Mini Puffer

For my next project I am going to attempt a 'Puffer'. I have built one of these before - the Caldercraft Northlight, but it was big and heavy so I sold it. I would have liked one of Model Slipway's vac formed models, but they stopped making the kits when they semi-retired. So I borrowed Davidjt's plan and had it copied at 75%. This gives a hull length of about 15.5 inches - just my size!

Instead of half inch wood for the hull, I am using 6 mm lightply. This has given rise to a couple of issues, which coupled with my inability to read a plan correctly, means that the following picture shows my second attempt at the basic hull structure.



I had actually got further than this when I realised that I had cut the bottom pieces incorrectly, and then I realised I needed greater thickness.

The bulkheads etc are already cut and will be fitted tomorrow - hopefully.

Barrie

hi barrie,
you faild my test i thought you would have seen that , as you no i have built 4 now and still make the same mistake, i thought it was just me and that old age thing but now you have joined my club. its a very strange plan i think unless you study it very closely. are you going to try the smoke maker i havent botherd as i use them incents smelly things but look good. have a great build and keep posting


david

David,

I got the stern of parts 1 & 2 mixed up . I think I may still have problems getting the shape of the stern - I see lots of P38 .

Barrie

I loved my northlight........sailed anywhere in any weather..........in fact it was once run down my a mated 8'6" 1/4" scale Battle class destroyer till just half the cabin was showing above water.............the destroyer reversed off the puffer, and she bobbed up like a cork, with just some bent bulwark stanchions lol.............no other damage at all.

hi barrie,
              if it helps i used some card on the stern, then with some thin pine soaked in boiling water teased it round to form the shape . if you look at my build blog you can see it there, and yes plenty of filler .  


david

Thanks David - I was thinking of making a template with card, then possibly using some 1/64th ply I have - if I have enough. Its actually the shape below that which will need filler I think.

Barrie

The basic hull is now complete. The different timber thickness necessitated a slight bodge, but with a little sanding it should now be OK.




and here with the rough cut for and aft decks placed on the hull.



Barrie

Not much to show for this morning's work. I actually spent quite a bit of time going through my timber scrap box and getting rid of lots of stuff. 
The final sanding was completed and the two deck pieces were trimmed to the correct(?) shape. The areas that will be inaccessible once the sides are on were treated to a coat of EzyKote resin . The fore deck has been stuck down and after making a card template, the two sides have been cut from 0.8mm ply. They will need final trimming at the bow before gluing.

Barrie

The fore deck was trimmed to its final shape, then the first side was trimmed and glued. Before I attached the second side, I stuck some bearers to the bulkheads to support the centre deck. I also did some more work on the aft deck. I had made it from thin ply as I didn't have any 1.5 mm. I decided it wasn't sturdy enough, especially as it has a large hole cut in it to provide access to the servo. I laminated it to a piece of 1 mm, and should now be OK.
Finally for today, I stuck on the second side and left it to dry.



This leaves the tricky job of finding the shape for the rear

Barrie

I fixed the aft deck and then started shaping the stern ready to make a template for the stern covering. In fact making the paper template was quite easy, but having transferred it to some 0.8mm ply, it was different matter, not helped by the aft deck coming unstuck - does aliphatic resin "go off"?
I decided I need a bit more thickness at the deck level to give a better chance of the cladding sticking, so added some 2 mm liteply.
While waiting for all this glue to harden, I started thinking about operating the rudder. I am planning to follow the plan, and the real boats, and use a chain. This means I need a pulley for the head of the rudder shaft. I don't have a suitable one, so I set out to make one from plastic card, but when it was finished I realised it was too big  I will now search ebay to see if I can find what I want.

Barrie

hi barrie, i have got some pullys that were left to my by my good freind opposite who died in march along with a load of helicopters and spares. any way gone of the subject they are 10 mm, 12mm, 15mm, 20mm, if any of them are of use you can have them let me no and i will post them to you. the hole is 3mm





david

After the application of some steam, I got the ply to bend as I wanted - more or less. It was almost impossible to clamp it, so I fitted one side first, which meant that the second side wasn't quite right and I had to add a small fillet. Lots of superglue was used  As I wasn't entirely confident it would hold, I have added some P40 resin and glass strands inside to strengthen the joints.

Filer has been applied outside, and its ready for sanding and more filler before adding the stern bulwarks then covering with tissue and resin. 

Barrie

  

The rear bulwarks have been fitted. As you will see - something went wrong with the stern - Both main sides were equal height but it looks as though somehow the aft deck is not level

 

The gaps have been filled and also the rudder tube installed. I have made a support for the bottom of the rudder. I also fitted the coamings to the main hatch before gluing the main deck in place.
Next jobs are to cover the hull in tissue and make a rudder.


 

I've been giving the hull some coats of resin - decided not to use tissue as the stern is quite difficult to cover without overlaps. Have also spent a lot of time on the rudder post and pulley to operate it. Finally got it finished and the rudder blade made and attached.

Later, thinking about it there is no way I can fit it! I had soldered some brass tube to the end of the 2 mm rod so it would fit into the pulley, but of course I have to pass the rod up a 2 mm inside diameter tube  To make matters worse I had opened up the hole in the pulley to make it an easy fit

Back to the drawing board

Barrie

Darn.

hi barrie, are any of these bits any good to you. there are two loose barrels with tapped holes for grub screws and pullies of different   diameters that can be silver or soft soldered to the barrels........or there is one pulley and barrel already silver soldered together on the right hand side of the pic. I have grub screws to fit somewhere.





size of the holes in the grub screws is about 4mm which would allow you to put a brass sleeve
into it, to tighten centrally.

Neil, Many thanks for your kind offer, but I think I have solved my problem



The chain needs changing - I have some other types - and its not tight enough. The coaming at the rear of the cabin will lift it a little, so I think we are good to go. I have some video which I will add when I have remembered how to upload to Youtube

https://youtu.be/U_tvGqeHsd4

Barrie

hi barrie,
your youtube link says  you can only veiw with your permission and to sign in. what do i sign into can you advise me what to  do please.


david

David, and anyone else who had problems,

I think I've changed it so anyone can see it.

Sorry about that - its only the third time I've put anything on there
Barrie

thats better barrie , i can now see you working the rudder. you will get a good turning circle with that well done. i will one day learn how to put on youtube, my eldest grandson is going to show me next week, as he as been doing for ages he is 13  .

david

David,

The actual turning circle will probably be a bit less than you saw on the video. I was using my servo tester which goes from 0 to 180 degrees. The Tx/Rx will be less than that. The rudder is made almost to the scale version shown on the plans - just a little fuller.

Barrie

Taking advantage of some warm weather for a change, I set out today to give the hull a coat of primer, but first remembered that I hadn't cut out the holes for access to the bollards - they're not freeing ports as they are on the highest part of the model



While waiting for the paint to harden, I made the hatch cover. I covered the top of this with some aircraft tissue to simulate the tarpaulin. I have also fitted the coamings for the rear superstructure.

 

Barrie

I built the rear superstructure this morning. Its in two pieces. They are not yet joined as the lower level needs its roof trimming. I have chickened out and will be using black plastic for the windows. I was going to use black acetate anyway, so this saves lots of fiddly cutting out  I also decided not to try planking the wheelhouse - its quite small - and so have scored it to represent planks after its been painted it should look OK.

Barrie

 

That pulley looks very big  I wonder if I can use the smaller one David sent me?

Quite a bit of progress today before the workshop became too hot  - this is August Bank Holiday Monday - its supposed to rain all day

I painted the wheelhouse as it is easier to do that before applying the windows and sticking it to the boiler house.  I trimmed the roof of the boiler house, filled some gaps and drilled the holes for the portholes which, miraculously, I had in stock
Next I cut a piece of plastic card to face the fore deck step and include the companionway front. I also made the companionway roof.  All the remaining bulwark supports have been fitted. I wanted the main switch to be easily accessible, so I cut a hole in the fore deck under the skylight. The switch is fitted. I made the skylight, but think it is perhaps too tall, so will have to either shorten it, or make a new one. The glazing will again be stick on black plastic. I still have to fit coamings or something to hold the skylight. 
I now need to cut some plastic, so out comes the old XP laptop

Barrie

  

Looking good Barrie   

 
Been painting  Yesterday I painted the decks and bulwarks in red/brown, but didn't like it, so today I repainted in a more brown brown  It might need another coat in places. The skylight has had a second coat and is ready for the 'windows' to be applied. I couldn't find any suitable tube for the funnel amongst my stock so bought some alli tube off ebay which came today. I cut a length and started painting it. The main work was fitting the rubbing strips - these are half round plastic stuck with superglue. I'm almost ready to paint the hull, but need to cut some more freeing ports. I have started on the mast and boom.

Barrie

Freeing ports still not cut  Instead I repainted the decks and bulwarks. I also 'glazed' the skylight, made a water tank, a forecastle chimney, painted the other colour on the funnel, and cut a hole for it to fit into.

Barrie

The freeing ports have been cut  As you will see, the upper hull is now black - only one coat so far. The wheelhouse is stuck to the boiler house. Various small items have are being painted ready for fixing. This includes the pulley for the steering. I have decided to start off with the 20 mm one and see how it goes. I don't want to waste the 15 mm one if this is OK. I think the next job is to fit the mast, although I do have to make a windlass yet, and fix some stairs and handrails.

Barrie

 

A few minor jobs this morning. Ventilators installed, stairs between the three decks installed. I made and fixed the steam whistle. Funnel and water tank fixed to boiler house and then the hull given another coat of black.
I need a dinghy about 5 cm long. I can find one for 50p, but the postage is £2.50, so I am trying to carve one from balsa. Just coated it in resin to try to harden it up - not sure if it will work, but its worth a try .

Barrie

looks really well barrie...........bet she sails well too...........if you have no luck with balsa.........try a little obeche........lovely timber to sand and carve.

Thanks for the suggestion Neil - the only problem is that there is nowhere locally to buy Obeche or Jelutong, and the cost of buying from Ebay is greater than the cost of the vac formed one plus postage  
Having said that, this is what I've got so far. Bear in mind it will be mounted right side up, and I think this will be OK.

 

Apart from working on this, I have given the decks and bulwarks a coat of matt varnish, and the wheelhouse and boiler house a coat of satin. Then I started on the rigging for the mast - not my favourite job   - its still not finished.

Barrie

he main modelling is now complete   I still have to re-fit the works and give it a name - that's already cut. I did make a winch which turned out way too big and I can't decide at the moment if I am going to make another.

The hull has had a coat of satin varnish, but I've now run out. I did manage two coats on the bottom, but I need to get some more and give the rest of it another coat or two.

Barrie

  
 

Nice work Barrie 

hi barrie,
what motor did you go for. are you happy with the result it is hard to tell how much smaller yours is to mine but still looks good .


david

David, 

Its an unmarked motor - smaller than a 385, but not sure what it is. I think it will be up to the job, but I wont know until I sail her. This wont be for a couple of weeks or so. My ESC is on its way from Hong Kong and should arrive whilst I'm away on holiday from next Thursday. I've been making a stand for it today - just to lift it off the floor as the rudder post sticks below the hull bottom.

It measures about 38 cm from bow to edge of rudder.

Barrie

what a cracker........the little one will be buzzing with that.

nhp651 wrote:

what a cracker........the little one will be buzzing with that.

 He will if I let him near it - although he seems more interested in speed

Barrie

I thought I would try it in the test tank (a plastic storage box) and sort out the ballast. It took over 600 grams . It was quite tricky finding space for it all.  Luckily I had recovered some lead sheet from Rhum as that's not going to be sailing again in its current form. This has been laid flat and then some lead shot in plastic bags laid alongside the motor and in the stern compartment. This will bring it quite close to the water line.

Mentioning Rhum reminds me that I have been searching for my next project without much success. I don't really want to build another kit as the ones I like are all too big, or so simple they will only take a few days to build. So I started thinking what else I could do, and the idea of building a new hull for Rhum was born, but thinking it through further, I am wondering if I can modify the existing hull by cutting off the step - I think I will give it a go after my holidays.

Another possible project was Glynn Guest's Fireboat Elliot - I quite like the challenge of making the lifting and rotating platform for one of the fire monitors. But having got the plans, I don't really like the hull, and its a bit big - so another idea was born  Why not build the lifting/rotating platform and add it to my existing fireboat?

So, unless anything else crops up, two projects to start when I return from my holidays.

Barrie

Good idea Barrie. 

So before starting either new project, the Puffer had to be finished. One job left over was the steering. I decided that the 20mm pulley really didn't look right - sorry David. I made a half pulley and have used that. The first chain I used was too weak, but I had some stronger and this appears to be OK, although a little shiney.
Once this was done it had a brief sail on Sunday. Brief for two reasons, firstly whilst I had the correct amount of ballast it was in the wrong places  The stern was nearly under water, and the bow well out.
The bow compartment is sealed so its not possible to get any weight in there. The other problem was a faulty battery pack which reads 6+ volts off load, and dies on load
So the solutions - battery is easy, order a new one from Component Shop (although their web site was playing up on Sunday). I have re-done the ballast and now she floats more or less to the line and level, and I did check in the tank before finalising things


Barrie

 

hi barrie,
how have you found sailing the puffer, I haven't heard you mention sailing it yet hope it turned out ok. I do still watch your builds  but don't reply much. the guardsman looks great too.

david

David - its sails very well - much too fast. I have had to use the variable endpoints on my transmitter else it looks like a speed boat . I don't actually spend a lot of time sailing my boats, especially in winter. I have a 40 minute drive to the lake so the weather has to be good to make it worth going. When I do get there I spend a lot of time talking . I am on the committee of the club which takes up a little of the time as we only meet at the lake.

Barrie

barrie,

I bet your grandson will love that then, he likes to your race boats 

david

David

He seems to have gone of model boats at the moment. He received so much Lego for his birthday and Christmas that that is all he's interested in at the moment. Hopefully he will be back sailing when the weather improves.

Barrie