Now the lighter evenings have arrived it’s possible to do a little sailing in the evening. Time for a bit of Tomkat testing.
The Knightcote Model Boat Club rules say that each boat has to have a driver. After a brief flirtation with some dolls Poundland (no joints, too small) a suitable figure was found in a charity shop. Action man to the rescue. He may not have any clothes apart from a weird moulded T-shirt (when I was a kid, only the underwear was moulded on, what changed ?) he comes with a complete set of joints, gripping hands ™ and is the right height for the model.
A long screw (insert double entendre here) holds him to the seat, which has had to be altered so it can be removed for access with the figure in place. What we needed to know was, would he fall off when racing.
The answer, fortunately is no. Tight turns don’t even cause a wobble. The boat behaves well any initial concerns about weight are unfounded. I had considered replacing plastic with polystyrene where I could but then discovered in the float test (Action man will float) that his chest is hollow so nothing to be gained there.
What was less successful was the new propeller on the boat. I had replaced the plastic one with a brass item. The theory is that brass props are always better. Not this time. Apart from being pig to fit with reaming and filing required to get it to seat properly – the result is a drive full of cavitation and not enough speed.
This was ably demonstrated when another boater brought down his Tomkat which is straight out of the box and it zipped around the lake far faster than I could manage. Even the fact I had a figure onboard didn’t account for the difference. You can hear the pop and flutter of cavitation with the brass prop – the plastic one is smoother.
My fellow sailor had also fitted the brass prop but changed back to plastic thanks to the fitting issues. Guess what I’m going to be doing too !
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