It’s the last round of the Tomkat challenge. My model boat is ready and working. Batteries are charged. I can’t win, but at least I can have a race.
At the lake I do a single lap just to practise. Only one though as I don’t want to run the battery down – need to save all those amps for the race itself.
Heat 1: After a bit of messing around with the wind blowing boats about on the start line, we are off !
The Tomkat surges forward. Half way through the first lap I’m in the lead and running really well. At the end of the lap I’m ahead of everyone else and it looks like nothing can catch me.
Heading for the second corner I clip one of the other boats which is struggling and at right angles to the flow of traffic. This flips my boat over and the view is the one in the photo.
A quick-ish rescue with the rake and I return to the bench. The good news is the driver is still attached and not swimming with the fishes at the bottom of the pond. I play around with the controls, pour as much water out of the hull as I can and with a change of battery we seem to be working again. Not quick enough to get back in the race but I should be OK for the second heat.
The numbers are called for heat 2 so I check the boat again. Everything is fine. So I wander over to the water and launch gently. Then I try the controls. Nothing. Zitch. Zip. Dead as a Dodo that has been hit by a very large lorry and then run over by a steamroller.
So that is the story of my attempt at the Knightcote Model Boat club Tomkat challenge. About 70 quid spent, 15-20 hours painting and working on the boat. Several sessions fixing drive shafts and motors. All this for one-and-a-bit laps.
Somehow I don’t think I’m cut out for racing.
Showing posts with label Tomkat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tomkat. Show all posts
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Tomkat's ninth life
Hooray – The Tomkat is working again !
Since I still feel rubbish for not making Shipley, I thought I ‘d do one of those jobs I didn’t want to do in way of atonement. Stupid really but I digress. The job was removing all the useful bits from the boat before it made a voyage into the bin.
Pulling it apart I found a loose bolt stuck to the motor but this didn’t look like the problem. Removing it and connecting the terminals to a battery still gave short – or that spark and crack that indicates there is one. I twisted the shaft by hand and tried again. This time there was life.
Sooooo, I reassembled everything and still had no luck. Then I tested to see if there was life from the speed control. According to the meter I connected up the power coming out was reversing even though the voltage didn’t. Good news so far. Still nothing when the motor was connected.
Next I removed the speed control from my new boat and wired it up with the aid of crocodile clips and bits of wire (very useful things croc clips). Everything seemed fine.
The Tomkat control was wired into the new boat (are you following this) and worked. Intermittently. A little experimentation and waggling of wires indicated a loose connection in the plug. At last – a problem I could fix !
So the Tomakt now works with the motor to speed control plug & socket replaced with a chocolate block. A trip to the lake had the boat whizzing around as much as two nearly flat batteries allowed. Enough to show that we might be back in action though.
Fingers crossed, the last round of the competition is next weekend and it would be nice to take part in one leg.
Since I still feel rubbish for not making Shipley, I thought I ‘d do one of those jobs I didn’t want to do in way of atonement. Stupid really but I digress. The job was removing all the useful bits from the boat before it made a voyage into the bin.
Pulling it apart I found a loose bolt stuck to the motor but this didn’t look like the problem. Removing it and connecting the terminals to a battery still gave short – or that spark and crack that indicates there is one. I twisted the shaft by hand and tried again. This time there was life.
Sooooo, I reassembled everything and still had no luck. Then I tested to see if there was life from the speed control. According to the meter I connected up the power coming out was reversing even though the voltage didn’t. Good news so far. Still nothing when the motor was connected.
Next I removed the speed control from my new boat and wired it up with the aid of crocodile clips and bits of wire (very useful things croc clips). Everything seemed fine.
The Tomkat control was wired into the new boat (are you following this) and worked. Intermittently. A little experimentation and waggling of wires indicated a loose connection in the plug. At last – a problem I could fix !
So the Tomakt now works with the motor to speed control plug & socket replaced with a chocolate block. A trip to the lake had the boat whizzing around as much as two nearly flat batteries allowed. Enough to show that we might be back in action though.
Fingers crossed, the last round of the competition is next weekend and it would be nice to take part in one leg.
Friday, July 14, 2006
How do you skin a Tomkat ?
Yet again the Tomkat is a bad moggie. Down at the waters edge everything checks out so I lift it onto the water.
And Nothing.
Back out on the table and more nothing. Steering yes, but no drive. Not even an attempt.
Back to the workbench and I poke around inside. As there is no drive I chase the electricity with a multimeter. It’s coming out of the speed control OK. If the motor isn’t plugged in it even comes out of the plug attached to the speed control. Put the motor on and there is nothing again.
So I try the motor on the end of the battery directly. It roars into life for about a second and then nothing. Repeated tries result in sparks at the battery but no life. From years of railway modelling I know this means a short circuit. Something metal has got in there or the motor has started to disintegrate.
But how do I get to motor out to check it ? As far as I can tell the drive system is assembled into the bottom of the boat and the top is heat-sealed in place. Taking screws out doesn’t seem to free anything. I can’t even get the ones out of the front of the motor thanks to the angle they are at. Even if I could the water jacket can’t be loose or it wouldn’t work which means dismantling the cooling system.
Is the motor removable ? Any suggestions ?
And Nothing.
Back out on the table and more nothing. Steering yes, but no drive. Not even an attempt.
Back to the workbench and I poke around inside. As there is no drive I chase the electricity with a multimeter. It’s coming out of the speed control OK. If the motor isn’t plugged in it even comes out of the plug attached to the speed control. Put the motor on and there is nothing again.
So I try the motor on the end of the battery directly. It roars into life for about a second and then nothing. Repeated tries result in sparks at the battery but no life. From years of railway modelling I know this means a short circuit. Something metal has got in there or the motor has started to disintegrate.
But how do I get to motor out to check it ? As far as I can tell the drive system is assembled into the bottom of the boat and the top is heat-sealed in place. Taking screws out doesn’t seem to free anything. I can’t even get the ones out of the front of the motor thanks to the angle they are at. Even if I could the water jacket can’t be loose or it wouldn’t work which means dismantling the cooling system.
Is the motor removable ? Any suggestions ?
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Drive re-connected
The drive shaft fits. Like a good boy I greased it in an effort to repel rust. Carefully fitted it to the boat and then gingerly tested it out of the water.
Nothing. We have steering but no drive. I slacken things off and still nothing. Time for plenty of muttering and poking around in the mechanicals.
Suddenly there is life. A loose connection was the problem. The motor roars and I realise I need to tighten things up again.
I hope this holds. Apparently Ripmax don’t stock this part as a spare. The one Maxx Models got me was a one-off and might not be repeated. Ripmax don’t have an e-mail address either on their site so I don’t hold out much hope. With 5 broken shafts among the clubs boats, the racing might be a bit limited this Sunday.
Nothing. We have steering but no drive. I slacken things off and still nothing. Time for plenty of muttering and poking around in the mechanicals.
Suddenly there is life. A loose connection was the problem. The motor roars and I realise I need to tighten things up again.
I hope this holds. Apparently Ripmax don’t stock this part as a spare. The one Maxx Models got me was a one-off and might not be repeated. Ripmax don’t have an e-mail address either on their site so I don’t hold out much hope. With 5 broken shafts among the clubs boats, the racing might be a bit limited this Sunday.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Will this save my Tomkat ?
Thanks to the guys at Maxx Models I now have a replacement drive shaft for the TomKat.
28mm long, 2.6mm wide.
I just hope it gets me back on the water !
28mm long, 2.6mm wide.
I just hope it gets me back on the water !
Sunday, May 21, 2006
An unhappy day at the races
We didn’t have a chance to test the Tomkat after repairing the drive shaft. Of course as soon as we put it in the water and ran it around, the boat got slower and slower until it limped into the bank, all our racing dreams dashed.
Racing continued although it was more a war of attrition rather than a graceful sprint. Lots of battery problems, dodgy steering and general unhappiness. I suspect there will be a lot more testing before the next heats. There certainly will for us !
Racing continued although it was more a war of attrition rather than a graceful sprint. Lots of battery problems, dodgy steering and general unhappiness. I suspect there will be a lot more testing before the next heats. There certainly will for us !
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Snapped drive
This is the snapped drive shaft from the Tomkat. It’s a bit of wire rope 2.6mm in diameter.
Since I didn’t have any of this handy (I suspect an old bike brake cable would yield some) I’ve had to improvise. The first attempt is in the photo – an inner from a model aircraft “snake”. This crushed when the grub screws were tightened.
My solution is to use a bit of metal drive band (it’s a tightly wound spring) with a bit of wire in the centre. This hasn’t been tested on the water yet but bench testing shows the drive to be stronger than my grip on the end of the shaft with my fingers.
Since I didn’t have any of this handy (I suspect an old bike brake cable would yield some) I’ve had to improvise. The first attempt is in the photo – an inner from a model aircraft “snake”. This crushed when the grub screws were tightened.
My solution is to use a bit of metal drive band (it’s a tightly wound spring) with a bit of wire in the centre. This hasn’t been tested on the water yet but bench testing shows the drive to be stronger than my grip on the end of the shaft with my fingers.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Too fast for the camera !
It works. The Tomkat has had it’s maiden voyage in finished form.
On the water it really stands out. After all the hassle that fluorescent paint works a treat. I don’t think the people who are counting how many laps we do during the race will have difficulty spotting this boat !
Of course every silver lining has a cloud and in this case it arrived in the form of a sheared drive shaft which put and end to the playing, sorry serious testing.
On the water it really stands out. After all the hassle that fluorescent paint works a treat. I don’t think the people who are counting how many laps we do during the race will have difficulty spotting this boat !
Of course every silver lining has a cloud and in this case it arrived in the form of a sheared drive shaft which put and end to the playing, sorry serious testing.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Ready to launch
It’s been painted, stickered and varnished. The driver has been primed, filled, painted, adjusted to fit his seat properly and re-painted. Finally the Tomkat is finished.
And I think it looks pretty good. It’s certainly going to stand out on the water !
Next job is to make sure it still works. I’ve a habit on locomotive chassis of getting paint where paint shouldn’t be. This quickly wears away and all is well but I’m not sure the same thing applies on a boat. Mind you I don’t care about the slow running characteristics of this model – in fact I don’t want it to have any at all !
Before sailing I fancy a coat of car wax on the bottom to protect the paint from water and make it extra slippery on the lake. Not sure if it really makes a difference but I think this is what proper boat racers are supposed to do so I’ll see how it goes. As long as it doesn’t sink I’ll be happy.
And I think it looks pretty good. It’s certainly going to stand out on the water !
Next job is to make sure it still works. I’ve a habit on locomotive chassis of getting paint where paint shouldn’t be. This quickly wears away and all is well but I’m not sure the same thing applies on a boat. Mind you I don’t care about the slow running characteristics of this model – in fact I don’t want it to have any at all !
Before sailing I fancy a coat of car wax on the bottom to protect the paint from water and make it extra slippery on the lake. Not sure if it really makes a difference but I think this is what proper boat racers are supposed to do so I’ll see how it goes. As long as it doesn’t sink I’ll be happy.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Flying Boat
Work out how to hold the model BEFORE you start painting. Wise advise that I’ve read several times.
So I need to spray the Tomkat with varnish and decide to hang it from a bit of wood hastily fixed up in the garage. A couple of cheap clamps hold it to the central heating pipework that runs round the edge of the room near the ceiling. The model dangles on some electrical cable I rescued from a trip to the skip. You can cut this when it’s time to take the model down, much easier than untying bits of string. Besides, I didn’t have any string handy.
It works - the model can be guided with one hand while the other works the airbrush or hairdryer. I had to push on the masked innards as they were the only bit not being painted but that wasn’t too bad. Except that the boat is in the way of the only door. So I hung it high to make it easy to duck under. This makes handling it a stretch, not bad for the few seconds that make you think, “That will be OK.” After a few minutes spraying I wish I’d hung it about 18 inches lower down and ducked lower !
The Beetle in the background ? Yes that is another project but one for a dry day ‘cos I don’t want to be welding in the wet…
So I need to spray the Tomkat with varnish and decide to hang it from a bit of wood hastily fixed up in the garage. A couple of cheap clamps hold it to the central heating pipework that runs round the edge of the room near the ceiling. The model dangles on some electrical cable I rescued from a trip to the skip. You can cut this when it’s time to take the model down, much easier than untying bits of string. Besides, I didn’t have any string handy.
It works - the model can be guided with one hand while the other works the airbrush or hairdryer. I had to push on the masked innards as they were the only bit not being painted but that wasn’t too bad. Except that the boat is in the way of the only door. So I hung it high to make it easy to duck under. This makes handling it a stretch, not bad for the few seconds that make you think, “That will be OK.” After a few minutes spraying I wish I’d hung it about 18 inches lower down and ducked lower !
The Beetle in the background ? Yes that is another project but one for a dry day ‘cos I don’t want to be welding in the wet…
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