Tugboat HobbiesChuck, if you see this please email me at berkeleyengineering@yahoo.com. I tried to email you but the address I have for you is no longer working. Susie
Some of the minitugboat and tugboat enthusiasts take a different direction when building their beloved tugs! This is a page dedicated to tugboat hobbies! Here is an example, sent in from our Little Bitts member, Chuck Bowman. He purchased his plans for a Candu E-Z 3 years ago,and hasn't yet gotten around to building it. However, that hasn't stopped him from dreaming about the tug he would love to own someday! Chuck uses his own words to describe his latest project: "Here is a photo of a model tug I built from scratch. It's loaded with electronics, R/C operated, and weighes a hefty 50 pounds.
I want my Mini Tug to look exactly like this, perhaps
someday................" Here is Chuck's "The Woodchuck":
Above is a shot of the hull of "The Woodchuck". Chuck says "I bought a fiberglass hull and laid up half inch strips of sweet gum wood purchased mail order from a guy who mills small planks for boat model builders. I used dark walnut for the rails, and the decks are babinga, which is like rosewood. I even made the push block on the bow and shaped the keel board from the babinga, very tricky and time consuming.
There is red oak for the smoke stack top piece. The bits,
ladders, doors and portholes are all hand made from walnut with
small dowels for rivets. I don't have a photo of the hull bottom, but
will try to remember you want one when it comes time to redo the
hull."
Above is a shot of the top deck of "The Woodchuck"! The craftsmanship on this model is absolutely stunning! Chuck says "This photo shows the work required for the cabins and deck. I used
black construction paper placed on edge between each deck plank to
look like the tar they used on the old tugs for caulking. The red
fire monitors squirt water."
This is a shot of the aft deck of "The Woodchuck".
Above is a shot of the electronics in "The Woodchuck". He says "Here is a look inside the hull. The black box on top is a control panel that distributes the 12V from the big battery. It converts the 12V to 4.3V for the radio receiver, even has a 3V and 6V output for lights and other accessories. The speaker is for the electronic sound board that sounds like a big diesel engine, and the fog horn comes thru the same speaker. The big gears in the back are the top view of the two Z-Drives. These are really something. They are scale azipods, that can rotate the prop 180 degrees. They are connected to two big DC motors under the electronics board. I have a speed control unit that is reversible, and this makes the tug very easy to control. I have a water pump taken from an automobile windshield washer that pumps pond water to the two fire nozzles on the upper deck."
All we can say is WOW!!!!!! What an amazing talent you have, Chuck! We can't wait until you begin building your Candu E-Z!!!
If YOU have a tugboat hobby and would like to share it with us, please go to the Contact Us page and send an email!
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