme. I quite like the pale wood colour, but some more colour would be nice?
 I will continue working on it, and thinking about a colour sheme. I think a session on photoshop is due, try a look at a few different options.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #65 on: August 30, 2021, 03:00:06 pm »

As I had been concentrating on my four ways cargo ship and crane for some time, I decided to do a bit on the Sea Rover.
 I had misplaced (lost😁) the servo, rudder and a few other parts.
 I eventually found the box they were in and fitted the servo, rudder and speed control. The motor, coupling and propshaft were next, followed by a test of the rc. All working as it should, so a launch was planned with a friend,
 I had to wait till my wife was finished using the car though....... and by that time it was too dark for boating........ Ah well.
 Next day I booked the car and we went to launch Sea Rover.
 I tried it on 7.4v and 11.1v, the latter causing the speed controller to heat up quite considerably, so once it had cooled, I used the 7.4v, which is plenty. Steering was very good, maybe a bit fierce at speed, I might try exponential on my transmitter to try and tame it a bit.
 I will add a cooling fan to the esc and see if that keeps it cool. If not, I may have to use a higher amp speed control. It was supplied with the motor, which got just above lukewarm during my testing. I might have too big a prop on, but the motor isnt overheating, so I suspect the esc isnt rated high enough?
 Anyway, very pleased with performance, its pretty nippy, a good bit faster than realistic scale speed, but fun.
 It can cruise about very quietly at a more sedate pace, the steering is nice at these speeds, capable of turning quite tightly which is very handy as the river we use is fairly narrow with lots of rocks poking up, and a good few just below the surface that must be avoided.
 I still have a fair bit to do before Sea Rover is finished but that can be done when I get time, no rush.
 I decided the floor of the rear well needed planked so out with the coffee stirrers again and an hour or so had the floor looking not bad at all, definately better than bare ply, but not as uniform as buying strip wood for this purpose, ah well, it is supposed to be a budget build.
 Sea Rover is a lovely looking little boat that has the feel of a bigger boat. I really enjoyed the build, and its not finished yet. I did notice during my test that the wake is very clean looking.
 I dont know how far I will go with detailing, I would like to add some cleats on the deck, these may have to be made. I am going to fit my lifebelts at some point too, after I figure out the details of fitting my mast and fit it. This will allow me to complete the varnishing, I didnt varnish the area where this is going as I knew I still have to finish the mast first. It isnt esssntial, but I think it looks good.
 Lots of varnishing to do on the cabin liners/walls and also all of the well deck/rear hatch. I have a wrist injury just now which is limiting what I can manage,so progress may be slowed for a while.
My friend's one hasnt seen much progress recently, it may be a winter launch for his! 😁
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #66 on: August 30, 2021, 03:02:51 pm »

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #67 on: August 30, 2021, 05:50:11 pm »

Nice, thats got some ompf  :-))
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #68 on: August 30, 2021, 10:20:56 pm »

That was only on 7.4v pack, its a bit quicker with the 11.1v pack but its not much. It overheats esc too, so will be avoiding using 11v in it.
I had it out on the river again tonight, mostly low speed as the river has dropped a bit since last night, not had rain here for a while.
The esc was warm but not in any way hot. I am going to build in a fan to cool the esc, it was under the well deck floor with zero air movement. I am going to cut 2 holes in the floor of the well deck under the 'boxes' that the driver and passenger seats will mount to. The front face of the boxes will have big holes cut in them that wont be visible and the rear face will have a smaller vent under the rear seats, which will be hard to notice. I intend drawing air in through one side of the boat, across the esc and batteries and up out of the other vent. I have two 40mm fans but they dont move much air, both working together might be enough, one in one out. My other option is a 7 or 8.5mm quadcopter motor, they move a lot more air, not as quiet tho.
Or I could just go slower😁
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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #69 on: August 31, 2021, 08:41:09 am »

Hi Andy have you thought of water cooling?  Some time ago I did simple cooling for an Electronize esc.  I made a brass plate the same size as the base and soldered two tubes to it in parallel.  I joined them at the end with neoprene tubing.and screwed them to the base.
I made up a water pick up from a slant section of plastic electrical conduit and this was let into the bottom of the boat with a plastic connecting tube.  I made another underwater flat fitting that slanted towards the bow with a connecting tube.  It looks oval when viewed from beneath.  Joined them up with flexible tubing, so forward motion of the boat pushes water in and the flat section sucks it out.

This enabled the esc to go from very hot on maximum current (measured under load) of 15 amps to stone cold. it was driving 2 Graupner Speed 600's.  I was surprised how effective a simple cooling system could be and of course no moving parts or separate power requirements.

This was in a Graupner Police boat about 40 inches long and she planed very nicely.  The design of keeping the inlet and outlet of the water under water was because the cooling water also fed a fire pump which squirted about 10 feet via an electric pump.  To prime the system you just had to give the fire pump a quick squirt.

All the best
Roy

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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #70 on: August 31, 2021, 12:36:32 pm »

I did think about cooling the motor but didnt think the esc was going to be the hottest bit. My main reason for not fitting water cooling was that I didnt want any more holes than necessary in the hull. I have made a start on my air cooling mods, I will try that first, I had a lot of success with fan cooling in my atlantic yacht. The air cooling ducts wont be visible so no problem if it doesnt work and I have to change to watercooling.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #71 on: September 01, 2021, 11:09:05 pm »

I cut out my cooling holes, not beautiful, but I have left enough wood to keep the structure strong(ish). My fans will fit in nicely, I will need to put a battery in for each one as I dont want wires anywhere apart from in the boxes under the seats. Not a problem, I have literally hundreds of my e-cigarette batteries at about 280mah each, 3.7v. I have used 2 cells each side giving 560mah.
I varnished a fair amount of the remaining bits, the cabin floor, well deck/hatch, the canopy and supports, seat base lids, fishing rod, rear seat bases, under helm filler piece, throttle and driver/passenger seats. I am still not happy with the seat cushions, very basic and foamy looking, I will need to come up with something better looking. I have a bag of leather scraps somewhere, but thick for making cushions. At this size anyway. I could try hand moulding them from something then paint them. Or whittled and sanded balsa? Not decided yet. The existing cushions will do just now. Better than bare seats.
 The time when I have to really think about the best way of fitting my mast is nearly here, it is preventing me from finishing off the varnishing now. I dont know whether to try the mast tip light I was going to do, with complications of supplying power to it and still be easily removable.
 I was going to use 2 magnets on the roof piece and 2 on the mast base with small nickel strips stuck on underneath with the wires soldered to them, this would mean excavating the roof piece to take the magnets and drilling a hole down through windscreen centre pillar to take the wiring down to a battery in the cabin. Not really keen on cutting my roof, the magnets will always be visible if I want to run power through them. Cant paint over them. I can if I dont need power though, but still not keen. I may just have the mast stuck on with blue tac to save drilling holes in my roof panels😁
 Or leave it off, but I think it adds to the boat, doesnt look out of place to me.
After writing the first part of this, I fixed my fans in place, will have to do a river test to see if they are going to work well enough. I am still considering watercooling, it makes sense.
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #72 on: September 10, 2021, 12:11:31 am »

I submitted a funding request to my financial manager (wife) who kindly purchased a very nice steering wheel for my Sea Rover. I had already made a start on my homemade steering wheel but it was going to be difficult to get it neat and uniform enough to look good, so a nice bought one was the best option. I also fitted glazing in my instrument holes on dash panel, still to find suitable instrument faces.
 Orange item is my experimental seat 'cushion', 3/16 balsa cushion with t-shirt fabric stretched over and superglued to the back. Looks not bad, but there is quite a thick build up of fabric on the back. I need to try and find a way of glueing it on that doesnt leave a big rumpled bit.
 I haven't decided on the colour I want on my seats yet, the orange t shirt I used was going to be curtains for the boat, but it wouldnt hang right, looked like a scrap of t shirt rumpled up each side of the windows.
 I can plod away at all the details as I go, my main aim just now is getting the esc cooled. I will try my fans, but I am pretty sure I am going to watercool the esc , I already have a copper cooling coil for the motor, I need to come up with something for the esc. The heatsink has an area on each side that will take a cooling tube, I just need to find some tubing the right diameter. A couple of inches of it for each side. Most of my tubing that size is much shorter bits.
 I fitted my throttle, and then finished varnishing the windscreen area and also the lifebelt hangers, not sure if I like the lifebelts, kind of spoil the clean lines of the boat, but I will leave them on for now, the hangers can just be unscrewed if I decide I dont want the lifebelts.
 The cabin floor was bowed up in the middle when I got it out for varnishing, then after a short time in the sun, it flattened out, I varnished it and when dry it curved the opposite way!
 I put it in between 2 bits of cardboard and left a 12v 12ah lead acid battery on top.
 This worked well, it has ended up fairly flat, the rest of the cabin interior should hold it in shape. Still to varnish the underside of the floor and see what shape it goes.
 I am not going to do the magnet contacts for a light on the mast, I think it would be hard to do it neatly and without weakening it. Drilling down through the windscreen centre pillar for wiring without splitting the ply apart is too risky for me, I am going to attach the mast with a piece of bamboo skewer. I still have to drill a hole at an exact angle to plug the mast into, but it doesnt have to be very deep.
 I havent managed to do much due to being in hospital for a few days. I am gradually getting a bit closer to being able to resume building, I have made this my focus over the last week to get me through, a few small model bits shouldnt tax me too much and will be very therapeutic.
 
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Andy M

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #73 on: September 10, 2021, 12:14:02 am »

Last 2 pics... Mast or no mast? Still not sure, any opinions?
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JimG

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Re: Andy M's Sea Rover Budget Build (two models)
« Reply #74 on: September 10, 2021, 11:45:24 am »

Try hollowing out the back of the balsa block for the cushions. This will allow the fabric at the back to sit below the level of the back and stop the bunching that you have.
Jim
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