A close look at a contemporary classic

Radio Control Boat Modeler, Feb 2004 by Bell, Rick

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, a modeler comes along who builds spectacular boat models that really stand out in a crowd and draw admiration from all who see them. Jack Kipfer is just such a modeler. For the past 11 years, he has competed in the pleasure-boat category at the prestigious annual Toledo R/C Exposition. In those 11 years, Jack has placed first every time against some very stiff competition. He also won the Best of Show in 2002 and the Best Finish in 2003. The last two accolades are especially sweet, as his model is judged against all of the models present-mostly airplanes. If you've ever attended this show, you know how difficult it is for a boat to compete and win against the best airplane models in the country.

So what does it take to compete and win against the best? To find out, let's take a closer look at Jack's 2003 winning boat, Cash Injection. Jack has a knack for working with wood, and he decided to model an early 20th century John Hacker racing hull. This particular hull was used for Gold Cup racing in the 1920s.

Jack was very fortunate in that nearby, at the Classic Boat Co., a full-scale reproduction of a Hacker Gold Cup racing hull was being built, and Jack was able to scale his plans from the original drawings. He also took a lot of photographs during the build to capture the information needed to duplicate the finer details that bring a model to life. It took Jack a little more than a year to create this beautiful masterpiece. He made the frames from 3-ply mahogany door skin and used African mahogany for the rest of the construction. He built the hull from the "inside out" so that he would be able to glass the hull's interior for durability. He also glassed the hull's exterior up to the gunnels with 3/4-ounce cloth, and he applied three coats of polyester resin to the entire hull. On the deck, he put white styrene strips between the planks to simulate the caulked joints. When the hull was ready for its final finish, Jack used seven coats of Epifanes varnish. He wet-sanded the final coat with 3,000-grit sandpaper followed by a clearcoat polishing compound and wax.

When it came to making the fittings for the boat, Jack strove to include every detail possible. To give you an idea of his talents, these are some of the details: all of the fittings were machined from stainless steel, aluminum and brass and then polished until they gleamed. The window frames were machined from aluminum, and they're channeled so the Lexan "glass" sits flush; the flip-up windows are adjustable. The seats have a plywood base, are foam-backed and covered with leather-rolled and tucked, of course! Look closely at the arm rests: the insets are oak and varnished. A nice touch is that all of the running lights and the gauges are functional. The piano hinges and propeller are the only commercial items that Jack purchased.

At the 2003 Toledo show, it was amazing to stand back and watch people's reactions to Jack's boat. Most were astounded to learn that it was scratch-built and that no commercial fittings had been used. My only question is: can Jack continue his winning streak in 2004? I'll be in Toledo to find out!