recycled motorflote pusher tug

after finishing s.s. cordene i wanted some thing with no stress full tiny parts. so after going through all my next build pile of magazines i thought this would be a nice little fun boat for sailing on my pond. it will be made of all recycled wood and parts from the past.  
It is from model boats magazine dec 1985 by dave metcalf .I like the look of it so her we go. as per plan i have copied it so as not to damage original..i have marked out on some ply that i have its 2mm but should be 1/16 its all i have and as i cant get any local it will do. all parts will be cut with a fine blade jig saw  .

I have since read that these were simple Uniflote pontoons ie baily bridges but they just put a cabin and engine on one so that they could push into place. Very interesting story as they were built 4 miles away from were I lived most of my life.





this is all the details




first template cut out ready for cutting ply wood





first piece cut out and not made any buring of ply. the ply is of an old door which i stripped  all the egg crate off leaving surface glue which i rubbed down and looks good. this boat will be made from all recycled wood cut up on my table saw so should not cost very much to build. i have a old bobs board esc which i might use, i have  27 mhz receivers  and 40 mhz receivers, acoms transmitter and lots of motors i can try so should be fun sorting out and recycling grand kids can then ram it at what ever they want 


david

i have been cutting out all the parts with my battery jig saw, I dont no if any body else has had the same problem with battery failing and having to pay more than what the drill cost. so i decided to bin all the nicad batterys and use an 11.1 volt lipo which i  bought ages ago but not used. it is easy to do if any one wants me to show how i did it i will put it on here? 




this is the plywood i have used its from my old side garage door. i will clean glue off after.





this is the jig saw i used you can see the lipo battery connector wich pushes in side when in use . 





here are the parts all cut out, there is some tearing but it will all fill when painted. i have also cleaned all glue and most paint of.




first i have glued the coamings on to the deck piece. i will have to cut some 5mm x 5mm pine wood on my table saw to run along all edges.



david

some more work done on the tug.




this is the 5mm x 5mm i cut up on my table saw





these are the first parts to be glued using p.v.a.





start of the base of boat




middle section glued in place



david

here is some more work done over past week.




this is my table saw i had to use a rough cutter as i have not got a fine tooth one yet must order one




this is the 5mm x 5mm square wood cut on my table saw





start of the bottom frame work




this is turned over from last photo












slowly coming on. it would make a good model in plasticard as it is better for cutting square, but i still prefer wood.


david

here is some more of my build. the construction is not as easy as it looks if you dont have clamps then you will find it hard . i would say it is not a first time build  .



both bottom sides now fixed in place

 


this is the 5mm x 5mm support frames



stern end glued on and clamped



both ends now fitted



ready for sides to be fitted



first side weighted down while glue sets



the hull is now built ready for sealing



the hull will now get 2 coats of varnish the first one will be thinned down, then second coat from tin. the reason for this is i have no resin and want to build it with out any cost as much as  possible so far its cost me what i have to hand


david

David - its certainly quite a complex assembly. I would definitely fail if I tried that. I cannot cut would square

Barrie

hi barrie,  

this is supposed to be a boat that a novice can build   if this was my first build, i think i would have never tried another. the plan is not correct, i cut the sides and they were to big when i put them together, solved the problem myself but not recommended. for first a build.

david

here is a bit more work done



prop shaft has been fitted which has  a 4 mm thread



hole at top is for rudder to go through



dry run of coupling and motor  to see how it fitted. the prop shaft i had to cut down a 8 inch shaft which i had, the coupling was in stock and the motor was from an old 12 v drill that died on me.





david

this is a 2inch copper pipe which i had in my store.which i used to make the kortz nozzel. put masking tape round then cut with metal saw then cleand it all up and fitted.






shaft for kortz soft soldered



kortz fitted to boat with temperary propeller







all ready for servo to be fitted.



david

David - is the shaft M4? I think I have some largish props which I will never use. If they are any good to you, let me know. I don't think they are proper 'square' ones however.

Barrie

started on the cabin using the same 2 mm ply and stanley knife,




i have been using p.v.a. glue  for all this build


also  use clamps  and masking tape













all window frames i used a stanley knife all round then drilled holes in corners then used my dremel router dremel sanding drum this leave a nice edge .






slowly taking shape this hot weather slowing me down to much sun bathing. more to follow soon


david

Hi davidjt,

I am following your build as I have just started to get more supplies to build this craft.

However I will be building it in plastic once the square rod arrives.

I live in Australia and parcels are notorious at taking a long delivery time.

Regards

hi,
     it will be interesting to see what the differences in materials are, i have just used scrap 2mm ply. what thickness plastic are you using. good luck with it if you need any help let me no


david

Hi,

I started using 2 mm thickness sheet but it warped so now I am ready with 2.5 mm thickness.

Once the square rods arrive I can start gluing parts together.

If this warps I will go back to good old wood.

Regards

bit more work on the cabin. i have shown the glue i have used mostly p.v.a. but i bought some gorilla glue but not sure i like it as you have to wet one side first then join together it seems very strong   so might use it a bit more




i have fitted the prop temp to make sure it fitted ok. thanks to barrie  who kindly sent it to me. i painted it red as i think i will do kortz the same colour.











cabin roof now fitted. and hand rail also made from some brazing rod as i have no brass rod this has worked great.
next job are the skids



david

Hi,

I use Sellys White Wood Glue.

After it gets tacky I give the joint a wipe with a damp rag.

Regards

top deck has now been glued on




made the bollards from some dowelling i had with some 2.5 cooper wire, hand rail above will go round cabin made from brazing rod




completed bollards ready for painting



fitted roof with 1.5 mm ply and made hand rail round cabin then fixed door in place




pusher made from some off cuts




pushers fitted in place will fit some rubber when it is all painted






david

Coming along nicely David.

Barrie

Hi David,

The final bits have arrived so now I am ready to start.

I am trying a section first and if it works I will continue in plastic.

Hopefully I can add a photo to this showing the bottom of the motor bay and the edge reinforcements 

The beams are 5mm square and it is clamped to a ply board to stop it bowing.

So far so good.

Regards

it will be good to see how it turns out , i was thinking of plastic but prefer wood  keep us posted



david

Well it is going well at the moment but slow.

It seems the best way to handle this plastic is to glue the beams on first and clamp the whole thing to a board.

At least there are no buckles in the results.

Regards

glad to hear you are getting some wherewith plastic you learn as you go . 
i have been doing maintenance on all my other boats,  they have been stored for about 2 years without any use so greasing prop shafts etc and touching paint up. will return to motorflote build in a bit.

david

Hi, 

Due to illness and the current epidemic I have had to do any boat work inside. I am restricted to my toolbox but this has given me an idea.

The tool box is metal and I have a couple of welding brackets which are magnetic.

A little expeiment and I have the problem solved and everything is straight.

Regards

looks a good idea  as plastic is very bendy, and hard to keep square, also you are welding only with solvent .

keep up the good work  

david

i have made a bit more progress. i have started on the skids. i have used brazing rod as i had no brass rod this size but it has worked out ok.






all parts cut ready for solder




i marked it out on some metal sheet  from the plan then used some flux before solder



first rod i have now soft soldered



after marking out with plan on the boat deck, i drilled holes then fixed with araldite resin

 

this is the side view and glad to say its all worked great. more to follow.

david

i have not been doing much on this build for while, as we had all the hot weather, but i have now started doing the edging around the hull. ready for painting but its to windy now you cant win




using some 6mm x 2mm wood strip and p.v.a. glue 









this is the front end with pushing arms 



rear end complete



this is the boats wheel which i bought 4 off years ago wants painting now. i hope to complete the painting soon.



david

finally got some paint done. i gave it a 2 coats of some metallic blue that i wanted to get rid of and came up well.














this is the cabin painted in orange with life belt and control stick




deck i painted brown and sides royle blue 



this is a search light i made from copper tube not wired it up yet not sure i want to.






i have now put a figure inside the cabin you may notice in some of pictures where his legs are showing.









thats all the painting done and fittings in place. its been a little bit strange building this but now waiting to see how it sails.



david

Very nice David. It will be interesting to see how well a square box sails

Barrie

Hi,
Just to let you know that I am still plugging away.

I have found the main reason for NOT using plastic apart from it bending any which way but straight, is that it is difficult to mount anything on it.

I have put two wooden bearers in to hold the motor mount and it is a case of sanding the plastic first and then use epoxy glue to get the two surfaces together.

Where the prop shaft goes through the bulkhead I have used double thickness in the plastic and then I will have to put in another bearer and the same with the Kort Nozzle.

I shall keep you posted and I will post photos but at the moment the work is hidden by clamps.

Regards

this is what this model is based on, pontoons used for bridge building in quick time for army etc 


 
these are the bridges that all connect .the motors you can see are built to rotate out of water when not needed












this is why they are built as a box shape, because thats what they are   but simple to use. i have not been able to test on water yet due to this covid 19  madness will we ever see normality ever again  .

david

hi rickles,

sorry for not replying. sorry  to her you are not having much luck with plastic, i thought that would be the case and  why i built mine in wood. keep us informed with some photos.


david

Hi,

When the going gets tough, the tough reach for more clamps.

Over the years I have accumalated a few different types.

A few days ago I went to the local tool store to buy a couple of metal rulers and at home I checked them side by side and the measurements were slightly different to each other.

The two set squares I also got only one was actally straight.

Pays to check.

Regards