You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘- Pilot II’ category.
After my path was crossed into RC scale yachting I looked for my old Pilot boat model with which I competed in my early years. It did not look very good anymore. It was all dusty, the rubber protection guard had peeled off due to dried out glue, the hull had sacked and cracked. The cracks comes from dry storage where the wooden hull has shrinked and this lead to cracks. The decision to refurbish the Pilot boat was easy. It is a boat that have worked fine, but now I have the chance to use modern technology and better components.
Dusty and cracked
When I opened the inside I noticed that I propably started an overhaul earlier, but did not finish it. If I recall correctly I may have wanted a faster propulsion. Also notice the mechanical speed control board. During all this storage time the contact surfaces were oxidated and when trying to start the model the speed control was glitchy. I will need to replace this with a new ESC (Electronic Speed Control). The battery holders for ordinary 1,2 V batteries should maybe be replaced by new NiMH or LiPo akkus, no hurry in this matter I will decide later.
RC equipment
When flipped over it was visible that the propeller was still of red plastic and slightly deformed, most likely due to driving in too shallow water or maybe hitting a stone. I also noticed the skeg which I put under the kiel in order to improve directional stabilty. I hope that by making sharp edges between the sides and bottom of the hull, as well as bringing the bottom face up in the bow, the stability will be reasonable. In any case the model will better correspond to the intentions that the naval designer S.E.Norrman had when he designed the model kit for his company SEMO.
- Flipped over
The first task will be to sand down and epoxy filling the hull in order to make smooth faces, sharp edges and water resistant. The goal is to have the boat finished during this summer in order for me and my son to have some fun during the time when the Yacht Jules Verne is still in its early building phases.
Recent Comments