BACK TO MY ROOTS

SO!!!, WHAT NEXT?

WELL, UP UNTIL the mid 1960's I had always followed my grand dads instructions of building scratch models. 

From the age of 8 I had built from scratch, purely because I could make mistakes, and make another part correctly...…..plus, as a young lad, 30 bob for a keilkraft kit was beyond my means and pocket money, which were the governing factors.

But in the mid 60's just before motorcycles came on the scene I had got a paper round and a summer job, and a model kit caught my eye...….

no!!, it wasn't a keilcraft boat, but a lovely looking Royal Yacht, called  Danebrog, and the manufacturer was a Danish company called Billing.

For a young lad it was a grand but formidable task to build,but taught me a lot about crap timber, crap instructions and crap plans...……….and since those days...……..nothing has really phased me...…….I might ask now and then about electronics and related subjects...…...but Billing taught me one big learning curve.

so why have I spoken of this...…..WELL. two years ago I was given a lot of old modelling stuff, kits motors etc that had been left when a friend of mine had died from Ahlziemers and his widow was wanting rid......and gave it to me to do with what I wanted......I sold it all and donated to the RNLI, except one kit that had been started...…..it was/is the Billing kit Colin Archer at 1;16 scale....the larger one.

it is old and delicate, and much needs doing but I think all is there, and as a "lifeboat" with the Norwegian SAR it was originally designed as a sailing lifeboat at the turn of the last century. I initially tried to sell it but no bites and so decided to build it originally to sail in the Windermere challenge with Steve Bennett, Mike Gribeauval, et all...….but whilst struggling with the Shannon's I spoke to Steve and pulled out as I didn't think I would have it ready...……..maybe I will!.

anyway, I got it out today and gave it a looksee...……….yep, Billing haven't improved the timber, they haven't improved the plans, and they certainly have NOT  improved the instructions……….so!!! near enough a Shannon, lol...…...

but the drive is there so I'll get on with it. 

and the first thing was to change the propeller from the awful plastic 2 blade to a lovely bit bigger Propshop 3 blader, and a better prop shaft and tube. 

this needed making, and so I dug the trusty old Myford ML10 from under the crap and dust, chopped one of my bronze tubes out of stock made two new bearings to fit and sweated them in, before setting the tube into the stern with 30 minute epoxy.

and then I put the rudder up to the prop, knowing that the cut away in the rudder would be too small, to measure how much to cut away.

I then offered up the modified rudder to the prop and found it ok, but decided that a modified larger trailing edge would enhance manoeuvrability, and so by making a new one from three layers of thinner ply with the grain running in opposing directions to stop warping, and glued down to a plastic film covered work board, I have left it to set overnight.

maybe the run down the lake under sail power predominantly by a "lifeboat" will be on for me as well next June, if the lads will allow me to change my mind.

 

That's cheating Neil - you've got a plastic hull  
I thought you were going to be planking the hull. THEN you would have found that Billing's wood is still cr*p.

Barrie

barriew wrote:

That's cheating Neil - you've got a plastic hull  
I thought you were going to be planking the hull. THEN you would have found that Billing's wood is still cr*p.

Barrie

only way to build a billing boat, with a plastic or grp hull matey...……..the mahogany supplied is still putrid awful and only fit for firewood...…..it will all get replaced by mahogany faced ply wood.

learned that 55 plus years ago