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[Phil22]

Hi All,

Our boat got its first ever go in the testing tank this week. Milestone! Very happy to say there was no sign of ingress. Beforehand the stern received a pour of epoxy to dam everything up. The propshaft section containing the delrin bushing was sealed too (not seen in this photo).



Thanks again Stan for your kind advice about shoring up the bow. Locally, we could find a great 2-part kit with fiberglass tissue included. It's been put in and with only 3 layers makes a massive difference to the rigidity.





Work resumed on the rudders and their shaping.















A first try with the hull needed about 2.4 Kgs (5.3 lbs) of tomato and bean ballast to get it down to the waterline. The deck with everything on (in our case with extra combing etc) is about 630g (1.4 lbs).



Our local store for DIY supplies https://www.tokyu-hands.co.jp/en/ has a good selection of precut metals. We went for 2kgs of various pieces of brass.





Many permutations were given a go, having the flat plates down low with some smaller hexes either side works well.







The wider hexes are effective at reducing list. The base board had sections removed to get this weight lower. The edge of the board also keeps them lined up.






The top edge of masking tape represents the bottom of the waterline (top: faint pencil line). The stern looks already to be at a good depth (to our untrained eyes)



Bow level: waterline parallel with the surface (feels too low)





Bow raised (below): A small amount of ballast removed (this looks better to us)





None of the ballast has been fitted at this stage, so changes and tweaks are possible. With the deck affixed the stability seems decent, when rolling the boat to port or starboard, we can feel the model resisting and wanting to quickly self right. 

Thanks,
Phil

[ballastanksian]

Firstly, lovely looking build! I had dropped out of following but then saw the last few pages of work and am impressed!!


Secondly, like the US you have a wonderful selection of materials in your DIY shops. Our equivalent is a rack of vastly expensive lengths of mild steel and aluminium shapes but no metals you could machine. Imagine being a model engineer and being able to go to B&Q or Wickes and buy materials to build a steam engine!

[Phil22]

Thanks very much Ian. We are quite spoilt for choice in Tokyo really about everything. Although we’ve still not located a single model shop carrying boats in the entire city. Maybe there’s a business idea for us.

Here are some updates from what’s gone on this week. For the longest time in our minds the servo was going to sit alongside the propshaft.  The thing putting us off was when trying to build up the base to get the servo horn at a similar height to the tiller's, it simply wasn't working out. Here is how it ended up.





The little brass nuts for the twin rudders sit perfectly in the servo horns. Dunno if this is a thing or if we got lucky here.



My Dad had a sweet little idea to use another horn to connect both sides up. Sat on washers the whole assembly swings smoothly. The bolts will get trimmed down during the final install.







The hull received a coat of primer then Mr. Hobby Surfacer 1200. That was lightly gone over with some wet and dry which gave a good base. The 3mm waterline was sprayed first in white, then a coat of black above that. Red next.









The finish line is coming into sight!

[Phil22]

The last couple of shots of the hull getting finished off. The spray paint we've been using is an oil-based silicon lacquer by a brand called Alesco. I used to be a signmaker in a former life and so have painted a fair bit, the finish straight from the cans is remarkable.

[Martin (Admin)]

Looks Great!   

[Geoff]

I think you have made a really fine job of this model and should be congratulated. All very neat and crisp!


Cheers


Geoff

[Phil22]

Cheers Martin and Geoff!!

The last of the painting is now done. We’d been waiting for a milder day to apply urethane clear coats to the deck and hull. It’s now thanks and goodbye to the makeshift balcony paint-booth. Our landlord can stop stressing out finally xD







Still not sure how to refer to the part that the propshaft runs though externally. During assembly it was a concern on how to make it a watertight join, as when in place (for us), the piece created a sizeable cavity (yellow), (red) shows the hull’s position. We poked some epoxy into the gaps, but I wouldn’t have bet my last rolo that the seal was good enough! The secondary issue being not to have any epoxy run into the tube and setting.



Anyhow with a little more cautious filling, several coats of primer, undercoat, the main colours and now the urethane, everything ‘looks’ to be sealed up very well. Once the fitting of the kort, prop and rudders is completed, we’ll leave the hull in the bath overnight and see how it goes.



Thanks!
Phil

[Phil22]

We've had another productive few days with the boat. The brass pieces (ballast) had all of their sharp corners filed off and were wrapped in gaffer tape for grip. Some are now held in place with small wooden blocks. These areas won't be easily accessible once the deck is attached.



These wooden legs help give another fixing point to the floor.



I'd read previously that the rudder, prop and kort are "fiddly" to get installed. Not going to knock the kit here, will put it down to having little experience but we found it a challenge. With a view to help future builders, this is what eventually worked for us.

- Put the prop and nut onto the shaft.
- Insert the propshaft but not all the way, there is a flat-head bolt at the 12 o'clock position inside the kort. The bolt is obscured by the propshaft but you can get enough purchase on it with the angle available. Go easy as it is soft brass, make sure you have a screwdriver head that fits well.
- Place the kort loose over the prop and get a few turns of the bolt done so it catches.
- Twist the kort as in the photo to one side, this should allow for the rudders to be inserted vertically. The bolt will still be accessible, screw it in full and tighten down the nut inside the hull.
- Twist the kort into position.
- Seat the rudders into the pre-drilled holes.
- Open the cans of Guinness that have been chilling in the fridge.
- Administer pats on the back to all involved.

I'd say we got lucky with the rudders because they could still be wiggled around enough after the kort was fully in place. This is due to 2 things that I can see. 1.) The distance the rudder collars extend down out through the hull (4mm) and 2.) the distance the brass rods extend out through the base of the rudders (3mm) before they narrow.







The servo linkage needed another go as the original was fouling ever so slightly causing the servo to complain.



The bolts used to connect the servo horns didn't need trimming, there is enough room in the stern under the cover plate.



These rails stop the last of the flex in the ABS.



Lastly it got another dip with all of the ballast, electronics and batteries aboard. Happy Days!











Next up is a go at the lake, test things out then permanently fit the deck and stern ballast.

Cheers!
Phil

[dave parker]

Phill22


I have just read this log from beginning to end and loved it, such a great job.


I am looking to return to the hobby after a hiatus, having only really loitered in the back ground for years, but this time I may give it a real go and actually start a build of my own.


Your build has helped immensely


Great job 

[Phil22]

Appreciate the comment! Thanks Dave!

If you are doing a Banckert let me know if you have any questions I may help with. Be sure to post some build pics when you get started.

Cheers,
Phil

[Phil22]

Hi MBM,

The first real 'sea trial' went very well at our local park this week. After 3 years building her, we certainly felt apprehensive on how things would go. Another shout-out to @Subculture for your advice early on regarding suitable brushless electrics, her performance was spot on. And to @Taranis, @SailorGreg and @JimG for your brilliant guidance on putting the parts together. The power is there when you want it but in the main, it's an effortless glide. Exactly what we were after!

@SteveH, the handling characteristics as you described with your build, we see with ours. Reverse is more like a brake and not something that would get the model out of an awkward situation quickly. As you said: "The two rudders almost close onto each other so it is like pushing a flat plate through the water." During their fitting, this was the main point we kept in mind. Ended up making our own wider rudder blades, and for installation, set them up so they maintained a decent gap at full turn. Thank you again for this helpful info. The bow goes down a touch for us too at speed, but nothing too concerning like you mentioned. I might remove some of the ballast to counter this. 

Like many Tokyoites we don't have a car (a parking space alone in the city can run from 200 to 1000+ quid per month), so how to transport the boat around has expended a lot of grey matter 'over these years'. Fate stepped in last week, guiding us to this tool bag that could be the answer. RESULT!!!



Put together a case for the main structure.



Home time.



There was no water ingress even with the deck and hull still in two pieces. Bulldog clips and masking tape have now firmly made it onto our Christmas card list!

On inspection, there has been some rough scoring going on between the collar and the washer. During testing on the lake, there was about 0.5mm gap between them. See fine metal dust on the masking tape.





No grease has been applied anywhere as the instructions for the maintenance-free shaft, say not to put anything on it. Is the washer actually required if the shaft is being held by 2 grub screws (collar and UJ)? We're concerned that some of this fine material could make its way past the delrin bushing and into the tube. Would be grateful for your recommendations.

Thank you in advance.
Phil

[Phil22]

Nice one Andy @taranis - I believe I can see in one of the photos you shared that you also do not have a washer in the setup.
We took it away and had another test on the water yesterday. Everything went well. : )

[RST]

Hi Phil 22,


I am not convinced by the wooden decks but the execution of everything else is excellent and ignore me on decks!


Ref. wear on prop-shaft.  It is common to incorporate a washer from brass or nylon, If you run a U/J, the collar is superfluous if the U/J etc. can't be brought up to the end of the shaft.  But I have only one experience with these "maintenance free" shafts a few years ago and it was binding so tight even when water lubricated it went back and never bothered with another since when a normal one will do.


Ref. transport, I was kind of in the same scenario when I was working in France a couple of years ago.  Before I sailed any I managed to bring them all back through airport luggage undamaged (careful packing!).  I also remember a day from my youth on a holiday in Cromer in early 80's where my dad bought me a star yacht.  We spent every evening we could at the pond.  One night I'm sure a guy turned up on a motorbike with his girlfriend riding pillion:  He (she) had a ferry as wide as the bike was long maybe 5 or 6 feet across her knees and they he sailed it round and round.  I think we left before they did or something like that.


Rich

[Phil22]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the kind words and for the reply about the setup. I think whenever the next build gets started, we'll go with a solid UJ as recommended by Andy @taranis. For us bringing the UJ and motor closer to the prop-end introduces a minor waggle. The collar I suppose could act as a secondary stop, should the UJ grub screw ever come loose but aside from this, agreed it isn't required. Your story about the 2 folks and a ferry on a bike sounds a sight

This week during our second visit to the lake, we tried out different ballast arrangements in a few areas. The 9V battery for the navigation lights is inside the structure on the port side and needed to be countered. The final trim was done back in the test tank.





When moving the bow lowers a touch so it's up at idle.



The deck has now been permanently fixed to the hull, this went better than we thought. The epoxy bead was kept more inboard leaving the deck to help spread it outwards when lowered into position. We've left more ABS edge material I guess than required, so the 'C-profile' rubber trim supplied doesn't fit our build so well, no fault of Billing Boats. A deeper profile trim will work better.



Cheers,
Phil

[Phil22]

Hi MBM,

She's finished!! (^^)b (^^)b

The sense of achievement we have from completing this almost 3 year project is brilliant! We're now looking forward to many days out at the lake with the boat (Shakujii Park in Tokyo).

We'd like to express our sincere appreciation to the fine members of this wonderful forum.

And a special thanks to:

@taranis, @Subculture, @SailorGreg, @Martin [Admin], @malcolmfrary, @JimG, @RST, @SteveH, @canabus, @Ralph, @tica, @Stan, @merseyferry, @derekwarner, @Mark T, @ballastanksian, @thething84, @Dave_S., @dougal99, @Dave, @Circlip, @Geoff, @dave parker

for sharing your experience, helpful guidance and encouragement along the way.









We'll get around to posting a clip of her running if you'd like to see her on the water. Also, maybe it'll help future builders to know what type of performance can be expected from the components used.

Thank you again MBM!!
Phil

[Dave_S.]

You've made a great job of that, definitely a model to be proud of.

[hama]

You've done a fantastic job!! For a first, amazing. Banckert was one of my first builds as a kid, seeing yours make me want to build another one.
Thanks for sharing!
Hama

[Tworrs]

Congratulations on completing this lovely model, it really does look amazing.
Garry

[SailorGreg]

Wow! As a first build that is amazing.  Well done. 
What's next? 

Greg

[Phil22]

Thanks so much @Dave_S., @hama, @Tworrs and @SailorGreg.

That's a good question Greg!! We've no immediate plans for the next one, but I did pick up a VW Micro-bus 23 window this weekend to be going on with hahaha. I think for now, we'll take the boat out and enjoy it through the summer. Thoughts though, transporting everything back and forth on foot, the next one should be shorter than the Banckert (65cm). Something still with a preformed hull and a single prop would be good.

Here are a couple of clips (hosted on vimeo.com) showing her performance. The rowing boats pack up at 4pm so we had the lake to ourselves with the ducks.



Manuevering
https://vimeo.com/702484250

Speed
https://vimeo.com/702483042



Lipo Battery
Aside from spot checks on the battery level, motor temp etc, the 5200mAh 2S battery went from 4.2V per cell to 3.8V in about 2 hours.

Control
The lake is easily longer than 500m and we could operate the boat with no issues as far as our eyes could safely see.



Cheers,
Phil

[SteamboatPhil]

Excellent 

[RST]

Very nicely done!  Looks a good sailing venue also.


Richard

[Phil22]

Many thanks @SteamboatPhil and @RST

Indeed Richard! It's great to have such an accessible location to sail so close to home.
This bank (below pic) is where the local model boat club gathers on the weekends. I need to brush up my Japanese.

[Tworrs]

Wow Phil that certainly is a lovely venue, so peaceful looking.
Garry

[Mark T]

Just catching up on your build and what a fantastic job you have done.  That is one very nicely built Banckert