already did all of the armoring of the hull (pics on previous pages), and the tubing isn't really an option with how these strike guns are set up (besides, supplies here in northern wisconsin aren't... shall we say, admirably large). I've seen other boats rigged with some sort of a rubberized or plastic wrap done around the mag tubes. due to the contour of the tubes, this seems like the best course of action. would you happen to know what kind of material that would be? EDIT: ah, I see what you meant. tubing over the barrels not the tube mags. my barrels are steel. no worries. I'm talking about armoring the actual tube magazines. there are guys using something that looks like electrical tape over their tube mags.
clear nylon tubing, 1/4" ID, 3/8" OD, cut a slit in it for ease of install/removal, same as pump outlet hose tubing. Cover all areas of gun possible
You're kidding me. Alright, well, lesson learned then. thanks for the heads up guys, probably saved me a fair amount of angry grumbling and cash. I'll see if I can get some tubing, but unlikely between now and memorial day. @NickMyers , is this the spiral wrap stuff? View: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Inch-Polyethylene-Spiral-Wrap/dp/B004FUYXZ4
Your Ace hardware should have the clear vinyl (sorry not nylon) tubing, either by the foot on a spool or in 10ft rolls. The vinyl goes on nice and snug on the magazines, I put my mounting stuff (usually zip ties) around the magazine and tubing
The 1/4" ID polyethylene tubing in the home center plumbing section works well also for mag and barrel wraps.
well turns out that Ace had all of the vinyl tubing I needed. just got enough to cover the barrels and wrap the mag tubes. then made some sawed-off barrels for the sidemounts. now I just need to cross-drill them for safety pins. but my drill bits are in transit, so I will have to check on Ace tomorrow for one to do in the meantime.
Today was rather productive, I managed to get all of guns armored, as well as the solenoids and the pump wired up and mapped on the transmitter! The big hurtle this morning was figuring out how to reduce the rat's nest of wires. The first step was to remove all of the solenoids and their wires. Once that was done, I grabbed some 16 Gauge wire and came up with a harness that would run both stern solenoids. so I ran the wires from the electronics box back to the wire bracket on the starboard side of the pump. there, I spliced off wires to run to the port side just aft of the pump. Once there, I mounted plugs on the wires, and on the ends of the trimmed-to-length solenoid wires. This way, I can unplug each of the solenoids and tune the guns independently. The haymaker solenoid was a simple run back to the electronics in the same retention brackets used by the sterns. Then it was pretty straightforward to hook up the bow sidemount. After that, I trimmed the ESC to motor wires, and added in a 30 amp inline fuse. Then it was just a matter of hooking up the batteries and testing the setup. It took a minute to find the mix to put everything on, but now the pump runs on the throttle with the L-R of the left stick as my sidemounts, the rudder and actual throttle are running on the right stick, with a toggle switch on the right side running the stern guns. Note the Inline fuse box on the motor wire (black with yellow wires going into it) Here's the plug setup I used for the solenoids just after testing everything (batteries unplugged) the solenoids to either side of the motors are the sterns, the solenoid in the middle of the hull is for the haymaker I slit open the vinyl tubing and sure enough it went right over the mag tubes. didn't even have to dismount any of the stern guns. the bow sidemount had to be removed to reattach that hose fitting, but that sucker needed to move anyways so I could really dig into the electronics. Tomorrow's going to be pretty quiet, but I hope to get the waterline dialed in and start working on ballasting the boat down. The rest of the gun system is on hold until the package arrives from BC monday or tuesday. Once the package gets here, the first step will be switching out the props, followed by assembling the gas can and regulator and hitching them to the guns. Hoping to put the boat on the water for a test run next weekend.
Good progress. I'm not sure I quite followed your radio set up, but I would recommend controlling the pump with one of the toggle switches, and use the right stick for all of the guns. Pump will be on a good deal of the time, so you wouldn't want to have to hold the right stick up to keep it on. Most people use the left stick for throttle and rudder. Again not exactly sure from your description what your setup is. Bob can show you how to replace the right stick with push buttons for the guns in the future, I hear he might do it for you with an adequate payment of beer. Something to tackle after the first battle though
I do love paying in beer! Plus, I'm in Minneapolis a lot due to VA medical stuff and the ladyfriend, so it wouldn't be hard to drop off/ build party etc. okay, I'll try a better description. with VISUALS!!!!!! so the pump is on the non spring throttle, and all I have to do is flip it down. it stays down on it's own. It's a bit of a learning curve to play with the mixer on this transmitter, so once I get that straight, I'll migrate the pump to the switch on the top left side (see above blue arrow). Right now, I have a spring loaded switch on the upper right corner that is perfect for the stern guns. the haymaker and bow side are on the left stick. Yeah, I'm weird. me and Mr. Jones down in GA are the odd ducks that like right-stick controls. overall, this setup is not ideal, but it is ideal for right now until I can jack this Tx open and replace that left gimbal with some buttons
Well, whatever floats (or sinks?) your boat. If it works for you then that's what's important. If you get frustrated at the first battle getting the controls the way you want just know that there are other tried and true options out there
and.... bigger problems have arisen. looks like my sheeting job wasn't perfect, which led to discovering I wired the pump backwards. Oh well, I needed to cut that harness and put in a connector anyway. The leak's not bad, just a small spot under the rudder tray. so I'll spot check the seams.
