So onward with the small boat builds.
I've scratchbuilt a couple of outboard motors, to sort of look like Johnson seahorse models from the '50's.

Had to really think outside the box for these.
Needed something kind of egg / football shaped for the main body, so used a wooden bead.
The shaft is a bootlace ferrule, for electrical wiring. and the rest is styrene. I even made the prop myself.


Undercoated

And painted. I also mad a fuel tank from square styrene tube


Then onto the boat. Had to add a bit of styren at the front of the hull bottom to make it sit level, as to original had a curved bottom
Painted white and a red line around it to give a bit of colour.


Improved the interior from the original model. Added a plank floor and side stakes, and painted

Rob,

Nice job on the motors and little boat. The details in the boat's interior make it look real.

Mike

Thanks Mike.
Here it is all finished. Very happy with how it came out. I added a lot more than I first intended and glad I did.
A small item, but it stands out now.

The seats, fuel tank and a line added. Here it is compared with the other one I've just started.


Outboard motor attached, so now finished.



Sitting in place

Rob,
Great job! Nice use of found objects. I like the color you are using for the inside, really gives it a wood look.
My dad had an old outboard that was that color.

Scott

You have a definite knack for scratching details Rob. Great job!

Your little boat looks great, Rob.

George

Rob,

The finished boat looks great. It’s interesting how you made the motor out of nothing.

I agree with Scott that the inside finish looks like the real thing.

Mike

Thanks Scott, Carl George & Mike.
I've really enjoyed doing these little boats. I thought the outboard motors would be a problem to scratchbuild, but very happy with the results

Here's the second little boats finished. Same process. This one has a yellow line just for some variety.








And I've finally received my other, full hull boats, so will start on those next. They will be on the deck being repaired or built.
Very nice kits I can use a base for what I need.

Rob, I'm late to your dory-to-rowboat conversion (Good looking adaptation and really neat outboard motors!). Thought you might enjoy a little more history about fishing dories just as a side note.

Here's a shot of a dory in front of the L.A. Dunton fishing schooner at Mystic Seaport Museum.


Several dories were stacked like plastic cups on the Dunton's deck. A two man crew would row each dory out from the Dunton, fanning out like spokes on a wheel. They would set out a looooong trawl line which had an 18 ft long line with a baited hook tied every six feet. Each trawl line could be up to a half mile long!! The men baited all those hooks before setting out the lines.

The ends of the line were marked with a little bouy and anchored in the relatively shallow water of the fishing grounds. The crew would return later in the day to reel in the line and all the fish that were caught.

An empty dory is very unstable and tippy because the bottom is so narrow, but as it got loaded with fish (a large halibut could be up to about 600 lbs) the dory sat much lower in the water and was a lot more stable.

There is a remarkable story about a dory fisherman, Howard Blackburn, who got separated and lost, along with his crewman, from their fishing schooner fishing for halibut out of Glouster, Massachusetts in a winter storm in 1883. Howard lost his heavy wool mitten in the storm and he knew his hands were going to freeze. He gripped the handles of his oars and waited until his hands froze holding onto the oars and then as their only hope for survival, proceeded to row northerly for five days without food or water until he hit Newfoundland. His crewman had died of exposure along the way. Blackburn lost all his fingers and a toe to frostbite, but for a while he ran a saloon in Glouster, where he was considered a bit of a hero for surviving.

For a number of years Mystic Seaport had a Howard Blackburn memorial dory race (in the summer). It was fun to watch participants who were sometimes expert rowers of racing shells and other such try to deal with the challenge of rowing a relatively empty dory. Besides being VERY tippy, the dories do not have rowlocks. If you look at where the oar in the photo is resting on the side of the dory you can see a wooden pin (thole pin) on either side. The pins are loosely set in holes along the gunnel. A rower who pulls hard will pull the oar out its slot between the pins, and if pulls real hard, will snap the pin...

One other fun note that relates to your pair of boats. Mystic Seaport also has the whaleship, Charles W. Morgan, It carried whaleboats (don't look like dories) hung over the sides from davits. Each whaleboat had a unique colored stripe along its sides so the officers on the ship could identify each boat at a distance out on the sea. So your colored stripes can be more than just decoration if the boats are rentals.

Thanks for looking in Bill. And also for the great sailors yarn, and all the interesting info. They were tough back then.
I do have several more Dories in my stash, so I may use one as is, just adding a bit more interior hull detail.
Cheers.

I've received my other full hull boats. Very nice kits. no flash, and go together perfectly. Not sure, but I think they are resin, as the plastic is softer than normal plastic kits.
They are really 1/72 scale ancient life boats, so the box says, but scaled up should make nice sized small wooden boats.
I only really want the hulls, but the other included bits can be used for detail parts around the dock. The deck, oars, sails etc.
A bit unfortunate where they are made, but we won't mention that.

I'll cut off the oar holders, and top part of the stern

Bob just getting caught up here. Wonderful work as usual.

Very resourceful, Rob.

Thanks Jerry & Mike
I've had a lot of trouble getting suitable O scale small wooden boats.
Yes some model railroad suppliers have them, but I'm not very impressed with how they look.
I think these ones look excellent.

So here's how they look when assembled. One will be upside down, so just the hull will do.
The other one will have full ribbing and floor added as the inside will be visible.

Stuff trimmed off


Assembled & undercoated


Nearly finished the inside detail