Green Sea Shipbuilding Establishment

QUEEN MARY MEETS QUEEN VICTORIA!

2008-02-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, February 2nd, the 2 Green Sea Ships QUEEN MARY and new QUEEN VICTORIA met for the first time on the water on a joint voyage. The voyage was part of the monthly meeting of the West Valley R/C Mariners in Goodyear AZ. The joint sailing was an opprotunity for mass picture-taking with more than 40 pictures and videos taken.

New Year/ New Voyages

2008-01-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

January 5th saw the first voyage by a Green Sea Ship of 2008, when the Battleship MUSASHI set sail on Mercado Lake in Scottsdale. I had intended to sail earlier with the West Valley RC Mariners, but I drove 45 minutes out to Goodyear before noticing I had left my batteries at home!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHH!!!!!!

So, I picked up the batteries and headed for the much closer Mercado lake, where I went all the way around the lake. It was a grey day that was forcast to be rainy, but there was no wind, making for perfect sailing conditions.

The only problem I can report is that the rudder is really WAY undereffective. She needs a better control horn for the rudder shaft. I intend to do one of those things where the control rods connect to BOTH sides of the control horn so that every action is push/pull.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

QUEEN VICTORIA RETURNS TO THE WATER AS HER NAMESAKE ARRIVES IN SOUTHAMPTON!

2007-12-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning at Chapparral Lake in Scottsdale, Arizona, the R.C.S. QUEEN VICTORIA returned to the water. It had been 5 months since her last sailing. She sailed in a brief window of time between the rain of Friday night/Saturday morning, and the winds that followed. In fact, the voyage had to be cut short due to rising winds. Nevertheless, I got some great pictures of the ship as she appears now. Since her last voyage, I have added the black balcony railings of her superstructure staterooms. She looks even more like the real thing.

Speaking of the real thing, the Cunard Line's new R.M.S. QUEEN VICTORIA arrived in Southampton England last week, and begins her Maiden Voyage on December 11th, (UK time), which is December 10th here in America.

I wish insurmountable success to the new Cunard Queen and hope to see her with my own eyes when she visits Los Angeles next year!

QUEEN MARY MEETS QUEEN MARY!!!!!!!!

2007-08-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25TH, 2007 WAS WITHOUT QUESTION, THE MOST MONUMENTAL VOYAGE OF ANY GREEN SEA SHIP EVER OR PERHAPS EVER AGAIN.

For the first and (hopefully not) last time, the Radio Controlled Ship QUEEN MARY travelled to Long Beach California for an incredible voyage WITH THE REAL QUEEN MARY! The occasion was the celebration of my 30th birthday. My wife took me to the Queen Mary museum and hotel in Long Beach, CA. I grabbed the R/C Queen Mary, heartset on an incredible voyage with the real ship. Here is how it happened...

Before I arrived in Long Beach, I had spoken to a lady who works on the ship and has some connections, about sailing inside to Queen Mary's breakwater. She said 'no promises' but that she'd do what she could. When I got to the ship, I had given myself 2 options; sail my QM across Long Beach harbor, with the real QM behind her giving me some good broadside pictures of the 2 with the real thing in the distant background. The problems with that are: the deeper harbor water is unprotected from wind, and can be dangerous for a boat with a non-waterproof superstructure. Also, with those huge boulders lining the shore, it is doubtful I could have launched my QM without falling, hurting myself and probably destroying the ship anyway. BUT, it was public property and no one would prevent me from doing it.

The other option was to sail inside the harbor breakwater where the real QM is housed. This would provide a safe launcing area (a tiny boat dock over by the real QM's stern), and the water would be MUCH calmer. The problems with this were: I would need someone working for the QM to let me inside the fenced area, and I couldn't get distance shots of the real QM with mine in the foreground.

By Friday evening, I had decided that the latter was the better option. So, I had to begin the task of begging. :o

The lady (Katherine of Trans-Oceanic) said she would contact the Manager on Duty named John Adamson. To my great disappointment, on Saturday morning, John's voicemail said he was on vacation. So, I shrugged it off and got my stuff and headed for the other side of the harbor.

I was LITERALLY walking off the gangplank when Katherine called out to stop me. Turns out by chance she learned that the Manager WAS aboard, but was just so busy he was telling people he was on vacation. Not only that, he LOVED the idea! (and he had the keys ;) )

So, with profound relief, we went down to the rental van and grabbed the R.C.S. Queen Mary.

It is said that we are all our own worst critics, so I am constantly suprised when people are suprised by my models. I keep expecting someone to say "that's it???".

Anyway, in a couple of minutes, the Mary was in the water at the stern of her namesake, making her way towards the bow under the maze of girders and hoses connecting the ship to the shore. I saw people from the gangplanks looking down saying "hey, look at that!".

There was one heart-stopping moment when I returned to the railing (I was on land) and the Mary was GONE! I knew she had drifted under the concrete dockside, but I couldn't see where. Katherine on the ship was telling me where, but I couldn't see! I asked her if the bow was pointed towards the open water or away from the open water. She told me and I ran the motor full astern, hoping that the signal would make it through the concrete. I few long seconds later, the ship bolted into view, full astern!

Then we made our way past the russian foxtrot submarine, and finally reached the bow. I hardly used any battery power during the short voyage and I began REALLY taking pictures!

John let me out on the rocks to service the Mary (switching batteries) and taking pictures. I heard some lady on the PA at the Catalina boat dock. I think she was talking to me telling me to get off the rocks! LOL :rolleyes:

Then I saw some security lady walk up to the gate where John was, and he promptly PWNED HER ASS! (young people talk for putting someone in their place) and she left! My Queen Mary officially has clout!

When I felt I had gotten enough pictures and video, I began the march back to the stern where the boat dock is. As we passed the foxtrot again, I watched people point and gaze at my Mary as her floating oddity passed serenely.

Then it was out of the water and immediate washing off with half a gallon of fresh water. The prop shaft was removed as a precaution and the rudder area was scrubbed with a toothbrush. Then I put vasoline all over the area.

I obviously can't bore you all with 82-100 pictures, but here are some of the highlights. Please enjoy!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

KAMLOOPS RETURNS!!!!!

2007-07-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

On September 9, 2005, the R.C.S. KAMLOOPS sailed on what would become a fateful voyage. It was a very windy late afternoon when the ship set upon Chapparral Lake in Scottsdale. A single-channel ship at the time, she sailed steadily to the south and the end of the lake. Then, fatefully, she turned north to return to her starting point. The ballast had been placed in her hull to defend against a wind on her starboard side. When she turned north, she became vulnerable to the wind, and before long, she CAPSIZED, much like the QUEEN MARY 2.

For nearly 2 years, the event was hidden in secrecy. No mention was made on RCGROUPS.COM, or here on the Green Sea website. In October of 2005, a new and identically-sized hull was constructed and fiberglassed for a NEW KAMLOOPS, but it would sit by for nearly 2 years collecting dust.

Now, I am pleased to report, the KAMLOOPS has returned to service! Several elements of the original KAMLOOPS model (like the pilothouse) were preserved on this new hull.

The NEW KAMLOOPS made her Maiden Voyage on the quiet morning of Sunday July 22, 2006 on Mercado Lake in Scottsdale. It's good to have her back.

Ironically, the real KAMLOOPS was a 250-foot package freighter that sailed Lake Superior from 1924-1927 and was lost in a storm with all hands.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

NEW HIKAWA MARU/ MAURETANIA RIDES AGAIN

2007-07-14T03:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week on the water as both the Mauretania and the BRAND NEW HIKAWA MARU sailed Lake America in Scottsdale on consecutive days.

The new HIKAWA MARU which made her Maiden Voyage on Thursday is the smallest R/C ship I have yet built. Only 36 inches long, she is uniquely maneuverable and can turn in half the length of any other ship of mine. Interestingly, the HIKAWA is powered by the same Radio Shack 24,000 rpm motor as my small 1-channel R/C boats like the RAFFAELLO or TITANIC or AMERICA. HOWEVER, the HIKAWA has an ESC, allowing her to actually STOP and REVERSE (amazing, huh?)!

The HIKAWA MARU is modeled after the real ship, which was a Japanese Pacific ocean liner from 1930 to 1960. She is also a "Nelson" hull, meaning that instead of the cardboard/ fiberglass arrangement, she uses only foamcore board and enamel paint for waterproofing.

The Mauretania made her 3rd voyage on Friday afternoon and was met by very strong wind, but while she got pushed around a bit, she never showed any sign of wanting to capsize! She is an extremely stable boat!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

4th of July fun for ECSTASY and QUEEN VICTORIA

2007-07-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

The R.C.S. ECSTASY and QUEEN VICTORIA set sail on July 4th in a spectacular nighttime voyage featuring fireworks in Litchfield, Arizona, west of Phoenix.

It was the most people I have ever seen at a radio controlled boat show! There were easily dozens, perhaps hundreds of people gathered along the water to watch the fireworks, and they got a healthy dose of R/C boats as well.

The ECSTASY was specially configured with red white and blue GLOWSTICKS hanging on string from her sides. It was really cool looking.

I want to thank my friends from the West Valley R/C Mariners club for letting me join them! It was fun and I look forward to next year as well as the Christmas lights sailing!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

The Return of the ECSTASY!

2007-06-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

The Green Sea cruise ship ECSTASY returned to the water this afternoon and returned to "Lake America" for the first time since September 2005. Lake America was once the main lake for Green Sea Ships in the early days of 2004-2005. Now it is rarely used in favor of nearby Mercado Lake.

I managed to get some really cool evening pictures including some interesting pics of the Ecstasy passing under the foot bridge on the golf course. Enjoy!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Green Sea at a Crossroads

2007-06-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

(Please forgive the faux news article)

Green Sea Shipbuilding Establishment may be finding itself at a monumental crossroads today. The great debate centers on the immediate future of the construcion side. Creatively, GSS is backlogged with proposals for new ships, many of which are badly wanted. However, storage space is still at a premium, despite the disposal of several unfinished hulls and the late cruise ship SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS (which sailed to the scrapyard last week).

Adding to the panic, at least 2 new hull constructions are set to begin this summer. One, a mysterious "Super" ship, expected to be longer than the QUEEN MARY and by far the LARGEST ship ever for GSS.

Further complicating matters, there is a widescale effort in GSS to scale back the number of ships. GSS chairman Barrett Hochhaus ultimately wants to have fewer, higher-quality ships than the 10-15 ships once flourishing in the fleet. "I want to have a core of about 4 or 5 ships that I really like and regularly sail", Hochhause said. "These ships would each sail about once a month at least. Then we would have 2-4 more that are 'irregulars', that is they sail 1-3 times per year. The bottom line is, some of my classics like the ECSTASY are suffering lack of use. The ECSTASY for example was always supposed to make at least 100 voyages. That's the benchmark for a really successful career. We reached 25 voyages so easily, but now it is taking forever to reach 35."

Hochhaus has indicated that some ships, most notably the TITANIC may be offered for sale under the new plan. "One ship, which we are hoping to start building this month, is actually expected to be sold, but not before at least 1 year in the Green Sea Fleet. I have noticed that after 1 year, it is sometimes easier to part with these things."

The surface submarines ORCA and OBIHIRO as well as the carrier KAGA are also prime targets either for sail, sinking or scrapping. The battleship GRAF SPEE is expected to be sunk deliberately in a nearby lake later this summer and the NELSON may find herself on the scrapheap.

Even with the sale of the TITANIC, that would still leave 9 ships that would be hard to part with, PLUS the 2 more on the way.

For Green Sea Shipbuilding, it may prove too difficult to achieve such an aggressive streamlining.

QUEENS MEET AGAIN!

2007-06-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, June 10, was a big day for Green Sea Ships as the scale luxury liners QUEEN ELIZABETH and the flagship QUEEN MARY met for only the 2nd time on the water.

Unlike the February joint sailing, this time there were no technical problems interferring with the voyage and things went smoothly for over half an hour! The voyage couldn't reasonably go much longer due to the heat. It got pretty warm around noon.

My wife Maico commanded the Queen Mary for most of the voyage while I drove the Lizzie. Unfortunately, the Lizzie has sprung a leak which is described as "serious" in the area of her propellor shaft. A considerable amount of water made it into the hull.

Astonishingly, even with all this water in the hull, the hull NEVER became soggy or lost any structural integrity. That special 3-layer bottom of foamcore board is more resiliant than originally anticipated!

The Lizzie is in drydock now for repairs but for the Mary, it was another smooth sailing with no signs of any technical trouble. She is suddenly becoming one of the most reliable boats in the Green Sea Fleet!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

MAURETANIA SAILS

2007-06-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

The R.C.S. MAURETANIA became the 11th currently active R/C boat in my fleet this afternoon after technical problems scrubbed this morning's attempt.

The Mauretania set sail on Mercado Lake in Scottsdale where she sailed for more than 30 minutes. This morning's attempt was scrubbed when the electronics-which had worked just fine yesterday- suddenly wouldn't work. I tried swapping the motor and speed controller, but nothing worked. After I got home, I put another speed controller in and she worked just fine, so we went to Mercado.

I got some great pictures as you can see as well as a video which I plan to put on Youtube.

Incidently, the QUEEN MARY also sailed this morning at a new lake in Litchfield. Again, she ran smoothly with no more engineering problems! The next step is to get all 4 of my Cunard ships (Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and Mauretania) together on the water at the same time!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

MAURETANIA TO JOIN THE FLEET!

2007-05-31T22:41:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, I was invited to participate in an art show at a local gallery. Among other things, I built a 77-inch (1inch= 10feet) cardboard model of the Cunard ocean liner MAURETANIA of 1939. The model was made of raw cardboard with no fiberglass and was not intended to be radio controlled.

However, I wanted the option of doing an R/C Mauretania if my cardboard one sold at the gallery, so I built ANOTHER hull and prepared it for fiberglassing.

Well, the model ended up not selling, and I found myself with 2 hulls-one complete (but not fiberglassed) and one bare un-fiberglassed hull. I threw away the bare hull, and turned my attention to converting the 'art show' model.

Remember how I used epoxy spray and a foam-core bottom to convert my QUEEN ELIZABETH to R/C even WITHOUT fiberglassing? Well, I did that again for the MAURETANIA, since she was already assembled and it would have been too much trouble to fiberglass her.

Then I simply added a motor mount, prop shaft, rudder and radio/ESC and BAM- a new R/C Cunard ocean liner!

The ship herself probably took a couple of weeks of free time to build and the conversion to R/C took 2-3 nights. She embarks on her builder's trials on Friday night, June 1st. The Maiden Voyage is scheduled for Saturday morning, June 2nd. Wish us luck!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

THE RETURN OF THE QUEEN!

2007-05-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

It has been more than 3 months since the flagship of the Green Sea fleet has set sail, but today was a momentous achievement for the R.C.S. QUEEN MARY.

Throughout her 1 year life, the Mary has suffered a variety of technical problems. Since her Maiden Voyage, she has often been plagued with intermittent motor performance. Tehe motor would work fine, then sputter. Some voyages, it didn't sputter, sometimes, I could hardly get her to run and she often had to be rescued.

I attributed these problems to my cheap $40 electronic speed controllers, cause they were cheap and more complex than the motor.

During the joint sailing with the QUEEN ELIZABETH on February 17, the problem became severe and I decided that I would replace the motor, ESC, and if necessary, the radio too.

This week, in preparation for her FIRST BIRTHDAY on May 27th, I decided to tackle the problem. I took the speed controller from the successful AMOS HATHAWAY and plugged it into the MARY. It didn't work!

Then I switched her MOTOR with the Hathaway's motor, and NOW SHE WORKS!

So, in the end, it was a fried motor. Anyway, the Mary sailed very well in a morning voyage today, although she got caught on some fishing line and had to be rescued, but it was not really her fault.

Interestingly, I am building a smaller QUEEN MARY for a friend in New York, and I brought the "mini" Mary to the lake in case the "Mega" Mary got stuck. When she did, I sent out Mini Mary, and it was ironic to see one Queen Mary rescuing another!

Well, that's enough talking. Hope you enjoyed the pics!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

STARDUST RISES AGAIN!!

2007-05-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

As Monty Python would say... "And now for something completely different".

Recently, my creative attention has been devoted to building a R/C QUEEN MARY for a friend of mine, and remodeling the house.

As part of the remodeling, I decided to make a SKYSCRAPER to go around my home computer, so the computer tower would be hidden, and a nice piece of "ergonomic architecture" would stand in its place.

To that end, I have created a facsimilie of the late great "STARDUST" hotel in Las Vegas. For 48 years, the Stardust resort stood at the end of the Vegas strip. It closed its doors in Fall 2006 and was imploded in March 2007. I was one of its guests in the final months. Now the STARDUST stands for as long as I like in my home, illuminating the computer room.

STARDUST is lighted by a combination flourescent light (behind the red tissue), black light, and little night lights illuminating the marquee at the top. It even glows of golden glitter, just like the real thing!

Don't worry, the boats will be back, but for now, I couldn't resist sharing my newest and best home skyscraper with everyone. Enjoy!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Unwelcome changes to blogger result in update delays.

2007-05-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, blogspot.com, having sold its soul to google, has made logging in more difficult for blogspot users, resulting in some delays in updating the website.

On behalf of Blogger.com and Google.com, I apologize to those hoping for updates.

Anyway, thought I could share with you guys some nice pics of the last co-opperative voyage of the ECSTASY and QUEEN VICTORIA taken on April 21. It was a breezy morning, but fortunately, both ships returned home safely. Enjoy!

Barrett
diamondback78@hotmail.com

New looks for Queen Victoria and Ecstasy!

2007-03-31T11:36:00.000-07:00

Since their respective constructions, I have had nagging complaints about the appearances of both the Queen Victoria and the Ecstasy. Particularly, the funnels of both seemed to be too large, especially in the case of the Ecstasy.

Therefore, I recently undertook to rebuild portions of both ships. The Queen Victoria was first. Her funnel was reduced about 50 percent from the original size seen on her Maiden Voyage. It made an immediate difference and made her look much more scale and accurate!

The Ecstasy's funnel was ridiculously huge since she was built in 2005. Her new funnel is probably 30-40% the size of her original funnel, and the difference is again enormous!

Now the Ecstasy and Queen Victoria are REALLY ready to have their pictures taken!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

QUEEN VICTORIA SAILS!

2007-03-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

Today marked the end of the most dramatic conversion job I have done to any of my R/C models yet. The new R.C.S. QUEEN VICTORIA sailed on her Maiden Voyage at Mercado Lake in Scottsdale, Arizona.

As anticipated, she is a dramatic improvement over her former Zuiderdam self. With that new Cunard funnel, she looked very colorful and dynamic out on the water. It was a spectacular sight! Performance-wise, very little has changed since she was the Zuiderdam. She still has the ability to pick her bow out of the water at maximum speed! I got some wonderful videos, one of which is heading to YOUTUBE later today.

It was a busy day around the lake and many many people (perhaps my biggest crowd yet) enjoyed seeing her make her way to the McDowell Dam and back.

Now active, the Queen Victoria makes a very attractive alternative to the big and bulky passenger ships of the fleet, which of course, was the original maxum for building the ZUIDERDAM back in 2005.

Here she comes!

2007-03-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

After 4 evenings of conversion work, the new (sort of) R.C.S. QUEEN VICTORIA is now complete and ready for the Maiden Voyage!

Built as the ZUIDERDAM, the Queen Victoria will make her Maiden Voyage 9 WHOLE MONTHS before the REAL Queen Victoria sails! That's the first time I have ever had that distinction. It also means that the R.C.S. Crown Vic will always be older than the real thing (especially when you consider that the hull was built in 2005)!

The conversion work saw the replacement of the ship's funnel, the superstructure around the funnel, the swimming pool retractable roof, the mast, the repainting of the hull, as well as the partitions between the balcony staterooms.

I also added the net over the basketball court which adds a real depth to the level of detail!

Currently the Crown Vic is scheduled to make her Maiden Voyage on the morning of Saturday, March 10, 2007. Please look forward to it!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

GOODBYE ZUIDERDAM

2007-02-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

Today, Saturday February 24, was the final voyage of the R.C.S. ZUIDERDAM. The ship sailed at McCormick Lake in Scottsdale Arizona with no particular fanfare, but it was a splendid and memorable voyage. I confirmed that the re-fiberglassing of her hull bottom has stopped any leaks to her hull and she is perfectly sound! I threw a couple of extra rechargeable batteries in her aft hull to correct a tendancy to lean forward in the water.
Of the 28 pictures and 1 video I took, all came out in focus and usually quite pretty!

Built in October of 2005, the Zuiderdam has made 30 voyages on 7 different lakes (the most lakes covered by one Green Sea Ship!) including joint voyages with Ecstasy, Queen Mary, Musashi, Raffaello, Olympic, Amos Hathaway and Sovereign of the Seas. I believe she has joint-voyaged with more ships than any of my other ships!

The future of the Zuiderdam is very clear. She is to be converted into the R.M.S. QUEEN VICTORIA this spring where it is hoped she will sail at least another 30 voyages.

Bon Voyage, Zuiderdam. You did great.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

QUEENS FINALLY MEET!

2007-02-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

After 2 months of waiting, and 2 attempts, the R.C.S. QUEEN MARY and R.C.S. QUEEN ELIZABETH sailed TOGETHER on the same water at the same time!

The first attempt, on January 20, was scrubbed due to rain and the second attempt on February 3rd was scrubbed by technical problems.

For the record, the Queen Mary experienced frustrating power problems, perhaps due to another frequency being used on the lake. I switched her radio with the AMERICA and it worked...for a while.

Anyway, it worked long enough to get plenty of pictures and video of the 2 ships sailing together at Dobson Lake.
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It was also a special day for my R.C.S. AMERICA. She sailed for the first time with my friend Tom Schaefer's AMERICA. It was cool having 2 versions of the same ship out there together!
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The R.C.S. TITANIC made her maiden voyage after conversion from OLYMPIC last month. She made a second voyage later in the morning.
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Finally, the R.C.S. RAFFAELLO returned to the water for the first time since September 2006- 5 MONTHS (alot for a Green Sea ship).

Please enjoy these pictures for now. I will try to put a video up on Youtube later tonight. Stay tuned!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Zuiderdam gets an overhaul

2007-02-11T21:16:00.000-08:00

The R.C.S. ZUIDERDAM was in drydock today for some much-needed re-enforcements of her hull. Specifically, she has had a nagging leak in her aft hull for many months and during her last voyage (an epic marathon), the leak became alarming.

I have chased the leak for a long time, and it seemed to originate in the rudder area, but nothing I did seemed to stop it, so I decided to re-fiberglass the ENTIRE aft bottom of her hull. Then, I poured some bondo onto the area around the rudder and prop shaft sleeves.

If she continues to leak, I will throw up my hands and give up! Just in case, I fiberglassed the area inside her hull as well. The hull overhaul is considered a vital step ahead of the QUEEN VICTORIA conversion.

The Zuiderdam is expected to sail on a checkout voyage as soon as Monday February 12. It will be her 29th voyage.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Technical problems scrub joint sailing

2007-02-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday, February 3rd was supposed to see a wonderful voyage of the 2 QUEENS, Mary and Elizabeth together at last on the water.

Unfortunately, when I finally placed them in the water at Mercado Lake in Scottsdale on Saturday afternoon, the Queen Elizabeth refused to move. Switching batteries did nothing and I sat dumbfounded as I reluctantly replaced the ships in my vehicle and went home with my tail between my legs. My best friend Nathan was to sail the Lizzie while I took the Mary. It would have been grand...

After getting back to the shop, I tried switching the electronic speed controller and Nathan noticed that a metal bar I had built into the motor mount may be shorting out the motor. I removed the bar and sure enough, the motor ran freely!

So, we took the Lizzie to Chapparral Lake with the BATTLESHIP MUSASHI and tried to sail between the fishing lines.

Well, the problems returned and the Lizzie was soon just as dead as she was at Mercado. Perhaps the motor is fried?

Any suggestions from fellow boaters would be appreciated.

Anyway, I did manage to get a couple of pics of the Musashi and Lizzie together as well as a tantalizing pic of the Mary and Lizzie together on the shore.

Better luck on February 17.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

THE QUEEN ELIZABETH SAILS!

2007-01-27T23:15:00.000-08:00

Today at about 11:00am, the new R.C.S. QUEEN ELIZABETH embarked on her long-awaited MAIDEN VOYAGE! The voyage was held at Mercado Lake in Scottsdale and lasted about 30-45 minutes. I had the pleasure to record the event with my new digital camcorder and some of the video is spectacular!

The voyage began over by the fountain and wrapped up at the dam in gorgeous view of the McDowell Mountains. My friend Nathan helped drive the ship and take pictures as we alternated controlling the ship.

The ship's performance is very fine and smooth. Being a cardboard/foamcore hull not fiberglassed, she is one of the fastest big boats I have.

It wasn't all smooth sailing as I experienced trouble with batteries. They didn't seem to charge well enough last night. At any rate, the Queen Elizabeth is now an active member of the fleet and I am looking forward to many many more voyages!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

ZUIDERDAM TO BE WITHDRAWN

2007-01-25T22:07:00.000-08:00

Greensea Ships announces that the 30th voyage of the R.C.S. ZUIDERDAM will be her last.

The ship, which began sailing in October 2005 has made 27 voyages on 7 different lakes and will make her last mooring after a combination sailing with the ECSTASY in February.

Following her retirement, the Zuiderdam is scheduled for a major reconstruction (the second of her short life) and she will be renamed

R.C.S. QUEEN VICTORIA

Efforts to make a Queen Victoria date back to 2004 when the Cunard line announced they were building a cruise ship of the Vista-class (same as Zuiderdam) to be named Queen Victoria. When the hull of the "Crown Vic" was transfered to P&O Line before completion and built as the ARCADIA, the QV project fell on the scrap pile.

In 2005, the Vista-class ship was revived and became the R.C.S. ZUIDERDAM. In 2006, when Cunard announced that they were again build a Vista-class QV, I again moved to make my own. You see, the goal is to have an R/C Queen Victoria before the REAL SHIP can ever sail! That way, MY ship can always be older than the real thing.

When plans to build my Victoria at 8 feet (same scale as my Queen Mary) fell through (no room for another 8-footer), I planned to make her the same scale and size as the Zuiderdam. They might have made a good pair out on the water. However, this plan was also soon dropped and the decision was made to convert the ZUIDERDAM into QUEEN VICTORIA.

If all goes well, the new QUEEN VICTORIA should be making her Maiden Voyage later this spring. Stay tuned!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-01-20T08:28:00.000-08:00

Well, the promised meeting between the QUEEN ELIZABETH and the QUEEN MARY will have to wait I am afraid. Since yesterday, there has been near constant rain over the entire state of Arizona (snow in the high country) and it seems that today was not meant to be.

**************RESCHEDULING***************

The Maiden Voyage for the Queen Elizabeth is now scheduled for Sunday, January 21 at Mercado Lake in Scottsdale. She will sail without the Mary.

The next voyage for the S.S. AMERICA should take place later today, if it stops raining.

As for the MARY, I am hoping to reschedule the meeting of the QUEENS for Saturday, February 3. The Mary has no scheduled sailings until then.

Sorry I don't have better news to report, but we'll get 'em next time! Stay tuned.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

QUEENS READY FOR HISTORIC MEETING

2007-01-16T18:39:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, January 20, 2007, at Dobson Lake in Mesa, the R/C ocean liners QUEEN MARY and QUEEN ELIZABETH will sail together for the first time! It marks the Maiden Voyage of the new 8-foot Queen Elizabeth as well as the 16th voyage of the Mary. It is exciting to me because as far as I know, these are the only radio-controlled Queen Mary and Elizabeth models sailing together anywhere in the world! A rare radio-controlled treat!

The supporting cast on the water features fellow ocean liners RAFFAELLO, 2 models of the AMERICA and the TITANIC, also making her Maiden Voyage. Please look forward to the next post which should come Saturday or Sunday!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

TITANIC set for Maiden Voyage

2007-01-09T15:23:00.000-08:00

When the R.C.S. OLYMPIC was built in June 2006, it was always expected that she could and would be converted to TITANIC after several voyages. Now the time has come and in the space of an hour, I transformed the Olympic into the Titanic. This was done by adding the enclosing wall to the forward 1/3 of the A deck promanade on both sides. I made the walls out of acid free cardpaper and drew in the windows by hand.

Now, the Titanic steams toward her Maiden Voyage at Dobson Lake on January 20th. Hopefully, she makes more voyages than her namesake!

It's going to be an incredible day I'm sure. A meeting of all known ocean liners in the area, the Maiden Voyage of the QUEEN ELIZABETH, and of course, the first meeting of the QUEEN MARY and ELIZABETH! Good luck TITANIC!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Queen Elizabeth shines in trials!

2007-01-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

The brand-new, 10-year-old R.C.S. QUEEN ELIZABETH made her first powered voyage since her construction as a static model 10 years ago. The voyage took place at about 11am January 1st, 2007 at McCormick Lake in Scottsdale, AZ.

The voyage lasted about 30 minutes and included a full-speed run. It is expected that she is the fastest large R/C boat in my fleet, as she has a non-fiberglassed "Nelson Hull". I will have to run her against the MUSASHI sometime to be sure.

During the voyage, I got some great video on the bow of the Lizzie facing her superstructure. The video can be found at

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=619196

Enjoy the pics while the Lizzie waits for her Maiden Voyage and historic rendnevouz with the QUEEN MARY!

Zuiderdam in the Mist!

2006-12-23T15:48:00.000-08:00

Took these pictures on the voyage this morning. The 26th voyage of the Zuiderdam. I was hoping for fog, but that didn't pan out. I did however, get some awesome pics of the ship in the morning mist!

LIZZIE MEETS THE WATER!

2006-12-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

An exciting day for me, the new 8-foot radio-controlled luxury liner R.C.S. QUEEN ELIZABETH met the water for the very first time.

Called 'Hull Trials', the voyage was a test of her watertight integrity and her ability to maintain structural form even after extended time in the water.

The Queen Elizabeth uses 'Nelson Hull' technique to make her seaworthy. That means her bottom is made of foamcore board and her hull is painted with enamel spray, to avoid using fiberglass which is messy, time consuming, and can lead to damage of the superstructure during all that sanding.

Because she spent the first 10 years of her life as a static model on the shelf, the Lizzie is made of cardboard on her sides and decks. The cardboard is covered only in enamel paint as the foamcore bottom does most of the work.

For the voyage today, she was towed by my navy destroyer USS AMOS HATHAWAY. The Queen Elizabeth has no motor or radio yet. This was just a trip around the lake to test her seaworthy-ness, and she PASSED!!

The next step will be to install the running machinery over the next several weeks. The Maiden Voyage is scheduled for sometime in January 2007.

*******************************************************
In other news, the surface sub OBIHIRO and ocean liner OLYMPIC made voyages. It was the last voyage of the Olympic before conversion to TITANIC next month.

The BATTLESHIPS NELSON and GRAFF SPEE sailed together and engaged in "tag combat" for the first time. Tag combat is where ships score points by ramming each other, and no sinking is involved (hopefully!).

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON R.C.S. QUEEN ELIZABETH!

2006-12-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

After months of on and off consideration, I have begun conversion of my 8-foot static model QUEEN ELIZABETH into a functioning radio-controlled model!

The Queen Elizabeth was built in 1996, 10 years ago when I was still in high school. As a static cardboard model, she was never intended to be radio-controlled.

After the construction of the QUEEN MARY in spring of 2006, I began seriously wondering if I could convert my Queen Elizabeth into a running ship. At the time, it was thought that fiberglassing her, sanding her and painting would all be too much for her and her superstructure detail, and the idea was dropped.

Then, when the BATTLESHIP NELSON debuted with her foamcore hull, I realized that I could retrofit the "Lizzie" with a foamcore bottom, and repaint her hull with enamel spraypaint.

Currently, the Lizzie is scheduled to make her hull trials this Saturday at Dobson Lake in Mesa Arizona. Hull trials mean that the ship is unpowered and towed behind one of my other R/C boats.

I can't wait to see her out there on the water!!!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

MUSASHI, ECSTASY, ZUIDERDAM AND HATHAWAY ALL SAIL TOGETHER!

2006-11-22T21:59:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, November 18, the Musashi, Ecstasy, Hathaway and Zuiderdam all sailed together on Dobson Lake in Mesa. It was the first time 4 of my ships were on the water at one time! It was the first time 3 of my big ships sailed together. Needless to say, it made for some pretty cool pictures! Enjoy!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

GRAF SPEE JOINS THE FLEET

2006-11-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

Green Sea is proud to present the newest member of the fleet, the 5-foot foamcore battleship GRAF SPEE. Modeled after the WW2 German Pocket Battleship, the Graf Spee is intended to compliment the Battleship Nelson which was completed at the end of September. As with the Nelson, construction was incredibly fast. Just 3 days from start to finish!

The Graf Spee is designed to compete with the Nelson in a new form of model warship "combat". In this form of combat, the battleships score points by ramming each other within set rules. Because of their light but sturdy construction and their modest running speeds, there shouldn't be too much damage.

However, it may be necessary to add a third ship to the arena to prevent stalemates. We will see when the Graf meets the Nelson for the first time in battle. The Maiden Voyage of the Graf Spee took place on the evening of November 1, 2006 at Mercado Lake in Scottsdale. She sailed for about 20 minutes. The next step is to see how the Nelson and Graf compare for performance (speed and turn rate), and I gotta say, I like the way the Graf turns! However, her prop shaft is unusually noisy. There is a heck of alot of vibration coming from that area during sailing. Nevertheless, it becomes less noticable when she's actually out there on the water, Hopefully, the Graf and the Nelson can meet for battle soon!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

A NEW SEASON FOR GREEN SEA SHIPBUILDING!

2006-10-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

YAY! Scale boating has finally returned to Dobson Lake and the Mesa Model Yacht Club! Today's activity saw 3 ships from my fleet take the water. QUEEN MARY, NELSON, and AMOS HATHAWAY. It was a great opprotunity to catch up with fellow members, many of whom I had not seen since May. Now I take the time to reflect on the many developments in my fleet since May.

It was a busy summer for me. Probably my biggest news to come from this summer is the Battleship MUSASHI. At 8 feet 3 inches long, she is the widest and second-longest ship in the fleet. Making her Maiden Voyage on October 21st, she has quickly become one of my most talked-of and popular ships.

Modeled after the World War 2 Japanese battleship of the same name, she combines the size and majesty of the QUEEN MARY with maneuverability more akin to the ZUIDERDAM. She was a big hit from her debut at Dobson Lake on her builder's trials, September 23. The Musashi is kind of a work in progress. After every voyage, details are being added to her decks and superstructure, until eventually, she's finished. The handling of the Musashi is refreshing for a ship of her size, and so is her battery consumption!

However, probably the most important development of recent weeks is the construction of the Battleship NELSON. While not remarkable in overall appearance, she is by all outward appearances, a normal ship.

The construction of the Nelson was anything but normal! Rather than use my usual cardboard covered with fomecore technique, I used fomecore board simply painted with epoxy spray, then enamel. So far, I have always had to cover the cardboard with fiberglass resin, which is messy, smells very toxic, adds weight to the ship, and takes lots of TIME. With the Nelson, the hull is ready to go as soon as I assemble and paint it!

Needless to say, the Nelson currently holds my personal record for fastest construction-3 DAYS! It may be quite some time before that record is eclipsed!

Anyway, back to today's voyage, I took alot of nice pictures as you will see. It was great having so many other boats for the Queen Mary and Nelson to sail with!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

THE MOOSE IS LOOSE!

2006-09-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

At approximately 9:00am on the morning of Saturday, September 23, 2006, the newest Green Sea Ship, R.C.S. MUSASHI made her trial voyage at Dobson Lake, Mesa.

The voyage followed a night of feverish work and little sleep. There was alot of trouble to get the rudder to work properly. I finally had to steal the rudder from the R.C.S. ZUIDERDAM, but I got what I was after. An opperational Musashi!!!

The voyage lasted more than one hour, making it perhaps the most exhaustive trial voyage of any of my ships to date! In fact, the first battery she sailed with lasted about 1 hour! I can only guess that because of her relatively light weight and low hydrodynamic resistance, her battery life was extended. If so, she is my most effecient ship.

Well, here are the pictures from today's voyage. Please enjoy them and look forward to her completion and Maiden Voyage!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Here comes the MUSASHI!

2006-09-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

Greensea Shipbuilding announces construction of the new 8-foot, 3-inch Radio-Controlled Battleship MUSASHI!

The "Moose" as she is known is under construction right now, and will hopefully be completed by October. Her maiden voyage has not yet been scheduled. Work began on August 18, 2006, and is proceeding much faster than her predecessor, the QUEEN MARY. Of course, the Musashi is not going to be as detailed or elaborate as the Mary, but she is looming impressively nonetheless. She is already the widest ship in the Green Sea Fleet, and a close second for overall length.

It is hoped that the Musashi may make her Builder's Trials by next weekend, September 16, 2006. Hopefully, I will have a photo update for the website by then! For more information, please go to WorldYamato.blogspot.com

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

1 Year of Green Sea Shipbuilding.

2006-09-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

It has been 12 months since the joyous day of the Ecstasy's Maiden Voyage. In that time has come a complete metamorphosis for Green Sea Shipbuilding Establishment. 13 months ago, I was still living in the post- Queen Mary 2 era. There were only 2 small single-channel radio controlled ships in the whole fleet, America and Kamloops. While fine vessles, with alot to say, they constituted a far cry from the diverse and very heavy fleet that occupies the lakes today.

Not since I was a boy in high school has there been such a prolific period of creativity for me. I have never been closer to the dream of building any ship I want whenever I want. In fact, after 2006, I may never come as close again.

13 months ago, I did not know about Mesa Model Yacht Club. I had never sailed with other R.C. boaters and I was unknown to the internet, but these are personal milestones, irrelevant to Green Sea itself.

13 months ago, a ship called Ecstasy sailed her first completed voyage on McCormick Lake in Scottsdale on a quiet Sunday morning. In her wake followed a fleet that by rights should take years to assemble. Intermediates like Zuiderdam, and the renovated Sovereign of the Seas. The diminutive destroyer USS Amos Hathaway. The single-channeled Raffaello, Kaga, and Olympic. Last but most notably, Ecstasy was surpassed as my flagship by the massive Queen Mary.

6 new ships have been launched in the 12 months starting September 4 2005. The fleet has combined for at least 95 voyages! Ecstasy herself has just made her landmark 25th voyage, symbolizing a quarter of her minimal expected life span.

Along the way, I have been lucky to capture some of the most beautiful images I have ever photographed. It has been my pleasure to share them with everyone on this website and in forums like rcgroups.com.

Personally speaking again, it has been also a tremendous pleasure sailing with so many fellow boaters. It makes me look forward very much to the next season at Dobson Lake and beyond.

The 2006-2007 season will see the pace continuing unbroken with launchings of 3 new ships at least 8 feet in length, as well as at least 1 new single-channel ship! There are even more ships on the distant horizon which likely will not make it to the water in the next 12 months.

For Green Sea, the beat goes on...

ECSTASY CELEBRATES 25th VOYAGE!

2006-09-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

On the morning of Saturday, September 2nd, the R.C.S. ECSTASY became the first of my ships to reach 25 voyages. The voyage, which was marked by silver garland draped around the ship, lasted at least an hour and took place on Dobson Lake in Mesa. For a time, she shared the water with the R.C.S. AMERICA, herself sailing for the first time since January!

This was Ecstasy's first voyage since June 3rd, and I don't intend to wait that long before her next sailing.

I also got some fantastic video of the Ecstasy for the first time from her DECK as she sailed along! This was done with my digital camera.

Well, until the next voyage, please enjoy these pics from today!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

QUEEN MARY RETURNS!

2006-08-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning, August 12, the R.C.S. QUEEN MARY returned to the water for the first time since June. It was her milestone 10th voyage. The voyage was an opprotunity to test a new way I discovered to avoid that bright overexposure of the images I have previously experienced. I adjusted the camera on the external controls to make the images darker as they are captured. Unfortunately, this worked too well at times, but I managed to get alot of good pictures.

This was also the second co-op voyage between the Zuiderdam and Queen Mary. The Zuiderdam displayed dramatically superior speed over the Queen with her recent major rebuild.

I also got some great black and white and sepia pics of the Queen Mary as you can see. The weather was not too hot and it was a great feeling to see the Queen, my favorite ship, back on the water!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Zuiderdam Olympic and MAICO sail together

2006-07-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night, the new R.C.S. Olympic and newly-remodeled Zuiderdam sailed together for the first time at Lake America (northside). While unfortunately the water was really very filthy and led to repeated interferance with the Olympic, it made for some nice pictures and marked the Zuiderdam's 20th voyage!

My wife Maico joined me at the lake!!! Radio controlled boating is a couples hobby! Hehehe.

As you can see in the pictures, Maico took the reins of the Olympic first, then I let her take the Zuiderdam. She thought the Olympic was pretty fast at first, but was blown away when I told her to go full throttle on the Zuiderdam. BAM! ZOOM!

Man, it was humid! Can't wait for the fall when it is actually cool in the a.m..

Anyway, my wife and I will be in Japan for 2 weeks from Wednsday, so until I get back, please enjoy these images from Sunday's sailing!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

ZUIDERDAM BACK IN SERVICE!

2006-07-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

This morning, the R.C.S. ZUIDERDAM emerged from her massive reconstruction and sailed her (3rd) Builder's Trials on Chapparral Lake in Scottsdale.

The voyage, beginning around 6:00am, was very smooth and no major problems emerged. My favorite part was the speed trial, when I ran her in several passes at full speed. Far from getting swamped with water, she actually hydroplaned and the bow LEFT THE WATER! It was an amusing sight, but not at all dangerous. I do not plan to "fix" it.

This was the 19th voyage for the Zuiderdam, and thankfully, there will be many more!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

MASSIVE RECONSTRUCTIVE EFFORT FOR ZUIDERDAM!

2006-07-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

Beginning last weekend, the R.C.S. ZUIDERDAM entered a daunting period of reconstruction aimed at improving the overall appearance of the ship.

Ever since her launching in October of 2005, there have been nagging doubts about the scale and accuracy of the Zuiderdam's superstructure.

Experienced eyes may notice that the R.C.S. Zuiderdam is far too short for her height, or too tall for her length. For some time, I have known that this problem can only be corrected by cutting down the hull and totally rebuilding the superstructure. The top deck with swimming pools, funnels, etc. will remain with the new superstructure, as will the main bridge, and most importantly- the hull, although the hull has now been cut down about 3 inches!

Overall, the new Zuiderdam will be about 6 whole inches lower than the original ship!

The most dangerous part (for the Zuiderdam) was the actual cutting of the fiberglassed hull. Thankfully, that was accomplished successfully. Now, the Zuiderdam is poised to be transformed. Please stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks.

Barrett Hochhaus

OLYMPIC SAILS MAIDEN VOYAGE!

2006-07-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today at the brisk hour of 7:00am at Dobson Lake in Mesa, the R.C.S. OLYMPIC made her Maiden Voyage.

The Olympic was the sistership of the ill-fated White Star Liners BRITANNIC and TITANIC. In fact, the Olympic is provisioned to be converted into the Titanic with relatively little effort.

It was the first official voyage of the ship which broke the record for fastest Green Sea Ship to be built, delayed by scheduling conflicts. Because of vacations, I was unable to make the first voyage until today.

It was a quiet, serene morning, that was much on the HOT side. By the time I left at 7:30, it must have been about 100 degrees already! Summer opperations may be very light for Green Sea.

It is anticipated that the Olympic may best the RAFFAELLO if the two were to race. That voyage will have to wait until I can get together another skipper for the Raff. As it is today, the Olympic was running on the same batteries that she had had on her trial voyages. Towards the end, the ship was clearly running out of steam, and in no condition to race anyone.

Until the Olympic meets the water once more, please enjoy these pics from todays sailing!

Barrett Hochhaus

R.C.S. OLYMPIC COMPLETE!

2006-07-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

On Thursday evening, July 6, the painting of the hull marked the completion of Green Sea's newest vessle, the R.C.S. OLYMPIC!

The Olympic has been a suprising vessle for me because I had not intended to build ANTHING after the QUEEN MARY until perhaps as late as next summer, when the QUEEN VICTORIA is constructed.

Probably the most remarkable feature of this new vessle is her INTERIOR detail! For the first time in a Green Sea ship, I took the time to detail such inside rooms as the gymnasium, first class staircase, and officer's quarters!

The genesis for the Olympic was a radio-controlled boat forum (rcgroups.com), where I felt challenged not only to build a cardboard Olympic-class vessle, but to do it in record (for me) time.

Until the completion of the Olympic, my record for fastest build belonged to the AMOS HATHAWAY, and was 2 weeks. Not only has the record been dramatically reset to 9 DAYS, but I know I can do it even faster!

This brings the total number of active ships in the fleet to 8 now (America, Ecstasy, Zuiderdam, Raffaello, Kaga, Hathaway, Queen Mary, and Olympic).

So here she is, the product of 9 days of furious work and dizzying inspiration. The new OLYMPIC!!

OLYMPIC SAILS AGAIN!

2006-07-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

This morning, July 1st, 2006, the new R.C.S. OLYMPIC returned to the water for her builder's check out and trials. It was an extremely encouraging voyage for me.

The voyage began as the sun was coming up at about 6:30 am at Chapparral Lake in Scottsdale. It was actually very pleasant weather, in contrast to the Motor Trials held last Sunday in 100+ degree-heat. Despite not sleeping at all the previous night, I was very excited to see her out running around.

The only problems seem to be her incomplete detailing, her funnels which seem to be too tall, and her wide turning radius.

Of course, all problems will be resolved fully before the next voyage, but for now, please enjoy these pics from todays trials!

Barrett Hochhaus

HELLO OLYMPIC...GOODBYE SOVEREIGN

2006-06-30T00:05:00.000-07:00

As the R.C.S. OLYMPIC nears completion and her maiden voyage, another Green Sea icon is preparing to leave the stage.

For several months now, the fate of the R.C.S. Sovereign of the Seas has been an open question. The trouble really began during a very successful voyage on March 25th 2006. During a brief grounding, the rudder shaft was broken, allowing large amounts of water to get into the unprotected cardboard. This exacerbated the situation reguarding her hull integrity. Additionally, the electronic speed controller has been on the fritz since the maiden voyage.

The co-opperative voyage with the Zuiderdam on April 29th revealed that the problem cannot be rectified with epoxy or silicon. Sovereign was laid up, pending re-assessment of her condition. I considered redoing the underside of her hull and painting the hull black to hide the water damage.

For a few months, nothing happened, while I languished the decision of retiring the Sovereign. Finally, with the list of proposed new ships growing almost every week, I felt I had no choice but to take Sovereign out of the way, in favor of new ships.

Still, I dragged my feet. Finally, with the construction of the new OLYMPIC, I needed a radio and servo, so I took them from the Sovereign. It appears final now that she will not see another powered voyage.

The Sovereign was originally built as a single-channel ship with 3 radio-shack motors running on 12 AA batteries. When her performance was not satisfactory, she was laid up for about a year and a half. During that time, I considered refitting her as a 2 channel ship. There were times when I thought to throw her away. Finally, I got her sailing again in January of this year.

Now, after only 8 voyages, it seems that the road is finally ended for Sovereign.

Barrett Hochhaus

INTRODUCING OLYMPIC/TITANIC!!!

2006-06-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

Green Sea Shipbuilding Establishment is proud to announce the creation of my newest vessle, the R.C.S. OLYMPIC / TITANIC!

At 59 inches long, she is in the same scale as the wonderful R.C.S. RAFFAELLO. Like the Raffaello, she is single-channeled, and has 2 Radio Shack motors. Like the R.C.S. AMERICA, an effort is being made to make her inner hull appear as an actual engine room, but that's not all!

What will make the Olympic/Titanic better than any vessel in her class is her detail, particularly her INTERIOR detail. Many of her inner rooms, such as the gymnasium, first-class entrance, and officer's quarters will actually be detailed beneath removable decks! Also, her open promanade deck will be detailed!

She is known by 2 names because she will be actually convertable from the Olympic into the Titanic with just a few minutes of minor modifications! She will begin her life as the Olympic, of course. Then, after some time sailing, she will be converted to Titanic, and actually have a SECOND maiden voyage! As if that's not enough she can later be made into the BRITANNIC!

But perhaps the most amazing thing about the Olympic/Titanic is the SPEED of her construction! In only 8-9 hours, over 2 days, she went from absolutely nothing, to sailing her Motor Trials!! She was cut out of cardboard, joined up, fiberglassed, painted, and fitted with her motors and radio in only 8 or 9 hours! If one considers only the amount of time actually spent on her construction, she must be presently outpacing the construction of any of my previous ships!

Please stay tuned in the next couple of weeks as the Olympic speeds towards her Maiden Voyage!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Queen Mary evening at Mercado Lake

2006-06-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today, the new Queen Mary sailed at Mercado Lake at Via de Ventura and Hayden in Scottsdale. It resulted in some very pretty evening pictures and 22 minutes of video. Today was the 6th voyage of the R.C.S. Queen Mary. Enjoy the pics!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Queen Mary and Ecstasy sail together!

2006-06-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

In the first ever meeting of my 2 flagships, the Queen Mary and Ecstasy sailed together Saturday morning at Chapparral Lake in Scottsdale! As you can see, I got plenty of nice pictures and I also got 8 minutes of nice video as well!

While the weather was definately an uncomfortable factor (it was supposed to reach a high temp of about 110 degrees today!), we managed to sneek in a quick voyage in the morning at about 10:00am. It's funny that usually, I am in a hurry to beat the wind, but today, I was trying to beat the heat!

Anyway, we got in, got done, and got out pretty quick and nothing felt better than to get back to the house, grab a glass of cold water, sit back and watch the video/pictures in an air conditioned house! Ah... the good life!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Queen Mary and Zuiderdam sail together

2006-05-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in Scottsdale, the Queen Mary sailed with the Zuiderdam on her second official voyage. I got the voyage on video and pictures. Things went very well until after maybe 20 minutes, the Zuiderdam's rudder BROKE OFF, leaving her to beach herself on the other side of the lake.

The legend of the "brokedown boat" continues...

THE QUEEN MARY SAILS!

2006-05-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

7 months of conception, 4 months of construction, and 2 weeks of testing, came to an end today, as the Radio Controlled Ship "QUEEN MARY" made her Maiden Voyage!

FLURRY OF PREPARATIONS-

The days before the maiden voyage were marked by a feverish pace of construction, testing, and shopping. In preparation for the big voyage, I made an invitation on my computer for the MMYC boat club members. I made it as a text/image file and emailed to the the members whose email addresses I had. In the invitation, I promised free doughnuts and beverage service. This jesture represented a heap of more work when I was already running late on finishing her. You see, as early as this March, I wanted to have at least 1 week before the Maiden Voyage to relax. I wanted everything to be done by the weekend of the May 21st. Well, that went out the window REAL fast. Even last night, her hull was still white! She had her final trial voyage on Friday the 26th, and passed thankfully. I still ran out of time to do the lifeboat davit arms and the name and registry on the stern. Those will have to come later. Finally, I got the doughnuts, juice, cups and ice cooler this morning.

UNCERTAIN BEGINNINGS-

Beginning in the middle of this past week, the local weather reporters were forcasting high winds for (wouldn't you know it) Saturday and Sunday. Anyone who knows my ships knows that they don't like wind! The Zuiderdam, for example, would capsize quite easily if caught broadside by a relatively minor breeze. After all, that's how I lost my Queen Mary 2.

The time will never be right to lose the new Queen Mary, so I didn't want to hear about wind on such an important day. May 27th is important because this is exactly the 70th anniversary of the maiden departure of the REAL QUEEN MARY in 1936. Anyway, the wind usually picks up in the later morning hours, so I figured Saturday morning would probably be safe.

So, imagine my frustration when at about 7:00 last night, the wind REALLY started to pick up! I mean it was gusting! I felt 'oh shit! Here it is! The wind for Saturday is here NOW'!

Then imagine my relief when I woke this morning and there was absolutely no wind. But it was just the wind catching it's breath. By the time I was leaving the house, the wind was nearly gusting! Very discouraged, I began to resign myself to possibly not sailing at all this day.

QUEEN MARY DEFIES THE WIND-

A funny thing happened on the way to cancelling the Maiden Voyage. I floated the Mary in the water some distance away from the main staging area, to test her handling in the wind.

I can say without question that this ship is my best big ship for wind. Arguably my best ship PERIOD for sailing in wind. You see, the Mary is big and long, but she's not TALL like the Ecstasy or Zuiderdam. She is the only large ship that is wider than her own height! Sure, she bounced around a bit because the water was choppy, but she never came anywhere near capsizing! I finally have a great big boat that doesn't have to fear the wind!

One humorous moment came when I accidently knocked the juice cooler into the water! It landed so far out that I couldn't reach it! I had nothing to do but sit there as this red cooler bobbed its way further and further out into the lake. Not funny if you are thirsty! Still, I look at the pictures and chuckle. You can see the cooler floating in at least one of the pictures above. I finally recovered it after half an hour on the other side of the lake.

I got a few minutes of good video as well. I am thinking of making a copy for others.

The Mary also experienced an unusual drain on her batteries. It's possible that either the charger didn't do its job right, or the Mary is so heavy that she really taxes her batteries.

Nevertheless, I got some great action out of her, and everyone was able to see her.

When it became clear that I was not going to get through the morning with the batteries I had, fellow boater Dennis did something incredibly nice for me. He went home, picked up his charger, and came back maybe 20 minutes later!

For this reason, I was able to recharge one of my batteries and sail again from about 11:00! Thanks Dennis!

LIGHT BUT LOYAL TURNOUT-

As the R/C season is officially over for MMYC there wasn't a huge turnout today. But I was impressed that the people who did come were REALLY interested to see the new ship! I got compliments from people who had never commented on my ships before. Dave Acree even brought a very nice camera of his to take pictures of her! He is talking about doing an article on my ships for a British model boating magazine. Only 2 people brought boats today, as mostly, they seemed to come for the Mary (and the free doughnuts). While I wish more people had come (I love to get pics of my boats with lots of other boats), I was please with the QUALITY of the turnout. Hell, only Nathan and I were there for the Ecstasy's Maiden Voyage!

BRING 'EM HOME SAFE-

My motto for my boats is "bring 'em home safe", in referance to the dangers of stranding and capsizing. On a day when the greatest ship I ever built sailed for the first time, and the wind was SO threatening, living up to that motto is more gratifying than ever! Please look forward to future sailings and updates of this, my most wonderful ship!

Barrett Harmon Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Successful Builder's Trials sends Queen Mary into final stage of construction!

2006-05-24T23:12:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased and relieved to report that the R.C.S. Queen Mary has passed the most critical point of her construction- the Builder's Trials!

The final push to pass came on the evening of May 22nd at Lake America (northside) in Scottsdale. What finally did it is that I switched the speed controller with a new (and much cheaper) unit. These are not the best pictures I have taken of her, but what's important is that she passed. Let's hope this is not an illusion.

Also, I tested the CD player/speakers again, and boy does it put the sound out! When I brought her in, I almost felt it was TOO loud!

I am planning another trial voyage, probably Thursday, just to confirm she is ready for Saturday!

In the meantime, I have finished the airvents finally, and she is really looking complete!

Back to work.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Queen Mary limps home from unsuccessful Builder's Trials

2006-05-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Queen Mary had her builder's trials this morning at McCormick Lake at 7:00am. Initially, everything looked good. But after a couple of minutes, the pesky control problem returned same as it ever was. Frustrated, I grabbed the speed controller from the USS AMOS HATHAWAY and plopped it into the Mary. The problem CONTINUED!

I now no longer believe it is the speed controller. I believe it is the motor. I had previously believed that nothing could go wrong with the motor, but signs seem to point to the motor. As evidence, last night, I ran the motor at full speed out of the water. There was no hesitation in the power of the motor. Now, when it meets the resistance of water, everything gets screwy! The speed controller doesn't care about water or air. The speed controller can't tell if it's in the water. The MOTOR can. Additionally, this problem never occurred on the Hathaway (the ship whose speed controller I swapped.

My next step will be to swap the motor later this week.

On the bright side, this was the first test of the new 4-speaker CD player system, and the sound was GREAT! Much better than previous ships. Also, I got some nice pictures as you see.

Well, back to work.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Queen Mary Builder's Trials set!

2006-05-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

With 9 days remaining before the maiden voyage of the new R.C.S. Queen Mary, I am happy to report that the Builder's Trials have been scheduled for this Sunday moring, May 21st!

The trials are to be held at McCormick Lake in Scottsdale. I am hoping to begin the trials no later than dawn, to avioid attracting attention to myself. It is hoped that few people will see the Queen in action before the Maiden Voyage.

This will hopefully also be the first successful test of the speed controller. In the previous 2 motor trials, I found the speed controller to be very irratic. At times, it stopped working more than it worked. With the help of someone at Hobby Bench at P.V. Mall, I think I have programmed the controller, and it is ready to power the Mary for real.

As you can see from the pictures, work is progressing nicely and I am hoping to have all lifeboat davits, the masts, and airvents in place before the trials.

Most notably, the hull will remain white during the trials. This is for two reasons; I want the black paint to be as fresh as possible for the maiden voyage, and also because I want to see what the Mary would have looked like underway with a white hull, as is common for cruise ships these days.

Please look forward to further updates no later than Sunday.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

QUEEN MARY MOTOR TRIALS SUCCESSFUL!!

2006-05-13T23:32:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased to announce that the R/C/S Queen Mary has completed her first motor trials as of today, May 13, 2006. Though not without problems, the voyage proved that the Mary will be a perfectly viable and maneuverable radio controlled ship when completed later this month.

The voyage began just before 6:00pm when I put the Mary into the water at Indian School Lake in Scottsdale. I tapped the throttle lightly as I eased her out into the deeper water. Then, at full speed, she displayed moderate-to-high maximum speed. I suspect she will not surpass the Sovereign or Zuiderdam in speed, but she does well for herself. Most of all, I was impressed by her RUDDER. You see, in an effort to secure the best possible rudder, I transplanted the rudder from the QUEEN MARY 2 (which itself came from my old 8-foot USS ARIZONA) and put it into the Mary because I knew it was a very good rudder. However, I was worried that the Mary would not have good turn maneuverability because the rudder is so far FORWARD in her hull. The rudder is about 1/3 of the way forward from her stern because I had to put the aft CD player and speakers where the rudder should go.

Still, because of the quality of the metal rudder construction, the rudder did an excellent job, and actually, the Queen Mary has the BEST turning radius of any of my 2-channel boats!

Problems arose however, when after 5 minutes or so, the motor no longer seemed to work. Bringing the ship in, I discovered that a large amount of WATER was getting into the hull and actually touching the bottom of the plastic-encased speed controller. I think the speed controller is fine now, because I dried the bottom off and it ran again. However, the real problem is the water. After further examination, it was discovered that the water was getting in through the prop shaft. I failed to give it enough epoxy. I am hoping to rectify the problem and get her back into the water as soon as tommorrow. Please look forward to further Queen Mary updates later in the week.

Maiden voyage is May 27, 2006 at Dobson Lake in Mesa.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Ecstasy makes first night voyage since September '05

2006-04-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight, April 27, the Ecstasy made a rare night voyage at Chapparral Lake in Scottsdale. I got some of my best nighttime pics ever, and I couldn't resist posting them. Enjoy!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Raffaello takes new lake!

2006-04-22T14:25:00.000-07:00

On Friday, April 21, the Raffaello became the first Green Sea Ship to sail at what I call "Mercado Lake" at Via de Ventura and Hayden, behind Buster's Restaurant. I had long had my eyes on this lake and finally got around to taking a ship down there. I found no trouble getting in and out. Not even a single "private property" sign. It's a very pleasant lake with some nice scenery. I look forward to many voyages with ships like the Ecstasy and Queen Mary there. In the meantime, please enjoy these pics from yesterday.

ECSTASY IS BACK IN ACTION!

2006-04-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 15 marked the long-awaited return of the Green Sea Flagship to Dobson Lake in Mesa. The Ecstasy had been out of commission from December 17 2005 until last Saturday, April 8. About 4 months. The occasion was her first refit which unfourtunately was delayed by a number of other construction projects. I had hoped to have her back in the water by March 17.

Nevertheless, she is back in service and had a very nice morning on the water. Due to the changes below her waterline (I added a rubber bumper all the way around her hull) she is noticably slower than she was last December. I suppose this cannot be helped, as the rubber is essential to prolonging her life. The rubber will prevent cracks from occurring in her fiberglass and therefore, prevent leaks into her hull. It slows her down, but it is really very important for her to have that.

The Hathaway destroyer was also in the water today, and competed in the scale competition. I was dissappointed in her performance, as she bumped the gates twice. Nevertheless, she was part of the 5-way tie for first place today with 100 points.

The Raffaello returned to the water as well, but with her batteries nearly dead, she could not manage more than a very short cruise. Better luck next time.

Anyway, please enjoy these pics from today's event!

Barrett
diamondback78@hotmail.com

DRAMATIC RESCUE MISSION FOR ZUIDERDAM!

2006-04-01T22:28:00.000-08:00

Zuiderdam was back in the water tonight for her first night cruise since January 2nd, when she also was stranded due to prop hex nut failure.

Tonight, she was playing Glenn Miller music, shortly after putting out when I stopped her for a brief pause. When I attempted to resume, nothing happened. I was quite disheartened as I had considered bringing a rescue boat but decided instead to "be careful". HA!

So, I stood for many minutes, deciding what to do, when it finally hit me. Go home (less than 5 minutes), get the RAFFAELLO, bring her back here with some on-the-spot alterations and perform a rescue mission!

So, I brought the Raffaello to Chapparral Lake and with some styrofoam attached to her bow with tape, I ran her out there. The Raffaello cannot control her throttle, but I figured with enough hits, she could push to Zuiderdam over to the near side of the lake. It worked far better than I had imagined!

The Raffaello, as you can see, swung around and hit the Zuiderdam exactly amidships. Her styrofoam got stuck between the Zuiderdam's lifeboats and it was a cakewalk as I brought the Zuiderdam in on the first try.

It turned out that the Zuiderdam's battery had died. When I switched the battery with a new one (which was also dying!) she ran fine.

THEN, because I could not carry both ships at the same time to the other side of the lake, I used a coathanger to TOW the Raffaello back to the other side of the lake behind the Zuiderdam!

Halfway back across the lake, the battery began to die, but I tweaked it and barely made it across the lake. It was a very amusing emergency. The first full-blown ship-to-ship rescue mission of Green Sea Ships!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Work continues on Queen Mary

2006-03-31T17:25:00.000-08:00

As March draws to a close, work continues at a satisfactory pace on the newest and greatest Green Sea Ship, the QUEEN MARY. As you can see in the pictures, she is now painted in white and I'd like to thank the folks who make KILZ white primer spray for contributing 3 of their cans to the effort.

The bridge and funnels you see in the pictures were taken from the 8-foot Queen Mary model I built in 1994, but they fit the new ship perfectly, so I will clean them up and re-use them! The air vents are not to be used on the new ship. They are just there for looks.

The decks of the ship have been cut out, and the deck planks drawn. The next step for them is to coat them with polyurethane to protect them from water. Work on the promanade deck walls suffered a setback when the black electrical tape I use for windows peeled the paint I used. I will try again with different paint hopefully this weekend.

For now, please enjoy these pics of my masterpiece in the works!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Zuiderdam returns to the water!

2006-03-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

In a check-out voyage following some alterations, the R.C.S. Zuiderdam returned triumphantly to the water at McCormick Lake in Scottsdale.

The ship has been out of the water since January 21st, while other construction projects took priority. Now, with the Queen Mary hitting her stride, I took some moments to add a new speed controller (her old speed controller wound up in the Hathaway), red electrical tape to look like hull paint below the waterline, and a new propellor shaft, sleeve and prop.

The new shaft had a suprising effect on the vibrations for which the Zuiderdam is notorius. She was always my noisiest ship, but even though the new shaft is the same, it produces a fraction of the vibration. Just the way I installed it, I guess.

Additionally, it was the first voyage of the Zuiderdam under the Dutch flag.

Anyway, please enjoy these pics from today's cruise!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

KAGA-HATHAWAY MAKE MAIDEN VOYAGES!

2006-03-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

Saturday was an incredible day for Green Sea Shipping, with the maiden voyages of TWO new members of the fleet!

APPREHENSION ABOUT THE WEATHER-
There was great concern all this week about the weather, because they had been forecasting wind and rain for this weekend all week. I was especially nervous because I had not been to a scale event at Dobson Lake since JANUARY, and I was really looking forward to making a big impression for the Kaga and Amos Hathaway. Fortunately, the weather forecasters are notoriously misinformed. Hehehe.

KAGA MAKES MAIDEN VOYAGE-
First to sail was the Japanese aircraft carrier "Kaga". She is my first military radio-controlled ship. At 60 inches long, she is my longest single-channel ship yet (barely longer than the "Raffaello"). Amazingly, the Kaga was not even ready to run 24 hours before. I finished her Friday afternoon and she was tested Friday night. She had never even been placed in the water before Friday night! The Kaga was floated for her maiden voyage a little after 9:00am on Saturday. At that time, there was no one at the lake yet. Aparently, the club starts at 9:30-10:00 these winter months. The Kaga's batteries were used from an existing radio, so I don't think I got the best performance out of her. When she is in top shape, I'm sure she will be faster than the Raffaello. I gotta say, for such a cheap easy build, she looks great out there!

AMOS HATHAWAY MAKES MAIDEN VOYAGE-
As the rest of the club filed in around 10:00, I proclaimed the maiden voyage of the Hathaway and put her in the water. Starting out timidly, I crept her up to moderate speed. I'm still a little jittery about water entering the hull, so I avoided full-speed runs. The Hathaway performed magnificently! It was impressive how good she looked out on the water. This was the first time for her to be in the water since I modified her rudder control horn to increase rudder response. It really made a big difference, ESPECIALLY IN REVERSE! I am truly suprised how well she turns in reverse. In her trials, she was terrible at reversing turns. Later in the voyage, she was joined by the Kaga.

HATHAWAY WINS SCALE BOAT COMPETITION-
After the bouys were set up, the scale competition began. I volunteered to take charge of scale events for the club permenantly, so today was my first day on the job. There were 6 competitors, including myself. I did all the scale boat guy stuff like taking names and keeping score and watching the competitors and taking $1 from each of them. In the end, the money did not leave my pocket. Hehehe. When the Hathaway's turn began, I took her out backwards, for the 10-extra points, and she never bumped a single one of those bouys!! I was ecstatic! Still, I feared things may not go so well the second time around. The competition was tight. Of 220 points possible after 2 laps, there were 3 with 215 scores. There was only one- the Hathaway- with a perfect 220. Needless to say, there was some descreet pro-navy gloating. I thought someday she should win the competition, but I didn't expect she would win on her first try! The only other time I ran, I did it with the ZUIDERDAM, and she finished repectfully in the middle of the pack. Not bad for a 6-foot boat. Anyway, when I was building the Hathaway, I knew she would be good for the obstacle course, but I didn't think she would win it on her first try.

QUEEN MARY MAKES HER MMYC DEBUT-
The incompleted QUEEN MARY made her first appearance at Dobson Lake on Saturday, so everyone in the club could get an idea of what is coming to the lake this summer. She also had her first float test, as I felt it natural to just dip her in the water. It may be many weeks before she again meets the water.

I have included some pictures of some of the other boats at the lake on Saturday. I was really impressed by Jim Crocker's tug and Dennis's Balboa Car Ferry. I'd like to try something really unusual like that someday. And once again, I was happy to get my boat (in this case the Hathaway) photograped with George's WW2 Nazi patrol boat. All-in-all, this was one of the better days I have had on the lake and I can't wait for next month!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Kaga Completes Builder's Trials!!

2006-03-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

The newest Green Sea ship, the R.C.S. KAGA successfully completed her Builder's Trials on the evening of March 17, 2005. Actually, this was the first time that the Kaga even entered the water.
Nevertheless, she did extremely well by my impressions. Kaga is an extremely simple model, but she does have one distinct technical superiority to my other ships; she has an EXTERNAL power switch! This has already proven itself very convenient.

One moment of distress came when the ship grounded on something in the northwest corner of what I call "Kamloops Cove" in Chapparral Lake. In the darkness, she suddenly seemed to stop. This is bad news for a ship with no ability to reverse. However, some moments later, after a twitch or two of the rudder, she came free and proceeded halfway across the lake to her pickup point. She is now considered a commissioned ship, and ready for her maiden voyage, hopefully Saturday morning. Please look forward to tommorrow's update!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Queen Mary is fiberglassed!

2006-03-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

The R.C.S. Queen Mary, which will be my greatest model yet, took a major step toward completion this weekend. The hull was completed as you will see with a stern made up of styrofoam. Then everything was sealed, and the fiberglassing began. I spared little when coating her 8 1/2-foot hull, and I am confident she is a good hull. Since these pictures were taken, she has been sanded and is just about ready to have her portholes drilled out and her hull painted. She will be my only ship to have lighted portholes in her hull. She will be really an impressive sight at night!

Hathaway on Builder's Trials

2006-02-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

Today, the USS Amos Hathaway began her first Builder's Trials at Scottsdale Pavillions South Lake. It was her first time sailing in daylight. Her previous 3 voyages had been "secret" nighttime events. For this reason, I managed to get some impressive pics of her as you can see!

I am really satisfied with how much she LOOKS like an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. I was worried that she drew so much water (she was supposed to be a waterline model like all my others), but now I am glad she did. If she drew any less, she would be sitting too high in the water like the Zuiderdam. As is, she looks pretty proportionate to the real thing.

During today's voyage, I noticed a new problem that I will have to deal with before the maiden voyage on March 18. At a standstill, she lists just a little to starboard. However, as she approaches full speed, her list exaggerates greatly! I guess this is because of her motor? Or maybe her hydrodynamics just magnify her balance problem.

During a recent bath tub test, I discovered, regretfully, that she was bow-heavy. Therefore, I had to put extra ballast in her stern, adding to her overall weight. For this reason, I cannot guarentee that she is my fastest boat anymore. That title may still belong to the Zuiderdam. That will be an interesting race..........

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Kaga and Hathaway near completion!

2006-02-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

It's getting to be an exciting time for Green Sea Shipbuilding. 2 new ship projects are nearing completion at the same time!

First to make her maiden voyage will be the Japanese WW2 aircraft carrier "Kaga". At about 60 inches, she is slightly longer than the Raffaello, and will be my largest 1-channel R/C boat.

Following her will the the new destroyer U.S.S. "Amos Hathaway" DDG-50. She is one of my most exciting new ships! She is just as powerful as my "Zuiderdam" and "Ecstasy". However, she is my smallest vessle, at 42 inches! Needless to say, she is the fastest and most powerful vessle I have built! She is ideal for the scale boat obsticle course!

For now, please enjoy these pics of the Kaga and Hathaway!

SOVEREIGN MAKES MAIDEN VOYAGE!!!!!

2006-02-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, February 5, the new "Sovereign of the Seas" made her debut, ending 1 year and 7 months of idle neglect and occaisonal attention.

The Sovereign is based on the cruise ship of the same name from Royal Carribbean Cruise Line.

It was an eerily quiet scene on McCormick Lake, in Scottsdale (her lake of registry)m when I put her in the water. After a brief christening and spreading of confetti across her superstruction, she slipped out into the lake and smooth sailing.

I took her from the east side of the Chart House restaurant around to the south side, and wide open water. She handles wonderfully, and I think she is actually much more stable in the water than the ZUIDERDAM, even though they are almost identical size. It helped matters that there was absolutely no wind! The water was as smooth as glass! As you will see in these pictures, she made several passes at the camera, and I am generally happy with the pictures I got. I did seem to have trouble centering the image though....

Some irritation came from her speed controller, however. I have come to the sad determination that she has a cheap peice of crap speed controller that has to be replaced. I believe due to heating, the speed controller seized up and couldn't do anything for a few seconds, before becoming active again. I tried switching the battery, and resetting the speed controller, but when I brought her in and tested her with the hatch off, I could see the lights begin to flash on the controller when she stopped working. The top of the controller was very hot, and when the lights stopped flashing, she was able to run again. There was never any problem with the rudder control.

When I began to suspect overheating, I ran her only in short spurts (that used to be the rule for me anyway), and I got a lot of time out of her, never running close to full speed.

Nevertheless, the problem cannot be allowed to continue, and she will be getting a new speed controller.

After about 40 minutes of sailing, I felt satisfied, and brought her home, the newest member of the Green Sea fleet!

AMERICA RETURNS TO THE WATER!

2006-01-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

Today was a combination day at Dobson Lake. Technically, it was a scale boat day, but that was combined with a schooner event that brought out some of the prettiest looking sailboats I have ever seen!

On a personal note, today marked the return of the S.S. AMERICA to the water for the first time since August 10. She had some new leak-preventive measures taken on her hull and new red tape added. She looked sparkling out there in the sun. A nice reminder that she is still an active member of the fleet.

The Raffaello returned to the water as well, showing me that her 2 motors make her run laps around the America! When the America ran into trouble with the wind (there was a time when she couldn't turn into the wind), the Raffaello handled well.

The wind was stronger in the ealier morning, but by about 12:00, I was able to put the ZUIDERDAM back in the water. Last time she went out, her prop came loose and she was stranded at Chapparral Lake for more than a half-hour! This time though, her prop was tight, and she sailed uneventfully. Her CD player was used for music as well. There was some concern about wind, but she didn't show signs of capsizing.

As for the other MMYC boats, I think you will see how beautiful those schooners were from these pictures. Also, I got some good pics of Jim Munroe's submarine in action! I have long-wanted to see an r/c sub in action (especially one that uses diving planes for submerging). When I build my sub, I am going to put the diving planes in the middle of the hull, so there is no conflict with the center of gravity when I submerge. As you can tell, I don't really care what my sub looks like under the waterline.

Anyway, please enjoy these pictures of the event (especially if you see your boat up there).

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Winter has arrived at Dobson Lake

2005-12-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

Well, today was what you might call a light traffic day for the Mesa Model Yacht Club at Dobson Lake. Only 4 or 5 people showed up and I felt like my fingers would freeze.

Nevertheless, I got to see Jim's pusher tugboat which I hadn't seen before and a cool water taxi that Bill Webb had.

Today was the 3rd voyage of the Raffaello, and the 15th voyage of the Ecstasy. It was the last voyage of the Ecstasy before she goes in for her first winter overhaul. Her hull will be made more durable against cracking, prolonging her life greatly!

Of course, I'll let you all know about the progress of her overhaul. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures from today!

Email me at diamondback78@hotmail.com if you have comments!

Barrett

Sinking, Salvage, and Fun at the MMYC Boat Show!

2005-12-03T15:31:00.000-08:00

Sinking, Salvage, and Fun at the MMYC Boat Show!

2005-12-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

Today, as promised, the Mesa Model Yacht Club held its big R/C Boat Show. Personally, I was pleased with the turnout and the weather. It was a gorgeous, sunny day with practically no wind early in the morning. Perfect for fragile scale boats!

Things started slowly as everyone filed into the park, but by 10:00, things were in full swing.

This morning featured the very first voyage of the R.C.S. (Radio Controlled Ship) Raffaello, as well as George's beautiful new schooner. The "Raff" was in the water by 10:00am and she glided majestically up and down the lake. I was really pleased with every aspect of her. She is indeed my perfect single-channel boat! Fortunately, her maiden voyage went much better than the Zuiderdam (at least she didn't need a tow from Jerry's sailboat)!

Then I alternated between sailing the Zuiderdam and the Ecstasy. Unfortunately, there was a crack in the Ecstasy's fiberglass that I didn't notice until a fist-sized section of her hull became soggy. Nevertheless, she will be back in service easily. The CD player on the Ecstasy and Zuiderdam made a good impression with the people who had never seen those 2 before.

As I said, George took his show-stealing new wooden schooner out for I believe the first time today. It is a beautiful piece of work and I was really impressed. I love George's boats! I hope you can see in the pictures how beautiful it really is! I consider myself lucky that I was able to have the Zuiderdam in the water with it for many pictures. I have never seen such a beautiful r/c sailboat. It makes me really want to do a sailboat.

Unfortunately, the schooner met with disaster as she took on too much water and SANK on the other side of the lake! I think my heart sank with her as I saw her sails disappear under the surface. FORTUNATELY, George had equipped her with a floating hatch attatched to the hull with wire. This way, he was able to recover her and bring her back!

While I'm on the subject of sunken boats, it was a remarkable day for salvage! Do you all remember the little Moran tug that sank in the post of October 15? Well, there we were today, standing at the edge of the water, when we find this ghostly boat-like image about 3 feet beneath the surface!! There was debate and disbelief, but as the little boat was recovered (to the music of "Raise the Titanic" on my CD-player and speaker), it was indeed the Moran tug that sank nearly 2 months ago! It was a day of bringing boats up from the bottom of Dobson Lake!

It was nice to see three types of r/c boats in the water today! This was the first time I had seen the MMYC electric race boats in action.

I had a great time today, as I hope these pictures will show. Many many people came and looked at my boats and asked questions, and it was a great feeling. I hope we can do it again soon!

RAFFAELLO MAIDEN VOYAGE!!

2005-12-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

RAFFAELLO MAIDEN VOYAGE!!

2005-12-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

ANNOUNCING THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE NEWEST GREEN SEA SHIP!
The R.C.S. Raffaello made her very first completed voyage today and it was a complete success! Today was the Mesa Model Yacht Association Boat Show, providing a perfect venue to debut her.

The voyage began at about 10:00am after christening with the champaign bubble bottle. She was decked with confetti to make her look festive. It continued for about 15-20 minutes in which she criss-crossed the lake before the other boaters. The pictures above tell the rest of the story.

I am really pleased with her performance and she seems so elegant in the water. I think she is my most graceful boat.

She made her second voyage later in the morning, with her confetti removed and she did just as well. I'm sure the Raffaello has many more voyages ahead and her career will be bright and lengthy! Please look forward to updates and pictures from her future voyages!

RAFFAELLO COMPLETE!

2005-12-02T21:24:00.000-08:00

On Friday, December 2, 2005, construction was completed on the brand-new R.C.S. (Radio Controlled Ship) Raffaello. Thanks to the help of the Michaelangelo Project website (see Raffaello Link on the Raffaello page) and a set of deck plans I own, she is a very acurate model of the real Raffaello if you consider my Ecstasy and Zuiderdam models.

Tommorrow, the Raffaello is set to begin her maiden voyage at Dobson Lake. Please turn to "Service Pictures" on the Raffaello page for future updates of the Raffaello's career. Enjoy!

New Ecstasy Pictures!

2005-11-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

On October 30, I had the opprotunity to take the Ecstasy to McCormick Lake in Scottsdale for some wonderful new pictures! I took her over to the boat dock and got some unusual pictures. Please enjoy!

ANNOUNCING THE R.C.S. RAFFAELLO!

2005-11-01T22:46:00.000-08:00

I would like to bring everyone's attention to the new page I have created for the upcoming R.C.S. "Raffaello"! Coming soon...........

ZUIDERDAM SUCCESSFUL!

2005-10-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

The R.C.S. Zuiderdam sailed this morning, overcoming all the problems that plagued her maiden voyage last weekend. No water in the boat, tight motor-prop coupling.

Early this morning, after I dropped my wife off at school where she teaches, I took the Zuiderdam to McCormick Lake, where I intended to sail.

Unfourtunately, it was too windy in much of Scottsdale. So, I drove to Indian School Lake where the wind is usually more tame due to the geography of the lake.

Sure enough, it was within tolerance for the Zuiderdam.

I am happy to say that I have resolved the ballast issue as well. One brick is placed on either side of the hull fore and aft of the ship's center of gravity. I had to push one brick further back because of the CD player (which played Warren Zevon).

I got lots of nice pictures and I hope you enjoy them below!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

10-29-05

2005-10-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

Zuiderdam Night pic

2005-10-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

The Zuiderdam at night.

Zuiderdam repaired and ready to sail again

2005-10-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

The Zuiderdam has had a leisurely week of licking her wounds and preparing her for a long-term life. Epoxy was added to seal the cracks in her stern and the rudder shaft sleeve was filled with Vasoline to prevent water from coming up into the hull (as with a prop shaft). The rudder shaft sleeve was also removed and reinstalled as far up as I could get it to go, so that its top would be above the waterline. 2 layers of protection against water coming in through the rudder.

Reguarding ballast, the rule for the future will be 2 bricks on their sides, one on each side of the hull. One fore, one aft.

The Zuiderdam should take to the water again Saturday weather permitting. For now, please enjoy this image of the Zuiderdam at night. You can see how her superstructure lights up so well.

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

ZUIDERDAM MAKES MAIDEN VOYAGE!

2005-10-24T22:13:00.001-07:00

The R.C.S. Zuiderdam made her maiden voyage on the morning of Saturday, October 22nd at Dobson Lake in Mesa.

The weather was beautiful, and the wind very mild. With reguard to the weather, it was the perfect day for a maiden voyage. This maiden voyage, however, was quite eventful. Not necessarily in a good way.

I arrived at the lake at about 9am. The sailboaters of MMYA were setting up. I got frequency clearance, made note of where the sailboats would be sailing, and began setting up. I christened the ship with the customary champaign bubble-blower bottle, and put her in the water. Tom Petty was playing on the CD player.

At first, things went well. But about halfway across the main part of the lake, she suddenly stopped moving, I hoped it was because the battery died, but it didn't act like a dead battery. I waited patiently for the vessle to drift to shore. I even got "Vessle Assist" from a sailboat (thanks, Jerry).

The allen screw had come loose, and the motor was no longer joined to the prop shaft. Once again, Jerry helped my by loaning his allen wrench. I tightened it up and put her back in the water.

The brick I had used for ballast came loose and shifted to one side. By the time I got her back to shore, she was listing heavily to starboard! Throughout the voyage, the brick was too far forward, making the vessel appear down by the bow.

I corrected that, but noticed that water was coming up through her rudder shaft sleeve! Jerry let me use some grease to keep the water from coming up into the boat.

Finally, the maiden voyage was terminated when I noticed much water was coming into the boat through cracks in the fiberglass in the back of the boat!

So went the maiden voyage of the R.C.S. Zuiderdam. There will be better voyages. I am reminded of the maiden voyages of the Itallian superliners "REX" and "CONTE DI SAVOIA" (look 'em up). It may very well be that these ships of mine need more shakedown time before they are pronounced finished. My next vessle will have the most thorough trials yet.

In spite of all of this, I managed to get several good pictures of the maiden voyage as you will see.

ZUIDERDAM COMPLETED!

2005-10-20T00:09:00.000-07:00

The Zuiderdam is complete!

Since I updated her condition last, the Zuiderdam had her successful secondary builder's trials on Sunday evening. I will post pictures of that event soon.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I finalized her construction, including the installation of her lifeboats.

On the night of Tuesday, October 18, the R.C.S. Zuiderdam was pronounced complete! She now joins the Ecstasy in my active-comissioned fleet.

Because of her detail and consistency, it can be argued that the Zuiderdam is my best ship yet. She is not the largest, but she may be doing more with her size than any other ship I've yet built!

Her maiden voyage is scheduled for this weekend, and I will be updating the site about that as well. To all my fellow sailors in Mesa, please look forward to sharing the lake with her!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

More pictures from Saturday

2005-10-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures from Saturday's event. Please enjoy! Next time, I'll try to get more pics of everyone else's boats.

For questions or comments, email me at diamondback78@hotmail.com

Fun and tragedy at the lake

2005-10-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today, I made my maiden cruise at Dobson Lake, joining the Mesa Model Yacht Assosciation.

I was worried about the wind when I left the house this morning. In fact, I had never sailed in wind that bad before. After the loss of the Queen Mary 2, I have been understandably weary of wind.

However, with some extra bricks for ballast, she handled pretty well. That doesn't mean I wasn't nervous though! Actually, there was one brief moment of panic when I felt she was heaving to one side. I managed to get her out of it, and there were no other problems.

The Zuiderdam made her builder's trials today. The epoxy where the prop shaft sleeve meets the plexi webbing inside the hull broke, so there was some trouble with vibration and noise. Still, I can fix it, and I am confident in her next voyage.

I saw ALOT of great boats out there. Beautiful sailboats, and beautiful Cris Crafts. I really enjoyed seeing George's subchaser and Rob's Cris Craft. Jim's lobster boat was really cool too.

I really enjoyed talking to so many fellow R/C boaters about boat stuff and sharing stories. I'm glad I was out there, and nothing bad happened to the Ecstasy or Zuiderdam.

There was some tragedy when the little Moran Tug sank. I don't know why she sank, and I didn't see her go down. Call me naive, but I never thought anyone else sank but me.

Anyway, I have included some great pictures from this morning's cruise, and I will put more up in the next few days. Please check back often.

To everyone from the club who joined the party this morning, thanks! I look forward to next time. Email me if you have any comments or questions. Thanks again!

Barrett

Ecstasy and Zuiderdam set sail for Mesa!

2005-10-14T23:56:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I will be joining the Mesa Model Yacht Assosciation finally. I will make my debut with the one-two punch of Ecstasy and ZUIDERDAM!'

I am hoping that the winds will not be much tommorrow. The weather reporter said 10-15 m.p.h. tommorrow. That would not be good. Maybe we can get out there between 9am and noon and beat the bad stuff.

For the Ecstasy, this will be her 6th official voyage.

For the Zuiderdam however, this is to be her BUILDER'S TRIALS! I have spent alot of time this week trying to get her completed up to the point of lifeboats. I think she looks great. I hope she gets to sail tommorrow and makes a big impression.

The R.C.S. Bremen

2005-10-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

Between September 3rd and 13th, 1996, the fleet modestly began. The German ocean liner Bremen of 1929 was chosen to be a non-controlled motorized boat. She carried the most modest of electric motors and a plastic 3-bladed propeller, Power was provided by a simple AA battery. There was no power switch. The motor simply came on when I connected the wires. The most primitive possible of my fleet.

She was meant to be a toy that I could set loose on the water and would sail itself to the other side of the lake with a rudder. Really just a glorified bathtub toy. In her original form, she never even sailed on a lake. She made one voyage on a small fountain pool and a few brief passages in a swimming pool.

The Bremen then retired to a kind of oblivion. She sat, collecting dust, for seven years, all but forgotten.

In my radio-controlled efforts of 2003, the Bremen was revived. When I realized I had only to connect a radio and servo to the rudder, she suddenly became a radio-controlled vessle.

She then began her current encarnation as a single-channel radio-controlled boat. She has no throttle or ability to stop. She can only steer. Therefore, she is ideal for the man-made lakes in and around Scottsdale, Arizona. I just put her out on the water and run her around. Then I beach her and recover.

Currently, the Bremen is laid up, as I am using her radio in another vessle. However, she remains commissioned, and the eldest member of my fleet.

A brief introduction to the fleet

2005-10-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

For my first post, I would like to briefly introduce the Green Sea Fleet in chronological order. There will be more detailed descriptions later.

Currently, there are 4 active vessles in the Green Sea Fleet. The oldest is the Bremen. Built back in the summer of 1996, she preceeds the rest of the fleet by far. She is also the smallest, at a mere 3 feet in length. She is based on the 1929 German passenger liner of the same name.

More recently, the "Kamloops" was completed on July 4th, 2003. She tops out at 4 feet of length. She is based on the ill-fated 1924 Great Lakes frieghter of the same name.

Around the same time that the "Queen Mary 2" sank (more on her later), the S.S. "America" was built in late spring 2004. She is 55 inches long, and based on the 1940 American passenger liner by the same name.

So far, the grandest and most impressive of the fleet so far is the "Ecstasy". She is based on the Carnival cruise ship of the same name. She tops out at a hefty 8-feet-long. She is the newest of the fleet, having made her maiden voyage on September 4th, 2005.

All of these ships will be discussed in greater detail in future posts. Please look forward to it!

BHH

WELCOME TO GREEN SEA SHIPBUILDING!

2005-10-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new Green Sea Shipbuilding website. Here, you will find a log of voyages for the vessles of my fleet as well as pictures and design proposals of future projects. When a new vessle is under construction, I will update regularly with pictures and text of the construction.

For fellow modelers, or fans of great ships, questions, comments, or even suggestions are welcome.I welcome all corresdondance reguarding great ships and radio-controlled boating.

This blog is intended as a diary of sailings, constructions, and all matters pertaining to the vessles of my fleet. Please enjoy and, perhaps, be inspired.

-Barrett Harmon Hochhaus Scottsdale, Arizona October 11, 2005