Introduction to the Sit-in Model of H.M.S. Canopus,

From the Designer and Builder:-

“The idea of having a model boat that one could sit in has been in my head since childhood times but was given serious consideration after a visit, back in 1991, to the naval warfare battles re enacted on Peasholm Park lake in Scarborough.

As usual, the grandiose ideas on what I would have liked had to give way to more practical considerations. These centred around stowage when not in use, transport and finally launching, all of which meant that the model would need to be either collapsible or small and light enough for one or two persons to handle. Many thoughts came forth from “bath tubs” with attachable ends, through inflatables, to canvas sided hulls similar to World War II army assault boats. The idea of an assembled boat was a strong one in that it could be broken down into one man packs there by easing stowage and transport. However, in all the ideas, assembly would take time particularly in connecting up controls etc.

While these problems were buzzing around in my head, I set about deciding which ship to build as a model. It would have to be a warship, a battleship and be of the right length to breadth ratio to give athwartships stability, very important with me inside! I also wanted something different to the standard grey hull type and the old Victorian battleships with their black hulls and buff upperworks was very appealing. Research through the excellent book by R.A.Burt on British Battleships 1889 to 1904 showed the Canopus class to be of simple lines and layout but interesting enough for consideration.

With all the foregoing being considered, the design that came out was one of a conventional one piece hull approximately four metres long with the person lying down inside, on their back with the head at the stern and the feet at the bow. For stowage and transport the bulk of the model would be minimised by stowing the superstructure inverted within the hull, this entailed making such items as the funnels, bridge works, ventilation cowls etc. readily removable to be stowed also within the hull. It was, at this stage, intended that the model complete would be transported on top of my car, which would limit its weight to 70kgs.

I should point out at this stage that I am a member of The Portsmouth Model Boat Display Team, a group of people who put on model boat displays usually re-enacting naval battles complete with pyrotechnic effects. We display at many events, one of which was the International Festival of The Sea held at Portsmouth in 2001. It was at this event that I saw for the first time the two magnificent sit-in models of Roger Wilkinson. They are the 23-foot battleship King George V and a 16-foot nuclear submarine. These models were unknown to me and came as quite a shock! I made contact with Roger, who was very pleasant and helpful, and it was amazing to see how close our ideas were.

Meeting Roger and seeing his models was the impetus that I needed to stop thinking and get building. The first stage was to prove the feasibility of my smaller model so a full size cardboard mock up was quickly made, the opportunity being also taken to evaluate the envisaged paint scheme. The mock up was duly made and with little refinement, was a great success.

The construction work soon commenced but as it was now wintertime, it was confined to the making of small fittings and the moulds for such items as the gun turret hoods, barbettes, ship's boats and other such difficult shapes. The decision to make as many items as possible in glass fibre reinforcement (GRP) was taken to save weight and also, at the scale being used, little was available commercially. Dimensions etc for these items was relatively straightforward as I had the cardboard mock up available to work from.

With spring and warmer weather arriving, work commenced on the hull. The hull and superstructure materials plywood put together with a hot glue gun with edges sealed with resin and glass tape in a similar manner to the Mirror class of sailing dinghy. There are two transverse bulkheads to give shape, strength and reserve buoyancy to the hull, which incidentally is flat bottomed.

Propulsion is by an Minkota electric outboard motor fitted in a well aft of the rear bulkhead, access being from the deck and which is closed off by a plywood hatch disguised as part of the deck. Power to the motor is provided by a car type battery which sits between one'' legs when lying down in the boat. To monitor battery performance both an ammeter and voltmeter are fitted Motor speed is achieved by using the original controls modified from twist grip type to a simple knob. Steering is effected by a simple disc and rope arrangement operating through pulley blocks.

The final weight, excluding the battery and motor came to 75 kgs.

My car's roof rack was now duly modified to accept the model together with the addition of a suitable retaining system. Trial fits were carried out successfully with two people carrying out the loading and unloading but it was concluded that it was a “handful of an operation” and that, together with the car's maximum roof loading being exceeded, a trailer option should be looked in to. In the meantime, a roof rack method of transport would have to be used.

By October of 2002 HMS Canopus, as now named, was ready for launching. With the design being well thought out, especially with the help of the cardboard mock up, everything worked well even to floating to her marks. The local Portsmouth Television film crew was even on hand giving the occasion that little bit extra magic

In conclusion, for six months work and about £400, I now have a glorious Wendy house on the water, which everybody admires and cannot believe that it is not radio controlled let alone that a person is inside. It is going to be very hard to go back to conventional models!

Jon Clapham,

Design Advisor with the Portsmouth Model Boat Display Team