[Build Instructions] SMS Deutschland Wood Kit

Overall Notes: If you have a question, please ask in the thread, and I will clarify the instructions accordingly. this way everyone gets the clarification & instruction improvements real time.

1. Dry fit EVERYTHING first. Make sure you know which side of the holes the brass threaded inserts belong on. They must be installed prior to assembling the hull.
2. check fits, if it seems too tight, sand it slightly until it is not. Tolerances on wood thickness are not very good, so to avoid slots being so loose that they don't work, some slots may be too tight. just sand either the slot or the mating part slightly till the fit is snug but not breaking the parts. General rule of thumb, if it makes it so you can't get the dry fit apart, it is too tight.
3. Insert installation
   1. Check the fit, if the hole is too tight, sand it out a bit until it is not. inserts should press in up to the brass shoulder, and will not seat flush. inserts must be on the BOTTOM of the parts they are installed in, or whatever you screw into them will stand ~~0.020 inches taller than it should.
   2. Use any kind of wax and spare 6-32 screws to keep epoxy out of the inserts. I have used both mold release wax and chapstick, both work just fine. just leave the screw in the insert until after you are done waterproofing and sand any epoxy at mating interfaces flat once cured. These screws also let you make sure the insert is straight. pay attention to this, particularly for the superstructure tiedown screws.
   3. A test part has been provided for practice, it is rectangular and has a number of holes in it, practice here FIRST before installing inserts
   4. Should an insert crack the surrounding wood, don't worry, that sometimes happens. the epoxy used to waterproof the wood will ensure it is structurally sound. there are no inserts in regions where a crack matters.
   5. The Alternate NICK method
      1. Easiest way (i've found) to install these is to thread a bolt through them, put them to the installation piece, drop a washer and a nut on the other end and tighten it down. once the washer and nut get down to the wood it'll start pulling the insert in, nice and easy. Applying a slight countersink to the bore prior to installation will aid in alignment as well.
4. spares have been provided for the motor mount as that part is a bit fragile until installed properly
5. Waterproofing & interfaces
   1. Epoxy coat all surfaces but do not overdo it.
   2. Ensure that all locations for casemate parts, sponsons, deck-subdeck interfaces, etc. do not have blobs of epoxy that cure and prevent the components from fitting. it is easier to take your time and do it right in several coats than to have to sand off blobs of cured epoxy because too much was applied. I generally use a Q tip or zip tie end to get the filled out of internal corners that are critical
   3. Sand the bottom edges of all removable deck sections until they have at least a 0.040 inch chamfer. this clears the epoxy fillet that will always form when waterproofing.
   4. Break all sharp edges - sharp edges, particularly those exposed to direct BB fire do not end up with much waterproofing nor resistance to impact. even a 0.005 chamfer on the sharp edges makes a significant improvement in how well the epoxy waterproofs the parts
6. motor Mount
   1. A new style traxxas gearbox mounts straight in the hull to a 5/16 stuffing tube (or nearest metric equivalent). Hull will be thin (very) where gearbox is.
   2. when glassing the bottom of the hull, wrap gearbox in packing tape, lube screws with release wax/chapstick,bolt gearbox in place, and then glass bottom of hull right on top of gearbox. I usually add ~0.030 of padding (double sided foam tape) to the sides of the gearbox (underneath the packing tape) to make sure that there is room to get the gearbox out if it has any draft in the wrong direction.
   3. Epoxy does not stick to the packing tape, so if done correctly, the bottom of the hull after glassing/fill ends up having a perfect mounting surface for the gearbox.
   4. where the gearbox is specifically, I suggest at a minimum 2-3 layers of 2-3oz glass cloth.
7. Numbering Scheme & etching
   1. Ribs are numbered 1-14 in order from bow to stern. Not all numbers are upright
   2. Markings for ribs 6 and 9 look very similar but are NOT interchangeable. if nothing fits, check these two ribs first to see if they are mixed up.
   3. Etched lines have a very specific meaning. if they are oriented correctly, sanding between the etch and the appropriate edge of the part will result in the correct shape on the part, and can be done prior to assembly, after dry fit
   4. component 15 violates this rule, and should be sanded between etch and HALFWAY through the thickness at >45 degrees. the remaining un-sanded half is the stringer at the bottom of the penetrable area.
   5. Etching is provided in particularly difficult areas to aid in creating the hull shape. do not sand all the way away as some areas require more curvature than just a flat sand. Note where the etching is in the dry fit and you will then know how much to sand on each part before final assembly.
8. Trimming and processing of 3d printed parts
   1. do not use a torch to deburr parts / remove flash. it may burn back into the part or light it on fire.

 

Assembly Step 1:

Parts Needed:

1. Ribs 1-8
2. 22C & 22D
3. 19C
4. 24 X2

1. Insert ribs 1-5 onto 19C
2. insert either 22C or 22D from the side, make sure etched side is DOWN
3. slip in remaining ribs
4. insert either 22C or 22D (whichever remains) into the other side, wiggle ribs as necessary to get everythign to fit
5. install part 24 (both sides)
6. if done correctly, parts will hold together well enough by themselves. if parts too loose, wrap some painters tape between parts 2

NOTE: ROUND BLOBS ON PART 24 ARE TO ENSURE THE PART IS SUFFICIENTLY STRONG FOR ASSEMBLY AND MUST BE SANDED OFF AFTER PART IS BONDED IN PLACE

See picture below of bow sectionC and 22D to pull tight at the gap between rib 7 and rib 8

 

Step 2

Before beginning, insert threaded inserts into part number 15. make sure your servo of choice fits, as not all servos have the same hole spacing. some of the Chinese sourced servos seem to be all over the place in hole spacing. if your servo spacing is too different from the designed in spacing, look at the last picture in this post. slit out the cross part containing two of the threaded inserts (left side of picture) and set aside. once hull is framed up, locate it properly against mating rib, tack glue it in place, and coat with epoxy. You may also have to chamfer the servo opening on the top side of 15 (etching on 15 is on the underside of this part) to allow for the servo to rotate into place.

Parts required for this step:

1. Ribs 9-14
2. 22A&&B
3. 15
4. 19A & 19B
5. 29

Instructions

1. assemble ribs 9,10,11,12; motor mount 29, in between 22A and 22B. make sure etching on 22A and 22B is DOWN (first picture)

2. Insert ribs 13 & 14, fully seat all parts together

3. Insert 19B (third picture)

4. Assemble 15 and 19A as shown in last picture, ETCH DOWN. - set aside, this will be installed later



Last image is CRITICAL

 

Step 3:

parts required

1. Masking Tape
2. 18 X2

Steps

1. Join together the bow and stern sections,
2. 
3. tape together as shown in the second picture - tape should be pulled tight, this will hold the entire hull together until it is glued.
4. 
5. Install 18 twice as shown in third picture
6. 

 

Step 4

Parts Required

1. 17A & 17B
2. 31 X2
3. sub assembly of 15 and 19A from previous steps
4. 30 X2
5. 25 X2
6. 28 X2
7. 16B and 16A

CAUTION: Stringers are fragile in places, be gentle. if they are too tight, sand openings in mating parts until the fit is snug but not difficult to install.

Steps

1. install the 15/19A subassembly (picture 2), drops in from top.
2. 
   
3. install 31X2 (stern) and 30X2 midships stringers (pictures 1 and 2)
4. 
   
5. install 28 X2 stringers (picture 3)
6. 
   
7. install 25 X2 stringers from the TOP. do not slide in horizontally, drop them vertically down over the ribs.
8. install 17A and 17B (figure 3)
9. 
   
10. install 16B and A to outside face of 17B and A (figure 4). these are glued on and can be glued to 17A&B before installing on the ship. Align profile with edge of 17B/A and etched line on 17B/A
11. 

 

Step 5

Parts required:

1. Deck Parts: 21A, 21C, 20A
2. Subdeck Parts: 26 X2 and 27 X2
3. Misc. Parts
   1. 29 X3
   2. 32 X2
   3. threaded inserts

Steps

1. sand deck tabs so that the bow deck (20A) will sit inclined as is designed on top of the ribs relative to the remaining deck parts, see figure 1
2. 
   
3. install deck parts onto hull (fig 1 shows the hard part), sand ribs/openings if necessary for fit.
4. 
   
5. install 32 X2 to form the stern profile of the casemate deck. laminate both 32 parts together, sand height to fit. sanding takes up tolerance stackup. (picture 2,5)
6. 
7. install 29 X3 (figure 3,4,5)
8. 
   
9. install inserts in the correct side of parts 26 and 27. as one of each is installed upright and one of each is inverted, make sure that only one of each part has inserts on the same side as the part mark etch.
10. 
    
    
11. install 26 X2 and 29 X2 as shown in remaining pictures
12. 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

 

And congrats. the wood is framed up. glue it all together, making sure to avoid doing anything that will prevent casemates and sponsons from slipping in after waterproofing.

Finish sanding anything that needs sanding at this point (remember the sand between the line etch marks on difficult parts) and do the first waterproofing layer.

Now is a good time to install the stuffing tube and rudder post (hole is available for rudder post but does have to be drilled through) and fill complete the hull before moving onto the superstructure and other detail parts

 

Easiest way (i've found) to install these is to thread a bolt through them, put them to the installation piece, drop a washer and a nut on the other end and tighten it down. once the washer and nut get down to the wood it'll start pulling the insert in, nice and easy. Applying a slight countersink to the bore prior to installation will aid in alignment as well.

 

updaterated

 

Moved to public space. If you have a Deutschland kit and need information on the hull assembly, this is the place

 

CG notes

IMPORTANT: The CG (the best starting point prior to floating) should be 17.7" from the tip of the bow. Variances in how the underwater hull form is made by each builder will alter this slightly, but this is a good starting point. if you can dry fit everything and get the CG here, you are in good shape.

 

the only part of mine actually glued up is the superstructure
i know @Tugboat has his started, don't know about others

 

I will take some tonight and post.

 

Fill in with thickened epoxy, caulk, or any other favorite waterproof filler.

Those parts fill in the bow, once they are glued in, sand to smooth bow shaped curve