Full Size Printed Plans cabin cruiser Boating for Beginners' KINGFISHER L 22" Suitable for Radio Control

Full Size Printed Plan & Building Notes

No material plans only

' Boating for Beginners' 

Balsa cabin cruiser for .5 - 1.5 c.c. diesels with photographs of stage-by-stage construction

KINGFISHER                                  

Full Size Printed plan on a Sheet 38” x 28”

Seven Page building illustrations & Photo

Length 22"

Power Gas .75 cc-1.5cc Diesel  or convert to Electric

Suitable for Radio Control

BY VIC SMEED

THERE have been quite a few requests in recent correspondence for an absolute beginner's boat, and this has, needless to say, created a few furrows in the editorial brow. The first question arising is what equipment will a beginner have. To be really safe, we decided that he would have none whatsoever, which immediately points to balsa construction. A help in deciding this is the fact that many aeromodellers build a boat for a change, and, of course, they are used to balsa as a working medium. On top of this, balsa is usually easily available anywhere, and it is entirely satisfactory as a material for boat construction if the design takes into account its characteristics.

Secondly, what sort of power unit? Well, the correspondents seem to favour diesel, and there are many thousands of small diesels about; one of the big attractions is the more exciting performance. As to size, the greatest number of engines lies in the .75-1.5 c.c. range, which size also allows a model large enough for later conversion to R/C.

With small diesels, the biggest snag usually encountered by a novice is a firm mounting which will not rip out at the first hydraulic lock, coupled with the free and completely frictionless line-up of motor and shaft. It seems an obvious step to get over the most difficult part first and then build the boat round it.

Kingfisher, then, is of all balsa construction except for the motor mount, and it can be built with only a razor blade and glasspaper, though a fretsaw and a drill make the work easier. The structure is self-aligning, and the motor installation is in effect the first step in the building programme. Cost of building is reasonable

Although only 22 in. long, there is a vast amount of space available—one of the first things a beginner will learn is that a model boat is a lot bigger than it looks from the drawings!

Thank you for looking Rose