I’m in the middle of building a 1:48 Directors‑class paddle tug — Forceful.
I’m using the fibreglass hull and working from plan No. 1292, plus the two Marine Modelling International articles from Jan/Feb 2017.

The paddle wheels are built from drawing No. 1293, and every part of the feathering mechanism has been machined from raw stock. Only the bearings and fixings are bought in.

The feathering wheels and drive are now complete, and I’ve set up a small test tank so I can run a wheel under load before moving on.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy following along with the build.

A few pictures showing the parts / assembly in progress.
Please note the machined parts have been made from drawings. The only things purchased are raw materials and fixings.

Machined parts for gearboxes assembled with standard timing pulley's / toothed belts.
Test fit into the hull prior to finishing.

Looking back at the completed paddle wheels, it is easy to overlook how much engineering is hidden within the assembly. Although the finished wheels appear relatively straightforward, a great deal of effort was invested in designing and manufacturing the individual components before final assembly commenced.The wheel structure is built around machined brass hubs and spacer spindles, whilst the feathering mechanism utilises shouldered rivets machined from Grade 303 stainless steel together with 0.05 mm stainless-steel bearing washers and self-repairing grease. The paddle brackets were produced in batches from brass blanks, machined using milling stops, counterbored to provide a proper bearing face for the rivet heads, and subsequently formed in dedicated press tooling.A consistent theme throughout the design was to machine accuracy into the individual components and use assembly operations only for retention. Wheel spacing is determined by the spacer spindles, joint clearances are controlled by the rivet shoulders, and paddle position is established by the formed brackets. This approach removed the need for adjustment during assembly and ensured repeatability throughout the mechanism.Finally, all brass components received a protective coating of Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax before final assembly.

Paddles painted
Next to build a test tank to check feathering operation.

Please excuse the video quality as I am not to good at this aspect.

Testing the paddle wheels before commencing with the final fit out of the two wheels and gearboxes.

Last video showing the paddle wheels and reduction gearbox running slow.

Both gearboxes and paddle wheels plus batteries and ESCs to check how it’s sitting…

I have removed both of the paddle shafts from the gearboxes.

Then installed both of the gearboxes with a long setting shaft that passes through both l gearbox bearing assemblies.

This has aligned both gearboxes allowing them to be secured in the correct position. The long setting shaft can now be removed and the gearboxes removed and rebuilt.

The rest of the build can now proceed have reached this important stage.

Started work on the rudder today and made some good progress.
One half ready to bond into grp hull once I have the second half ready to test against it.
Plenty to do but I am trying to get into the habit of updating in small sections.