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Hi,

This post (and probably half a dozen others down the road) contain the steps I used for building the Gloucester Gull rowing dory model... What follows ain't pretty. Dynamite builds quality models... I don't. That out of the way...

Dynamite talked about various building materials, and I opted for the cheapest - cardboard. I just wanted something that I can pick up and study... Something that's proportionally accurate. I also wanted stuff I like, like heavy gunwales.

IMHO, the very first step for anyone who intends to build a boat or a model of a boat is to buy the appropriate Payson books: http://www.instantboats.com/books.htm. Also pick up the appropriate model plans (http://www.instantboats.com/modeling.htm) and boat plans (http://www.instantboats.com/boats.html)... No matter what you build, get as much info as you can beforehand and study it. I didn't do that and learned the hard way... I blew so much money, frustration, and time... I've got my books now.

Getting started... I chose to build the Gloucester Gull model because it looks like a rowboat I'd enjoy, and because I've only built one boat using station molds. (A partial build really... At long last I think I'm starting to understand offsets. Yay!)

So here's the completed model...



Next up... How I arrived at my own scale, etc...

Hey Alan:

When I used to make remote control submarines, the first was 4' (USS Tinosa SSN-606), 7' (German IX U-boat) and then 12' (USS Flasher SS-249). So as you could guess, I built the largest scale boat I could to fit in my car at the time. The last one at 12' or 1/32 scale was when I bought a 8' utility trailer that I could use like a boat trailer. I had a lot of parts from the previous ones, so it would have only cost another $1,500 to finish it.

I was delaying putting in the lead, as long as possible, not for the melting lead hassle, but it meant I had to take the boat off of the work bench and put it on the trailer before adding 60 lbs of lead and double the weight to 120 lbs.

That was about the point is shifted from models to a building a little bigger boats.

- Bill

Hi Bill,

A 12' RC submarine??? Now THAT is cool! Pics of any of the model subs?

Alan