Building a radio controlled Thames Barge.

[Geoff S]

I know this isn't an aeroplane but sailing is rather like flying horizontally.  There seemed enough interest when I posted a bit about the barge I started to build nearly 10 years ago so here goes.

 

This what a sailing barge looks like:

 

 

They were used to transport goods from the East Anglian rivers (Stour/Orwell, Blackwater, Crouch etc) up The Thames to keep London running.  Some were still operating after WW2 and at least one sailed across to Dunkirk to pick up stranded military from the beach in 1940.  They were crewed by a man, a boy and a dog (often) so had 5 relatively small sails to make for easier handling. The were the vans and artics of the last and the early part of this century. They were flat bottomed do they took ground upright when the tide went out (they operated mostly in tidal rivers).  They've always fascinated me and I've been interested in sailing for many years.

 

I bought the drawings (7 huge sheets), a DVD describing the build and the CNC cut parts from Traplet to build  a 1/24 scale model of the barge Veronica (1100 mm long). (it's now available from Sarik).  The CNC cut parts were the keel in several pieces of 3mm ply which need to be assembled and the hull frames.  The keel was fine but, as it turned out, there was a problem with the hull frames due, apparently, to a mix up of the CAD files.  I did manage to overcome the problems, which I only discovered when I'd already got a fair way into the build but Traplet refunded all that I'd paid (over £100) so I'm happy. Presumably part kits from Sarik will be fine.

 

I framed up the hull on my SLEC building board:

 

It was when i turned it over that I discovered the wavy chine (the joint between the sides and the bottom in this case) because some of the frames were wrongly sized. I managed to pack them out.

 

 

 

The hull is sheeted in 3mm balsa and glassed over with glass cloth and epoxy.

 

 

The full size is flat bottomed but models need a fin with a bulb weight at the end.  The weight of the bulb depends on the all-up weight of the complete model and the volume of water that needs to be displaced for model to float on its intended waterline. That can't be determined until completion but I've made the fin.  First these parts:

 

 

... and completed with blue foam packing. It will glassed eventually.

 

 

 

Similarly, on the full size the rudder has to be short to allow the barge to take to the ground easily.  This won't work on a model so the rudder is designed to have an 'invisible' cleat Perspex extension.

 

 

... and assembled.

 

 

 

Similarly the leeboards (one each side) which, on the full size, do the job my fin does and stops sliding sideway downwind. These are just for show and aren't operated on the model.

 

 

 

That's nearly up to date. It's now decked (a one piece sheet of lightply with deck planks scored on) and I've installed the sheet winches that control the sails and a rudder servo.  I've made most of the main mast.  I'm concentrating on the spars (main mast, top mast, mizzen mast, and sprits) and the standing rigging that supports them.  More details later.

 

 

[RottenRow]

RCM&E used to cover boats, cars etc. as well as aircraft, so your barge thread isn't out of place at all Geoff. It's good to see something a bit different.

 

Coincidentally, I was watching a couple of these only last Saturday in Maldon, Essex, giving pleasure trips. Not under sail, but engine powered.

 

Brian.

[Geoff S]

12 minutes ago, RottenRow said:

RCM&E used to cover boats, cars etc. as well as aircraft, so your barge thread isn't out of place at all Geoff. It's good to see something a bit different.

 

Coincidentally, I was watching a couple of these only last Saturday in Maldon, Essex, giving pleasure trips. Not under sail, but engine powered.

 

Brian.

 

We used to charter Westerly 26' yachts from Blackwater Yacht Charters back in the 1980s from Malden.  We were there about 5/6 years ago with our campervan and tandem. It was Spring and cold, wet and windy (we had to be towed onto the campsite but managed to get off under our own steam with a bit of enthusiastic driving 🙂 ).  We were taken by surprise by the steep hill into the town - didn't expect to need the little chain ring in Essex!.  We saw the barges but they were being maintained rather than sailed.  We went from there to Stowes Marie where Ian Redshaw and co were flying with the Dawn Patrol 1/3 scale WW1 models.

[Phil Green]

15 minutes ago, RottenRow said:

RCM&E used to cover boats, cars etc.

...and robots, who remembers Tommy, Mr Robotham, and Teal?

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

I love them, my Auntie Betty who live on Canvey Island used to hitch rides on them up and down the Thames around Southend when she and her husband Les weren't sailing in the Shearwater races .

[GrumpyGnome]

When I was  lad, there was a practically ready made, 2 channel, plastic, yacht that O bought - it used standard servos (no winch). I used to potter on the canal with it. Directional control was a bit.... 'iffy' but it was fun.

 

I also had a couple of relatively fast biats, and airboats, that I used to sail (?) on the estuary...

[Steve Colman]

I built a couple of RC model boats way beck when and also had a 21ft river boat on the Grteat Ouse.

At the moment I have one of these as shown in the photos.

 

I've been thinking of selling a couple of planes to fund a boat purchase or two. Where I live there are a number of shallow ponds in the local parks which would be ideal. If I go ahead it's good to know I can post on the forum.

[GrumpyGnome]

Cute.  Don't go too fast or her top'll blow off !

 

My air boats were far less 'polished' and there was zero protection from the whirling bitey bit..........It's a surprise I have any fingers left.  Also surprising I didn't drown tbh as we spent a lot of time in/on the estuary and its mudflats..... happy days.

[Levanter]

There already seems to be much more interest in RC boats in this forum than the Model Boats forum.  It is not very exciting posting there and there are very few regular posters. Many have left.   Pardon me Geoff for interrupting your thread.  I wonder if we could have a bespoke model boats topic where anyone can post. There seems to be an appetite for it.

 

I build aircraft for which I get almost no opportunity to fly because there are only two sites that I know of in Mallorca and they are both far away. I also build boats of all kinds and living in a harbour I do get to use them.  There are some interesting cross-overs in construction and as Geoff says, sailing is like two dimensional flying.

 

Does anyone else think a bespoke topic would be good even though it might be detrimental to a sister forum?

 

Levanter

[Steve Colman]

I

1 hour ago, Levanter said:

Does anyone else think a bespoke topic would be good even though it might be detrimental to a sister forum?

 

Levanter

 I would support the idea. It may not get lots of posts but it would be good to see some projects in one place as opposed to the odd post scattered around the forum.

[Steve Colman]

1 hour ago, Levanter said:

I build aircraft for which I get almost no opportunity to fly because there are only two sites that I know of in Mallorca and they are both far away. I also build boats of all kinds and living in a harbour I do get to use them.  There are some interesting cross-overs in construction and as Geoff says, sailing is like two dimensional flying.

 

Levanter

If you have occasion to hop over to mainland Spain you would be very welcome to fly at my club. "Club Aeromodelismo Osca" Huesca,Spain. I have a few videos you can see at: ArtesanRC+

[Levanter]

That's a kind offer Steve.  I have seen photos of your site. It looks fabulous.

I will check out your videos.

Thanks

Levanter

[Brian Dorricott 1]

This one earns it's living as a rescue boat on Carr Mill an LMA water site, the chip basket is for collecting floats and bits which come off . It's now fitted with FPV as it's hard to see when it's more than 10 meters away and scoop up. It has a coat hanger alternative which is for complete planes and hooks into floats etc easier than rowing the inflatable out . Slec kit very easy build for a cack handed half wit like me and maybe a little overpowered as it rotates as you apply power .

[kevin b]

Very nIce Brian.

At first I thought it was a die hard fliers attempt at a fishing boat.   🤣

[Geoff S]

This seems to have attracted some interest in models other than aeroplanes 🙂   Well, variety is (allegedly) the spice of life.

 

A couple of pictures from the Sarik site showing completed Veronicas.  I won't be adding a bowsprit (up to 35' long on the full size) and stick to the working rig.  The price of the drawings and CNC parts has almost doubled since I bought mine in 2014 and the DVD is on YouTube.  Not sure if it's worth having the CNC parts as all you get is the keel and the hull ribs/formers which are clearly shown on the drawings.  It's a very short kit and there are no step by step instructions!

 

 

This is the current state of the hull with the hatch covers.  The skipper's cabin aft is held in place by the chimney which screws into a 4mm threaded rod.  The rudder servo is underneath and the mizzen mast mounts on top.

 

 

I'm working on the spars.  The main mast and the top mast start out as square hardwood and by planing off the corners and using sandpaper it's surprisingly easy to make the transfer from square at the foot to (roughly) circular (and tapered slightly) further up.  The mast was able to be lowered fairly easily on the full size to negotiate bridges on the rivers. That's convenient for both storage and transport on the model. 

 

 

The topmast can be lowered, too.  It's supported in 2 places. One at the top of the main mast and one at the hounds lower down.  Note the jackstay, a length of steel rod at the back of the mast to which the luff (front) of the mainsail is permanently attached when in service.

 

This is the position of the raised topmast.  I intend fitting a 3mm peg through the mast to stop it sliding down but it's quite tight even without.  The jackstay is a bit easier to see in the photo.

 

 

That's now up to date.  I've made a mizzen mast but most of my time has been spent studying drawings and documentation.  It'll be a while before I'm able to report any significant progress but I have renewed enthusiasm so it will happen.

 

When raised, the square end of the topmast prevents its twisting.  Those 2 bits of ply, both of which needed square holes cut in them, took me ages to make.  The top one locates on a squared off section on the mainmast head and took 2 attempts to get right (or adequate at least).  The lower one rests on a couple of additions glued to the mast. I decided to make it 6mm ply because there shrouds etc attach there and I'll be adding brass strip on the side.  The spreader or crosstree fits there too and I've located some rectangular carbon rescued from a 'retired' ARTF foamie which fits perfectly.

 

 

[GrumpyGnome]

Nice workmanship!

[Geoff S]

1 hour ago, Brian Dorricott 1 said:

This one earns it's living as a rescue boat on Carr Mill an LMA water site, the chip basket is for collecting floats and bits which come off . It's now fitted with FPV as it's hard to see when it's more than 10 meters away and scoop up. It has a coat hanger alternative which is for complete planes and hooks into floats etc easier than rowing the inflatable out . Slec kit very easy build for a cack handed half wit like me and maybe a little overpowered as it rotates as you apply power .

 

Looks great, though I fear the chip basket is not to scale!  Judging distance from the shore is always tricky. I know when I was racing 1 metre yachts it was difficult to judge when to turn at a course mark and I often saw my yacht pass between me and the mark rather than the other side - quite frustrating.

[Geoff S]

Decided that it's time to start my most unfavourite part of modelling  - finishing in general and painting in particular.  I've stuck 1/32" Chartpak (the stuff that used to be used for making PC board layouts) along the line of the hull to simulate the planking.   The scale is 1/24 (1" = 2') so a 1 foot plank is 1/4" (sorry for the Imperial units but the scale factor seems to demand it - and the prototypes are well pre-metric in the UK). 

 

 

The idea is to spray with build primer (Holts acrylic cans) with several coats then remove the tape to reveal groves representing 1' planking. It won't be obvious but still visible.  Then spray the final coat.  I think pale grey but possibly black.  The colours of barges changed throughout their working lives.  The decks were usually painted but I'm going to varnish mine. I can always paint over the varnish but  varnishing over paint isn't likely to work well.

 

 

In actuality you can see the planking.  The hole in the middle is the fin mounting - it's a tube which ends well above the waterline.  There's a few imperfections I'll fill before another couple of primer coats but barges were work horses and got quite battered in use. They shouldn't look perfect.

 

The bottom of the hull below the waterline will be red because that's the colour of anti-fouling paint

[Levanter]

Hello Geoff

Welcome to the new topic.

I was wondering how I was going to simulate my planking on the hull and you have given me some ideas.  

Coming along well.

Levanter

[Bob Burton]

On 14/06/2024 at 23:34, Phil Green said:

Teal

You mean TEAL, an acronym for Tripedal Electronic Ambulatory Locomotive which I remember building

 

 

[Phil Green]

We're showing our age, Bob... 🙂

[Catherine Whittall]

Hello

 

My Dad started building Veronica about 30 years ago and gave up after making the hull.

 

He made various bits of metal too.

 

He is 87 now and I would love to finish the barge whilst he is still with us.

 

It looks impossible but if thete are kits to hrlp complete it I would be very grateful for the details.

 

I have the remote controller and am recently retired so I now have loads of time and need a winter project.

 

 

 

 

[Catherine Whittall]

Another post to add to the one I posted earlier

I have 5 pages of plans but I really want to buy ready made parts to finish the barge asap. Time is not on my Dads side.  I really dont want to turn the hull into a boat shaped plant pot but its getting in the way so I need to do something with it!!

 

[FlyinFlynn]

22 minutes ago, Catherine Whittall said:

Another post to add to the one I posted earlier

I have 5 pages of plans but I really want to buy ready made parts to finish the barge asap. Time is not on my Dads side.  I really dont want to turn the hull into a boat shaped plant pot but its getting in the way so I need to do something with it!!

 

Catherine, this forum is primarily a model aircraft forum with a small contingent of people who are also interested in model boats,  you might have better luck with a response to your request on somewhere like https://www.modelboats.co.uk/forums/ . I'm not trying to dissuade you from your goal but I suspect if you wait on here it will indeed end up being a boat shaped plant pot.