Pig in a poke boat

One of the few things I bought at the Model Boat show a couple of weeks ago, came from the Howes Models second hand boat stall.

Among the models built by enthusiasts being sold off was a pile of Ripmax Magic Vee boats that had been returned as faulty. Temptingly marked up at a fiver a go, they presumably would have been binned if people like me hadn't come along and bought them.

No details were available of the faults and you couldn't test them before purchase, but as the model is normally 50 quid, it didn't seem too much of a risk.

Anyway, the model is quite nice. It comes with a wheel type transmitter. I paid up and picked one of the few red hulled vessels in the pile of yellow ones.

Back home, I was pleasingly surprised to find a 9V battery in the transmitter. No such luck with the boat which normally comes with a rechargeable pack. Lashing up some power it quickly became apparent that the speed control/receiver unit was duff. The steering servo worked and the motor made a beeping noise but didn't turn.

So, did I waste my money?

I don't think so.

Looking at the model as a source of parts, the servo is worth the fiver paid. In addition I can use all the running gear in one of the small George Turner models in my stash of kits. According to Ripmax, the motor is worth £4.75, prop a pound, driveshaft three quid and rudder two. Even the 9V battery has some sort of value!

For the moment I've stashed the bits away awaiting use. Not that I need more boat bits but it is a fun way to acquire them.