Cruising Virginia Lake by radio control

Murray (left) and Graham enjoying a sunny day at Virginia Lake with their model boats. Photo / Paul Brooks

A summer afternoon at Virginia Lake in Whanganui. At a park bench on the north side, two gentlemen sit quietly, each with a remote control unit.

On the water are a scale model fishing boat and an equally miniature paddle steamer, negotiating water fowl and lake obstacles with ease.

Graham and Murray do this regularly, perhaps once or twice a week.

"It's sunshine and fresh air," says Graham. "Not quite so often in the winter."

Both are model enthusiasts, with boats being just one of their interests. They make their own boats.

"I've got about 12 of them and Murray's got about the same. They range from warships to tugboats, you name it."

They both belong to a Palmerston North club, there not being a local one, but Graham says his main interest since he retired is model trains.

"We belong to the club here. And we also put our boats in train shows."

Graham has just finished building an English canal boat.

"A couple of years ago we were over there and had a lot of fun on canal boats. We were supposed to go again last year, but we know what happened there."

He says a lot of people stop and talk to them about their hobby, with many asking where they can get a boat for themselves, being unaware they make their own models.

The boats are powered by small electric engines with enough juice to run for about 90 minutes. Range is vast, the radio controls being the same as for model aircraft, so they can send their boats to the far side of the lake if they wanted to.

"That one's got a reduction box in it," says Graham, referring to his little blue fishing boat.

He says the belts might be slipping because it's not going as fast as it used to.

Neither boat is based on an actual vessel.

Murray says his is from a freelance plan and is pushed along by the actual paddlewheels on each side of the boat.

The boats are crafted from 1.5mm plywood because it's easy to bend. A $100 sheet can make quite a few boats.

Time to build a boat can vary.

"We've usually got two or three on the go at once," says Graham. "I've been building one for 14 years. It'll be finished one day. It's a deep sea tug."

He says the ones that take the most amount of time are the warships, but they are the favourites.

"They go pretty quick," says Graham.

At about a metre long and containing "quite a bit of lead", carrying them around the lake is difficult, so smaller craft suffice.

Model boats built by Murray and Graham cruise the waters at Virginia Lake. Photo / Paul Brooks

I left them to their boats and their audience of ducks, swans and passing people. Children were entranced and adults had questions. Murray and Graham loved every minute.

"I can't understand why people who are retired say they're bored," says Graham. "I haven't got enough hours in one day."