Suggestions for N Scale sailboat?

[mmagliaro]

It can be kit or ready-made.  I'm looking for something nicer than just a crude plastic-looking boat.
I will be a focal point on a small lake, so I want it to be a really nice kit, if possible.
I've looked at the laser wood kit makers, and lots of other n scale boats.  But they are all
big freighters, or tugs, or trawlers, etc.   I'm looking for a really cool wooden
sailboat... something well, nice.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[peteski]

If it needs to be really nice, why not scratch build it?

[Philip H]

This could be a good hull to start with:

http://www.artitec.nl/index.php/en/kits/item/n-kits-launch-pontoon?category_id=125

or perhaps these:

http://www.langleymodels.co.uk/acatalog/Shop_Front_Boats__Ships__Artitec___Langley__111.html

And having seen these at Timonium last winter, they are way better in person then on screen:

http://modeltechstudios.com/nscalewaterlineseries-2mastedschoonerworkboat.aspx

[pnolan48]

Max,

What are you thinking in terms of length? While I've been working on ships of the 125' to 500' range, a smaller sailboat, as a kit or complete, is very doable. I presume this would be a waterline model, with enough depth for heeling over (which would entail some sanding). I am building a whole series of smaller boats (and boat handling gear) for my bigger ships, and will offer these bits and pieces for sale. I can envision a single mast 60' hull of cast resin, with a photo-etched brass cabin, brass telescoping mast and boom, and a few tiny details, for about $50. An 80-foot twin master might be about $75.

Let me explain a little bit. These size hulls are pretty easy to mold and cast. My problem becomes what to include in the kit. Do i include a 20 mm piece of 2.5 mm tubing, a 40 mm piece of 1.5 mm tubing, and a 20 mm piece of 1.0 mm tubing for the mast, with instructions about how to ream them out and smooth the exterior, so they will telescope? How many modelers can take a PE cabin that small and bend it correctly, even with half etched guides on the reverse side?

I could do the cabin in styrene. But how many people want to mess with 0.01" styrene that might be a scale 4 feet (7.9 mm) tall?

Of course there are modelers who would look at the above as trivial. But then I, as manufacturer, am in a "Market-of-One" situation. I'm still trying to gauge where the market for N Scale ships or boats really is. Perhaps you, or others on this thread, could give me some guidance? In this case, what size sailboat would you like to see, and can you post a picture of it?

I'd really appreciate any input.

[peteski]

Pete,
2.5mm tubing for the bottom part of the sailboat mast?  That scales out to around 16"!  Isn't that a bit thick for a small sailboat?

[pnolan48]

Oops!

Got caught up in the silly inches to mm conversions. I work in mm, but tubing in the USA comes in measurements like 3/32". The boot flange might be 16 scale inches in diameter by 3 scale inches high, so then just keep reducing.

Sorry--been on the road 19 of the last 23 days.

[BCR 570]

Max:

Osborn Models has rowboats and canoes as well as a lot of other neat stuff.

http://www.osbornmodelkits.com/httpdocs/N_scale_railroad.htm

Tim

[mmagliaro]

Some of these boat kits look very very nice, but alas, they seem to all be big boats, or HO scale.
The Osborne canoes and rowboat look very good, actually, and I might want to put a couple along the shore
or on the water.  But what I'm really after is a sailboat.

Size?  I know nothing about sailing, but I'm thinking something maybe 30 scale feet?  That would be 2-1/4" long.  I could
see it being up to 3 inches long.  If it starts getting larger than that, I think it would look out of place on
a small strip of lake that is only 5" across and 30" long.

Peteski, believe me, I am considering just scratchbuilding something.  A little cabin, masts, sail, rigging... I think I could
manage that.  I built a few sailing ship models in my younger days.   Shaping a hull from scratch, well, that's the tricky
part.  So perhaps I just need to find something that has a decent looking hull about the right size, and build on top of that.

Thank you for these suggestions.  Some of them are kit makers I didn't find in my web searches.

EDIT:

This is an awesome looking boat:
http://seaportmodelworks.com/h114-sardine-carrier-p-43.html

I'm sure I could "adjust it" so it looks more like a sailboat and not so much like a sardine carrier.

But it's 5-1/2" long.... darn.   That's a mighty big boat  73 feet... to be out on a small lake idling away a Sunday afternoon.

[spookshow]

http://www.kramerproducts.com/ makes a white metal HO sailboat kit (H-32) that you might be able to do something with. The hull (which I used for my log pond tug) is 2.25" long.



Cheers,
-Mark

[fredmoehrle]

Heller of France makes several 1/150 scale sailing ships, and power boats too.
Might be something in their catalog you could use.
I've got a whopping big three masted bark that sailed from the late 1890's till it sank in the 1950's, IIRC.

[Lemosteam]

Max, email sent...

[TrainCat2]

Sailing vessel . . . Really nice . . . Almost N-Scale . . .

http://tinyurl.com/6lrgu3q

Clicked Post instead of Preview . . . Max, if you can find the 1/160 Mamoli Bluenoose Schooner, it should fit your bill. Solid hull so making it into a waterline will be easy. Saw one on eBay a while back for $40 (Item number: 200590970380). I have one of these kits and it is really quite good.

[Wardie]

A sailboat for a lake is going to be somewhere between twelve and 27' long in all probability. Most trailerable sailboats are under 20' with a couple exceptions. I would personally suggest something between 19' and 21'.  If you are modeling a portion of a really big lake you might have something larger, but as you get longer you need a bigger keel, which means deeper water, and a marina to pull the boat in and out of the water.

If you can give me an idea as to the when and where you are looking at I can point you towards some prototype boats.

[pnolan48]

For smaller hulls Amati makes some very nice and inexpensive plastic and metal boats, as well as fine fittings. I get mine from Cornwall Model Boats in England. Try http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/amati_boats_oars.html. Or look around at the other lines that the shop carries. Shipping is fast and also inexpensive. I may have depleted their stock of bitts and cleats for a while.

Bluejacket Shipcrafters up in Maine makes a good line of metal hulls, but they tend to be expensive if you are buying in bulk, as I am.

I just popped my first three 27' RHIB (Rigid-HUll Inflatable Boat) USCG rescue boats last night, and will do the mold for a 21' RHIB over the weekend. The 27' is a messy two part mold. The casting is fine, but the mold requires a lot of clean-up after each casting, so I'm not sure I'll be able to offer it soon. I'm trying a different technique with the more common 21'.

[Philip H]

Pete,
When they are erady, I'll be in for a pair of 21's and a single 27.  MSO Baton Rouge uses them regularly, and I want to haev them to rotate out of my slice of the Mississippi.  Plus the make interesting loads . . . .