Hi good idea, have you been out on the water yet?

I have several 12 -18 volt motors the size of a 550 and run them on 6 -7.2 volts and they will turn over a big prop 45 - 50 mm.

This looks good on a cargo ship where you can almost watch the prop turn over. They do not get hot and have a low current drain. Bonus is they are often cheap! Also I can use slightly cheaper NiMh batteries of about 3300mAhs.

I have a few Pittman motors originally scrounged out of computer tape decks 40 years ago. They are almost silent and work really well.

I always check for hot batteries or motors as I do not want current diverted from the motor to heating up the drive train.

Following a friend I have also found a cheap and effective and silent U/J. It is plastic flexible tubing about 3/8ths inch diameter in less than 2 inch lengths.

You can use it in place of the Huco U/J, keeping the brass inserts on which it is a tight fit. Or if you have a threaded shaft a largish pair of nuts locked together with the tubing forced over them.

They need to be in a straight line and a few fast forward and reverses settles the tubing into position. The drive is silent and efficient and good for up to 20 watts or so.
regards
Roy

I would agree with others, viz. use a smaller prop. When a motor gets hot it normally indicates too high a resistance from the prop, so try a couple of smaller sizes and monitor its performance.
Good luck😉

Looks real nice Peter👍- monitor works well and radar looks spot on, - nice job👍 You can always go up a bit in motor size if you find cruising not to your liking. It does let you stay out longer though, and enjoy it more.

JB

Well Peter,
Finally she hit the water and she looks really good.
I bet you are glad to see her in the wet stuff after the time she has taken to make.
Great work.

One down and many more to go or should i say Finnish LOL!!

Martin555.

A nifty experimental boat. What about a back-up battery - charged by the solar panels. Gives a bit of continuity. 😎

Or to use Elton John's words for the boat's motto

"Don't let the sun go down on me"

I wanted to demonstrate that a vessel could move due to the power of the sun alone.Introducing a battery would confuse the issue and sceptical people would claim that it was the battery doing all the work !! Cheers

Hi Brian
The hull is very similar to the Tarpon produced in the 1960's, especially the four portholes on the raised deck.
The cabin is different but this could be a later addition/modification.
I did think it may have been a Dumas kit but I have scant knowledge of their range and was hoping one of our American friends would comment.
It certainly looks the part and I hope you have many hours of happy sailing.

Hi,
I know this was a long time ago but only just saw this, and you may have found the answer by now. It is a design by John L Langford called Margaret and was published in a book of drawings from Brown, Son and Ferguson in Glasgow. I think the drawings are still available and I bought a set years ago- never got built!
The hull was 48" long. Lovely boat.
All the best,
Ian

HI Les
What a bummer. Bread is not good for wildlife and certainly not for props.
Hopefully your motor should be OK as long as the wires are not burnt. if you have a multimeter you could check the insulation between the shaft and each winding using the highest ohms reading. it should be high, if low chances are there is an internal short. A quick check (on a lower ohm reading) between windings should give similar results between every pair, again any variance may indicate an internal short.
Dave

I am just building one of these on a wood hull, I notice you are running a single motor. Could you advise what motor you are using plus what prop please? Thanks Andy

I've only seen them on the television, great job on the model!

Many thanks. I made two of these, both are now sold. The models still survive but the real things have been withdrawn from service.

💭 Hi Chiefpurser, Stardust looks really good, did you have problems with buoyancy, and how much does it weigh, how do you transport and launch such a big model?
Looks a good pool, where do you sale?

HI thanks for the comments. No problems with buoyancy only 6oz lead to bring her upright, a bit tender but will be adding a further 16 oz of ballast before next outing. She will weigh 18 lbs. transport is not a problem back seat of the car. Lifting and lowering into lake with two strops. This is not really a big model. I have one at 58 inches. We sail in several locations in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. My next model is already on the stocks and will be a jet boat a bit like a super doper cabin cruiser, own design and scratch built as per stardust. Regards jim

BRAVO ZULU! They look wonderful rafted alongside each other.