Ok, so now bought yet another project, A Graupner "adolph Bermphol" Lifeboat, complete with its little powered "daughter baot" which rides piggy back on the stern and is capable of being launched and retreived via a launching ramp and rear stern section which hinges down via servo/control rod.

It was purchased at a reasonable price, basically due to its rather nasty and tacky paint job it had recieved. Someone had taken time and pleasure to build it some years ago to a good standard I'd say, but its recent owner had decided it needed a facelift, but didnt bother to remove any fittings, windows or even to flat the original paint down before attacking it with a paint brush! hence the paint was applied very badly, blistered in places, windows, hand rails and fittings all covered in the same nasty bright orange paint, which was neither the correct colour or compatable with the layers of paint underneath.

So after asking a few questions on this site about careful paint removal from plastic, some careful removal of all saveable fittings and a few pairs of rubber gloves later, the paint was stripped down t o an acceptable level to enable the paintwork to be started all over again.

the electrics by the way were all intact, drive motors [ all 3 !] still in place, operating servo's, even a 27mhz reciever, all it needed was a battery and transmitter and I supposed I could of sailed it almost straight away. untill I removed the paint and found the stern had a nasty crack/split under water level! due to the poor support given the the stern and the rear door section. this I decided needed some thought and Improvement [more of which in subsequent blog updates]. But for now, heres a few pics of original condition and I'll continue again soon.

my main boat is the Robbe Dusseldorf Fireboat, which is also detailed on these blogs, so keep look out for updates on the too.

Finally managed to upload some pictures of my new project. I hope you can see what it is ok. Appologies about the paint job, but in later posts you will see how this was removed and the renovation is going ahead.

So, first task was to remove all outer fittings, rails and any brass support bars for the walkways either side of the uper deck, as well as doing same "bit" removal on the daughter boat.
After taking some advise on both this site and another build forum, I chose to use " SAFE STRIPPER" made by a company called "Langlow". it is readily available via mail order from a boat store called www.marinemegastore.com.

Its a gel like consistancy and can be difficult to get to stay in place on vertical surfaces, so I found it easier to do flat surfaces at a time, turning the hull on its side to get those done. it takes time for this stripper to work, so dont expect miracles on initial application as it hardly looks like its doing anything! [dont be fooled]. Same goes for using skin protection, please make sure you wear protective gloves and be careful you dont splash any of this stuff where you dont want it!.
The stripper washes off easily with warm soapy water, the only down side I found was it does actually "stain" the white plastic slightly a "green" colour. This however will easily paint over and does not show through [see later]. I say all this now, as Ive already passed this stage, but wanted to be sure myself, before saying anything to others who may now decide to use the product.

After initial paint stripping I did find certain areas of paint hadn't been removed, this was where another suggestion from the blog site came in. "Fairy power spray"! comes in a handy spray bottle, so easily applied and to be honest, works extremely well and quite quickly too! be careful, it smells quite strong, so work outdoors at all times and dont leave this stuff to dry off, or its even worse to try and remove the paint again.
Once the paint appears to blister, use a broad blade screwdriver or paint scraper to remove the outer layers, allowing the stripper to work on those underneath as you go. obviously what you use, depends on how accessibile the area to be stripped is on your boat, I had a few niggly tight areas on mine, so used a various amount of screwdrivers with different width blades to help lift the paint off as it was loosened by the stripper.
Removal of the paint revealed what I had bought finally! I dont mind this type of project as you can see results fairly quickly and changes soon become apparent as you go along, rather than start a project from brand new and you simply build as you go and follow the correct build plans and instructions, this way you have to become part of the original builer and see how they "thought" when it was originally built, see where they went , er "astray/wrong" and then be prepared to carry out some rebuilding/reconstruction to get it back on correct track.
The upper deck on the daughter boat had the original windows badly cut out of its blank form, so Ive decided to replace the upper deck with a replacement structure and of a more modern looking construction, so it looks more like a lifeboat than the little harbour boat it originally did.

Ok, so yes, I'm now modifying it away from its originality, but like everyone else, we all make our mark on a build project. "trust me" [as they say - ] wait till later in the project to see the resultant shape of this, as, yes, its still in project mode and going through a few balsa wood block build samples at the moment , till Im happy with its shaping and styling, so it still fits in with the main boat and its country of origin.

So, Ive had to cut in to the rear deck, where the lift ramp is for the daughter boat, to get access to the rudder arms. the original graupner ones relied heavily on the brass nuts being ultra tight to get them to "grip" the rudder shafts. This I found very vaugue and you coould easily turn the rudders with a finger once everything was tight, so have replaced all the arms with "robbe" bolt on ones.
the deck was then re plated with some 10 thou plasticard to prevent further water ingress.

All the internal wood support bars were a little loose and not holding place, so I purchased some "stabilit express" glue. OH BOY ! is it gurde stuff! id fully 110 % reccommend it to anyone trying to stick wood to plastic. you must mix correct proportions of powder to liquid, but once mixed you have around 10 minutes to get in place before it starts to set, fully dry in about half an hour. you can sand, shape and even drill the stuff once fully cured in 24 hrs too!

the main upper deck structure has now been repainted in its new colour scheme and the upper control deck has started to be constructed, the base "spray screen" is seen added to the upper deck, where the over panel complete with windows will be added shortly, followed by all the interior fittings and lastly, a roof panel, aerials radars etc.
the main deck areas have now also had their main green colour applied, to replicate the original european colour scheme.

So, next item on the agenda, is the launch/retreival ramp for the daughter boat. the original plans and instructions say to make these "rollers" up and drill and secure to the rear deck. Er, well, in the interests of water leaking in to the boat , Ive made a copy of the ramp, attatched all the guide rollers to it and dropped in place in the rear deck slot, securing from the top via 4 flat plates and screws. So no nasty water leaks as the wet boat is dragged back in after launching, plus if anytime a problem with one of the rollers, its easy to remove, repair and refit, or even replace totally, without major reworking on the hull again, as once plastic hulls are drilled, "thats it" so to speak.
the pictures show how the ramp was constructed, with thin brass rod to make the roller spindles and thin plastic tube for the rollers themselves, free running and simplicity itself. Similar rollers have been added to the lowering rear stern door, so when lowered, it also acts as a guide to ensure the bow of the daughter boat aligns up correctly for retreival via the launch/retreival system [more of that to follow as and when in full operation].

After some trials with paper templates, I have decided upon an upper control cabin, appropriate in profile for this boat. it is shaped upon the original modified cabin as fitted to the later "Adolph bermphol" design and later extended to include more of the upper deck.
Ive used plasticard for all the upper works, as it bends easily and once braced with internal supports, I gently heated the deck cabin to allow it to hold its shape better rather than keep the plastic under tension and relying upon glue for holding shape.
All the windows were cut to pattern from the plans, along with the internal control surfaces, all of which will be painted and the dials, instruments and radio gear added shortly, along with window film before closing with a roof panel.
the "tube" you can see sticking up, is the drive shaft for the roof mounted radar, the drive motor being mounted in the lower cabin area, this tube being a simply shaft extension, much better than having the drive motor in this small cabin and being fully visible through the windows.

Ok, so to be able to launch the daugher boat off the rear slipway [detailled earlier] the rear stern section of the boat has to lower down to just below water level, to allow the boat in and out.
this is operated by a servo motor and the stern section is hinged on its base. the original system used a nylon rod, running from the servo arm, right out of the rear hull and connected to the stern section. I was not really convinced with this system, plus wanted it to look a lot less bulky when in open position, so decided to use some thinner brass wire, running inside a plastic tube for the majority of its run to reduce the risk of "kinking" and twisting.
I firstly removed the stern section inner plate, filled the insides with expanding foam to both give it rigidity and loose as much space for water ingress [when lowered]. I was also able then, to install a small brass ball joint inside a plastic tube, - this is to enable the brass link operating wire to swivel as the stern bit raises and lowers. Plus it is easier to remove/refit and even - replace the joint if it starts to wear out. the plastic guide tube runs almost to the stren, where it fits nicely in to the end of a plastic biro tube, this is then bonded in to the stern deck, gives some strength to the wire and its operation too, plus it also acts as a locating guide as the door closes AND acts as the housing to sheild the nylon servo horn cup as it retracts back to the rear of the boat [multI tasking or what?].
The next trick was to get the correct length of servo arm, so the stern section both opens sufficiently AND closes fully, leaving no nasty looking gaps or not allowing sufficient clearance for the daughter boat to run in and out. I tried first with a thin wooden one, till the right size/length was finalised, then I cut one out of alluminium for strength and lightness. it alos allowed me to operate a small micro switch off the servo arm, so I have nstalled some very small led bulbs, either side fo the stern door, so as the stern section lowers, the misco switch operates and the lights come on and flash accordingly, this I think looks good and gives the pilot of the daughter boat some decent aiming points, when it comes back for retreival back onboard.

You will also notice, from viewing the pictures there are 2 side posts on the stern section, these act as "guides" for the daughter boat as it apporoaches the loading bay, so as the catch arm runs out, the boat is in as much as possible the , er "correct" position for retreival, failing that, its pilot both back to the jetty and the ever faithful "big hand from the sky" puts the boat back onboard! [ha ha].
I will try and do some video clips to show all this operating soon, once I can get my camera to link up to my pc for video.

This boat, craft,vessel,ship [call It what you wish - Im not arguing] Was originally designed to have a rescue net suspended between the forward steering position and 2 aerial posts on the forward deck. to be honest Ive studied the drawings and It looks really awful when Installed on the model, plus Ive decided to build a slightly later version of this boat, so now Ive mounted a fire monitor on the forward deck, just In front of the steering cabin, so having a rescue net suspended above this would be crazy, as anyone landing In It would hit the fire monitor below It. So didnt want to bin the net, still wanted a rescue net onboard, so what to do?

Silliest of Ideas, why not make It a "collapsing net", operated by a servo? So after a bit of scribbling on some paper, bit of brass wire bending/shaping, here goes [see pic's]. It folds flat [ish] against the side of the main cabin, then at press of servo, extends sideways to full width, allowing passengers/victims aboard sinking vessel to jump down on to the net, clamber across and on to the upper deck of the boat. Well, these rescue boats normally pull alongside a stricken vessel anyway, so why not use this for victims on higher levels than the rescue boat?

Perhaps I ought to be In rescue/design [ha ha].