Meeting notes - June

June 2019

Recent events - Boats in the Park, 25th & 26th May

Alex showed us his second model of an East Coast dory. This was donated to him by its original owner who was unable to complete it.

Andris presented his reworked tunnel boat originally built in 2003. It had been unused for several years and Andris had also tried unsuccesfully to sell it. In 2017 he began a redesign. He stripped it down to bare wood and gave it a complete repaint after making several modifications. A new radio box was built and it houses a new 180 oz.in. waterproof digital servo with digital rods to steer the outboard, plus a 120A water-cooled ESC. The outboard has a resin cast body with a 1-3/4 hp (1300 watt) brushless motor. The boat originally had a 3oz lead weight at the front of each sponson which Andris thought unnecessary and removed. Subsequent running showed that they were necessary and they were replaced. The boat is powered by a 4S 5000Ah Lipo battery 

Peter displayed his model of a 92 ft. Dutch coastal tug, and named after his friend "H. van Balkom". The model is quite powerful being fitted with 2 Graupner 900 motors and 2:1 speed reduction, and has been used to tow a person in a dinghy. The model weighs 35lbs empty and 60 lbs when ballasted down to the waterline.

Steve had brought along his World War 2 armed German trawler which is now almost finished, only needing depth charges. One of the tricky build steps was trimming the hull to match the plan. One gun mount was included in the kit, and a second Tamiya model was added. It uses 6V power, but Steve is considering switching to a 3S Lipo (11.1V).

​Doug gave us an update on the preparation of sailboat kits for the Maker Faire. Doug also demonstrated a prototype of a stern paddler that he has prepared for use in a future Maker Faire.

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Thanks to Peter F for the pictures and text.

Word from the Quarterdeck

The Port Dover Marine Museum staff were very helpful in providing tables and even light snacks and soft drinks for our group of 7 members plus 2 from Kitchener club displaying. The location under the awning right next to the Museum (under exterior renovation and open) was perfect with lots of visitors all of the great weather day.  We were able to see the fish tote races and tug pull around the corner of the museum in the main harbour - very colourful and noisy!
Most of us brought tug boats which complemented the event and created a good draw from visitors with lots of questions.
The Museum staff also offered more information on their current projects and possible availability of old boat drawings.
There was lots of good local food a short walk away - it ran from 10AM to 4PM  we assisted the museum staff by handling all of the tables for them - I highly recommend this event for next year.

Thanks to Gary for the pictures.

Recent events - Port Dover Tug Pull, 22nd June

Our next club meeting will be on Tuesday 10th September at 7:30pm..

From your President:

          A member of the public recently used our website to reach out to the CMM Executive about a model boat that he was looklng to sell.
         Unfortunately for him, it is a classic free-sailing sailboat made several decades ago for competitive pond racing, without the use of RC equipment. Discussions with him about the limitations that the size of the model (over 7 feet in length with a mast height of over 9 feet) makes it a very impractical purchase for anyone in our hobby nowadays, unless you convert it into a piece of furniture.
          I got to thinking about why that was, size notwithstanding. I realized that this is another symptom of what is impacting our hobby. There are fewer people (read men) who have the workshop available to them to hand craft such a model today. The ease of entry into any aspect of our hobby with ARR models (Almost Ready to Run) make the easier path a very attractive one. Getting the model to the local pond is more difficult with the downsizing of automobiles. Finding bodies of water suitable to run larger sailboats, or any large model boat, is a harder and harder job. As the age of our membership increases, managing the handling of the larger models gets more and more difficult as well.
          I have a very large 1/8” scale warship (82” in length) that hasn’t seen water for a number of years, and it is all about all of the above conditions that causes me to leave in on its stand at home. I know that I will have to make a very conscious effort to get it into the water, and that I won’t be able to depend upon my own resources in getting it launched; I will need help coping with the launch weight of over 60 lbs.
          I’m sure we all have models at home that we would like to sail, but there seems to be so many things that get in the way of our best intentions. Do your best to try and act on your best intentions, and don’t hesitate to reach out to a fellow member for help in getting your model out to a pond this season. I know that I will be reaching out to one of you soon!
          Have a great 2019 Sailing Season!

Steve