RC Cabin Cruiser designed by Petter Blix

by Ken Spencer
(Chiangmai Thailand)

I have built this boat for two reasons. No 1 is after a move to retire in Chiangmai, Thailand I found that I had a lot of spare time. No 2 is that I wanted to revive my skills working with balsa wood.

This build has taken me four times the expected time to build. For two reasons. Many hardware components were not available locally and the locally available lacquer dried quickly but took along time to harden enough to allow sanding. Anyway the model is now finished and ready to run.

One component difficult to source was the brushed motor so I substituted a Turnigy 16 gram brushless motor, HMW2211-1700. To power this I chose a Turnigy Plush 6 Amp brushless speed controller. This ESC has no reverse but I have worked out how to switch from forward to reverse usig CH 5 on my Turigy 5X transmitter.

The 2 mm propshaft and micro rudder were from Caldercraft in England. They have given me exellent service. The shipping was by Royal Mail, Air Mail. Cheap and fast taking 9 days from ordering to delivery.

A 900 mAh lipo battery has been used and thanks to the worldwide popularity of quadrocopter this item was available locally, overcoming the problem of shipping lipos internationally.

Looking at the plans I thought that the model looked a little dumpy but after the funiture and fittings were added I am very pleased with the model.

Tank testing in a round washtub has proven the components. I had purchased 3 propellers one 30 mm with the prop-shaft and one each of Graupner 20 mm and 25 mm for backup. In any event the larger prop seem to be the most suitable

Ken