Build #10; Farman "Water Taxi"
#1
Thread Starter
Build #10; Farman "Water Taxi"
So I found this photo in a thread on RCG and was very intrigued with the design and thought it would make a neat scale RC model. The original boat was built in 1924 in France by The Farman Company. Some sporadic information can be found if you look around on the net - Farman made many different "hydroglisseur" boats (hydro glider roughly translated) and had several speed records. This boat was designed as a "water taxi" for carrying passengers down the river. The first photo was colorized by Kmot. My engine choice as of now is an Enya 46-4C - hoping it's small enough in girth to fit inverted and still have the "cab" of the boat look as close to the original as possible. Someone had built a scale model of the boat, but it's assumed it's electric (R/C) or just a stationary scale model. I'd like to build a 1/8th or 1/10th scale model of the boat. It is believed the original water taxi was approximately 12' wide, 29' long, and had a 9-12' prop diameter. Specific details are hard to find and most of what's been written about it was translated from French.
#3
Thread Starter
I've been brainstorming how I'm going to go about this one. It's going to be a little tricky, but I'm up for the challenge I think. It's just gonna take awhile to get there. My twins are due in two months...
#4
If it's any consolation, after seeing your other builds, I dont think you will have a problem. I think your biggest problem will be painting it, cause I know how much you like the bare wood....
#5
Thread Starter
I'll paint it. To get the contours of the cabin, I'll have to use a few different materials to make it happen, so I think it would be ugly if I finished it naturally. I think period colors is prudent, though the outer part of the hull will probably be naturally finished cherry.
#7
Thread Starter
No sir. I've been in and out of the hospital with some heart trouble and my wife was in the hospital on bed rest due to a risky twin pregnancy. So we are kinda floating dead in the water for now on this project. . The twins are due July 20th, so I have no idea if I'll even be able to get it started before then. BUT!! Rest assured I will make an attempt at some point, it's probably just going to be awhile.
#10
Thread Starter
I’m bumping this old topic up. I think I’m getting closer to revisiting the drawing and getting some dimensions figured out. I want to be as close to scale as I can - something I’ve never really bothered with since my man goal was speed. I’m undecided on what to make the cabin out of; I am considering aluminum sheet or fiberglass. The front shovel nose will be solid cherry that I intend to CNC cut. I chose cherry for color, and light weight. I think I’m going to laminate a block of alternating grain directions to get the aesthetic I want, and also for stability. I’ll add photos of my drawing after I dig it out of the drawer.
I am still planning a 4-stroke .46 Enya for this project, as they are easy to convert to reverse rotation. Though I also have a .60 4-stroke Enya if it gets too heavy. If I play my cards right, I can still use a standard rotation APC prop.
I am still planning a 4-stroke .46 Enya for this project, as they are easy to convert to reverse rotation. Though I also have a .60 4-stroke Enya if it gets too heavy. If I play my cards right, I can still use a standard rotation APC prop.
#11
Thread Starter
Here is my initial drawing. Basically just a sketch. I need to make some changes before I draw up the CAD file to cut the bow out of cherry. My drawing puts the LOA at about 25”, which is what I approximate at 1/13th scale.
Farman Hydroglisseur scale mode drawing.
Farman Hydroglisseur scale mode drawing.
Last edited by 1QwkSport2.5r; 01-20-2024 at 07:07 PM.
#12
Thread Starter
I have decided to switch gears a bit on this project; instead of killing the bow part from solid wood, I’m going to either use a Balsa core or a foam core and glue sheets of veneer to the core. This will undoubtedly be lighter than my original plan. I don’t need it to go 60, but I don’t want it to be a brick either.
#14
Thread Starter
I have not had the time to get the build going despite saying I will get it going for years now. LoL. I have a set of plans drawn up, but I need to decide how I’m going to build the hull. I was going to cut it from solid hardwood on my CNC machine, but I think it’s going to be too heavy. I also need to fit an extended prop shaft to the engine to get the engine moved forward more. This is going to be tricky because the engine can turn 14,000rpm. Harmonics are going to be a problem.