Building RC Model Boats
by Valerie Brazier
(Norfolk)
My brother is thinking of making a model boat for his son, but wants to know what wire goes where and so on. He knows they have a sensor unit and every thing else, but to make it up for him self. Can you help, and have you got a explanatory diagram?
Building an RC model boat is a great idea and can be a fun thing to do together. However, while I appreciate the question, I'm not sure how to answer it effectively - covering everything important without Y'all falling asleep. 8^)
In any event, here is a somewhat general overview, that I hope will be beneficial in some sense:
First your brother needs to figure out why he's building the RC boat and what budget he has available. If it is an attempt to save money, I hate to bring it to you - building a model boat can never compete, compared to buying a Chinese plastic toy boat.
Anybody who can build and finish an RC model boat from scratch, for less than $100, has done real well in my opinion. If there is an RC car in the house that can be used as a "donor" for motor, RC gear, and batteries you can do much better. I'd say it takes some technical aptitude, but it may be an option.
Some other things to think about:
- Is a kit an option?
- What tools does he have?
- What materials is he familiar with or have available to use?
- How much time does he have available?
- Over what time span (a month, three, six, a year...)?
- What type of propulsion does he have in mind (live steam, electric, sail, gas or nitro)?
- Does the RC boat have to resemble a real ship, or is it more of an experimental science project type model?
Like I said, I could go on and on, but I'm not sure I'm even being very helpful right now, so here is some more reading that may be of help to you:
- An introduction to building model boats.
- Information specifically about RC boats (not by any means complete, but it's a start).
- Take a look at some RC boat books.
I apologize for such a broad and general answer to your question. Feel free to follow up if you want.
Best of luck to all of you with the project!
Petter
