robdurant

I was a little slow posting this update because I’m just getting over my first case of COVID. It took five years to finally catch it, and when I did, it did a pretty good job on me—but I’m all better now.
 
I started at the bow, installing the handrail and windlass. To accurately locate the handrail posts, I made a photocopy of the bow section from the plans and taped it in place as a guide. I used a compass point to mark all the locations.  I also marked the bollard locations on the deck.
 

Next, I installed the ladder, deck hatches, and the larger windlass on the main deck.  The two higher hatches are mounted on the removable deck portion to access the battery.
 

After that, I jumped over to the hull pin striping. I had some 1/16” white pinstripe tape left over from another project, and it worked out very nicely.
 
Then it was back to the superstructure. I installed the rear antenna support and the cable handrail, finished painting the stack and the anchors, and added pins to the anchors to help secure them to the hull.




Thanks for looking in and for the likes.

vexillology - had to ask my wife about that one... (being a classics teacher, she's handy to have around).... logos from the Greek for word, so study... and vexillum from the Roman banner... think the Eagle standard the soldiers marched behind and protected at all costs.... so.... mash latin and Greek together and you get the study of flags. I love the world we live in. Just fascinating. Thanks for the new word, Chris, and all the best with this stunning new model 

Yes - and any vexillologist will know the proper manner to display an ensign on a spontoon.

vexillology - had to ask my wife about that one... (being a classics teacher, she's handy to have around).... logos from the Greek for word, so study... and vexillum from the Roman banner... think the Eagle standard the soldiers marched behind and protected at all costs.... so.... mash latin and Greek together and you get the study of flags. I love the world we live in. Just fascinating. Thanks for the new word, Chris, and all the best with this stunning new model 

vexillology - had to ask my wife about that one... (being a classics teacher, she's handy to have around).... logos from the Greek for word, so study... and vexillum from the Roman banner... think the Eagle standard the soldiers marched behind and protected at all costs.... so.... mash latin and Greek together and you get the study of flags. I love the world we live in. Just fascinating. Thanks for the new word, Chris, and all the best with this stunning new model 

vexillology - had to ask my wife about that one... (being a classics teacher, she's handy to have around).... logos from the Greek for word, so study... and vexillum from the Roman banner... think the Eagle standard the soldiers marched behind and protected at all costs.... so.... mash latin and Greek together and you get the study of flags. I love the world we live in. Just fascinating. Thanks for the new word, Chris, and all the best with this stunning new model 

vexillology - had to ask my wife about that one... (being a classics teacher, she's handy to have around).... logos from the Greek for word, so study... and vexillum from the Roman banner... think the Eagle standard the soldiers marched behind and protected at all costs.... so.... mash latin and Greek together and you get the study of flags. I love the world we live in. Just fascinating. Thanks for the new word, Chris, and all the best with this stunning new model 

Looking great, Sal. Do think about access to the top of the rudder post once fitted, too. I cut an extra hatch in, which ends up hidden under the superstructure. It will allow you to attach the rudder horn (tiller effectively) easily when you get to that stage. You can see it at the stern in the photo attached... the hole is much more easily cut out before the false deckis attached, and you may decide to modify the frames around that part, too so that you get a good run for the arm between the rudder horn and the servo . I can't remember if I had to.
 
Apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs
 
Rob

 
 

Also, for some people it is all about the building process while, for others, it is about completing as many ship models as possible during our short time here. Both approaches are equally valid and everyone gets to follow whatever path they choose.

I got all the wires soldered together and the connectors connected to the switch.  The last step was mounting the bottle on the base.  The bottle is flask-shaped, but the sides are curved so it does not lie on it's side with any stability.  Also, it's got kind of a female body shape with a gentle waistline in the middle.  After more hand-wringing, I decided to mount the bottle on a "black sand beach".  The thought was that I could push the bottle slightly into the sand and it would conform and adhere to the side of the bottle providing stability to the mount. 
 
For my black sand beach, I used a mixture of aquarium sand and Mod Podge.


 
 
 
 
 
 
After a day, the Mod Podge dried clear and provided a solid adhesion to the bottle and the base,  I also made a nameplate and attached to the front which you can see in the final pics below.  But before I post those final pics, I want to give a sincere thank you to everyone that participated in the fun expedition.  Whether you read every post of just popped in on occasion, I greatly appreciate you being part of the journey from idea to completed project.  So a huge THANK YOU to @Keith Black, @Ian_Grant, @Coyote_6, @Snug Harbor Johnny, @Knocklouder, @Javelin, @KennyH78, @Canute, @Bryan Woods, @Baker, @gjdale, @gsdpic, @Paul Le Wol, @BANYAN, @JacquesCousteau, @SaltyScot, @GrandpaPhil, @John Fox III, @popeye2sea, @hollowneck, @tmj, @CiscoH, @FriedClams, @Desertanimal, @ccoyle, @BLACK VIKING, @Siggi52, @robdurant, @Landlubber Mike, @Kauz, @Kenchington.
 
 
 
Here are the final pictures:


 
 
And here's the same in low light:


 
 
What you can't see in the still shots is that I used a flickering LED inside the fireball.  So if you want to see what that looks like, here's a 15 second video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQxOmC4wIFM.
 
 
And with that, this fun ride comes to a close.  Thank you again for all your comments, help, humor, and inspiration!  It's an amazing community we have here in MSW.

Tamiya had a similar solution for their R/C cars, generated a lot of heat but also very responsive speed..... did crawling speed very well.
 

Float Test
With all the electronics installed, I thought it would be a good time to give the ship another float test.

 

As you can see, there’s a slight list to the port side, and the bow sits a bit high. To correct this, I plan to use lead shot salvaged from an old diving weight belt as adjustable ballast.  After draining the tub, I realized that the list may have been influenced by the battery placement, as it’s relatively heavy and it might have been positioned off-center. I’ll verify this next time by temporarily relocating the battery to confirm whether it’s the primary cause of the imbalance.  Oh, and still no leaks.

Now that the hull is nearly complete, I decided to begin work on the upper cabin. I started by installing the exterior deck planking using the kit-supplied material.

Next, I added the cap railing and applied a stain. Once everything had dried, I finished the rail and deck off with three coats of wipe-on polyurethane.


Next I decided that since this ship will be operational, it needed a captain at the helm. I found one I liked from Motion RC — the Bancroft 1/50 Scale Civilian Mariner figure.

After placing him at the wheel, it quickly became clear that a little lighting was in order.

I picked up a Chip Light Kit from Evans Designs and installed the mini LEDs

— and now, we have light!


That said, I really need to plan a little better next time. I had already installed the cabin roof, so I ended up having to fit both the captain and the lights through the cabin windows — not exactly ideal, but it worked!

Some small progress on the QG today. Spent most time designing parts and printing trial and error. Oh and whatever this resin is, it’s absolutely best friends with CA and believe it or not… Tightbond. There will be zero issues attaching things to these and then to the hull.

Some very preliminary QG work done tonight. Lots of boxwood had to die for this to happen. New revised windows on an old prototype QG, some messed up columns and oversized moldings. But you get the idea. There’s still much more to these things but this is the basic idea.
 

When I (briefly) sailed a One Metre class yacht, the 2.4GHz receiver was just sat in a plastic pot along with the battery just beneath the deck, and it worked fine. That was a fibreglass hull and deck (albeit with patches). The orientation shouldn't make any difference unless you're pushing the signal to its limits, as I guess it changes relatively anyway as you move the transmitter around, and as the boat sails in different directions.
 
The one article I found about this (again from a radio sailing perspective) talks about having problems at a distance of 180 metres because of a carbon fibre hull and rain reducing the signal strength.... so that gives you some idea of the capabilities of modern radio control transmitters and receivers. (Here, if you want to go down the rabbit hole...  https://www.onemetre.net/Build/2.4GHz/24GHz.htm )

Nordkap's looking wonderful. The paint looks just right to me.
 
I think the idea with the antenna is to keep it above the waterline, and away from things that are electronically noisy (I.e. the motor)... Since the boat is not carbon fibre it shouldn't make a Faraday cage, so you should be okay having the antenna inside the model, and unless you have to I would advise not changing the antenna wire unless  you have to. I believe they are matched by length to the frequency.
 
I have always just had the receiver in a tray up towards the deck away from the motor and rudder servo. Having said that I have more experience with 27Mhz and 40MHz... my tests with 2.4GHz seem okay though.
 
A distance test is always a good idea... plug everything in, connect transmitter to receiver, and then get someone to watch the bost while you walk away from it using the transmitter. See how far you get before it stops responding. It'll give you some idea what to expect on the water.
 
Also, doing a first sail (or indeed sailing in general) somewhere where you can wade out and retrieve the model is a great comfort. 
 
Hope that's helpful, and apologies if I'm repeating things you already know.
 
Rob

Aah, you've nailed the bit that completely stumped me. That blue colour. I searched and searched and was never really happy with my choice. Your pick looks just right.

Looking great, Sal. Do think about access to the top of the rudder post once fitted, too. I cut an extra hatch in, which ends up hidden under the superstructure. It will allow you to attach the rudder horn (tiller effectively) easily when you get to that stage. You can see it at the stern in the photo attached... the hole is much more easily cut out before the false deckis attached, and you may decide to modify the frames around that part, too so that you get a good run for the arm between the rudder horn and the servo . I can't remember if I had to.
 
Apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs
 
Rob

 
 

When I (briefly) sailed a One Metre class yacht, the 2.4GHz receiver was just sat in a plastic pot along with the battery just beneath the deck, and it worked fine. That was a fibreglass hull and deck (albeit with patches). The orientation shouldn't make any difference unless you're pushing the signal to its limits, as I guess it changes relatively anyway as you move the transmitter around, and as the boat sails in different directions.
 
The one article I found about this (again from a radio sailing perspective) talks about having problems at a distance of 180 metres because of a carbon fibre hull and rain reducing the signal strength.... so that gives you some idea of the capabilities of modern radio control transmitters and receivers. (Here, if you want to go down the rabbit hole...  https://www.onemetre.net/Build/2.4GHz/24GHz.htm )

Thanks for the advice, Rob — and no need to apologize. I can use all the help I can get when it comes to electronics! As for changing out the antenna, that's definitely way above my pay grade.
 
So, you think I can keep the antenna inside the cabin? I was under the impression I needed to run it up through the cabin roof and keep it vertical, kind of like a car radio antenna (not that cars really have those anymore).
 
Good advice, I will definitely do that before putting it in the water.

Nordkap's looking wonderful. The paint looks just right to me.
 
I think the idea with the antenna is to keep it above the waterline, and away from things that are electronically noisy (I.e. the motor)... Since the boat is not carbon fibre it shouldn't make a Faraday cage, so you should be okay having the antenna inside the model, and unless you have to I would advise not changing the antenna wire unless  you have to. I believe they are matched by length to the frequency.
 
I have always just had the receiver in a tray up towards the deck away from the motor and rudder servo. Having said that I have more experience with 27Mhz and 40MHz... my tests with 2.4GHz seem okay though.
 
A distance test is always a good idea... plug everything in, connect transmitter to receiver, and then get someone to watch the bost while you walk away from it using the transmitter. See how far you get before it stops responding. It'll give you some idea what to expect on the water.
 
Also, doing a first sail (or indeed sailing in general) somewhere where you can wade out and retrieve the model is a great comfort. 
 
Hope that's helpful, and apologies if I'm repeating things you already know.
 
Rob

I finished painting the hull, applying the blue paint above the waterline.


Once the paint had dried, I proceeded to install all the electronics along with the propeller.  The only thing I'm still unsure about is what to do with the antenna and how to support it.


Thanks for looking in and for the likes.

Thanks, Rob! To be honest, I have to give all the credit to my wife—she asked ChatGPT what color would best match the Nordkap fishing vessel, and this is what it came up with.
 
Just remember, always be nice to AI so when it takes over the world it will be nice to you.😄

Aah, you've nailed the bit that completely stumped me. That blue colour. I searched and searched and was never really happy with my choice. Your pick looks just right.