The Boss-man arrives

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  • He Who Shall Not Be Named
    Moderator
    • Aug 2008
    • 12256

    The Boss-man arrives

    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
    Last edited by He Who Shall Not Be Named; 05-08-2019, 08:18 PM.
    Who is John Galt?
  • RCSubGuy
    Welcome to my underwater realm!
    • Aug 2009
    • 1768

    #2
    Sometimes you just need someone to help fan the flames and get your passion fired up again. Dave was that guy for me.

    To be honest, up until last weekend, I was getting run down and worn out between increased "real" job commitments, increased work travel, a busy sub-sales time, and sub builds that were taking far too long to finish. Spending the time with Dave helped me get excited about subs again, and the possibilities that the hobby has looking forward. Don't get me wrong, nothing changed in regard to my available time, but my excitement for what little I can accomplish is at an all-time high.

    Despite his gruff exterior and lack of patience with tire-kickers, posers and fakes, Dave is a generous man. I don't know of anyone that has contributed as much as he has to the hobby, so much of it without compensation. Just check out his contributions to this forum and you'll know what I mean. In those threads, he freely disseminated what could arguably be years of hard-won experience. He did the same with me with no expectation of compensation or reward. Hell, quite the contrary, the SOB actually gifted me that god-awful huge Typhoon, just for the asking (I'm salivating just thinking about it!).

    In the time I spent there, Dave hooked me up with tips and tricks for gravity resin casting, pressure casting, vacuum casting, metal casting, metal spin casting, epoxy layup, and even more that I'd have to refer to my photos and notes to recall in full.

    I'm very much humbled to be the recipient of all that knowledge. I'd also like to note at this point that I fully plan to pass this information along as best I can. Knowledge is useless unless shared, and I will. To that point, Dave said it well when he said, "There is no information withheld, just questions unasked." I plan on incorporating these tips and tricks into my YouTube Live videos as part of my new format. Look for that to start on the 18th with my next video.

    At any rate, enough ass-kissing. He's still a gruffy grump, but at least he's got some redeeming qualities to counter that.

    Here are a few pics of the Big Guy in action during the days I was there. If you're easily offended by pale legs and wearing socks with sandals, please look away...

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