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[chipchase]

Hi John your making a great job of her, this was my first build some years back. I wish I had built her with a full deck, as i had quite a few problems with water. Heres a link to a great site with quite a few Smit tugs.  www.tugboats.de/index2e.html

Brian

[oldiron]

Hi John your making a great job of her, this was my first build some years back. I wish I had built her with a full deck, as i had quite a few problems with water. Heres a link to a great site with quite a few Smit tugs.  www.tugboats.de/index2e.html

Brian

  Thanks for the comments. Also, thanks for the heads up on the web site. I took a look. Some interesting and useful information on there.

John

[oldiron]

  Its been quite a while since I've posted anything on this topic. Been too busy on other projects. However, spring is here and its coaxing me to get the Neddy ready for the water. To that end I've rigged up the electrics for the vessel.
  For those following this thread I had initially planned on putting the RC gear onto a deck in the bow. However, a review of the layout, plus other boats I've done, suggested I install a deck under the wheel house for the gear. Thats the direction I followed. Although its cramped for space with two ESC's in place I think it should work.
  Since I'm running on 6V supply I'm not including a separate Rx battery, but instead using the main battery for power. I have installed a main power off/on switch plus an Rx off on switch. Lighting switching will come later. Main power electrical connections are done through Deans plugs.  They're small, robust and can carry high current loads.

John

[dan]

superb job, very neat 

[awvs]

Hi John,
what a great tug! I like the stand too!

Best
Wilhelm

[oldiron]

Wilhelm and Dan, thanks very much for your kind comments.

John

[dan]

i will be attempting to build this model in 1:50 scale, so if you dont mind  ill be coming to you for help 

[oldiron]

i will be attempting to build this model in 1:50 scale, so if you dont mind  ill be coming to you for help 

   Not a problem. Where I can help I certainly will. You can contact me off list if you need to.

John

[oldiron]

I'm getting down to plugging the last holes in the deck. In this case, the hole was the access to the starboard side rudder equipment. The port side I covered with a hawser drying rack. Th Starboard side was more difficult because there is a gypsie (?) in that area.
  I took advantage of that fact to make a devise that would allow the turning of the gypsie to lock and unlock the cover from the deck. To that end, I cemented styrene sheet to a plywood under section of appropriate size to fill the hole. I made and mounted the gypsie support onto the deck section, then formed the shaft and other pieces underneath from brass. I think the pictures make it self explanatory. To lock the section in place retract the arms, insert the deck section into the hole and turn the gypsie. This extends the arms that catch under the deck and hold the panel in place. The major change from the prototype is the slightly raised portion of the deck section. I think I can live with that.

John

[oldiron]

.......continuing........

[oldiron]

  I finally got the steering servo mounted. I've placed it under the deck, just aft of the deck house, mounted on an aluminum bracket I made for the purpose. It may appear a bit awkward, but I've had it in and out quite readily. The aft rudder access points work quite well too. I've removed the rudders for greasing preparatory to going in the water, and there were no problems with access.
  This about concludes the overall construction of the re-engineered and scratch built Smit Nederland. I still have the weight to add and more deck details to complete, but the bulk of the vessel is complete
  I'll post photos of her sea trials in about two weeks. I can also add photos in time of the deck details as I go along.

John

[oldiron]

Finally got the bollards made for the Neddy. I did them out of brass, with small pins on the underside. These pins fit into the deck while the top bracket is epoxied to the bulwarks. It makes for a very strong fastening that will allow mooring with security.

John

[oldiron]

 The sea trials went off yesterday very successfully. The day started with the waters very calm, by afternoon a breeze had whipped up scale 3 meter swells. She handled the well including water over the aft deck and over the bow. All worked well, the vessel interior stayed cozy dry. Sea trials deemed successful. More detail is yet to be done, but at least she is sea worthy.
  I started this build thread to show a solid deck on a Neddy could be constructed to seal the inside, work well and allow for servicing. That aim appears to have been successful.


John

[bulerthebishop]

After sealing down the rear deck of my Ayton Cross I overcame the limited access to the hull problem by putting the electronics on a hinged board.  It saves messing around in the confined space within the hull, and keeps the speed controller away from the heat of the motors.

[oldiron]

After sealing down the rear deck of my Ayton Cross I overcame the limited access to the hull problem by putting the electronics on a hinged board.  It saves messing around in the confined space within the hull, and keeps the speed controller away from the heat of the motors.

  The removable (hinged) board works really well. The board can be taken to the bench for servicing without worrying about rest of the vessel. I've done it on this build and others I've done. I make it standard practice now. Makes everything a lot easier.

John

[oldiron]

 Its been awhile since I've put anything on here with regards to finishing off the Neddy. She performed well at our regular summer runs. The sealed aft deck was a treat. She take water over the bow and stay bone dry inside.
 I'm taking this winter to finish off the rest of the bits, such as the wheel house and the aft towing winch.
 I'll start with the winch. I haven't finished it yet, but I'll post some photos of it to date. I've used mostly brass and aluminum in its construction with a touch of styrene for taste. The drum rotates and the large gearbox cover comes off. I've had the intention of making it work, but still haven't come to grips with the technical side of that yet. In the meantime I'm setting it up so it can be motorized.

John

[oldiron]

  My main hold up with the wheel house was trying to figure out what the interior should look like. I haven't been able to gather much in the way of pictures of the Neddy's wheelhouse interior. What I have is based on what little I have gleaned. I guess this is about as far as its going to go.

John

[hama]

Incredible, both the winch and the wheelhouse!!   
Hama

[oldiron]

Incredible, both the winch and the wheelhouse!!   
Hama

  Thanks very much.

John

[Tug-Kenny RIP]

Very tidy way of doing things, John.  I especially like your idea of the servo operated switch. Holds the assembly together nicely. Even room for more switches. 

Great build.

Ken

[oldiron]

Very tidy way of doing things, John.  I especially like your idea of the servo operated switch. Holds the assembly together nicely. Even room for more switches. 

Great build.

Ken

Ken:

 Thanks very much for the compliment.

John

[nathanbint]

very nice work

[oldiron]

very nice work

  Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it.

John

[oldiron]

  I'm almost finished this towing winch for the Neddy. I found an article on the Smit Nederland in December 1987 and January 1988 Model Boats. The article had some good extra drawings and details of the winch that didn't appear in the Billings drawings of the same animal. I made certainn changes in what I had done to reflect those additional drawings.
  In these phots you'll find the manual wheel on the side of the winch gear box. I started fabricating this wheel using 1/4" diamter brass rod turned down to about 1/8" diameter. I then drilled it down the center for an axle pin, then I cross drilled it to allow the insertion of the wheel spokes. The center hole was then redrilled to clear the spokes that passed through it. The spokes were soldered into place then bent out at the correct angle to allow the wheel proper to be soldered to the spokes. The lot was then parted off the brass stock.

John

[oldiron]

 The next major part to make was the little device (correct name?) that travels back and forth in front of the drum and guides the cable onto the drum. I made it from a lump of solid brass drilling holes in it that would allow it to pass over the guide rods smoothly. The two projects were turned from brass rod and soldered onto the large brass lump. The whole effort slides happily back and forth on the guide rods. The larger center rod should be square threaed right and left hand to provide a timed movement across the drum face. At this time I skipped the threading step. I hope to locate a used fishing real I can salvage the required components from to make this work. Until then, this simplified method willl have to do.

John