With all the gubbins installed it was time to test the Puffer on the water. I’m lucky in having access to a 15ft diameter swimming pool for this sort of thing. Mind you this took a hell of a lot of assembly so I think I deserve a good sail from time to time !
Anyway, the boat sits OK in the water with a slight list toward the side the speed control is sitting. It’s pretty level though so something’s right for a change.
Under power it becomes obvious that more weight is needed at the back. Drive is next to useless with massive cavitation. Time to come back to the side for some more lead art the side and back.
Next time things are lot better. Although there is no obvious sitting down at the stern the propeller moves the boat forward instead of creating foam.
Suprisingly the steering is good enough to sail in circles. I wasn’t sure what the turning circle was going to be but it less than 15ft – nearer 6 which was good news. Sailing any sort of model boat in a confined space is nerve-wracking enough and this one has a lot more detail than most.
After 20 minutes or so the battery, which like an idiot I forgot to charge up properly for the test, is giving up. But I’m confident that the next launch can be on the boating lake.
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