Decided to go a different route on the deck stiffeners. One of the most important tools for precision work is a really flat work surface. This benchtop was made from a commercial solid core door.
I have always liked the Otter Boxes. I couldn't find the size I used to buy so I went with the GSI version this time. Lexan M Gear Box - Storage & Protection - Base Camp - Shop I hope it works as well as the Otter Box did.
Turret bases cut and glued on. These get through drilled for the cannon up-tubes after I decide cannon placement. Fabing the deck step Starting to look like a battleship!
I interpret the rule as NO. Deck Step: The point on a ship where the weather deck is allowed to step down to the next lower deck. A “deck step” can occur for two reasons: 1) When the weather deck of the ship continues but moves inwards from the next lower deck’s gunwale more than ½” and does not at any point come back to ½” or less from that gunwale with respect to viewing a ship from bow to stern. 2) The weather deck ceases, but there are lower decks that continue with respect to viewing a ship from bow to stern. If the inset that leads to the step deck does not incorporate any casemates between where it begins and where it goes >1/2" inset, then the step may move to the beginning of the inset rather than at the >1/2" mark.
Hehe, did you see them before they had all the diagrams? I guess clear is somewhat relative... If you look at the big picture that little space is pretty meaningless, you might take a hole there everyother battle. 10 pts, ~3/4" above the water. casemates always cause more fuss than they should...
The job everyone dreads is halfway done. Decided not to go as extreme on angling the front ribs. I cut all the horizontals first with the Dremelator... Had to flip the hull to get to all the lines with the jig. The verticals and angled ribs where cut holding the Dremel by hand. A bit of small hacksaw blade chucked up in an Exacto handle made short work of cutting the corners out. Obviously extreme care was taken not to get to close to the corners with the Dremel. No I didn't wear down a disk. The smaller disk was used to cut the verticals. It was easier to get in tight with it. FYI, these disks cut the fiberglass like butter. Don't know why people get the diamond or carbide disks for this job when these cheapo disks work just fine. My homemade air filter made this job almost tolerable. That's all the Dremel work I can handle in one day.
Hull is cut! The stringers get aluminum backers. Tracked my time today. The starboard side was cut and trimmed in one and a half hours (not including aluminum backers). Overall happy with the Dremel jig. It allowed a more controlled and less stressful cutting for the majority of the cuts. If anybody try's this method, here's a hint, use a series of plunging cuts. You'll get straighter cuts that way.
Based on the one picture in your previous post I believe you might have cut your stern wrong. 4. Solid material in the stern shall extend no more than 1" forward from the extreme stern measured along the longitudinal centerline of the ship. As I understand it, the hard area would have to be a perpendicular line one inch from the extreme stern. Maybe it isn't a problem, I'm no expert that's for sure. Just wanted to point it out.
If that is the case, then there a a whole lot of illegal boats. I would think 1 inch measured from the stern would be ok, don't really see a way anyone is getting an advantage. But what do I know...
Hmm. I could trim a little more off but if a went perpendicular that wouldn't leave much meat on the the bottom. I'm out of town this week, so we'll see what the consensus is next weekend.
I asked for a ruling in IRCWCC on following the stern contour in 2011, the CD was OK with it then. I don't know if it ever got kicked up to the eboard level. Formalities regarding rules have tended to be ignored over the years. The reason a lot of us use carbide wheels for fiberglass work you already found out when cutting your deck - it eats bandsaw blades, or any regular metal blades. Try cutting a piece of G10 deck on a jig saw and you are lucky to make it 6 inches before the cutting teeth are completely worn off. The reinforced wheels are good for it as well but don't usually last as long as yours did, I have gone through as many as 10 reinforced wheels when cutting a hull with a lot of windows.
