So i just watched a show about you guys on the discovery channel liturally 10 minutes ago, i immediatly searched for youtube videos which lead me to this site. i'm Very interested in getting my own vessel going one day ( hopefully within the next year  so it looks like i have a TON of researching to get done. i heard you guys make your hulls out of bulsa ( sp?  wood? how would that be done? as in beding and shaping? thats insane. what i would like to know is if theres a kit you can buy where the hull is already Pre-made and all i gotta do is rig up some cannons and electronics and junk? i'm the type of guy that likes to play first and tinker later, so i'd prolly buy a boat first and then build my second one from the ground up. i can buy anything over the net either because someone stole my credit card info over the internet so my bank put a sstop to online transfers with my credit card now i have to pre approve everythign and blah blah anyways, :blink: I'm really looking foward to getting started especially now that i got all this free time on my hands ( i havnt worked since xmas ) on thing i noticed is that you guys dont really have any sticky's with " How To's " its just everyones own build thread so i'm getting alot of mixed matched confused idea's off in the left and right field and its kinda hard to see how it all goes to gether or works but im sure ill get it . Anyways, My Name's Broc i live in Chilliwack B.C. about 2 hours outside vancouver.
The greatest discovery of the century! Welcome aboard, Broc. Technically, the skeleton of the ship (what most of us refer to as the hull) can be any material. The outside, or skin, that keeps the water out must be balsa wood. The idea is that the soft balsa wood can easily be shot through with low power guns, then easily replaced, and the strong skeleton lasts forever (I have helped sink and recover the wreck of a ship older than I am: the Alabama is going on 23 years, though she is a tired ship). There are two common ways of making hulls: fiberglass and wood. For a fiberglass hull, you make a mold and lay up some fiberglass and resin, or buy one from a hull maker. Next, you cut out panels from the impenetrable fiberglass hull, leaving behind penetrable windows that are covered with thin balsa and can easily be shot through. Wooden hulls involve cutting out ribs, keel, and sub-deck from plywood to get the familiar penetrable windows between ribs. In both cases, the balsa wood is soft and flexible enough that it easily conforms to the shape of the hull without much work. As mentioned above, there are people who have already made molds for a large variety of ships, and make and sell fiberglass hulls. Battlers Connection, which Evil Joker linked to, is a well known supplier of hulls who also provides cannon, pumps, and other critical components for a combat ship. While its not a kit like you would find in a hobby store, BC supplies most of the major components, making it a great place to start. You'll find that there aren't many stickies because everyone has their own way of doing things. Things will make more sense once you take the first step: get in contact with the nearest group and go visit them. Looking at a physical ship, seeing the parts move, hearing the captain's explanation is much better than looking at photos online. I believe the closest to you would be in Washington. They use one of the fast gun rule sets. I'm not aware of a big gun group in that area, but if you're willing to commute I recall a guy trying to get a big gun group going in Alaska :blink:
Thankyou for that info it helps me alot, what is this fast gun and big gun? i assume different BB's used?
Over on another forum I remember some guys in the Vancouver area setting up a club. Don't know if it took off or not though, think they were on rcuniverse? I don't remember if I saw them posting here about it.
The closest thing I know of is the Washington cascade column in the seattle area. Phill Lowe (who is on here) runs it from that area... I am in tri-cities, Washington with Justin.
Check Discovery Canada for 'The Daily Planet' - episode that they listed for today was ultimate remote controls, "Mini Battleships Check out the extreme detailing that goes into these miniature ship models. "
So I got a question... why is this the first I've heard of this video!? Did I miss a post or something?
Discovery Channel CANADA would explain it. Discovery Channel USA seems to be showing episode after episode of Dirty Jobs.
Washington Cascade Column is the closest club. You will find it listed in the clubs forum along with a link to the site. There is some history and descriptions of the major formats the games are played in. Big gun aims more for realism. Larger projectiles, projectiles of various sizes. Low rates of fire. Fast gun aims more for playability. High rates of fire. The only projectiles are BB's Ship speeds and manouvering are much higher.
Oh this is the North Texas Battle Group video. I remember seeing it in the past. I dont remember who came down to film it for them.
