Bob Martin is the owner-operator of the Nautilus Drydocks. He's also the Administrator of this forum.
When Bob bought Mr.Caswell's r/c submarine business, part of the package was little old me. I had never met Bob, but certainly was aware of his work through his very professionally produced YouTube and forum articles.
Since creation of Nautilus Drydocks Bob has been busy growing his build service, and gathering and selling equipment and kits unique to the craft of r/c submarining.
A sizable fraction of his customer base are people profoundly interested in all things Disney NAUTILUS. To meet the demands of that very specialized market Bob has taken on the job of producing r/c and static display kits of that submarine -- most of that product based on the master and tool work of the Great, Scott Brodeen.
Bob's recent aquasition of the Brodeen 'big' Disney NAUTILUS tool prompting us to work out a practical GRP lay-up methodology. His plan is to take advantage of the local (Naples, Florida) marine fabrication infrastructure, and secure some guys to do his production work. But, he has to first train them as to the fabrication processes unique to 'small' r/c submarine hull tools. I was to train Bob, and he would train his work-force.
So, he took four days out of his busy schedule -- still on the mend from major-league abdominal surgery -- to not only suffer my long winded sea-stories, and out-of-the-blue rant's to learn some of the model building techniques I've acquired over the decades.
Turns out, Bob arrived pretty much accomplished in most facets of the craft. The big deal during his visit, of course, was for me to 'teach' him how I did the lay-up on the big NAUTILUS tool. However, as things turned out, as we laid-up another hull together, Bob came up with great ideas I never dreamed off; as we prepared the rubber tools for lay-up he came up with steps that not only saved time, but also did a much better job of getting the gel-coat into all those little rivets and other deep-draft cavities that make the Disney NAUTILUS hull so unique.
The guy took me, super-modeler, back to school. Most humbling! Another reason to hate the Boss.
While here I had him check out the loft storage areas of my sheds to pick out the never-to-be-assembled hull kits in my possession that will be of use to him. If Bob don't grab them
Ellie had previously assured me all that stuff would go to the land-fill the minute I assume room temperature. So, these beasts have a home.
While sipping adult beverages after-hours we yakked it up a bit about the direction things might/should/would go. Oh, Bob's secured all of the Thor masters, so look for those great hulls to be available in a year or so. And we're stepping up getting the Dave Manley kits back into circulation. There are other irons in the fire, but those tales should be told by the Boss-man, not the hired help. So, stay tuned, sports-fans -- good stuff coming down the road.
David
When Bob bought Mr.Caswell's r/c submarine business, part of the package was little old me. I had never met Bob, but certainly was aware of his work through his very professionally produced YouTube and forum articles.
Since creation of Nautilus Drydocks Bob has been busy growing his build service, and gathering and selling equipment and kits unique to the craft of r/c submarining.
A sizable fraction of his customer base are people profoundly interested in all things Disney NAUTILUS. To meet the demands of that very specialized market Bob has taken on the job of producing r/c and static display kits of that submarine -- most of that product based on the master and tool work of the Great, Scott Brodeen.
Bob's recent aquasition of the Brodeen 'big' Disney NAUTILUS tool prompting us to work out a practical GRP lay-up methodology. His plan is to take advantage of the local (Naples, Florida) marine fabrication infrastructure, and secure some guys to do his production work. But, he has to first train them as to the fabrication processes unique to 'small' r/c submarine hull tools. I was to train Bob, and he would train his work-force.
So, he took four days out of his busy schedule -- still on the mend from major-league abdominal surgery -- to not only suffer my long winded sea-stories, and out-of-the-blue rant's to learn some of the model building techniques I've acquired over the decades.
Turns out, Bob arrived pretty much accomplished in most facets of the craft. The big deal during his visit, of course, was for me to 'teach' him how I did the lay-up on the big NAUTILUS tool. However, as things turned out, as we laid-up another hull together, Bob came up with great ideas I never dreamed off; as we prepared the rubber tools for lay-up he came up with steps that not only saved time, but also did a much better job of getting the gel-coat into all those little rivets and other deep-draft cavities that make the Disney NAUTILUS hull so unique.
The guy took me, super-modeler, back to school. Most humbling! Another reason to hate the Boss.
While here I had him check out the loft storage areas of my sheds to pick out the never-to-be-assembled hull kits in my possession that will be of use to him. If Bob don't grab them
Ellie had previously assured me all that stuff would go to the land-fill the minute I assume room temperature. So, these beasts have a home.
While sipping adult beverages after-hours we yakked it up a bit about the direction things might/should/would go. Oh, Bob's secured all of the Thor masters, so look for those great hulls to be available in a year or so. And we're stepping up getting the Dave Manley kits back into circulation. There are other irons in the fire, but those tales should be told by the Boss-man, not the hired help. So, stay tuned, sports-fans -- good stuff coming down the road.
David
Comment