Building and playing with model boats in Victoria B.C.
Shaping the Deck. I want to put the deck into this hull without a lot of structure underneath. So the deck beams I put in are only in there with hot melt glue. I’m going to clamp the deck plywood down onto those beams to get it to curve with the sheer line, but just … Read more
A Cradle to Work On Yesterday I thought I was going to build a wooden cradle to support the hull while I worked on it. But this morning I looked around and saw a much cooler idea. Our son did our shopping yesterday, (coronavirus), and brought it home in an egg carton. And I have … Read more
Measurements and Trials The next major step in the building process on the tug is to get the deck in place. But this means deciding the size of the superstructure. I want the whole superstructure to lift off so that there’s a large hatch opening up underneath, through which I can get at the working … Read more
The Weigh In. I found all my lead pucks, so it was time to measure the displacement of the tug hull. So tape off the hole at the end of the prop shaft and fill the bath with water. Put the lead in the boat, but it still wasn’t enough to get her down to … Read more
How Fast to Turn a Propeller. I have a model tug hull with a 60 mm propeller. The question is, how fast should it turn? The starting points for the answer are the propeller pitch, that’s the distance through the water that the propeller would move in 1 turn, all other things being perfect, and … Read more
I bought this fibreglass hull at a club meeting a couple of years ago. So with at least 2 months of apartment confinement facing me, (Corona virus), I dragged it out of the storage cubicle to take a look. It’s 37 inches long, the space for the prop is very large for the hull shape, … Read more
Access to the Site. To get started as a writer of content on the Club website, what you will first need is a username and password from me to enter on the webpage log in site, which is “https://vmss.ca/wp-login.php”. I will send these to any member who wants access as an author. When you get … Read more
The Sutton Hoo Ship. History, Egyptian Nile barges, Greek triremes, Roman Galleys, Viking longships. That’s the sequence, right? 8th June 793, Scandinavian pirates sacked the monastery of St. Cuthbert on the island of Lindisfarne. Alcuin, a Northumbrian scholar monk, wrote about it “Never before has such terror been seen in Britain as we have suffered … Read more
The Thames Barge, or Spritsail Barge, was an iconic sight on the river Thames and its estuary for well over a hundred years. It is true to say that, before the coming of the railways and the motor vehicle, the Thames Barge was the truck that built London. It had its origins in the fact … Read more
This is a description and pictures from my build of a model Thames Sailing Barge, also known as a Spritsail Barge. It will concentrate only on the building of the hull, but here, just to show what the finished model looks like. This particular adventure started with a plan from the British “Model Boats” plans … Read more