First time on real water

Thursday morning is boat sailing time. Well, when my work allows and the sun is shining.

I charged the Bantam battery up for several hours, fitted it and taped the top down to the deck. I know from the tests in the batch the model would float, but test tanks and lakes with other boats and fish are different things.

Happily, the model sailed very well. It sits very low in the water and lower on one side than the other, but I can sort this out. The real tugs deck was close enough to the wet stuff to be washed occasionally so I'm not very far off.

Speed is excellent. With the throttle stick half way forward, the model proceeds at a respectable rate. Full power sees the front dip and the water cover the front third of the deck. I didn't do much of this. Fiddling with the weight and fitting the great big bow bumper will cure any problems.

Steering is fantastic - you can throw the boat in to a turn with a hard left or right and it spins on it's axis. Presumably this is due to a combination of a rudder with too much movement and a funny shaped hull designed to be agile. This model is going to be great for steering competitions.

Run time is at least 25 minutes. I'm confident of over half an hour once finished. That's long enough for me. I'll get bored of sailing by then and want to go off and have a cup of tea or a chat.

Best of all, despite washing the decks, the inside was water-free. Success!