constructia de barci

Power 12

Planurile le-am cumparat de la Selway-Fisher, placajul Okoume de 10mm de la Holver din Brasov. Rasina si intaritor de la Polydis din Bucuresti.Am
inceput constructia la data de 19 August 2011 cu dorinta de a finaliza barca la primavara.

Cam asa ar trebui sa arate:

SculeNecesar Dar nu suficient

Apoi trasarea liniilor pe placaj

Urmeaza procesul lung si istovitor de taiere a fiecarei piese

Foaia de placaj are 2.5m iar barca 5m. Asta inseamna ca fasiile care vor forma corpul ambarcatiunii vor trebui lipite. Tehnica folosita se numeste Butt
Strap.

Mai jos am testat imbinarea

Fasiile for fi asamblate conform procedeului Stitch and Glue sau Stitch and Tape. Placajul este cusut cu sarma sau cu coliere de plastic pentru a-i
da forma dorita. Apoi muchiile se umezesc cu rasina epoxi pentru ca amestecului de epoxi si rumegus sa faca priza buna. Dupa uscare se inlatura
sarmele sau colierele si se continua chituirea.

Mai jos am testat tehnica inbinarii

Inainte sa ne aventuram in lipici luam bine toate muchile la smirghel

Urmeaza lipirea placajelor conform tehnicii Butt Strap. Am amestecat rasina epoxi cu ghips pana la consistenta laptelui batut. In prealabil toate
partile ce urmeaza sa fie lipite sunt umezite cu rasina epoxi ne-ingrosata.

O fixam bine si lasam la uscat 12-18 ore. Noaptea polimerizarea este foarte lenta din cauza ca temperatura scade sub 20 grade.

Polimerizarea completa se termina abia dupa 10 zile parca!?

Lipim si celelalte placi

O greseala copilareasca: am lipit doua placi identic si nu simetric (insemnanad ca lipitura Butt Strap iese pe exteriorul barcii, ceea ce nu este
acceptabil). Am taiat lipitura cu fierastraul pendular si cu dalta am indepartat placajul Butt Strap.

Dupa 1 ora de lucru placile erau la fel ca inainte:

Intre 2 uscari mai taiem piesele cadru:

Lipim si ultimele piese. Baloo face un lipici excelent, de densitatea mustarului. Sendrea foloseste cantarul intr-un mod aparte; ochiometric. Pentru el
cantarul este un suport pentru pahar, ca sa nu murdareasca cu rasina placajul.

sa speram ca tine

incepem sa coasem placile

facem gaurile pentru urmatoarea placa ce trebuie cusuta

montam etrava si cadrul cu usa spre cabina

coasem si ultimele placi

In locurile cu tensiune mare folosim sarma zincata. (rasina nu prinde pe zinc)

Pentru a fixa placile vom folosi un chit gros de epoxi cu rumegus de lemn. Pentru a face priza buna umezim in prelabil imbinarile cu rasina.

Dupa uscare vom putea indeparta bridele de plastic si sarmele

7 Octombrie 2011

Proaspat intorsi din concediu reluam munca la barca. Taiem toate bridele si sarmele. Rasturnam barca pentru a lucra mai usor dar inainte trebuie
inlaturat cadrul central.

Cu noul slefuitor cu banda munca devine distractie. Musca din placaj si rasina de numa numa. Urmeaza finalizarea lipiturilor. Temperatura la Brasov a
scazut la 3 grade noaptea. Duminica dimineata era zapada pe jos. Garajul abia ajunge la 17-18 grade cu centrala pornita. Am lasat caldura peste
noapte dar rasina era inca lipicioasa dimineata. Ma gandesc serios la o solutie de incalzire aditionala.

22 Octombrie 2011
Etapa ce urmeaza m-a surprins din punct de vedere al timpului planificat.

Imbinarile trebuiesc acum chituite cu epoxy si rumegus apoi ramforsate cu banda de fibra de sticla:

Nu am gasit banda de fibra de sticla in Romania, ce am folosit aici este comandat din America pt ca un prieten tocmai ce vizita continentul. Sigur
poate fi comandata din Europa. In orice caz, merita efortul de a o procura.

29 Octombrie 2011

Am terminat de ramforsat cu fibra si ultima lipitura. Satul de chitul cu rumegus am folosit ghips. Se modeleaze foarte bine, dar cred ca adauga
greutate. Se spune ca ghipsul trebuie tinut la cuptor inainte de a fi folosit pentru a indeparta orice urma de apa.

Prova o intaresc cu lemn de esenta mai tare, fag.

by Wulkie

Build a Simple RC Boat Hull

A scratch built RC boat hull that is easy and inexpensive. Learn to scratch build with this
simple project. Plans are now available for download.
This RC boat hull building instruction goes hand-in-hand with the plans available for download (use link below).
The hull, and entire boat, is designed to be a relatively easy project.
Before you email me asking if I think this is a suitable project for you, I'd like to offer the following advice: Read
through the building instructions and any pages that it may link to and make your own guess first. I'm willing to
bet your guess will be better than mine anyways:)

Introduction
Read a short introduction to this new series of small RC model boats to learn more, what materials you'll need
etc.

Tools
Here are some of the tools I ended up using for building this RC boat hull.

Scissors

Thin CA (cyano acrylate) glue

Razor blades or X-acto knife (or both)

Steel straight-edge
Small square
Pencil

Glue

3M Spray Mount Repositionable Adhesive #6065 or similar

Cutting out the Templates

Start by printing out all the plan sheets that you downloaded. I would recommend printing out a second set for
reference and/or if a mishap happens.
Next it's time to cut out the templates, starting with the bulkheads, transom, keel, deck and chine shelf (Item
"A").
A word of caution, don't cut too close to the outline at this point. You can safely stay 1/16 (1.5mm) outside the
perimeter of each part.
In addition, parts that get thinner in the middle or are generally "spindly", (bulkheads #2, 3 and 4, keel, deck
and chine shelf) are best not to cut out the internal area for the template to maintain its integrity.

Printed sheet of RC model boat templates.

Lay Out the Templates on Balsa

Next lay them out on your 1/8" (3mm) balsa sheets. Try not to just throw them on if you want to conserve
material, but don't place them too close together either.
Leave 1/8" to 1/4" (3-6mm) between the outline of the parts. Once your happy with the layout you can pencil in
the outline of the templates onto the balsa, or take a picture, so you remember where each piece go.
Use the Spray Mount adhesive to glue the templates in place. Follow the instructions on the can.

Cutting and Trimming

Some of the templates laid out on balsa. Note how the paper "hollow" inside the templates is left to maintain the
integrity of the shapes.
At this point all templates should be glued to the balsa with the Spray Mount Adhesive, essentially turning the
templates into over-size sticky notes. Now it's time to start cutting out the parts.
Separate each part from the sheet first by using a razor blade or X-acto knife and a metal straight-edge. At this
point don't worry about the templates, except not to cut into them. This step is just to separate the pieces so
they can be trimmed later.
You don't need the straight-edge, but it is infinitely easier to make a cut if you do, and the risk of slipping and
cutting into a template is greatly reduced. If you have a scroll saw or band saw it can be put to good use at this
step.
As the pieces are separated from each other, there will be excess material surrounding the templates. Now it's
time to trim that down. I tend to do it in successive steps and using the straight-edge as much as possible. The
resulting angles will be taken off at the final trim.
I also tend to start with the outside shape and do any internal areas last, otherwise the pieces can break and split
easily.

Making Multiple Pieces From a Single Template

Also note that the deck and chine shelf templates only account for one half of the hull, so you need to make two
of items "A" and "B". The same goes for the knee (item "E").
The best way to make two identical parts is to sandwich two sheets of wood under the template and cut through
the stack. Two issues emerge:
How to hold the sandwich firmly together while cutting?
The best way I've found is to first attach the template to one of the sheets of balsa and trim the balsa roughly to
the template with a razor blade or X-acto knife.
Next, leaving the other half oversize, glue it to the first half using two tiny dots of CA glue. The amount of glue is
relatively important - too much glue and you won't be able to get them apart etc.
How to make a perpendicular cut through both sheets?
Making a perpendicular cut free hand on balsa is difficult. If you're just a little off perpendicular the two halves
will be different size and the whole point of sandwiching the material is lost.
The way I do it is to trim the sandwiched parts until all you've got left is an even 1/16" (1.5mm) of balsa
surrounding the outline of the template. To get to finished size I trim off the last bit with 80 grit sandpaper on a
hard sanding block. I often lay the balsa over the edge of my work table and that way have an easier time
keeping the angle straight.

Final Trim
With the exception of multiple parts from one template (as outlined above) parts with straight edges are best cut
to finished size with the knife and straight-edge.

For rounded edges there will be excess material coming off as angles. This is best dealt with using a wooden
sanding block and 80 grit sand paper. Start at the angled peaks and work your way around the perimeter.
When sanding, your strokes need to go in one direction only. from the template side towards the back so you
don't lift the template off the wood. You can put some angle to it, but you get the general idea.

Here are all the parts for the RC boat hull with templates still attached.
The last thing to do is to trim mortises and the internal areas as mentioned earlier. Once all done you should have
a set of parts like in the picture above.

Transfer Lines From Templates to Parts

At this point its tempting to peel off the templates, but hold your horses - we're not quite ready for that yet.
Instead we need to transfer relative position from the templates to some of the parts to aid the assembly for
accurate position and alignment.
The best tools for the job is a small square and a sharp, relatively soft, lead pencil.

A small square is used to transfer alignment and position marks to the balsa.

The parts that get the treatment are chine shelf, keel, deck, and transom. Having the center line marked on the
outside of the transom will help in aligning the keel and rudder.
The other components need marks to give the relative position for the bulkheads. Only one line is required per
bulkhead, but I typically mark the position for both edges so I don't have to remember if the bulkhead goes in
front of or behind the line. With two lines, I know the bulkhead goes between.

Separating the doubled parts.

Once the necessary marks are made, you can safely peel off the templates with one exception: Leave the
template on the keel in place for now. The parts that were doubled can be separated as shown in the picture.
Some wood will most likely separate from one side, but it's not enough to worry about.

Dry Fitting the RC Boat Hull

Dry fitting is the first and most important step as the hull is being constructed. This is a good opportunity to trim
and fix minor flaws that may have worked its way in at this point. Better to remake one erroneous part than an
entire assembly, so take your time.
Dry fitting also helps you familiarize yourself with the pieces that make up an assemble and help you figure out
which order to attach the parts while retaining good alignment and integrity.

First dry-fit of both chine shelf halves, transom and two knees.

The most important tool to make a straight hull is a flat surface to build it on. It is good if you can drive pins into
it, lay weights or use magnets to hold the chine shelf down flat on the building board or table top.
Lay down the Hull Alignment Template on your building board and lay a sheet of wax paper or plastic food film
(Seran Wrap or similar) over to prevent the model to stick to the template and your table. I've found the wax
paper resist CA glue better, so that's what I use.
Secure the sheets to the board with a method suitable for the type of building board you're using - it can be pins,
tape, weights etc.

Detail of the front end of the chine shelves on the building board. Three points line up perfectly: the stem,
bulkhead position and inner front edge.
When I built the prototype I didn't have the hull alignment template, so you'll see the template is missing in the
pictures on this page. Assembly should be a lot easier and almost self explanatory with the template.
Align the two halves of the chine shelf on the hull alignment template. Pin or weigh them down once they are in
position. There three most important places to check for proper alignment are:
1.
2.
3.

The pinnacle of the stem

The rear edge
The inner edge at the stern

If all three of these line up with the template, secure them in place to the board and glue them together with a
couple of drops of CA glue where they join at the front.
There are a few other less important points that should line up, such as the inner front edge and the lines drawn
for the #1 bulkhead.

Drawing lines to high light the bulkhead positions.

Take a straight-edge and pencil and draw lines connecting the bulkhead position marks you made from the
templates to aid bulkhead placement later on.
Earlier we marked both front and rear edge of the bulkheads onto the balsa. Now I usually only connect one set
of those tick-marks, using the other set as a visual guide for bulkhead placement.

Detail of transom, chine shelf and knees glued together.

Place the transom (item "5") in-between the two chine shelf pieces and line it up with even on the left and right
hand side. Use the two knees (items "E") to establish the correct angle for the transom. The knees should line up
with the inner edges of the chine shelf (see pictures), but their placement is not critical.
Sometimes the parts will stay in place by themselves, other times they need pins. Try and eliminate any gaps.
Either way, once the placement is right, attach the pieces with small drops of CA glue at the joints. Be careful not
to bump the parts out of position.

Front assembly of stem piece and bulkhead #1 and 2 attached to hull.

Next dry fit the stem piece (item marked "D") and bulkhead #1 and lay them in position with stem piece centered
on the hull center-line and the bulkhead in it's marked position.
Check and make sure they are perpendicular to the building board and each other. The position of the stem piece
is more important than the bulkhead, so pay extra attention to it. Once they're in position, glue them in place.
Take bulkhead #2 and align it as well. Check and make sure it is centered by checking against the edge of the
chine shelf - it should over/under-shoot equally on either side. Where the tail end of the stem piece meet the
bulkhead is less important.

A bird's eye view of the rc boat hull so far.

Do the exact same for bulkhead #3 and 4.

Bulkhead #3 and 4 attached.

Cut the two deck stringers from a 1/8" x 3/8" (or 3 x 10mm) balsa stick and glue in place. You can leave it long
at the transom end and trim it with an X-acto Razor Saw for example.

Deck stringers in place.

The rc boat hull assembly is now fairly rigid and likely to stay straight and true. In the next installment we'll focus
on the deck, keel and lower part of the hull structure before moving on to some internal installations and
planking.

Simple RC Boat Hull

Follow this RC boat hull building tutorial for an easy and inexpensive balsa model boat.
This is part two where the hull frame is finished and getting ready for planking.
In preparing the RC boat hull for the next step, you can now carefully remove the structure from the building
board. Don't worry if the wax paper sticks to the hull or rips. Even if the wax paper looks clean and comes right
off, I'd opt to replace it for the next step. A spilled drop of glue or other debris can mess you up, so better safe
than sorry.

This is where we left off after the previous build log. If you missed it or would like to go back, click this image.
Also, we're done with the hull alignment template that was placed under the wax paper to guide component
placement and alignment. However, if your building board is really dark, or just ugly, you can lay the template
upside down under a fresh sheet of wax paper. It will provide a light, neutral background when you build that
makes it easier to spot things that are out of the norm or things you drop or spill.

The Deck
After you remove the hull frame from the building board, remove any wax paper remnants if any. Give the deck
side of the structure a light sanding with 120 grit sandpaper backed with a flat sanding block. Go easy as the only
purpose is to take down any obvious high spots.
Put the hull frame aside while we focus on the two deck halves (item "B" on the plans). Align them at the
pinnacle of the stem and check alignment at the rear edge where they join. At this point, place a piece of tape
over the joint to temporarily hold them together and flip the deck over with the tape facing down. Pin or weigh
the deck down on the building board.
Mark the bulkhead locations across the same way as you did on the chine shelf. The lines will be a visual aid
when aligning the deck to the hull.

RC boat hull with deck facing down.

Place the hull frame on top and position the raised part of the transom inbetween the "legs" of the deck. When
aligning the frame to the deck, the stem is the most important, both in being centered and alignment front to
back.
Keep in mind that it is the top of the deck that after sanding should line up with the profile angle of the stem
piece, so looking at it all as assembled, the frame will sit back a couple of millimeters from the foremost point on
the deck.
As the stem is lined up, glance at the bulkhead locations as marked on the deck. Don't expect them all to line up
perfectly, but it will give you a good idea of how close to ideal you are at this point.
Also check and make sure the frame is making contact with the deck along the deck stringers, transom,
bulkheads and the stem piece. If care has been taken so far in cutting out the parts and aligning, nothing should
be too far out of alignment.
When things look good place drops of thin CA along stem piece, bulkheads and deck stringers.

Prepping the Keel

Many builders would go ahead and attach the keel at this point without a second's thought. However, when it
comes to installing a propeller shaft most of those builders would be scratching their heads trying to get a
propeller shaft tunnel aligned correctly. It would require a jig, extra long drill and some luck to get it right.
We're going to take much of the tool requirements out of it and stop relying on luck for success, here is how.

Keel cut to shape and two pieces of basswood or hard balsa for the propeller shaft tunnel.
To do this you need two pieces of basswood or hard balsa approximately 1/8 X 5/16 X 2 inches (3 X 8 X 50mm)
that will act as doublers on either side of the keel. Do as follows:
On the keel, we need to stay clear of the bulkhead #4 location, so make sure the keel is well marked in that area.
Next, lay the keel (template down) on a flat surface and glue one doubler to the back side of the keel just ahead
of the #4 bulkhead location and line it up parallell with the bottom of the keel.
If you're off by a few millimeters from either that's fine. Try not to have the doubler extend passed the bottom of
the keel, it's better if you err on the other side.

First doubler glued to the back of the keel.

Next flip the keel over and trim away the area between the two phantom-lines. This can be done with a razor
blade and a straight edge or with a razor saw. Try hard not to cut into the doubler.
The prototype used a 4mm outer diameter stuffing tube, so that's the size marked on the drawing and template.
Since the keel is made from 1/8" thick material the tunnel you cut will be too tight from side to side. This can be
fixed later with a long 4mm drill or a needle file and some elbow grease.

Trim away the area of the keel where the propeller will pass through it, thus creating a tunnel for ditto.

Now peel away the template (make sure all bulkhead locations are transferred first!) and place it on a flat surface
with the attached doubler facing down. Prop up either extreme of the keel with scraps of material until level and
clamp or place weights on top. Glue the second doubler in place and weigh or clamp to the assembly.
Same rules apply as far as location - stay clear of bulkhead #4 location etc.

Propeller shaft tunnel finished - note faint pencil marks for bulkhead #4 just to the left of the doublers.

Attaching the Keel

Before attaching the keel, take small pieces (1/2 to 3/4" long) of balsa, the same thickness as the chine shelf,
and attach to bulkhead #2, 3 and 4 right in the center. The purpose is to provide a temporary landing and
support for the next step in fitting the lower triangular parts of the bulkheads.
When I built the prototype it took me a while to figure this out, so they may be missing in some of the pictures
below.

Dry-fitting the keel with a square.

Time to fit the keel. Just like when the deck was attached, keeping the keel perpendicular and centered is more
important than locating front to back. The easiest and best way to locate the keel front to back is to sand the

front-most part of the chine shelf flush to the angle of the stem piece. This way you'll have an edge that should
correspond with the front-most edge on the keel.
As you can see on the picture below, I didn't do it this way, but it would have made things a little easier. Instead I
eye-balled it in by looking at the profile and having the curved part of the keel tangent the angle of the stem.
Either method works, but I highly recommend the former.

Transom and keel transition - note how the keel is lined up to the center line of the transom and flush at the rear.
Also look at where the keel meets the transom. By design, the keel should end at the stern face of the transom
and be perfectly centered. Once all lines up, attach the keel with a few drops of CA while held perpendicular and
in position.
The lower triangles that make up the rest of the bulkheads don't have templates, but are taken off the triangular
shape created between the keel and chine shelf at each bulkhead location, or station as it is properly called.
First grab a piece of balsa a little wider than the height of the keel. At least one of the long edges need to be
straight. Use a square and make a cut at a right angle to the straight edge.

Cut a square angle at the end of a piece of balsa sheet.

Hold the square corner against the chine shelf and keel at station #3 with one hand. With the other hand, with a
sharp pencil, mark the edge where the keel and chine shelf intersect (see picture below). All you need are two
tick-marks.

A square corner of a balsa sheet is held against the hull at each station and the edge of chine shelf and keel is
marked on the balsa.
Lay the sheet down on your cutting surface and lay a straight-edge between the two tick marks and cut with a
razor blade or X-acto knife. You can save a little time by using the first triangle at each station as a template for
the opposite side.

Lower bulkhead "triangles" in place at station #3.

I glue each pair in as I complete them. It breaks up the laborious task of trimming and cutting a little. Then use
the same process for the other bulkheads. I like to work from the center and towards each end so it adds some
well needed stability to the keel.

All the lower bulkheads are cut out and glued into place.
Now the hull frame is ready for sanding to smooth out the shape some and to give the skin more edge to hold
onto. After that we'll start the planking process.

The RC boat hull flipped over ready for sanding and planking.

Next, planking the hull...

Planking the RC Boat Hull

The RC boat hull is now almost ready for planking. The only thing standing in the way is some final sanding of the
frame to take out any bumps and inconsistencies, and to provide more surface contact between the balsa
planking and the hull structure.

Everybody hates sanding, I'm no exception. It is nonetheless an important step in completing a quality model
hull. If done right it trues up a wobbly hull and add significant strength by better accommodating the hull
planking.
The process isn't complicated, but may need a thorough break-down for the novice. This page is meant to clarify
the sanding and planking process for the simple RC boat hull.

The hull needs sanding and final shaping before the planking can start.

Prepping the hull

The first thing I do is to mark the edge of the deck and keel with a magic marker. It helps give me a visual
indication of where I've sanded and helps give an early warning if I'm starting to take off too much material in
one spot.
You may or may not want to mark the edge of the chine shelf as well. I did not on the prototype for some reason.

Tools
The only tools you need is some 80 to 100 grit sandpaper and a couple of sanding blocks. In the picture above
you'll see a razor plane. I only used that to shape the lower part of the transom. I could just as well have used
the sand paper.
You also need a good sanding block. The one on the picture is technically too wide, which made the sanding more
difficult than it had to be. I'd recommend a hard block about 3/4" wide.
A narrow block that is swept along the hull with one of the long sides leading as its moved along the length of the
hull will easier follow the changing contour. Another option here is to make a sanding stick - essentially the same
thing, except the sandpaper is glued to the block/stick.

Sanding and Planking Procedure

When sanding there are two main things to pay attention to:
1.
2.

The shape and fairness of the deck, keel and chine shelf
The transition between bulkheads and deck and chine shelf (or stringers, if any)

Using the magic marker, as described before, is my best effort to take care of #1 above.

The illustration below shows the steps of sanding and planking in regards to #2 above. The red dots show where
attention is needed for each step. A red line shows where a straight sanding block or stick has been used.
Don't take it as gospel, as some steps can be switched around without making much of a difference on the end
result.

1 & 2: Sand Upper Panel

First the sharp edges at the underside of the deck and upper edge of the chine shelf needs to be sanded flush
with the bulkheads. Continue sanding front to back so the sanded edges on the deck and chine shelf are true in
that direction. At the stem, sand the keel to an edge. You can leave an ever so narrow flat at the extreme.

It may be hard to see in this picture, but the upper side panel (between the deck and chine shelf) has been
sanded, corresponding to #1 & 2 in the illustration above.

3: Plank the Upper Panel

Next step is to plank the upper panel. I tend to start at the stem and work my way to the stern. Generally the
tighter bends and compound curves are more pronounced at the stem and I like to get them out of the way in the
beginning.

Planking under way.

Notice how I lay the first joint between balsa sheets in the middle of bulkhead #2. It will help hide the joint as
there is less tension in the sheet from the steep bend. Also make sure you alternate sides when you plank: lay a
sheet on the right, then the corresponding sheet on the left etc. It helps taking asymmetrical tension out of the
hull as you progress.

Upper panel ready.

I determine the shape of each sheet by holding a roughly cut piece of balsa to the hull with one hand and
transferring the contour to the sheet with a pencil. Then I trim the sheet with a razor blade to the line. Most often
it requires a couple iterations before I'm satisfied with the fit. Before I glue it in place with CA glue, I try it on the
opposite side. If it fits well I make a copy of it for the other hand to save a little bit of time.

4: Sand Lower Panel

Sanding the lower panel is not that different from sanding the upper panel. It's easy to tear out parts of the balsa
planking on the upper panel if you're not careful. You can lessen the risk of this happening by:

avoiding the lightest quality balsa

avoiding course sandpaper. Instead use a medium course sand paper: 80 to 120 grit
When sanding, go in the direction along the length of the hull

Just as in step one, the keel needs to be sanded to an edge as well to give the planking some flat area to land on.
Go easy and try and take material equally off both sides. A narrow flat in the middle is OK.

5: Planking the Lower Panel

Before planking the lower panel is a good opportunity to install the motor mountand propeller shaft. It is a lot
more complicated doing after the hull is closed up.
The propeller shaft I made for this boat is identical to the one I made for this plastic kit conversion, only a little
longer - measure on the plan for actual length. You can also use a commercial 2mm diameter prop shaft.

Entire hull planked.

The planking is straight forward, just follow the same method as with the upper panels.

6: Sanding the Chine Transition

Last step is to sand the transition between the upper and lower panels. Generally the angle should be kept sharp
at the rear 2/3 to 3/4 of the hull. Towards the stem the transition is more ambiguous and disappear completely at
the first bulkhead.

Final sanding.
Later we will finish the hull by adding a keel strip, rub and spray rail.

RC Boat Hull - Adding Details

The RC Boat Hull will have the deck finished, a keel strip, hatch coaming, skeg, rub and
spray rails installed.
The devil's in the details rings true even for RC boat hulls. Here we'll add some of those so we can move onto the
rudder installation.

Stern Deck Filler

Attach a stern deck filler, for lack of a better term. Its purpose is essentially to push the superstructure slightly
forward from the transom. It's not totally necessary, but I felt it'll look better.
It's made from a piece of 1/8" x 3/8" (3 x 10mm) balsa strip trimmed to length.

Add a Coaming
A coaming is a raised edge that keeps water out. They also help locate the hatch. I made mine from strip balsa
1/8" x 1/4" (3mm x 6mm), but the height is not critical. I glued it in about 1/8" (3mm) proud of the deck.

Propeller Shaft and Skeg

The stuffing tube and propeller shaft I intended for this model is identical to the one used on the lindberg trawler.
An M2 commercial unit may work just as well. I glued it into the tunnel made earlier through the keel. Pay
attention to final location as you need to make room for the rudder just behind.
Also check for alignment from side to side before committing.

For the skeg a 1/8" piece of scrap balsa were cut into a wedge and left long.

On the picture below you'll see the scalloped trailing edge of the skeg. It could be left straight, but I liked the
slight arch.

For final shape the skeg was sanded both in profile and thinned toward the propeller.

Keel Strip
Until now the planking along the keel has been left open, and it looks pretty ugly. There are several ways to
address, but my favorite is to glue in a strip of basswood for additional reinforcement.
The gap at this point is an uneven "V" where the actual angle varies along the length. First thing to do is to
square it up by running a square needle file up and down the joint.

As I file the groove, I dry-fit with a 1/16" (1.5mm) square basswood stick. In the picture below you'll see it glued
in place.
In the same picture, note how the upper edge of the hull planking (closest to the table top) has a flat sanded to
accommodate the rub rail which will be fitted next.

Rub Rail
The rub rail consist of a 1/16 x 1/8 inch (1.5 x 3 mm) strip of basswood, although most any hardwood strip of
similar size will work. It can even be made from styrene or laminated layers of card stock - your choice. Be sure
to sand a flat surface on the upper edge of the hull planking, perpendicular to the deck. This surface should be as
wide (vertically) as the strip is tall - in my case 1/8" (3 mm).

I glued them on one at a time, starting with from the stern, the starboard strip (right hand side) was glued in
place first, as shown in the picture above. Joining the strips at the stem can be tricky, but here is a tip.
Intuitively, most builders would aim for making a joint between the starboard and port side strips, down the
center line of the hull. This is not ideal for several reasons: First, it's hard to do. Second, the strip is the most
likely to take a bump straight from the front and thus will see the most shock load right where the joint is.
A better way is as illustrated.

After the first strip is attached it is trimmed and sanded to blend with the surface where the second strip is meant
to go. This way you'll end up with a joint that is a lot stronger and is off-set from the center line and therefore
less likely to take a direct hit when you bump into the dock of other obstacles.

The second strip is also glued from the stern and gradually attached with CA glue as I progress forward. I tried to
make sure the strip is flush with the deck as I went along.
Once at the stem, just continue the laying the strip passed the opposite side a fair bit.

Above is the final joint before sanding a more rounded shape.

Spray Rail
The last thing to do before we move onto the rudder is to add a spray rail. I wouldn't call it mandatory, but I
believe it helps performance a little and it certainly makes the boat look a lot better.
It's made from 1/16" (1.5 mm) square basswood strip. Again, a lot of materials could be used, even hard balsa.
Attaching it is pretty straight forward. Starting from the transom and work your way forward along the chine
knee. At some point the knee will be less defined and you need to establish the curve more or less by eye.
When I got to this point I took aim for an imaginary point at the stem where I felt the strip made a curve that I
liked and simply followed with the CA glue. I'm sure there is a more scientific approach, but this worked well
enough for me.
I should point out that my spray strips ended up slightly off comparing left to right, but I doubt anyone will ever
notice. Below is a picture of how it ended up.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that I did the tissue-and-dope before adding the rub rail and spray strips.
The CA glue has a hard time adhering to the dense and hard lacquer finish, so I contemplated gluing the strips
first and then doing the tissue-dope.
After some valuable feedback (thanks Mike!), I'm back to the order presented here. Adding tissue after the rails
isn't just going to be a challenge getting the tissue to conform to the rails, it will also shrink and pull away
creating blisters where the planking meets the rails - so, bad idea.
I overcame the adherence issue by using baking soda as a combined kicker/filler and a lot of patience. I still
ended up with a fair share of CA on my hands, but the result feels solid, so I think it was worth it.

Next, we make a motor mount...

RC Boat Motor Mount

RC boat motor mount
An RC boat motor can be mounted in as many ways as there are model boat builders. I've seen everything from
a glob of hot-melt glue to slick and colorful anodized aluminum brackets to hold that power plant.

Personally,
I've always
been in
favor of a
simple
solution
that gets
the job
done. That's
not to say
I'd glue my
Surplus Mabuchi RE-280 to the left and Aristo-Craft RE-280 with a simple motor mount to the right.
motors into
my boats. I do appreciate the option to be able to remove or replace the motor easily, if need be.
Another thing to note is that I don't build high performance boats, so copy my rubber-band mount for your Mega
Power output brushless motor at your own peril.
My two favorite mounts are:

A homemade motor bed with the motor held in place with a rubber band.

A commercial but inexpensive motor bracket that can be bolted down from the top

I don't like face mounting my motors. Most RC boats have a direct-drive where the motor face is pointing down
towards the bilge at a shallow angle. It makes it very difficult to access the screws and almost impossible to see
what you're doing if you need to remove or reattach the motor.

A scratch built motor mount installed in the RC cabin cruiser prototype. Installing the motor before the bottom
was planked made alignment a lot easier.
For the prototype RC Cabin Cruiser I built, I ended up making the motor mount from scratch. If I had to do it
over again, I'd get the Aristo-Craft motor with the simple, but perfectly adequate motor mount included. I would
have made a simple flat piece of 1/8" (3mm) plywood with a cut-out for the keel spanning between bulkhead 2 &
3 for the mount to sit on.

Motor Coupling Efficiency

Between the motor and propeller shaft a compliant coupling should be used. There are several different
commercial types, but my three favorites are (from low to high torque):

A piece of silicone rubber tubing

A rubber coupling with metal inserts in each end

Universal joint

One of the most overlooked aspects when installing a motor in a model boat is the alignment of the motor and
propeller shaft. Too many builders believe that because a compliant coupling is used having an angle between the
two shafts is OK. This is a misunderstanding.

Proper alignment between the motor and propeller shaft is paramount in model boat building. Note the scratchbuilt motor mount.
The purpose of the compliant coupling is to relieve the motor from strain and side loads due to misalignment. No
motor installation is perfect, so the misalignment that does occur should be kept to a minimum.
A model boat with a misaligned motor will suffer unnecessary power loss and shorted life of the motor and
coupling. The more power the motor generates the more important the alignment becomes. That means:
The bigger the boat, the more important alignment becomes
In effect, most effected motor types are: high performance brushed motors, all brushless and gas motors

Secure Motor Mounting

Just as important as the coupling is making sure the motor is mounted securely. If the motor can wiggle loose,
the wires may get twisted and break or short out.

A homemade motor mount for the RC cabin cruiser.

The reason I like rubber bands for small motors is that they have high friction against the motor can and prevent
the motor from twisting. They also are compliant and hold the motor with spring pressure. Compliance helps
dampen shock loads and is very resilient to vibrations compared to a more positive type of mounting.