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Anyone built models from one of Dynamites books? Will his models float/sail?

Hi,

No, I haven't. But I have built model airplanes.

Thoughts concerning RC motorboats...

* I don't see why you can't... I know that there a ton of RC planes out there which are models of real planes. Ditto for boats.

* I would think that full size plans would come in very handy!

* My first concern would be that of scale... I'd try to stick to some easy multiple of the plans scale... Dynamite uses the 1.5":1' example drawn on some plans... That means that the plans are 1/8 the full size boat. Using the plans as a template, that would make for a 2' model. But suppose you want a 22" model... Ouch. Yeah, you can scale it to whatever size you want... (I'd probably go metric and make my own scale ruler... Check out the "Fraction to decimal to mm chart" I put in our Coffee Lounge a while back.) I'd also buy a digital micrometer that can handle both inches and mm.

* As for glues... The general consensus seems to be a urethane glue like Gorilla. (Though I've read that others have used cyanoacrylate, and epoxy. The following is a good thread: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=335436)

* Here are some great pointers: http://www.easyrc.com/boats/

* As for the motor, I'd go electric inboard, but that's just me. Be sure that the model size will be appropriate for the motor. And I certainly wouldn't use one of those high-speed racing motors. The layout of the interior should be considered too relative to the motor.

* Protecting the wood should be critical. Thin wood warps like crazy when wet.

I don't know much about sailing so I'll leave that alone...

This should make for an interesting thread...

Alan

Rereading my original post along with your reply I realize I may need to clarify my question. I'm asking specifically about Dynamite's books on model building (Boat Modeling with and Boat Modeling the Easy Way). The long story is: I started on an Elegant Punt, full size, late last year and the weather turned before I got to paint her. One day while battling the no boat building blues over the winter I had a brilliant idea. Why not build models. Well the weather is warming so I hope to paint soon, working on oars at the moment, but I'm still interested in models. Nothing with an engine just a little something to put in our backyard fish pond for kicks. I've looked around on the web and found a few kits at reasonable prices. This morning I was looking for which Dynamite book had the Diablo Grande, dreaming of the future, and noticed the model building books further down the book page. I did a little reading up but I can't find anything definitive saying the boats are built to float/sail. If anyone has built any of the boats from either of these books please let met know about your experience. Thanks.

Hi,

It's me again. Just to give you a heads up... We don't get a ton of modeling questions here, though we certainly do have modelers on board. As a moderator, I just want to be sure that you do get feedback.

I'd say that if you don't get any specific answers to your questions, I'd give Dynamite a shout... Here's his contact info: http://www.instantboats.com/contact.htm

His phone number is there... I've called him a few times, and he's great to talk with - straightforward, knowledgeable answers.

Hope this helps,

Alan