DUMAS 1949 Chris-Craft 19-foot Racing Runabout

Radio Control Boat Modeler, Dec 2004 by Tritle, Pat

Classic reborn!

When it comes to model boats, there's just nothing like gleaming chrome and sparkling mahogany! For many years, Dumas has produced some beautiful replicas of these classic boats from a bygone era. The latest in the series of mahogany masterpieces is the Chris-Craft 19-foot Racing Runabout. I must admit that since Dumas released the static model some years ago, I've eagerly awaited the release of the larger RC version, which, of course, was inevitable.

THE KIT

The kit, by design, is somewhat different from Dumas's past offerings, and I found the model much easier and quicker to build than other kits in the series. Overall, the kit is of superb quality and comes with everything required to outfit the boat for running RC with the exception of the motor, ESC and 2-channel radio-control system and adhesives and finishing materials.

The kit contains a full-size layout drawing of the finished boat, plus a 36-page instruction booklet with nine pages of detailed assembly drawings and cutting patterns for the ½-inch balsa parts, plastic windshields and parts-locating templates.

The shaped mahogany, plywood, balsa and plastic parts are either die- or laser-cut and are of excellent quality. A large bag of metal parts contains all the running hardware and deck fittings. The stripwood supplied is also of good quality and in quantities more than sufficient to finish the model with plenty of room for error. Also included are the decals and flags, self-adhesive aluminum sheet stock, the plastic "caulk" strips, a large roll of plastic for the bumpers and rub rails as well as the threaded prop shaft and stuffing tube. Last, but not least, a small container (that is actually a lifetime supply!) of water-based mahogany stain is also included.

BUILDING THE MODEL

Before construction begins, take the time to read through the instruction booklet, and study the plans and detail drawings to become familiar with the design and building techniques. An hour spent here will save many later. If you start building at Step 1 and follow the instructions all the way to "Running the model," I guarantee there won't be any major hang-ups. Once you're comfortable with the project at hand, it's time to glue the pieces together. Construction begins by assembling the hull frames and forward keel components.

After you have assembled those components, remove the hull assembly from the building board and prep for the side skins by sanding the deck sheer into contour.

The hatch frame is built in the opening to guarantee a proper fit. When working with this piece, put a small piece of wax paper in the corners to act as spacers, and this will also prevent the hatch frame from being glued into the opening.

During construction, you'll have to glue the plastic subdeck into place. Glue the halves together on the building board, and sand the seam smooth. As a footnote, the side and bottom skins and the subdeck are cut slightly oversize. When you glue the skin into place, make sure that the center seam is on the centerline of the hull or the engine hatch and cockpit openings will come out crooked. The skin is quite large and must conform to a compound curve, so don't try to glue the whole thing at once. Once the top skin is in place, trim and sand the edges; fill any gaps or voids with Bondo and sand smooth.

By now you're probably asking, why, since you're building a wooden boat, is there so much carving of plastic and sanding of Bondo? Not to worry; when you get past all that, it will be time to transform this thing into a mahogany runabout!

PLANKING THE HULL

The mahogany planking process starts on the sides at the chine. Since the hull sides are relatively flat, the planking process really isn't difficult at all. But the planks will draw a compound curve, so a little extra care is required to be sure that the first plank goes in properly, thus setting up a "guide" for the rest of the planking. To do this, I selected the 10 planks with the proper curve already warped into them. As it turns out, of the 20, ½-inch-wide planks in the kit, 11 were significantly warped and followed the hull contour almost perfectly; sometimes, you just get lucky!

STAINING AND FINISHING

This is my favorite part of the whole project and the place where all your work really starts to pay off. It is also one of the two areas where I deviated from the kit instructions. I used the kit-supplied stain to finish the deck planks, but to get a bit of color contrast, I used Minwax Red Oak to stain the deck sideboards, hull sides and transom.

Now is a good time to mention that if this is your first Dumas Runabout kit, you're in for a big surprise! When the kit-supplied mahogany stain dries, it comes out a horrible shade of bright orange! The first time I used the stuff, I thought I had, in just a couple of minutes, completely destroyed many hours work! But not to worry: when the finish coats go on, that bright orange instantly warms to a beautiful golden-brown glow. Trust me; the transition is amazing.