7 Foot Disney Nautilus Restoration

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  • Groot689
    Lieutenant Commander
    • Mar 2016
    • 135

    7 Foot Disney Nautilus Restoration

    This project has been years in the making and I am pleased that I am finally getting underway. Years ago, I was fortunate enough to have purchased one of the original William Babbington's 7 Foot Disney Nautilus boat which represented years of research, retooling and perseverance by Mr. Babbington. Sadly, my Holy Grail of Disney Nautilus disappeared along with a former friend and colleague. As some of you might remember, Bob Martin briefly featured what we later determined to be a Babbington clone or a poorly laid up casting that arrived at Nautilus Drydocks one fateful afternoon. At first, it seemed as though my long "lost" Nautilus had resurfaced but it was quickly determined that this was not the case. Still, I immediately purchased the boat and set it aside in my workshop for the time being.

  • Groot689
    Lieutenant Commander
    • Mar 2016
    • 135

    #2
    Bob Martin did an amazing job joining the two hull halves and printing some replacement parts including the wheelhouse, rudder and throttle controls as well as retooling the breathers in the aft section of the wheelhouse. The boat was a mess but I honestly felt at the time that this was a diamond in the rough that would require a considerable about of time and effort to bring it to life. Technically, this is a cross between a "restoration" and a "build" given the fact that this boat was never assembled. Since I brought this project boat home I have purchased a 3D PLA printer as well as a 3D resin printer to help with the replacement of many of the detail parts. Pictured below is the wheelhouse 3D printed by Bob. Although I have started restoring the salon window portals, I will be working my way from the prop/rudder assembly forward over the course of the next few months, years, millennia with the hope of one day being buried with this magnificent vessel. Okay, wishful thinking but I am determined to prove Bob wrong that this behemoth will sail again one day.

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    • Groot689
      Lieutenant Commander
      • Mar 2016
      • 135

      #3
      The tail fin and prop/rudder mount was in pretty bad shape and has to be reshaped using Aves epoxy sculpt and bondo. The dimensions of this area are not symmetrical and it will take a lot of sanding and filling to get it right. One of my biggest concerns is replacing, restoring or repairing the many rivets that cover the Nautilus. This will be a daunting task. I will be using a 3D printed prop (supplied by Bob) that will need quite a bit of clean up but is much appreciated nonetheless. I was able to obtain the 3D files for the prop ring and struts from CGTrader which I printed and test fit to the boat. The rudder that came with the boat is too short and is not the proper width nor am I happy with the bolt or rivet pattern. I will be extending and re-sheeting this particular feature in order to get the right fit and a better appearance. Pictured below are the "work in process" pics.

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      • RCSubGuy
        Welcome to my underwater realm!
        • Aug 2009
        • 1768

        #4
        Will be awesome to see this thing completed! The Babington boats have a personality all their own.

        Bob

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        • Groot689
          Lieutenant Commander
          • Mar 2016
          • 135

          #5
          This is a quick update with more pictures to follow in the next couple of days. On the topic of rivets, I have begun experimenting with a modeler's syringe and canopy glue in a desperate attempt to repair or restore many of the rivets on the Nautilus. As mentioned earlier, many of the rivets are poorly cast or missing altogether. I purchased the syringe along with an assortment of different sized "needles" off of Amazon and tried several sizes until my results began to improve. Right away I noticed that you do not need to apply much, if any pressure and gravity tends to help move the canopy glue out of the needle onto the rivet. I can see that I will be adding another layer or coat since the canopy glue is shrinking while it dries. Still, I am encouraged by the fact that the rivets already look better. (or is it just wishful thinking?).

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          • Subculture
            Admiral
            • Feb 2009
            • 2119

            #6
            A technique I've used in the past is to make a rubber tool from some rivet heads, then recreate them in polyester putty by wiping some into the mould. Then you can just glue them onto the boat with a drop of glue.

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            • RCSubGuy
              Welcome to my underwater realm!
              • Aug 2009
              • 1768

              #7
              I think the original master was populated with escutcheon pins. That would absolutely be the easiest and most uniform way of doing it.

              Comment

              • Groot689
                Lieutenant Commander
                • Mar 2016
                • 135

                #8
                Bob, your timing is perfect. You are absolutely correct with regard to the escutcheon pins (see below). One of the discoveries that I made in my efforts to recreate the rivets using a syringe and canopy glue was shrinkage. Several of the glues that I tried shrank too much or set too fast. One afternoon last week, I was searching in some boxes for parts and came across an opened box of 18 gauge escutcheon pins. They were perfect. In fact, the boat needs both 16 and 18 gauge pins which were easy to find on Amazon and saved me hours, days, months, years of needless trial and error. I am in the process of sanding down and leveling the lower tail fin and will begin the less tedious process of applying new rivets. Still, a significant breakthrough in this project.

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                Last edited by Groot689; 12-27-2022, 06:26 AM.

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                • Groot689
                  Lieutenant Commander
                  • Mar 2016
                  • 135

                  #9
                  Work continues on the stern of the Nautilus and I feel like I am making progress (I think). Installing the rivets has been tedious but the results are transformative. I have "discovered" that the rivet spacing as well as the rivet pattern was haphazard on much of the stern. Despite multiple headaches the port side of the stern has been restored. The prop ring has been installed although the supports will be installed later once I have repaired or replace the rivets and reworked the support mounts. The casting irregularities on the tail fin were filled and sanded smooth. The prop was 3D printed and I am using 3D resin to fill in any layering issues. More pictures to follow.
                  Click image for larger version

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                  Comment

                  • rwtdiver
                    Vice Admiral
                    • Feb 2019
                    • 1768

                    #10
                    Hi Bob,

                    Your attention to detail is superb! You and David M. and a lot of others on this forum certainly have acquired that attention to detail along with the patience required to do the type work you do. Those are qualities that I have yet to acquire! Really enjoying watching your progress on your boat!

                    Rob
                    "Firemen can stand the heat."
                    Last edited by rwtdiver; 12-30-2022, 06:47 PM.

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                    • Subculture
                      Admiral
                      • Feb 2009
                      • 2119

                      #11
                      You'll need to hit the hull with either a good epoxy primer or a self etch primer once you're done riveting, to prevent paint chipping off.

                      Comment

                      • Groot689
                        Lieutenant Commander
                        • Mar 2016
                        • 135

                        #12
                        Now that the lower portion of the tail fin has been "finished" for the time being, I have resheeted the rudder in order to widen and lengthen this particular feature. A couple of hours were spent adding brass rivets to the rudder (sound familiar?) but I an really pleased with the way it turned out. I did a test fit of the prop before permanently mounting the brass bearing that will hold the 1/4 inch aluminum prop rod. The idea is to mount a scale motor but I have not figured out where or how this is going to work....yet. Tomorrow I will start work on the upper portion of the tail fin which thankfully does not need as much work as the lower portion did.

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                        • Groot689
                          Lieutenant Commander
                          • Mar 2016
                          • 135

                          #13
                          Work continues on the Nautilus with much of the same surface detailing. I think I am finally getting the hang of it with regard to rivet replacement etc. Trying to selectively repair or replace rivets seemed too tedious as opposed to taking an orbital sander and smoothing down a given surface (see below) and then drilling pilot holes etc. I have finished about one foot of the port side, stern area and will be flipping the boat over to begin working on other side. It is slow going but I am pleased with the improvements ( I think). The prop received several coats of 3D resin and then cured and sanded. This really did a great job in filling any surface imperfections. Finally, I have begun adding a bevel to the lip or leading edge of the hull (see below) using Aves Apoxy Sculpt and will sand this down for a smoother finish.

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                          • Groot689
                            Lieutenant Commander
                            • Mar 2016
                            • 135

                            #14
                            I wanted to post a quick update on my progress with the Nautilus. I continue to focus on the restoration of the various sizes of rivets and most recently, imperfections in the casting of the hull (see below). The prop ring struts are 3D printed and being installed and the leading edge of the hull is being beveled using Apoxy Sculpt. On the positive side, I am fairly close to finishing the first foot of the boat from the tailfin to the skiff despite delays from work, domestic :projects" and... life.
                            Attached Files

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                            • Groot689
                              Lieutenant Commander
                              • Mar 2016
                              • 135

                              #15
                              It has been quite a while since I have been able to resume work on the Nautilus but thankfully Spring Break has given me just the opportunity that I needed. Progress has been modest until now but I have been able to rework the skiff and top deck at the stern while replacing/repairing hundreds of rivets along the way. I have discovered that there are several different sizes of rivets needed in this project and some of them are difficult to obtain. There were indentations in the hull that had to be filled and gobs of fiberglass resin splattered on the hull as well. The skiff has been replaced by a better 3D printed version and much of the cracks in the deck were filled and sanded smooth. Here are the latest, before and after pictures.
                              Attached Files

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