By Gregory Rice, Michigan Chapter
For over thirty-five years, I have been scratch-building Radio Controlled boats. Since 2008, I have focused on the unique designs of John Hacker.
When I was growing up in the 60s, like many boys at the time, one of my hobbies was model building. My work was nothing special, but it brought me much pleasure. Years later, when working as an engineering manager, I was looking for a way to unwind after a stressful day at the office. I remembered the simple enjoyment of model building, and decided to try it again. When searching for an appropriate subject, I recalled riding in a Century runabout that my uncle kept on Fenten Lake in Michigan. The sights, sounds and smells of riding in that boat were still vivid in my mind over thirty years later, and I decided to attempt to reclaim some of them in a working model.
Baby Doll IV, my first mahogany runabout.
This was 1989, prior to the internet, so I went to the library to do some research. Fortunately, I found a book containing a collection of designs previously published in Motor Boating magazine’s “Build a Boat” series. I settled on a design by John L. Hacker, named Baby Doll, made a copy of the plans, and set to work building a model. There was a fair amount of trial and error involved, but after four years of work, the model was completed. I modified the original design to accommodate twin screws for low-speed maneuvering.
In 2007, I started the build of the commuter, Thunderbird. Thunderbird was built in 1939 at Huskin Boat works in Bay City Michigan, then shipped by rail cross-country to Lake Tahoe, where she resides to this day. After purchasing original plans from the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, I set to work modeling the boat as originally built in 1939.
The 1:12 scale model of Thunderbird. (Photo printed courtesy of Ryan May).
When the boat was purchased by Bill Harrah in 1969, he significantly modified the aft portion of the deck. The only photos I could find showed the boat after modification. Then, one day I received a message from a docent at the Thunderbird Lodge Museum at Lake Tahoe. The museum housed the archives of George Whittell, who commissioned Thunderbird. From those archives, I was able to see numerous photographs of Thunderbird under construction in Michigan and in her early days on Lake Tahoe. That help invaluable in producing an accurate reproduction of the boat as it was originally constructed. After my experience building Thunderbird, I was hooked.
Pardon Me, the model, is united with the original at the dock at Clayton in August 2022.
There are some significant challenges to scratch building model boats of this type. Although I was able to obtain plans for Thunderbird, typically, no plans are available. In that case, I have taken measurements of the original hull and produced my own lines drawings. A number of different planking techniques have been used to build the hulls, always involving mahogany.
These boats have lots of fittings and trim that must be custom made from brass or copper and then plated in chrome or bright nickel. I do not have any metal working equipment, so this is usually done using hand tools. More recently, 3D printing technology has been used to produce some of the more complex pieces. The fittings are printed in a castable resin and then investment cast in bronze, using the lost wax technique. Fittings and trim are attached to the boat using thousands of size 000 screws (think eyeglass screws). Several of the boats have cowlings, vents and nose trim requiring metal forming; a new challenge for me.
Evangeline’s instrument cluster, complete with leather key fob.
Producing realistic upholstery in small scale is difficult. I have developed several of my own techniques, using lamb skin, to create different seating patterns.
Instrument panels and steering wheels demand creative solutions. When possible, I use reduced images of the actual gage faces in the models.
There are always questions about the time it takes to build a model (typically two years and 2000 hours), how much they cost (not for sale), and the state of my mental health (up for debate). I particularly enjoy sharing the history of the original boats and their larger-than life owners! See you at Gull Lake and the 2024 ACBS Vintage Boat Week!
A longer version of this story, including details and photos of many of Greg Rice’s other models
was printed in the Winter 2024 ACBS Rudder and is available to ACBS members when logged into MyACBS.org.