.: boats Trevor Whiting's Coastgaurd Patrol Boat Most members will recognise Trevor as an active model aircraft builder but perhaps didn't know that he also constructs boats. The remarkable thing is that his boats are his own design and built from scrap materials he finds in his garage! Trevor once built a 5' model of a destroyer from scrap materials. It sold for £250! Here Trevor is pictured with his latest creation - a Coastgaurd Patrol Boat. This took him about 8 weeks to build and apart from the radio gear and propeller is made totally out of scrap materials. The hull is built up from balsa and ply and skinned with Fibregass. The Top Deck is MDF and the superstructure including the lifeboat is made from balsa. The railings are made from 1/8" dowel and the oars from cocktail sticks. Do you recognise any other components? Well, forward the gun turret is an old computer keyboard minature vacuum cleaner whereas the armour plating around the rear gun is made from a piece of drainpipe. What you can't see is the propulsion unit - this an  motor from an electric car window. It is powered by a 12v dry cell battery. The bridge is detailed with throttles, dials and even a minuature nautical map. Total cost to build? £15 for glues and paints plus £67 for 2ch radio, propeller and shaft. Trevor has had a long love affair with full sized boats having owned powerboats and cruisers in the past. Now he dreams of spending his retirement living on a boat. Is it just a dream, Trevor? Flying Boats & Floatplanes The Melton Mowbray Sailing Club allow us to use their facilities to sail radio controlled yachts and boats. We have agreed with the MMSC to restrict types of motorised craft to electric power only. Interestingly this also includes electric powered amphibious aircraft. Several club members have expressed interest in building a floatplane,  If you need some guidance then our Chairman, Athur Askew, would be well worth consulting as he has some experience with this type of model. Richard Philips is another member who has recently tried flying models off water and had some success during a recent holiday in Scotland. Here are a couple of photos of Arthur's model.