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Hi martin
"Willit" is a diesel tug built from what looks to me like a vac-formed kit
with a scratch-built superstructure, again plastic. (does anyone know
which kit, and does anyone have pictures of another one? I was told it was
made in Scotland) I has a Como drills motor in it. this is connected to a
ESC speed controller and this makes for smooth running. the first time it
was sailed it had an unknown leak, caused by a little accident when it
fell off a table because of my families vintage boats engine when we were
fitting Willit out, a year later and i tipped it back to get to some of
the drive machinery, this wave of water sloshed out from the forward
bulkhead and I spent 30 minutes pumping with a syringe to save the
electrics! the prop is very rough and will cavitate when you run slowly
astern, stop and go full ahead making a lot of bubbles! the props
roughness gives it a wonderful diesel growl sound! the boat has already
shown off its excellent handling by saving three toy speed boats that were
repeatedly getting overtaken by a elderly (20 odd years) diesel tug from
the horrible doom of sitting in the middle of the pond.....Willit has
proved very good as a first (operational wise) boat, excellent
manoeuvrability, speed and power and I will have to send in pics of my
dads Active tug at some point.
Regards,
Matthew PS. Here is a quick
update to Willits page. I am currently building a stern wheel tug to the
same scale as Willit, the idea being that Willit pulls and Grebe pushes.
the main thing about Grebe is that it has no rudder, the paddles run
independently of each other and so maintain steering. Grebe is loosely
based around a Egyptian paddle tug but anglicised, it will look vaguely
like a Clyde puffer with big wheels on the stern! I already have the most
important things made, the funnels! I will send pictures of the completed
hull soon once the paint dries!
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