thanks Nick. and nicely done. Lou, can you bring them to Nats? I would love to see them run and try one out!
I saw a recovery boat that I thought was great. it was a tug-boat that was SQUARE. The front was flat and on the front it had a half pipe piece of foam (the kind that you put on water pipe in your basement - hardware store) the foam was about 6" long and if pushes the boat in sideways. Obviously there are no rules to a recovery boat.
Hi Nate, I have used most of my vacation time so no Nats for me this year. Hopefully next year. Keep watching this site, a few new changes to help keep the cost down for getting into the hobby (and then getting hooked, cost be damned)
After its been in a battle, would love to see you deconstruct it over in the Stem to Stern section. Or before, but battle tends to offer more opportunity for retrospective.
If you want something a little cheaper without the scale details, Zip Kits sells a laser cut model. You can see mine here: https://rcwarshipcombat.com/threads/new-rescue-tug.443624/
That's the point in at as well going to start my build thread once I get more parts in and an afternoon to work on it and take some pics. The cutting up the hull and superstructure was very easy thus far. Very happy with the quality of the kit thus far.
It is a very good quality kit. I am generally overly picky in this regard and this kit exceeds the value without a doubt. I've also had excellent customer service from Phil.
Saw those hulls, very intresting. Is it hard to find the regulators for those? My daughter thought they would be a lot of fun. Thinking of stretching it just a little to make a gearing and to gain the half unit for a 50 shot stern gun and a .5 unit pump.
Craig's second Fletcher is an improved hull/sub-deck "Version 3.0" that has 5/16" more draft than the original. This allows for a total running weight of around 3.0 pounds and the addition of 7 to 8 ounces of ballast to make the hull more stable. No more turning-turtle after a collision or hard maneuver. Several battles proved the original scale hull was less stable when it began taking on water. As a "critical upgrade", I sent these hull/sub-decks plus matching armor to everyone who purchased one of the original test-batch of kits. If you can't bring yourself to toss the original Version 2.0 hull, then use it to build a target boat for practice! I'll be working on stretching that hull mold into a Gearing this Winter.
I would be interested in a gearing kit when you get them completed. Do you have a recommendation for a regulator source? Unless you have something available currently.
BC's new lightweight regulator with a manufacturer-separately available piercing adaptor for threaded CO2 cartridges sounds promising, but we started before that one was available. We used an aluminum regulator used in the homebrew beverage industry. Advertised as 60psi or 150psi regulators, I suspect both are 150psi. One just has the lower range gauge on it as the beer-folk only need a few pounds and it is easier to read in the lower end of the 60psi scale. The warning to turn it off before inserting a new cartridge suggests excessive pressure could blow the 60psi gauge. I haven't tested the 60psi version so I don't know for sure. Search EBAY for 150psi homebrew regulator. You have to remove the gauge and keg adapter. Plugs look like 1/8" NPT but they are NOT. They are G-1/8" plugs. It is a standard pipe thread used in the rest of the world. Also called DN6 10mm G 1/8" Threaded Pipe Hex Head Brass Plug. The threads are straight, not tapered. So, forget pipe dope or Teflon tape. I have never been able to make either work without leaking. You have to use O-Rings or epoxy to seal them. I have the O-rings and some plugs that we used on ours. The internal ports are tiny. Not made for large volumes of gas. For a good impulse to the cannon, you need a 1/2 cu. in. expansion tank between the regulator and the trigger/poppet. Using a 16g CO2 cartridge, we get two 50-round battles with leftover every time. Around 120 shots per cartridge. They are adjustable, with about 6 full turns between 0psi and 150psi.
Cool. great to see your development work. Don't forget to add the extra depth to the Gearing. I am looking forward to trying one.
