Disaster on launching the mini tug.

 I put the little mini tug in the water today and was amazed  as to how boyant it was.I climbed in with two car batteries for ballast and the thing only sunk about 2 inches in the water. As I climbed in the boat slipped from under me and in I went up to my ears. The wife stood on the bank with camera and never broke in to a smile. What can one do to make someone smile alass that was the disaster. She never took any photos either! A lot was learned though. I will have to go threw that all again to get some photos and maybe even a smile. Cheers Iggle

mini tug

With the aid of good weather to work outside I have been experimenting with poly styrene and have found how not to put glassfibre over it



x
 The resin eats the polystyrene  even though it is covered with paint.
This next photo shows the steering tube glassed into the hull.

I will have to go back to conventional ways of putting in seats. It was a good idea but bad articulation.

tiny tug boat

Today I have decided to do some more on the tiny tug boat so here is where we are at.

 The seats are being made from fruit polystyrene boxs and will be painted before being glassed in, this is an experiment so I dont know if it will work.

little tug

The excitement of the launch day has worn of and in reflection all my little boats have come up to expectation. The first mini tug before launching there was a buyer wanting it. Again there was this little kid who wanted to swap this little boat  for his boat right or wrong. Next time I take it to the launch ramp I will take a small size life jacket and let him have a go.
 

Mini tug boat

 

The above shows the boat turning right in a side slip.

Where it came from.

Little boats

Just love little boats

The best time and money spent on boats is on the little ones. Dollar for dollar these are the best value. Thats from my personal experience and I never get lonely as people want to talk to you about your little boat and thats just a fact.

Kiama was build by myself years ago

The model was about four feet long The real ship worked the east coast of Australia.

Tom Thumb

Tom Thumb sorry for the photo quality as it was water damaged.

The below photo was kindly send to me by the Maratime athority.

Tom Thumb was a metical creature a figment of ones   imagination if you like. The name travelled to Australia as a small three metre boat, and was bought to Australia by Bass and Flinders on board the Reliance.  They used this tiny boat to explore the east coast of Australia and to map the coastline.   

 Now the boat had a small sail similar to the ones I read about in the Texas 2oo. No GPS no rescuers just themselves with a bit of grub water and paper to make maps and the sextant to navigate with. 

If they were to do it today they would have been considered to have been totally unprepared.  Most likely they would have been locked up in a mental asylum.

The boat Tom Thumb also had a name sake in the form of a pilot vessel also called the PV Tom Thumb.  I have decided to call my little ship the Tom Thumb.... Mythically sticking my thumb up at the proverbial authority as to build such a boat today comes with heaps of restrictions..