Sea Scout joins the Sea Maid...

[west0618]

I decided to make yet another boat of the same era as the Sea Maid I build last year so I could have two boats out at the same time in less than ideal conditions. The Snapper speed boat I built first is still a great boat but should be run on calm waters. So I found OLD plans for a Sea Scout boat that’s a bit longer than the Snapper but quite shorter than the Sea Maid, coming in at about 27” long and 11” wide.

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As you can see from this scan from the plans, it should ride quite high in the water, like the Sea Maid does.
I’m using the same build technique I used on the Sea Maid with the two horizontal bulkheads at the chine line and the sheer line. Much easier than vertical bulkheads head together with stringers. At least for me.

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Here you can see the cut out for the cockpit and the keel below it.

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I’m building a compartment to house the motor and all the electronics as well, like I did on the Sea Maid. The keel is fitted for now but I am held up awaiting parts…from China. Once they arrive, I can fabricate the stuffing tube and the motor mount. Once they are installed, I can add the missing bulkheads and start adding the skin to the hull.

[cml001]

Nice!

[Derek]

looks real good, Dad!

[DOG]

Yup! you got the bug. It's looking sharp.

[pvolcko]

Wish I had the time and patience for that kind of building. As it is, I've been working on a dead simple ARF Edge 540 plane for 2 years now.

Great looking work there. Sure it will be another beaut.

[Graham Lawrie]

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT:) What skills and love your builds:)

[west0618]

Slow going on this boat as it is made from FULL SIZED plans scaled down to 1/6th. Not everything will fit as it would in the 1 to 1 world. Especially the motor and drive shaft. I had to take a few liberties in the angle of the stuffing tube for the drive shaft and moving the rudder control shaft forward a bit but, other than that, it should look quite true to the original.
The actual rudder has an unusual shape and, as I could not find the rudder with a long enough shaft to suit me, I decided to simply lay one up out of fiberglass.

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Above is the very rough, cured, rudder. It looks a lot better below with it trimmed down.

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But it was still oversized, as you can see. Once I got it primed, it was easy to mark properly and trim to the final size.

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Below it is installed with the servo connected. Until I get the motor (from HobbyKing China warehouse) and the universal joint from ebay (this should be here Thursday or Friday…who knows about the HK order. Their tracking number still shows as “NOT FOUND” after 5 days.) I cannot commit to the stuffing tube angle and placement.

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I used a similar principle for holding the steering servo here as I did on the Sea Maid. It is located in the sealed aft compartment with the leads feeding into the electronics compartment just in front of it.

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I have a motor mount cut out, bent and drilled for the new motor using an old one with the same mounting pattern for guidance. This should save some time once it arrives. Once the drive system is aligned and secured in place the build should speed up considerably. After adding the two missing bulkheads I can start adding the outer hull panels…and fiber glassing over that. The ESC I wish to use is on backorder but I can improvise during the build until it is available or I choose another(with Derek's help).

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That’s it for now.

[Derek]

Very cool, Dad! Looks good!

[DOG]

Now I can see where Derek got his talent from . It's looking simply marvelous. Keep up the good work!

[pvolcko]

Nice work on that rudder!

[west0618]

Well, some of the long awaited parts from HK International warehouse finally showed up and I was able to get the drive system lined up and installed.

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I just finished gluing in the missing side of the electronics/motor compartment. Once that dries I will do some final sanding on the bulkheads then start laying up the hull. There should be regular updates from now on.
The stuffing tube may look rather exposed and low in the water…but that is rather how they ran. Plus, like my Sea Maid, it will have an outer protective sleeve with a reinforcing web between it and the hull.

Bear in mind that this boat is not built from “model” plans but from antiquated, full size plans so I need to take extra care in placement to get everything to fit in the confined spaces. This required me to lower the motor and mount the thickness of the lower deck or 3/16”. That was enough. It was a lot easier to do that now than on a near finished project.

[DOG]

It's looking good!

[Derek]

Real sharp, Dad! Looks great!

[ElementalSpark]

Oh that's awesome!

[west0618]

Ok...this build is not dead. It seems this winter kept me entertained enough that this project just stayed under my bench. But it is back out and moving forward very well. I started adding the sides to the hull and hope to have the bottom panels on before the weekend.

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Expect regular updates. This one is getting fiberglass added to the hull early on so it will not have the nice wood finish of the Sea Maid I built a while back. But it should take more abuse(unintentional...but it happens)

[cml001]

Get'r done!

[Derek]

Really looks good Dad!

[west0618]

OK. I finished the sides yesterday and have started on the bottom...getting it almost half covered. As this boat is well over 24" long( the length of the 1/64" thick plywood I bought for the bottom) each half will need to be done as two pieces. As the sides were. I used 1/8" ply for the sides as it is just over $4.00 for a 12" x 24" piece. And at 1/8" think, it was a chore to get bent even around this curvature. No was it would bend around the very bottom...especially at the bow. I know. 1/64" thick IS thin for the bottom but, as I plan to lay at least two layers of fiberglass on this hull, it does form well to the bulkheads and will give a nice base for the resin and mat. Ignore the screw heads and wood seams as the entire thing will be painted...not finished natural as my Sea Maid was.

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[Derek]

Real cool!

[Graham Lawrie]

Very nice and it looks big:)