Here she is as of this morning. 99% complete, with the Idaho Build Board sitting right behind her. I finally figured out how to do the rescue float while I was ice fishing this week. I got a replacement reel for a tip-up from Ace for like a dollar, then threw some metered 30 pound test line on and figured out how to bolt it onto the ship. Sits right between the mags for the forward cannons. the cool thing is that I managed to mount it in a way that allows me to adjust the drag on the line. The only mod that I did was to trim the handle down to let it clear the battery and CO2 Tank. When she sinks, I'll grab her, reel in her float, and that's it. none of that stupid coiling crap I did with the FRAG 0 float system. Now I just have to foam the inside of the funnel and the float system will be complete. In the process of mounting the final fit for the forward cannons and their solenoids, I figured out how to run the lines without it being a PITA to remount them--I installed a pair of PTC unions on the 1/16 lines. Now the entire bow can be essentially left alone. nearly all of the stuff I need to refuel and rearm is under the midships deck plate (sans the aft sidemounts). But I intend to remedy that in the Idaho. As of now, I am waiting on a package from the guys at BC, which will contain the final components I need for the pneumatic and drive systems (along with all of the hardware I need to build Idaho). I will refrain from sheeting until after the internal systems are installed, to facilitate Stem-to-stern pics.
On standby for parts right now. Got some pump batteries on order, as well as a new charger to juice up all of these batteries. In the meantime, I've started painting the boat. Super and turrets are done. will paint the hull once I re-sheet, which is waiting on internals work. This morning I managed to get the best down angle I could out of the forward guns. 3 degrees off center line, 5-7 down. This'll clear the forward turret gun barrels and the bow nicely. Impact range is right about where I want it to be. it's tacked together with CA right now, I'll epoxy/glass it together after I've finished sanding it into form and then give it a nice coat of paint. With that angle, rounds hit the waterline about five feet off the bow--which works for my purposes. The only general concern I have with the aim is that a low-slung boat like a Nassau can get under the gun line if it wanted to. But a Nassau is a problem for my boat in general, so I'd just be trying to minimize my own target profile and get away from the nasty little thing. Again, as mentioned in the Stem to stern thread, the forward aiming plate is modular, so I can change the angle of attack for the guns, and the bearing off centerline in about forty-five seconds at pondside by just switching to one of the other aiming plates I am making today. In other news, I managed to find out that those circle electrical connectors make great barrel holders. they go over the tubing really well, and hold firm. the bottom part that you crimp to the wire happens to be just the right size for putting on a mounting screw, so I'll be using that to secure my Haymaker, and using nuts on the screw to adjust the down angle.
Love what you are doing with the Texas!!! The Baden wanted to Invite the Texas to bring her Dual Bow Yummy Goodness to the Pond and Play with the Baden! I heard the Baden mumbling something on the workbench, something about a Pedro Serrano Quote: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seuz--hT9ug Hope to see you on the water and at Nats..
HAHAHAHAHA yeah we'll see how it does against something that can move and fight in its own. I dunno what my spring looks like, but NATS, and two fall GLAS battles are already penciled in
Had a bit of a SNAFU with the board last night while performing a functions check on the boat. Charley called me within a matter of hours and things should be back on track soon. I cannot emphasize BC customer service enough.
Got in the new pump batteries. Does anyone know what "storage charge" is? there is a warning on the boxes that says the batteries were shipped at a 30% charge, and to charge them up to storage charge ASAP
Your charger should have a storage charge function. LiPO's shouldn't be kept fully charged for extended periods, you should store them at 3.8v per cell vs a fully charged state of roughly 4.2v per cell. Normally I keep them at the storage charge and then start cycling all the batteries through the charger a few days before an event so I arrive with a box of ready to go batteries.
No storage charge function, but I put them on the charger and they went to 3.8V pretty quick. they were sitting at like 3.6V. Just pull them off the charger now and store?
What charger are you using? Are you using the balance plug, etc? If you are new to LiPO/LiFE batteries they require certain care to have nice long (safe) lives.
these are my first LiPo batteries, and apparently my charger isn't as high tech as yours. But I can afford to monitor the batteries for storage charge and such. that's what beer is for. I've been lurking on them for a while now, and they were a good excuse to buy a better charger than I had. If everything works well, I'll get into the more super fancy chargers next year.
This isn't super fancy charger tech. This is standard stuff. LiPO batteries must be charged using a balance board, if your charger doesnt have one you need to stop and buy a suitable charger. This one is very popular/affordable: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6-50w-5a-charger-discharger-1-6-cells-genuine.html Even the cheapest chinese knock offs of the B6 style charger have storage charge functions, it's crucial to proper LiPO maintenance. Edit: I will add, if for some reason you have a balance charger that lacks a storage function and are otherwise properly charging them, the ideal way to store the batteries would be to charge them to full and then discharge them until 3.8v. Should be roughly half capacity.
I have a balance charger that lacks a storage function and a discharge function. It meets my standards.
Basically storage charge is 70% capacity. You only need to balance charge every 5 or 10 charges. Ive been using lipos since they first came out and they didnt know what a balance board was. That said, if you want them to last a long time, get a balance board and use it religiously.
yeah, the charger came with a balance board, and can charge all of my LiPo cells at once. it's pretty cool. Once I get a little experience, I'll probably upgrade to a better charger, but this one meets my standard for now.
well, I got half of the boat skinned and ready to go. the starboard side is waiting on dope from SIG, since the only hobby shop within an hour's drive is closed due to a terminal illness. I've placed the waterline a little higher on the bow than previously, so she's going to sit rather low compared to the 2018 season. It'll be nice to see how it works, especially since I now have an idea of what a 28 second speed looks like.
Resheeting nearly complete now. waiting on a package from BC to finish the pump system, and then the boat will be ready for the water. In Battery news, I'm going to attach balance leads to my LiFe batteries in order to make them chargeable via the new charger. with the balance board setup, I'll be able to charge all four of my current packs, and will be buying another set later this spring. Once I've done that, I should have enough packs to run three full battles in a day. power consumption for a battle stands at about 1 set of batteries, with a "set" being 2x20Ah LiFe cells (Main power) and 1X5Ah LiPo pack (Pump). Depending on usage, I may have to swap out the pump batteries after each sortie. In which case, I will have to get three more packs. I'm going to grab one of the new BC pumps I got for the Idaho and see what it can do as well. Next steps following the above will be ballasting in the tub, then field tests of the FRAG 1 refit at the local pond.
Yep, hence why I have them. the LiPo pump batteries are rock-crawler ones, so they have a hard case, not to mention I put them in the most heavily armored part of the boat.
