I am currently working on a liberty ship, since this is my first ship I have a couple of questions, I do not want to ruin a good fiberglass hull. I plan on building with Big Guns rules set. When I cut windows in my ship what would be a good spacing between ribs at a 1/4 of a inch for fiberglass and what is a good point to start, or how much fiberglass I should have from the stern to the first window, and from the bow to the window? Also could you add some ballast to the ship since the water line will be approx 2 in above the keel according to the plans? This is more for the deck and the structure. Since I will be building the deck from scrap, what is the best materials to use for the deck. What would be a good way to construct the structure for the ship? I would like it hollow if possible for lighting, and the funnel will be the floater if the ship sinks. I have already learned alot from this site, but this stuff I am having a hard time finding, Thanks.
Dark Reaper, the first question you should be asking yourself is "which Big Gun club is closest to me?" Different clubs have slightly different construction rules, which could affect rib spacing, impenetrable bow/stern, etc. Once you know the closest organization, look at their specific rules and ask for clarification if you don't understand. My own club (WWCC) has some handy diagrams to help explain its rules on penetrable windows, rib spacing, bow/stern, etc. but other clubs might be different. Make sure you triple-check (and get a member from your local club to check, if possible) before you start cutting. If you want, I can go into further detail on each of several different clubs' rules. For decks for a fiberglass boat, several possibilities come to mind. First, you could use 1/8" aircraft plywood. I personally like this material a lot, but I also specialize in making high-quality wooden hulls. Many folks with fiberglass boats prefer some synthetic material, ranging from fiberglass sheet to thin lexan to thin ABS plastic. Alas, I cannot provide specific details on these synthetic decks, as I have never used one. For your recovery float, I would recommend against using a smokestack float unless you've already got some experience with float design. Funnel floats are difficult to get reliable. A much better idea would be to make the entire bridge and center island into your recovery float. You could make a big, shaped block of foam and plate it with dent-proof armor, solid balsa block plated with 1/16" aircraft plywood, make an ABS superstructure then fill it with foam, the list goes on and on. All that really matters is that the whole center bridge structure be light enough to float, and you find a way to stash the float string so it deploys reliably. Much simpler and more reliable than a smokestack float.
I agree with Kotori87. Get with your local club BEFORE you do any cutting!!!!! For my Liberty, the whole superstructure is the float. I posted photos of it in the "show us your float" thread. The important thing about floats is to insure that they will deploy no matter how the ship sinks. Should she capsize, will the float still deply???
