I've been a little remiss in keeping up my construction log, so here's an update. I have completed sheeting the bottom with 1/32 ply and filled in the bow and stern with balsa. The bottom has been glassed and the next step is to waterproof the rest of the hull. Our first battle is only 3 weeks away, so I'm going to have to stop working on the kit and get this prototype finished.
Today I mounted the motor, stuffing box and prop. The rudder is mounted and the radio box is in. The pump is fitted but not glued in yet.
Just a note ... When I built my first ship, I wanted to go with the electrical box for a watertight radio box. Even before buying it though, the Region 3 guys highly recommended not to go that route. Although they look like they would seal well, supposedly they don't for a few reasons to include hard to tighten down the lid enough for a good seal, and if tightened too much tends to warp the lid and breaks the seal between o-ring and the box. A good low cost alternative is the "Lock and Lock" plastic food storage boxes found in most Walmart stores. They have the O-ring around the lid and have a locking tab on all four sides that does pretty well to keep a seal.
Or you could go without a WTB. They aren't really necessary, with proper treatment of radio and servos. You can buy o-ring-sealed servos from Traxxas that are quite good, or you could waterproof your own with a drill, a screwdriver, and skotchkote. And any radio is easily waterproofed with several layers of skotchkote. You have lots of options for water protection, depending on pond conditions and your own personal preferences.
I'm going to start the carrier out at about 10 lbs, but I'll probably have to add weight to get the right waterline. I'm not using a WTB in my current cruiser, so I know it's not that hard to waterproof all the components. However, I think the WTB would be more attractive to beginners, which is the audience this ship is designed for. I know the lid of the electrical box is poorly designed since it doesn't have a lip on the outside to contain the gasket. I'm going to address this problem and see if I can make a more successful seal. The thing I like about the electrical box, other than its ready availability, is that it has stiff, thick sides. I'm confident that I can seal the penetrations through the sides and there will be no flexing to create a leak. Most of the other WTB I have seen lack this property, although most have much better seals. I'll test it thoroughly before I put it on the water and try something else if I can't get it to work.
I've seen otterboxes, designed to keep water out, leak at 4 - 6 ft of depth. Ditch the retaining box, the newbies will be better off learning to skotchkote than to be replacing things after their first sink. If you really want to use a WTB, buy a purpose made box (something from Pelican?) that already has a gasket and is designed for immersion. It'll cost a few dollars more, but it will do better in the end.
I totally endorse the Pelican boxes ... so much so that I'm converting my battleship box over to a Pelican. Two weekends ago, the HMS Erin with it's Pelican radio box suffered it's deepest sink yet: 7 - 8 feet depth. It took about 10 minutes to recover the ship. Post sink recovery showed not a single drop of water or even moisture inside the box. The 1010 sized box fits most ships except probably light cruisers and smaller. In our local store, they cost around $16. Ok. I've sidetracked this thread enough. Back to the build!
Lucky! My local pond averages 7 to 8 feet. Still, that's better than the 20-foot dammed reservoirs that some clubs battle at
Well I think the discussion is useful to those that read the thread, so I don't mind. I'm not really sure how deep the pond is where we normally battle, everyone I've watched sink has managed almost make it back to shore before going under. I have the BB shields cut out and have started working on the water channeling. To form the base of the water channel, I'm using the Alumilite 2-part 320 foam. I mix up a little batch and pour it in the ship, then spread it around before it starts to foam. Once the foam has skinned, but before it gets hard, I push it down to below the ribs. After I have all the foam in, I'll coat the top with some self-leveling polyurethane for durability.
Oh - I also received my gun (thanks Mike, it looks great) and will be doing some test firing in the next couple of days. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going mount it, I have plenty of room but not a lot of structure to mount it to.
Looks good! Kind of a pity you couldn't use something transparent for the water channel, to show off your nice wood work. I can't wait to see where your project goes next.
I printed out the flight deck last night and glassed it to the foam deck. I didn't get the color on the deck where I wanted it, I forgot to allow for the darkening effect of the epoxy. So I'll redo it later, and when I do I think I'll put the glass under the printed paper instead of on top.
Here's my gun mount. I made a mount out of aluminum that attached to the bottom of the flight deck, and then made a plastic sleeve to clamp the gun barrel. The sleeve pivots in the mount and there's an screw at the rear to make setting elevation easier.
Very cool. I wonder if a similar system would work for square rigged ships-of-the-line. Like your carrier, they also have the guns mounted below the deck so a hanging mount would be entirely possible.
With only three days to go until this year's first Treaty battle, I'm scrambling to get the Bogue done. Tonight I got the rudder installed, after I had to rebuild the servo first. The fit is definitely tight, and I'm not entirely satisfied with how it went together. I'll keep it as is now, but I might replace the linkage with a gear system or something else later. The modifications to the junction box are complete. I played around with a little, trying to get a good seal with the screws on the lid corners. By the time the screws were tight enough to start compressing the gasket, the corners were pulled down enough to warp the lid. So I changed the hold downs from 4 screws in the corners to one bolt in the middle of lid. I used a 1/2 x 20 nylon bolt and then grooved the lid for a # 010 o-ring to seal the hole. In addition, I added a sleeve on the inside of the bolt to make a stop to ensure the bolt can not be over tightened. I cut a servo tray for the inside that doubles as the nut for the hold down bolt. A piece of 1/2" PVC pipe was used in the center of the servo tray to make sure that the bolt would not move the tray up and down (it's under the tray, so it's not visible in the picture). I added a little silicone grease to the gasket and o-ring, but otherwise used the gasket supplied. I put it in the sink and then pulled a 10 PSI vacuum on the inside to simulate a 20' depth. After 25 minutes I opened it up and it was perfectly dry. So I'm happy with the design. Tonight I added the valve and electrical plugs and then rechecked to make sure it was it still water tight. The box keeps all the wires inside so it really keeps the interior neat. I added in the battery and CO2 bottle to check fit and weight. Total weight right now is 9 pounds, 4 ounces. Once I get the gun and everything else in, it should be about 10 pounds, which is right where I want it. The interior of this ship is cavernous! I was hoping to float the ship and test the motor today, but I guess that will have to wait for tomorrow. Why is it that things never go together as fast as you think they will?
