1949 Chris-Craft 19' Racing Runabout by gjdale - FINISHED -Dumas - 1:8 Scale - RADIO

[gjdale]

Thank you very much Lawrence - you are very kind to say so.

[popeye the sailor]

sweet look'in boat Grant    such a flawless finish!   she's gonna look good on the water  

[gjdale]

Thanks Popeye, 

 

I'm looking forward to the weather warming up so that we can go for "sea trials".

[Rustyj]

HI Grant,

 

Great work my friend. Your innovation, skill and hard word produced a wonderful model.

I eagerly await the "sea trials".   

[Landlubber Mike]

Really beautiful work Grant.  Very nice job!  It's funny, I was looking at Dumas' Cris-Craft boat kits earlier today and was thinking they might be fun to build - though I think I need to get a little more up the skill curve first.  

 

What did you think about the kit generally?  Good components?  Seems like you bashed it a bit.

[gjdale]

Thanks Rusty and Mike.

 

Rusty - I'm looking forward to sea trials too - won't be long now as the weather is starting to warm up down here.

 

Mike - overalll, I think the kit is quite good. The use of Sintra (plastic) for the sub-planking is a little unusual for this type of build, and there are both pros and cons for it. You could make this model straight out of the box and have a reallly nice looking boat at the end. Or you can bash to your heart's content. Me? I couldn't help myself. I blame the CDO (that's like OCD, only with the letters in the right alphabetical order!!!!)

[gjdale]

A brief update to say that Sea Trials were successfully conducted today!

 

The good news:

1. She floats

2. She runs DRY - I checked the internals thoroughly after we'd been running a while and there was no sign of water ingress.

3. She performed quite well - but needs some fine tuning.

4. Battery life was quite good. We had several runs over a 90-minute period and the battery died just as I was bringing her back in - just made it!

 

The not so good news:

1. For some reason, the servo for the steering was running in reverse, so I had to turn the control to starboard if I wanted to turn to port etc. Found out that this is an easy fix with the remote control set-up, and have now resolved this one.

2. I seem to have been a bit too clever with my steering wheel that turns with the rudder - it actually turns the opposite way to the way it's supposed to  (not related to the problem above). Not sure if I'll be able to fix this one.

3. I couldn't get her going fast enough to get up on the plane.  The local club guys reckon I need a larger propellor (I think they're right). Might also need to add a little ballast to the stern to help lift the bows out of the water. She runs nicely level at the moment, which is great for slow speed work, but hey, this is a RACING runabout.....

 

I took a brief video of the Sea Trials (the Admiral was driving at this stage - it's HER boat after all). The crew members were not allowed onboard for Sea Trials, but now that certification has been achieved, they will be added for the next spin (with a new prop!). The video was taken with my iPhone. I take no responsibility for the quality of the video.....

 

[video deleted - see later post for updated video on second round of sea trials.]

 

Edited December 29, 2017 by gjdale

[Dan Vadas]

Nice one Grant .

 

1 hour ago, gjdale said:

I couldn't get her going fast enough to get up on the plane.  The local club guys reckon I need a larger propellor

Probably. Or a bigger motor - someone once said "There's no such thing as TOO MUCH power", and I agree .

 

1 hour ago, gjdale said:

Might also need to add a little ballast to the stern to help lift the bows out of the water

Are you running a Cav Plate? You might have it adjusted a bit too low. That'll push the bow down.

 

More likely the problem will fix itself when you get a bit more speed out of her .

 

  Danny

[Rustyj]

That was awesome! 

[Robin Lous]

Congrats! Nice and stylish.

 

I don't think adding weight to the rear is the solution. The bigger prop wil probably do the trick already.

 

Robin 

[gjdale]

Thanks Danny, Rusty and Robin (and all the likes).

 

New prop ordered! Changing over from a 1" diameter to 1.5" diameter - that should help move things along a little.

 

I'll also be changing over the battery from the current NiCd to LiPo. I'm told that the LiPo batteries perform a lot better, and they have the added bonus of being a fraction of the weight of the NiCd.  Between this and the new prop, I expect she'll go like a scalded cat!

 

Crew members have also had necessary surgery for a comfortable fit in the boat 

 

I'll post another video once the mods have been made and tested.

 

[cog]

from 1" to 1.5" do you have enough room to make it spin? that's quite an increase in size ... I did enjoy the ride, youcould have changerd the type to "racing walk about" temporarily

 

"Crew members have also had necessary surgery for a comfortable fit in the boat" ... have you been busy with scissors and pincers ... (bonsai crew), or just Wonka Vision ...?

 

Looking forward to the next show ...

cheers

Edited October 9, 2017 by cog

[John Allen]

Grant,

 

As usual finished build fantastic. 

 

I have no idea what I propose would work and have o experience since we are dealing with a model boat but the theory may be the same.  If the larger prop does not work it may put you on a plane but lug down where you may not get the speed. It may be you can order or use the first prop and change the pitch?

 

 

[Canute]

Carl, I suspect they've had their feet and lower legs lopped off to fit the seats. A sharp sprue cutter or whatever Doctor Grant deemed appropriate. Model railroaders do the same thing for populating passenger cars.

[mobbsie]

Hi Grant,

 

When all is said and done your sea trial was just a shake down and it served it's purpose mate. She sits in the water nicely and she's good and dry so your half way there.

 

With regard to John's comment, he may have a good idea in just changing the pitch of the propeller, a larger prop may unbalance her, but I don't understand the dynamics so I cant really comment.

 

I'm looking forward to the next trial and keep my fingers crossed you succeed.

 

I wasn't sure if the Naval ship was standing by to give you a tow or not, just don't try bump starting her will you. !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[gjdale]

Thanks Mobbsie,

 

The new propellor arrived yesterday, as have the new batteries. Just need the charger for the batteries and some free time (!) to set up for the next sea trials. Won’t be this weekend, I’m afraid - probably the following one. I’ll try and get some better video this time around too!

[gjdale]

Can't  believe it's been over two months since I received the new prop and batteries!

Anyway, they were installed some time ago now, but it wasn't until yesterday that I finally got the chance to take her for her second round of sea trials.

Good news - all mods worked as expected. She does indeed now go like a scalded cat - gets up onto the plane very nicely. The client was most satisfied with the sea trials and has accepted final delivery! I took a couple of videos while the 'client' was driving. Just try and get the controls out of her hands now - something about prizing them loose from her cold, dead hands comes to mind......

Hope you enjoy the videos as much as we did making them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cog]

she definitely got the hang off it, Grant. Talking about a bow wave ... it's more like bow wings!!! Flying over the water ... well worth the wait!!!

[popeye the sailor]

WOW Grant!   the first video didn't work for me,  but the second one did!  she looks awesome on the water........puts up quite a spray!   I think Barbie was a little scared though.....Ken.....you speed demon,  you!    

[Dan Vadas]

Get down and boogie ..... that's awesome Grant . The "scale" speed even looks right. Now .... how do you get a waterskier up behind her ???

 

  Danny

[CDW]

Super!

[gjdale]

Thanks very much Carl, Popeye, Danny and CDW.

 

Danny - funny you should mention that...................I was just discussing that exact idea with Mobbsie on Skype the other night. It’s do-able but I don’t think I’ll bother..........yet..........

[Canute]

Go Speed Racer, go! Well done, Grant. Love it.

[gjdale]

Thanks very much Ken.

[Mike Y]

This is the first RC build that I see where the boat moves like a real thing. Smooth turns, the motor power is just right, it does not fly on top with an overpowered motor. Great work!

[gjdale]

Thanks very much Mike.

[BobG]

This boat is a piece of art. Congratulations!

 

Bob

[gjdale]

Thank you so much Bob.

[BobG]

I just watched the videos again and that's looks like so much fun. My tick list just keeps getting longer. I've got to add one of the Chris Craft RC models to the list...not only is she gorgeous but she cuts through the water like a hot knife through butter. Awesome! 

[gjdale]

Thanks Bob. This was a fun build and it is fun to be able to take her for a spin once finished as well. There is plenty of scope for making your own mods to the kit too - plenty of rabbit holes to disappear down. Go on, you know you want to........😈😈😈😉