Well, here goes part one of my build blog on constructing the the Cabin Cruiser Diva. As this is my first ever build blog if I'm doing something wrong please let me know.

I am 74 years old and have been building period static display ships, other models and model railways for some time. A few weeks before the end of 2022 I decided that before it was too late I would like to build a RC boat and a RC powered glider. I contacted Cornwall Model Boats who I have used for some time now and they recommended the Diva as a good model to start with as a novice.

When I received the kit I first found that the components in the box did not match up with instructions. The kit is made by the German company Aeronaut and is distributed in the UK by Caldercraft. Because the original instructions are in German Caldercraft provide in the box a set of instructions translated into English. I said above that the components in the box were not matching up to the instructions. What I did not know until I contacted Caldercraft that Aeronaut had changed many of the parts and had produced a new set of instructions to match and had not told Caldercraft. Caldercraft sent me the new translation as a PDF file and all was well. So if anyone purchases this kit in the future check what instructions you have in the box. Although Caldercraft sent me the file they did say that the new instructions can be found online.

The instructions are a Google translation which I have found in the past is not always so good but I found the translated instructions fairly easy to understand with some having to be read a few times to understand what was meant. I did get stuck on one of the instructions which I put down to old age because I just could not get it to formulate in my brain. Having said that, I was very lucky have made contact with the forum member Martin555 who took a look at the instructions and gave me a very good explanation of what I had to do. So if anyone else wants to build this model and gets to instruction number 11 and gets stuck send me a message and I'll happily help you out (or past you on to Martin 😁)

I have found the build so far interesting and rewarding. The frames or bulkheads were easy to assemble as there is a jig provided with the kit to hold the frames whilst glue dries and other parts are added. Once a certain stage has been reached the jig is discarded and the build continues whilst the hull is support on the stand provided which also has to be assembled.

You will see from the photographs the some of the various stages I have completed. I installed the motor and the propeller and shaft the other day. The motor has be purchased separately to the kit. The motor is held in place by two screws and the shaft is positioned from beneath the hull. I did find that I had to adjust by filing the entry whole in the underside of the hull to get the correct angle so the shaft and motor were in a straight line. Once that was done the shaft is fixed in place using Epoxy Resin glue. When the glue had cured which was about 16 hours I removed the motor from it's housing and then applied two coats of sander sealer to the inside of the hull to waterproof it as per the instructions.

My next job over the next few days is to reinstall the motor and fit the support parts for the remaining electrics and the rudder housing.

Once they are done I will let you know how I got on.

Greg 👍

The building of my first RC boat is going well. I have refitted the motor after giving the interior of the hull two coats of sander sealer to waterproof the inside. I have fitted the support parts for the electrics and the added the rudder assembly.

The next stage was to fit the the parts that would eventually form and support the deck and the superstructure. Once the adhesive had cured I fitted the deck. This was a little difficult as I must have been slightly out when fitting the frames/bulkheads in the initial part of the construction but with some minor adjustments to the frames the deck fitted well and, I think, looks good.

Following fitting the deck, once again when the glue was dry, I fitted the remaining parts of the opening to to the inside of the hull and the electrics bay followed by the external covering to the transom.

The next stage was to start the superstructure. The cabin door bulkhead was first assembled and put into position followed by the fixing to that bulkhead the port and starboard sides of the superstructure. Whilst the adhesive was drying I made up the support frame for the cabin roof and fitted into position.

The next jobs I have to do is add the remaining forward and aft outer parts of the superstructure, fit the cabin roof and the cockpit windscreen.

My opinion of this kit so far is that I am thoroughly enjoying constructing the boat but to a complete beginner they might find it a little difficult as some of the instructions are open to interpretation and without some help they may find it difficult. This kit was recommended to me by an online RC model company on requesting a suitable kit to build for a beginner to RC modelling. I am sure the recommendation was made in all good faith by the company but if I was a beginner and had never built a boat before I would have chosen another kit. Fortunately for me I do have model making skills and have proceeded with the build quite easily, albeit having to read some of the instruction a couple of times to make sure I full understood their meaning. I personally think that the difficulty in understanding some of the instructions is down to the Google Machine Translation. Aeronaut only produce their instructions in German unlike other kit manufacturers who supply instructions in more than one language. So apart from many positives with this kit the instructions could be to some a bit of a negative.

Anyway, enough typing. Back to building.

Greg 👍

The build has been a little slower this past week. I started on the superstructure and following the instructions I had to glue the cabin roof in place. This was a little difficult because of the camber of the cabin frame. The gluing in place involved the slight bending of the roof panel. Unfortunately you can not pin the roof in place whilst the glue is drying as the pin holes would look unsightly as the roof will be eventually varnished which would show any filler in the pin holes. Having said that, it may not be a problem if the roof panel is to be painted. The way I held the roof panel in position was with masking tape. I first applied the glue to all the points of contact on the cabin walls and then started to to fix the roof in position and held it with the tape. I then slowly and gently bent the roof panel over to the other side fixing it with tape as I progressed.

The next job was to fix the cockpit windscreen and roof which were easier as I could use clamps to hold them in position. I am now moving on to start some painting and the making and fixing of the deck and cockpit fittings which I will describe in the next part of the blog.

I will be ordering the remaining electrically items next week to complete the power and control source so I look forward to fitting them.

Greg 👍

Once again the build has been a little slow this past week but I had been making some progress until I came to a halt with the fitting of one part which I will explain shortly.

I ordered the remaining electrics I needed which arrived in good time from Cornwall Model Boats. So I intend to fit those this week and will no doubt need some help from you good members as this will be a first time fitting.

Having made and fitted the basic superstructure I moved on to making the helmsman's seat and the bench seat to be fitted at the back of the deck area. This was followed by the table which is be fitted on the deck in front of the bench seat. The helmsman's seat should have had fitted metal armrest on either side but unfortunately I managed to break not only one but both so I gave them up as a bad idea. The Helmsman can now slide on and off the his/her seat with out the armrests getting in the way. 😁

Before I proceeded any further I gave the hull and superstructure a coat of sander sealer. I next got the cockpit deck ready by adding the supports for the bench seat and stained the deck using a Pine wood dye. The dying does not have to be done but I just liked the idea of the deck looking different the Mahogany finish of the hull. I then applied multiple coats of white paint to the cockpit/cabin roof.

Following the above I made, painted and varnished the boat's navigation lamps. I made and varnished the antenna and made and varnished the forward hatch. Once the varnishing was complete I fixed in position the above fittings and the boats horn and forward handrails on the cabin roof. I then made the helm box adding the boat's instruments and the boat's Wheel. This box also received a coat of sander sealer and two coats of varnish. Th last item was to make the small cabin door handle. The backplate comes as a metal part but the handle grip has to be made from brass or metal rod which fortunately I had some brass rod available. The rod is bent to form the shape of a pull handle and then glued in position on the small backplate. This will be fitted to the door later.

Next was to fit the cockpit deck. This is where I have the problem. Although laser cut and the inside walls of the hull fitted properly the floor is too big to side down and into position. I posted my problem on the forum and had suggestions from members on how to overcome the problem. The solution is to reduce the sides of the deck by using a template as a guide cut from thin ply or card and then using the template as a guide to reducing the size of the deck. The making of the template and the reducing of the deck is yet to be done so until that is done this is the end of this part of the build blog.

I will add that I have decided that before I reduce the size of the deck which will fit above some of the electrics I will fit the radio gear in position. That I am looking forward to as a challenge as it will be the first time for me in fitting a boat's operating/power system.

Greg 👍

The build is coming on well. The problem I had with the cockpit deck being too big to fit in to the hull I over came by measuring and marking on the deck what had to be removed to get the deck to fit. Once I had marked the deck equally on both sides I drew a pencil line on both sides and then scored with a craft knife along the pencil lines. I then planed away what needed to be removed and finished off by sanding.

The deck fittings have now all been fitted. Some of the items I have fitted as I wanted to see them and not as what was recommended in the instructions so the superstructure looks slightly different.

I did not like the look of how the bathing platform at the stern of the boat was fitted with a nickel rod around it's edge so I made from a length of square Mahogany a support that I bevelled to the angle of the transom and glued it and the platform in place.

I have also finished the underside of the hull by painting it white. To be honest I'm not that happy with the finish because I decided to hand paint it rather than spray. In hindsight I wished I had sprayed but the finish is okay and after all won't been seen much when in the water.

I have fitted the rudder which was at first a little tight. Be warned. When fitting the rudder mechanism tube be careful not to get an adhesive or paints in or near either end of the tube which I must have done. This was easily overcome by cleaning out the tube with a round file. The rudder now fits okay. The next job is to fit the servo which I will be doing this weekend.

I am now ready to finish the remaining wooden surfaces. Having painted all surface with a sander sealer I will finish with yacht varnish. Once fully dry I am going to apply two coach lines to the hull. One to the white under hull and one to the the sides of the upper hull.

When I have finished the model I will fit the remaining electrics - But that will be another part of the build blog!

Greg 👍

Hello Martin,

Thank you for the kind comments.

Greg 👍

I am well on the way to finishing the Aeronaut Diva. Although difficult with Arthritic hands I have now glazed the cabin windows.

Before the glazing and having fitted the deck fittings I gave the hull and superstructure a nice coat of yacht varnish.

My next job is to complete the fitting of the rudder servo which I have had problems getting the servo to fit in its location and to stop the servo arm from hitting the hull framework when operated. I intend to try and complete the servo installation some time today. Once I am happy with functioning of the servo and the rudder I will complete the remaining installation of the electrical equipment.

I hope you like the photographs.

Greg 👍

Hello ChrisG. Thank you for your kind comments.

Concerning what my next build will be. Well, I got a bit carried away and I am now the proud owner of the following kits.

The Wooden Model Boat Company's Small MOD police Launch.

The Slec UK Bob-A-Bout yacht. My introduction to sailing.

Sarik Hobbies Wee Nip yacht. My intermediate level introduction.

Aeronaut's yacht Bella. Because I just like boats from the recent past.

I would also like to get The Wooden Model Boat Company's Patrol Boat PT109. J F Kennedy's boat in World War II

I'll stop here as the list of "must have" is endless.😁

Greg 👍

The next building blog will be the Police Launch as I have made a start. The Bella I have here ready to start. The Bob-A-bout came yesterday and the Wee Nip should be with me at the beginning of next week

The only problem I have is I have just been informed that following a cancellation I have been given a date of the 23rd of this month for more surgery on my Arthritic hands. This time on my right hand. Unfortunately this will put me out of action for a few weeks and delay my building. But I should have the use of the hand just as the warmer weather arrives.

Greg 👍

Yes I was lucky to get the date. I was certainly not going to turn it down. I've been waiting a long time.

Greg 👍