SCALE BOATS 

These boats vary in size from 150mm to about 2 metres, and everything in between. (that's 6 inches to about 6 feet) Scales vary from about 1:6 scale to 1:96 scale, depending on the type of model. Within the club there is a variety of scale models - working boats, pleasure craft, RNLI and Naval craft. There are private yachts, speedboats, air-boats and paddle steamers appear from time to time. Older models keep appearing, as does the occasional model that is solely a figment of a vivid imagination. 

The Bluebird model below is powered by a ducted fan motor, to simulate the original.

Some of the craft in the club are kit built from one of the many suppliers, some are scratch built from plans, some are ready to run and some are 'rescued' from a garage / loft / skip / well known site that begins with the letter E, renowned for selling stuff. 

Building a scale model can take some time - a few weeks to a few months or years depending on the complexity of the model - and also depends on your skills and whether you have access to tools other than the basics. For example, the brass hose connectors on the rear of the crash tender below were custom made using a lathe and milling machine. Some of our members have 3D printers to make parts you cannot easily source. 

A few of the boats can be fitted with a camera mount to take a GoPro action camera - Makes for some great ship to ship pictures and video. The RAF firefloat mk11 below took around 6 months to construct - it's a 46" boat powered by a water-cooled ESC and single brushless motor, big enough to turn a 55mm prop.

There are plenty of scale boat videos on our YouTube channel - Link at foot of page. Not only do we film at regular days at the lake here, but there are videos of our Open Days, trips to Model Boat Mayhem and various shows we visit throughout the year. Scale models seem to be very popular as an entry into the model boat world. 

The Osprey, below, came as a kit from Mountfleet models. It's seen here on a misty day at the lake. There are a few modifications to the kit - for example, the forward gun is mounted on a servo driven gearbox to achieve about 200 degrees of rotation

We have too many images to put them all on this page, tugs, launches, submarines... head over to the Gallery where you will find some nice pix.