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[Prophet]

Although i have currently got broken fingers in my boredom of not being able to model i decided i would continue anyway...

So update for today is a basic looking winch. and the funnel.

Winch was pretty easy to construct made out of scrap plastic parts from other kits and spares along with odds and ends i had laying about. i wasn't to intrested in making it look ' realistic' its only for my daughter. but it does work i will later add a length of cord that can pull out to attach to a barge or boat if needed.



Next was the funnel, there are tones of options to construct it theres the 1mm ply rolled , but in my case i took a sheet of 3mm ply.. sliced grooves into it every 1/8" took a bog standard toilet roll and created the basic shape this is the 'former'.

Using the kettle heated up the ply sheet and slowly bent it around the toilet tube eventually getting the sheet to shape. super glued the edges and removed the former. i cased all the edges in pva to seal the groves and help keep the ply in shape. i then sanded it to a smooth finish. and glued it to the top of the 'engine room section'



As most can tell i have also started to paint the springer, originally it was red and white but due to woman's prerogative.... it ended up blue.

Normally i would have used car sprays or acrylics for th paint work but i found that a blue exterior gloss works just as well and will help not only seal the wood but also give the boat a nice shiny finish with little effort.
I will update photos of the painting once finished then i will go on to the running gear and the detailing. trick it not to get to carried away as i know this is going to take a beating.

So far i have found many things i would have changed in this build so i will be making a second springer once i have finished my other build thats going on , in another thread. That springer will be a super detailed version try to make it as realistic as possible as well as putting all the things i have learnt from this build together to make a better one next time.

[Prophet]

Regardless of broken fingers here an update of the springer build, the majority of its now painted some areas require a 2nd coat then some detailing, rudder and prop skeg is now made and fitted, the hull is black as a matt finish, the superstructuer is a deep blue and white, all the remains to do is fit the electrics (which i can't do untill i pop to town to pick up a prop shaft and motor mount, ) once the electrics are in i will seal down the deck and that will be either planked, but im leaning towards placing a sheet of 320 grit sand paper over it and paint it grey, fit the windows in the cabin, port hole covers, railings and the cabin roof section , then its litrally just a bit of detail some weathing to remove that deep blue gloss effect dull up the white add some rust and the springer will be ready for its madin voyage, im aiming to get my daughter on the water the first weeks she back as school before the real winter season come in she can have a good 2 months of sailing with me before were forced back to the house for 5 months in which time i will finish my other builds and start some new ones 


First up is my son helping out i think he just likes my Glasses...

[Prophet]

OK here we go again, almost there the finish line is in site!

after a recent trip to the local model shop i picked up a few odds and ends not only for the springer but also for my huntsman build,

Items purchased for the springer

6" m4 prop shaft,
40mm 2 blade prop (was going to go with a 38mm 3 blade brass but wasn't prepared to pay £8 for it given its for my daughter !
ABS motor mount
** these 2 i already have:- 20 turn high torque motor/ notice there's a 2nd motor a its a spare 600BB i have i will test motors and decide what will work best in the boat.
27 turn mtronics forward and instand reverse esc
** Already have as spare:- water proof/high speed and high torque servo
m4- coupling



First job was to install the prop shaft, expoy it in place, then fit the motor mount to line up with the shaft, at this point i expoyed in the motor mount since it was sitting on a slight curve of the hull i felt putting a flat plate in wasn't worth the effort, but to secure the mount down fully it was also bolted through the hull, and the holes on the hull filled and repainted and sealed.


Next was to get the servo in the right spot so i build a shelf for it to sit in, then built up the rudder post hole so its above the water line easy job.



OK last job was a test run in the bath to check for leaks easy to fix now then later once the deck as been sealed down, and I'm pleased to say no leaks in the hull and the shaft didn't drip either, and it wasn't greased up yet!


Now a question on ballast, i was under the impression from the start this thing was going to be extremely boyant, i fitted the deck and super structure on and let it sit, it was already back heavy so clearly all ballast i add with have to go to the front and center, my questions this, did any of you ballast the model and if so how much weight am i looking to add? reason i ask is that ballast is not cheap and lead is quite hard to obtain here, so I'm forced to buy the white metal fishing weights and need a rough idea how much i need to purchase, and no i don't have anything heavy to stick in the hull i checked everywhere for odd items i dint mind risking in the bath, other then LA battery's I'm not prepared to stick in to guess the weight!

any help will be useful on this one 

[hollowhornbear]

2 X 6Volt 4Ah SLA's do it for me wired to give 6V 8Ah. Stern heavy is good Springers trnd to nosedive at speed. at least mine does.

[Mr Andy]

Made up looking at the real boat, great; build it as you please I say, I did, it was a failure but I'll try again. 

Andy. 

[Prophet]

Thanks for the nice comment, always helpful to keep the enthusiasm going, well the lack of answers in regards to ballast wasn't much help, but thanks to 'hollow' who did, the ballast issue i have though out over the last day or so, clearly nose diving at speed is not what I'm after , nor is having it try planing across the water, so i have fixed the issue and test ridden in the bath.

It rides rear heavy but not by much just enough to keep the nose up and not let water rush over the deck, to achieve this.. i might get a few odd comments now, i have added 2- 7.2v 3000ah lipos, ( parallel for longer endurance) and very close to 2 kilos of raw fishing weight, those who work in LB and OZ its 4.5LB or 72OZ! thats enough to bring the boat sitting flat on the water and lower it enough to sit right. i will update with pics later tonight once i have epoxy the weight in place ( boats drying off from the soaking) and fed and put the kids to bed. 

[Martin (Admin)]

Don't forget to seal the woodwork inside the boat too!

I've found spray varnish good for waterproofing the wood: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastikote-Super-Clear-Acrylic-Satin/dp/B002HMOFOG

[DickyD]

I knew I wasn't the only one using Plastikote, I do find it worrying, however, that the other one is Martin.

[Prophet]

actully i hand painted the boat.. in regards to sealing the inside of the hull that was already done during construction of the hull. i coated it in a thick layer of wood glue to soak into the wood once all the internals shelfs are in place i will give the inside a few coats of gloss just to make it look a bit neater but thanks for the advice Martin 

[Prophet]

As Promised an update on the build, next few photos show the positions best i can of the weights added, there's 16oz's in the front section, 10 in the rear, (5 each side) and 23 each side of the center, this includes the weight of the battery's on there little shelf's which are not quite finished.
The weights i was going to epoxy in but i had a bit of body filler left in the old pot so i used it up which helps not add more weight as body filler drys lighter then expoy resin.

There's also a photo showing the boat at the water line so you can see how well i have balanced it for running.





next update will be the finish in a few days i just have details to add now decking window frames and windows, railings, deck items etc see you in a few days 

[Arrow5]

Keep the weight down low and at the outer edges of the hull, stick in with silicon bath sealant, easy to cut out if required. I like to use matt paint inside the hull so I can spot water easier. Raise a bulwark at the bow to stop "deck washing" or worse !   Plenty of space to be filled with polystyrene blocks/slabs.