A video update and some new photos!

Colour!

Just a quick update to post these pictures of our first three boats which have received their first coat of paint, the other two are going to be painted this week. Now we can really see their characters! Jake's green machine, Sam's rather up market looking pirate boat with it's gloss black hull and stained wood deck not to mention my co leader's Avril's red racer!
By the way if you have been directed here from the footy rc sailing web site photo gallery those transparent plastic sails on my boat were totally useless and have been quickly replaced by a white nylon set I made from a discarded blown inside out red and white golf umbrella I found in the the bin at the local playing fields! three more sets can be got out of it!

My "test" boat "Sea Monkey" sailing

My first boat "Sea Monkey" sailing with my son Jake at the helm! Can't wait to see them all in the water!

Pirates and Ernie Tape Ball!

Here's most of our group engrossed in building their yachts. L-R James (the Stig) trimming the edge of his deck.
(my son) Jake painting his boat "Keo Hop So", in a green colour scheme inspired by his Skull Candy brand headphones.
Sam is cutting the hatch opening into the wood stained deck of his pirate ship Arrr!
Peter's hands and as yet uncustomized boat are in the bottom right corner.
The yachts in the centre of the table are: L-R Avril's awaiting being painted bright red!
Les Hamptead's complete boat with recycled kite sails and a deeper keel than on the Papaya 3 plans.
The last (fishy) boat is mine, it has plastic bag sails and a noticeably shorter keel, all of our boats use steel as the keel weights and while three have nut's and bolts in a length of electrical conduit (as does Les's) and the other three use steel plates which because they are stuck to the sides of the keel shorten it a little, something I only noticed later, I'm hoping it won't effect their ability to tack too much, I'm waiting for some better weather to sail mine to try it out also I want to check that the sail area is balanced and do any adjustments before we use it as a template for the other boats.
Once they have done with painting things should be pretty well straight forward as i have made up all the bits of chandlery they need to assemble the masts and rudders etc though they have rejected the idea plastic sails in favour of nylon, I bet they they’ll be pestering their Mums to sew them for them!

Maybe in the next blog entry I'll introduce you to "Ernie tape ball" Sam and Jake's attempt to break the Guinness book of records largest ball of (assorted) self adhisive tape! He even has his own facebook page!

Finishing off inside the hulls.

After a what seems like a long break we are again making steady progress and have got as far as glueing in the servo blocks and are now painting the inside of the hulls in preperation of putting on the decks. Most have decided on their colour scheme and paint has been found or purchased. I could tell you how they might look but maybe it's better to wait until I can post photos. I am enjoying the challenge of planning and keeping up with making an assortemnt of small pre-assembled itiems such as exteneded sail servo arms, splash proof receiver switch mountings and the like. ..It's fascinating how many ways you can utillise nylon P clips! I reckon that by the end of February we will be ready to start on masts and sails!

Radios and put putts!

We knew from the start that the radio control systems where going to be a little costly and it’s only the fact that we only need four that made this project possible. We thought that some kind of a fundraiser might help us on our way and the church very kindly offered to pay the short fall. So last Sunday after the Sunday service we sold home made cakes, I know that, ideally these would have been made by the youth group members them selves but it was easier to ask the Mums! We filled a table with cakes and displayed the part completed boats at one end with some photos of finished Footys so they could see how they should turn out and also told them of our plans for a regatta day.. People were so generous! Can you believe that we raise £140! ($220) People where so keen to support the boys project that they where handing over Tenners! Not only that but we where donated two second hand 27 Mhz systems! One looks unused and is still packed in its polystyrene packaging! I have ordered the other new (40 Mhz) systems and we should have enough money over for a future project!
So a big thank you to all of you!

Over the last few weeks I have been playing with something that might become that next project: Putt putt boats! A vintage steamboat that has no moving parts! Theses used to be a popular tin plate toy before the Second World War but fell out of favour because of the new electric and plastic models. A schoolteacher in the US has devised a method of making a boiler using just an aluminium drink can and two drinking straws! Just as amazing is that it is glued together rather than soldered! The hull is made from an unfolded waxed card fruit juice carton. Fired by a birthday cake candle it chugs along emitting a putt putt sound. Sending out jets of water as the water cycles in and out of the flash steam boiler expanding then condensing making the bottom of it snap in and out acting as a diaphragm. I have scaled the design up a little to a 12”long (Footy) hull made from an empty chocolate tins, it seems to work’ just as well if not better though I’m a bit concerned that the lager boiler flexes a lot and may be prone to springing leaks. Time will tell. I am going to finish it off by making it an oil burner to replace th candle and some super structure including a funnel to make it lake worthy. It should look cute putt putting along out there.

Finally an update!

Les with his boat.

border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543533366019318338" />

After a long break from blogging I have lots of progress to report and photos to upload! There are now eight boat builders as we have been joined by two rather more mature builders who didn't want to miss out on the fun! At the top is Les who's home we meet in and kitchen table we build on. We are finished until the new year now but are almost ready for the decks to be fitted and the hulls to be painted! As for the four sets of radio control gear for the youths boats we are doing a cake bake sale and the church is making up the short fall!