Battery and cockpit hatch started . Before going too much further, I have to coat the inside of the hull with preservative resin. I need to velcro the RX and UBEC into the cockpit area so no point doing these things first. I'm also gluing 3 or 4mm wide strips round all the frames and hull sides, to give the epoxy a better surface when I glue the deck on. Also need to glue in mounting blocks for the hatch and find some 'camlock' type screws for easy removal. Another thing to do will be to make a seal for the hatch.

Finally got round to gluing the deck on using West epoxy and filler powder. Hopefully tomorrow if the glue is set hard, I can get the belt sander out and give the hull a good thrashing with it. Next step will be a nose block then glassing. The straight edges fore and aft are for checking the hull has no twist (Egyptian eyeometry)😁 as it was quite flexible without the deck.

Have stocked up on resin in anticipation of a shortage when everyone gets back to full size boat maintenance. The guy at the marine shop told me stocks were low already, and with lockdown down to level 2 today, shopping will be crazy (it'll be like letting the animals out of a zoo!- no-one will know what shop to hit first)😁. I'll be out early trying to score more balsa from wherever I can for future projects, as it has disappeared in nearly all shops now!

All compartments in the hull are sealed, but I'll bore some 5m holes in the deck for each one and pour in some more sealer/preservative epoxy and slosh it around in each compartment to seal the underside of the deck. Whole hull will be glassed. Have made the ply radio box as well, which the 'pilot' will be attached to (as a handle for the lid) Once the hull's glassed and painted, and motor mount, rudders etc painted, everything can be screwed back together and we should be about good to go.

It will be reasonably heavy but that will help it stick to the water as the motor has tons of power to spare.

Deck glued on, trimmed, sanded and ready for glassing. Would have done it tonight except the cloth I had was way too heavy (thought it was lighter) Will have to go shopping tomorrow with the hoards. Should have seen it yesterday, (first day of freedom level 2,- - not a parking space anywhere in the big shopping center and hardware mega stores, - people for Africa!) Wash your hands here, sign in and out there,(for virus tracking) what a performance, but got there in the end. Now have a truckload of balsa and building bits for winter building projects.

All the bits are ready and wooden parts doped and ready to prime (tomorrow hopefully) Trying to get it all done in case we go into lockdown again.! Will have to make the cockpit/lid flip forward for battery access,while making it watertight. Was going to screw it on, but too slow to get off in case of a battery fire. Hard to find thin good quality sponge strip. Used to have Para Rubber stores which had everything you'd ever need in rubber (steady Martin😁) but I think they're gone now.

Hull bottom and sides glassed (6oz) and initial painting of the 'bits' Glassing top tomorrow then a final coat of resin on the bottom and sides before priming and painting. Parts to be clear coated as well. Also coated the radio box with left over resin. Strange squiggles on the hull side appeared to be borer. Only appeared after belt sanding. Only went as deep as the first bond so no problem, If he's still in there he's there forever entombed between 2 layers of resin😁⚡⛄😆.

Deck glassed and other parts re coated and then clear-coated.

Sun was out, mud was in down the estuary, so what better time to pollute the atmosphere with a bit of spray painting!😊. Just have to make some gaskets for the pylon and cockpit, re-fit the radio gear. hinge the cockpit for quick battery access, buy some printer ink to knock up some decals and Bobs your aunty. Colour is 'Chrysler Orange' -(metallic) - same as the charger in Dukes of Hazzard. One of the standard colours for chargers. Almost play time😊

99% ready for sea trials (after I've checked whether it will float, in the neighbours pool) Radio box velcro'd in, cockpit/battery cover securing sorted (hooks under front lugs and over embedded 3mm threaded rods at the back and held down by silicone tube pushed over the rods) Found some thin sponge self adhesive strip for battery cover and radio box. Waterproofed the gaps in the ESC shrink wrap and backs and joints of all plugs with marine sealant.

Added an air scoop on top of the canopy which blows down on the battery for cooling (hopefully) The air exits through the raised center of the cockpit/battery cover. Battery is held down with a velcro battery strap. Also fitted a small strobing (6 settings) bike tail light on the rear of the pylon for dull conditions (also for seeing direction if operating at a distance)

Covered the access holes for the steering servo slide out tray screws on the deck with doped coverall for future access.(just poke a screwdriver through it if necessary) Servo is under the deck in the battery compartment, so normal access is not possible (servo is screwed to a tray/block which slides into guides under the deck, and is secured to a block through the deck holes, - necessary for service or replacement)

All motor and mount screws loctited. Thrust angle is adjustable by nuts on motor backing plate. On off switch is inside the radio box but is quick to get at due to a locking bar over the lid (ply and balsa bar which is radiused on the ends, and is turned and jammed in place cross ways against the inner partitions, and holds the lid down firmly on the seal) basic but it works. Needed everything as waterproof as poss due to proposed use in salt water. Only thing left to do is to make a couple of cranked brass brackets to hold the rudder pins down.

Now it's ready, we are about to have some rubbish weather, just had a week of beautiful fine calm days!☹️. Had a bit of major tree surgery to do yesterday, and was clambering around 20ft up a huge Acmena in the top corner of my yard, lopping off 300lb branches to give my other trees some light -nice sunny calm day- "perfic" (OFAH) for tree sculpting! Nothing as satisfying as hoeing through logs with your chainsaw!😊

Was wondering what Chinese Hackwood would be like for carving a boat out of (just lopped some big trunks off one of those as well, - supposed to be the most flexible wood in the world, and very white) I'll let one dry and see what it looks like,- might be good for a tug if it will dry without splitting. Might do a bit of pre carving with the chainsaw while it's soft.

Made up a decal for the front and clear coated it and also the 2 deck side decals.

Ready to go,- final pics, (maybe) just waiting for the weather. Made the pin retaining clips for the rudders and a 'fairlead' for the rudder actuator rod as the last jobs. Checked the programming on the ESC and gave the boat a float test in the indoor test tank ('big white') - only draws 1/2in at the stern, tapering away to nothing at the bow. Final weight is 3kg with 4000mAh 3s LiPo. Should stick to the water ok. May have to play with different motors, props, lower KVs etc) for noise reduction (small props going fast make lots of noise) -don't want to upset the natives! - whiners everywhere these days! I also have an on board digital battery monitor/alarm for 'drive-by' checking.
JB

First big test in an open area. Bit of a dark day with rain looming so I went down to our local sports grounds for a test skid. Went ok but hard to keep straight due to getting slippery at speed. Might need to reduce rudder throw, but I'll see how it goes on water first. Thrust line may need adjusting as well, but was hard to tell while running here, as the wind was blowing about 10 knots and a bit gusty.

Ended up on the rough concrete walkway at one stage, ripping the plastic protection to bits and getting a case of gravel rash (plastic did its'job well, saved a lot of paint damage). 😀Touched up at home and added another coat of clear for a bit more protection. No doubt it will suffer in the future just due to the nature of the boat. Might need to add some 8x8 hardwood skid strakes on the bottom or aluminium runners. Also for land use I might see if I can get hold of some thin Teflon sheet to strap on. Didn't notice on this run that the tail light light lens had come off when it went over the concrete on a previous run, and the batteries had fallen out😁. Found everything, but will zip tie the lens on next time. Hit fairly hard and I heard it go over the concrete from 100m away.😮

Boat should go a bit better on the water, as it takes about 75% power to unstick its' 3kg weight on the grass. Once moving it only takes about 50% to keep it going. Bit more testing required yet, but looks promising. Should track better in the water as well.