It's been said before, but I'll say it again. Don't make the first ship you build the ship of your dreams. Buy/build/beg/borrow a simpler one. When you are fully up to speed in how ships are put together, how they work and how to maintain them, onsel/offloadl your old ship to another new guy, and build your dream ship. You'll be far happier, and your dream ship will be a far better model, because of what you learned on the simpler one.
Ryan: I fully agree with Darren. Build a simple ship first before you move on to your "dream" ship. After fifteen months I have my first operational ship! A Liberty. Now I am working on my first big battleship. My "Dream" ship is about four builds down the road! Many clubs do have boats for sale. Get active with a club, and you will find some good deals on boats! The important thing is to be active with the club. The more active you are with the club, the more the club is willing to help you. A club wants it members to be on the water as soon as possible! It does not like to sell a boat to some one who does not attend club sailings. One other factor to think about before building a ship, is transportation. A 144 scale DKM Bismark or USS Missouri will not fit in the back seat of a car. What size of ship can you transport? Something else to think about. Just because your age does not allow you to captain an armed ship, that does not stop you from building a battleship. I would suggest that you build a fast battleship and not arm it. Guns can always be added later! Because of the cost, our club tells folks to build a ship first. Then arm it as funding becomes availble. Hope this helps. Looking forward to seeing you at a sailing.
Well the dkm isnt my dreamboat lol.... and by the time i finished getting enough money parts one at a time i would problably be old enought to drive an armed warship LOL. What if i just bought it and worked on movement and made it a convoy? no guns. or fake ones. then i could add guns later?
I was not suggesting that you build a DKM. I was using the DKM Bismarck for size. The main question is: How large of a ship can you transport to a sailing? Yes, build it un-armed and learn how to sail, and how to keep out of the enemy's line of fire. Cannons can always be added later. Most of all, get active with a club. That is where you will get the most hands on help!
not the bismarck i meant the scharnhorst, i definaty wouldnt be able to transport a bismarck. or pay for. I think i am going to work on getting a cannonless scharnhorst
The Scharnhorst is probably a pretty good choice in your case. There is a hull/kit available, which will make building the boat easier. And as it has a triple shaft / twin rudder arrangement, the boat will be a very good turner. And the class also carried torpedo mounts, so you have the option to only arm the torps if the funds are not available to arm the main cannons in the short term. If you do have the funds to arm the main cannons, so much the better. And you could possibly arm the torps down the road, and have a really powerful ship. Good luck. Mikey
ok Thanks! So Should i just buy the hull only instead of the kit or the hull kit? i would prefer hull only for now but if i need to i will. Also I had no idea it had torpedoes. that adds it to the list of awesome ships. do you have any info on torpedoes fired/mounting?
If I remember correctly, she had a triple bank of tubes on each side, so 6 tubes all together. As to the hull or hull kit question. The hull is the hard part, so that would certainly make the build go easier. The kit part.. I think that is just the sub-deck, and the deck, which is just plywood. It certainly makes the build easier, and quicker. But if you have access to wood, and the tools needed, and either know how to make it, or have help making it, then you could get by without the sub-deck, and deck. I personally like purchasing the sub-deck and deck, as it is already cut, and saves some time. But that is just me.. I will get out my book later and check on the number of torps. Mikey
K thanks. I did notice the sister ship Gneisenau had its guns replaced with 15 inch guns later on in the war hmmmm........ so they didnt turn or anything? major thanks by the way for the help everyone!
The conversion never was completed. When they were being build it was decided to fit them with 11" triples that could be replaced with the still being developed 15" duals. Der Fuhrer wanted the ships quickly and they were built and served with 11" guns.
it was never finished though. The conversion included a lengthened bow to help offset the increased weight from the 15" and to keep the bow drier. The hull offered from BC is not long enough to represent a 15" armed Gneisenau.
Ryan, just a note. If you definately cannot transport a Bismarck, Scharnhorst is only about 4 inches shorter. He also still weighs in at 29lbs. J
Lol. I am very intrested in the fact that there were torpedo tubes on the scharnhorst.... by the way, does anyone know where i can find the rules for the cheasapeak club?i dont know where to look.
This thread has got me thinking... I have noticed from photos and drawings that the Scharnhorst and Bismarck have very similar hull designs. With having the Bismarck’s hull lines on hand, if I were to scale them to the Scharnhorst’s length and beam, would that be close enough to be allowable build a Scharnhorst?
I've never thought about that. I dont think so though, I think the Scharnhorst's bow is a little "longer" the the Bismarck...meaning that the Scharnhorst reaches full beam at a greater percentage of hull length. I am not positive though.
The Atlantic Bow really made the looks of S & G. The straight stem they were launched with wins no awards for looks.
