Spray by FoxtrotHotel - radio - 1:30

[FoxtrotHotel]

I'll be posting updates on my build of Joshua Slocum's Spray circa ~1895.

 

It's based on plans I bought online, and I had a friend with a laser cutter make some parts for me, like the hull ribs, keel, and deck planking. However, I'm not following the plans exactly, and I'm converting it to RC, so I'm having to make quite a few modifications.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't think to start a build log from the very beginning, and I've already completed the basic hull without having taken too many progress pictures. I took a break from this project for about a year, but now that I'm getting back into it, I'll try to post more updates.

 

The build uses mostly wood, although the internal mechanics for the RC rigging are custom 3D printed parts in carbon fiber PLA.

 

I'm pretty new to model ship building, so I'm posting this log to hopefully get some advice and feedback. I wish I was as talented as a lot of the people who post here.

[FoxtrotHotel]

This is a shot of the planked hull, with the basic RC components mounted.

 

This is a small enough model that I might have been able to use a simple servo arm to pull the rigging in, but I saw some models online using a closed chain around drum and pulley, as well as a schematic in Phillip Williams book, Scale Sailing Models, and I wanted to try out a similar design.

 

 

[FoxtrotHotel]

I finalized most of the internal electronics and mechanics, and epoxied on the deck. I used a two part marine epoxy to attach the deck to the ribs, and then a waterproof epoxy putty to fill in the gaps between the deck the and hull.

 

The first three hollow areas, which will be inaccessible once the deck is attached, I filled with expanding foam spray used to insulate windows, to help further guard against any water seepage.

 

My planking of the hull wasn't the best, and some of my boards were a little warped and uneven, even after heavy sanding, so I had to fill in some sections with bondo and wood filler. I wasn't able to get the planking to completely meet the transom either, so I ended up using a lot of bondo to fill in the gaps.

 

All the 3D printed parts were made with carbon fiber PLA. If I could do it again, I would have used ASA instead. PLA is easy to print and work with, but it gets very soft with even light heat. For example, putting a model in your car on a warm summer day will warp a lot of parts, which would make transporting this a bit difficult. ASA is a lot more robust and has better heat tolerance.