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Martin,
I just finished a tow boat made by
'Vac-U-Boat'.
This is the second offering by Phil and I think he has a winner here!
The model is sort of a generic tow boat, not exactly 'scale' of any
particular boat. The kit is as complete as one can get, you only need to
provide a battery, ESC, radio system, a few hand tools, and glue. There
are a number of extra parts in case you 'goof', a couple of pieces of sand
paper, clamps for gluing, and a couple of sheets of plastic for testing
paints and glues (even the @#$% little Allen wrench I always seem to
loose).
The instructions are simply the best
I've ever seen! Lots of pictures and text to explain every step. They are
in 'black and white', but then, so is the boat! If you just have to have
instructions in colour, down load them from Phil's web site, there's a set
there. One word of caution. Pay attention to the pictures in the
instructions. For instance, the rudder arms are perpendicular to the
pushrods, not the boat centre line. Makes a big difference in the handling
of the boat. The flanking rudders, when set up correctly, will make the
boat turn in it's own length. In reverse, it'll spin like a top!
I didn't take a second boat to the pond for recovery testing, but did
happen to find a couple of battles and cans to test with. This thing makes
the best recovery boat I've found! I would guess that it would 'handle' a
medium sized boat ('V-32' for example) with no problems. I used a 7.2 volt
battery, but with a 9 or 12 volt battery you should be able to ski behind
the thing!
Building took maybe a day. Painting at least twice that long (including
fixing the 'goofs'). I like to use CA glue, and I did for everything.
Epoxy is recommended for 'potting'
the rudder bearings, though. Epoxy would have been simpler to use, but I
didn't have any. Using baking soda with CA glue makes a joint that never
turns loose, but isn't something to do with out practice (lots of
practice!).
As with the 'Vac-U-Tug', if you can get your shoes on the right feet at
least half the time, the tow boat will be no problem. (You also want to be
careful not to CA your thumb to your nose or forehead!) I'm having a ball
with the tow boat...
Paul |
