⚓ Fairey Huntsman 31' ⚓
speedboat 1960-1999
A Fairey Huntsman 31 motoros hajó:
A Huntsman 31, a Fairey Marines egyik kivállóan sikerült hajója melynek szülőatyja Alan Burhard szeme előtt, a hajó tervezésekor "a gyorsan hajózni de szárazon maradni" mottó lebegett. Sikerült is egy remekül eltalált , modern vonalvezetésű , de mégis klasszikusnak számító hajót létrehozni, mely megfelelő kényelmet biztosított 4 utasa számára még a hajó gyorsnak mondható utazási sebessége mellett is.
A gyár kétféle változatban árulta , nyitott és zárt hátsó kabinnal.
Összesen 32 darabot gyártottak ebből a tipusból az eredeti gyárban, mig az be nem olvadt későbbiekben az azt felvásárló Babcock International Group csoportba.
E hajótipus számos versenyen kitűnően szerepelt , bizonyítva a hajó kiváló tulajdonságait.
A modellt már rég szerettem volna megépíteni. A felépítménye miatt vonzónak találom ezt a hajót.
A Precedent 1:8 léptékű építő készletét vettem meg mely készlet egy irdatlanul nagy üvegszáltestet tartalmaz.
Sajnos a készletet illetően számos fenntartásom van. Sorolnám az általam tapasztalt negativumokat:
- az üvegszál test nem a legjobb minőségű, repedezik, az alján található sikló bordák nem egyenesek és sajnos le vannak kerekítve, ráadásul nem is az eredeti hajó szerinti elrendezésben találhatóak ami azért ennél a modellnél eléggé feltünő külömbség.
- a mellékelt rajzok és leírások elnagyoltak nem tartalmaznak elég információt. Egyáltalán nem létezik semmilyen méretrjaz vagy tervrajz. Leginkább egy IKEA bútor összeszerelési útmutójára hasonlítható.
- a modell összeépítésénél több tervezési hibát is találtam. Az eredeti elképzelés szerinti összerakás egy kissé gyenge és nem vizzáró hajótestet eredményezne.
stb...
Eléggé csalódtam a kitt minőségében. Az aránylag magas beszerzési ára miatt az ember egy jóbb szerelő készletre számítana.
Türelemmel azért szerintem sok minden kihozható e modellből. A neten elég sok képanyag lelhető fel mely alapján egy jó és valósághű modellt lehet építeni. Lássuk...
Drawing of Fairey Huntsman 31 speedboat
About the model kit Precedent 46" fiberglass hull
" The classic Fairey Huntsman 31 has been charming modellers for many years, with its advanced hull design made out of fibreglass and classy super-structure, which is a one-piece removable super-structure which allow plenty of room for even the largest motors. No running hardware is provided as this will vary greatly depending on the type of power unit used. But the detailed instructions give plenty of installation options for the model. "
I have some problems regarding the assembly of this modell. It is really huge. The fiberglass hull is not the best quality and a good finish. The bottom spray rails are not straight and sharp enough and does not met the original design...
The hull fit hardly to the plywood structure and is not enough rigid as necessary. The designed waterproofing is insuficient. The deck design does not follow any of the real built boats, at this scale could be made a better solution . There is a lot of additional work to do a real looking modell from this kit.
Regarding the instructions = a joke ,mainly general bla-bla and just a few useless drawings ( no scale plan enclosed !) Looks as an IKEA assembly instruction.
I built many boats, but assembling this modell based on the instructions, suprised me a couple of times. Better to sit down and put your head to guess which is the best way to do it. My advise : do some research on the web before U start. I found some costruction mistakes too. For your money :-( U get a huge hull and a few sheets of plywood :-) the rest depends on U.
A little story...
The Fairey Huntsman 31 speedboat
See more at (Fairey Owners Club) or check on (Vikipedia)
32 Boats built
The Huntsman 31 was Alan Burnard's brainchild as Faireys had found the hull of the 28 to be rather bluff in heavy weather and therefore tended to be very wet in moderate seas. The primary reason for this new hull was comfort at sea and racing (and staying dry!). As the 28 was still selling well at the time, Faireys' directors declined to fund a completely new boat at that time. Alan drew the hull lines in 1966/1967 roughly 7 years after the advent of the 28. Two versions of the 31 were to be offered by Faireys, one with an aft cabin and one with an open cockpit.
OF NOTE
5 boats competed in various Cowes-Torquay races. 'Fordsport' (race no. 707) was entered into and completed the 1969 Round Britain Race. She finished 4th overall out of 42 entries in the 1,700 mile race. Her sister boats, all Huntsman 28's finished 3rd, 5th, 6th and 12th! A very impressive result given that they were competing against out and out race boats. The Ford Motor Company filmed the race and produced a superb 25 minute film showing all the boats in action. This film is one of the few (possibly) the only colour film to actually show brief glimpses of the Huntress and Huntsman production line at the Hamble factory. This film was also used by the BBC during test transmissions prior to the launch of BBC2.
'Double Century' (race no. 200), her sister boat 'Spirit of Michaelhouse' (race no. 8) along with Huntsman 28 'Fordspeed' (race no. 909) competed in the gruelling 2,900 mile 1972 London - Monte Carlo race. Double Century completed the race in 102 hours. Double Century picked up no less that 7 awards in this race and finished 6th overall. Fordspeed finished 7th overall out of the 22 starters from London.
6 boats were open cockpit versions, the remainder being fitted with an aft cabin.
The Fairey Marine company was perhaps most renowned for producing exclusive powerboats and cruisers based on an extensive racing pedigree. Fairey Marine cruisers won 148 racing awards between the years 1961 and 1973, including the prestigious Monte-Carlo and Cowes-Torquay races. 1969 was a particularly successful year, with a tally of 54 awards.
CONSTRUCTION
Same as for Huntress/Huntsman but with more veneers to bottom and topsides.
The planing hull design has been copied in various guises since. The hull is a relatively deep V with single chine and spray rails. The construction was of laminated mahogany, Once laminated the hulls were cooked in an autoclave to cure the glue. The engines (Twin Perkins T6354 145 hp 5.95 litre turbo diesel) were placed midships under a sloping deck to the cock-pit.
PRICE
Price in 1970 for complete boat Ł11,340 inc. twin Perkins T6354 145hp diesels. First boat delivered in April 1968.
Fairey Huntsman 31 after cabin
Fairey Huntsman 31 open cockpit