So Mike Butts, fresh home from deployment, came by the shop today! We did a lot of shoot-the-bull, and a little boat work! I got the MAG throttle and pump switch fitted with pegs that fit into the top of the water channel, so they stay in place, but allow me to pull them easily for repairs/maintenance as needed. Pics coming later today. I also painted the balsa top to the water channel with West, and used the rest of the West to put some fiberglass on the bow and stern of my Gearing. We also lined up the props a little better and it's ready for rudders and gearbox! I'd print one but the design for a small 1-into-2 gearbox isn't done yet, and I have an aluminum channel gearbox I'd made for the purpose years ago, sitting around. But the much smaller half-unit pump is coming soon.
Got out in the shop for a few productive hours today... I got the sheeting done! Lawsy Lawsy, I hate sheeting! Next boat is gonna be a dinghy! Also got the rudder linkages hooked up and verified range of travel (and direction of travel!), Tested the motors and pump by remote, and started mounting the gas system. I would've driven her around the test basin BUT the receiver is not waterproofed yet. So when Brian comes over to play on Tuesday (we're both off work Christmas Eve), I'll post some pics of Malaya swimming. Also got some work done on my Golo(mod) convoy. It's modded to be single prop, plenty of single prop merchies out there, it's actually more common to have a single prop than multiples. The rudder post is installed now! I'll bash out a rudder tomorrow night, and see how it goes.
Excellent progress. I haven't had the chance to get back to the shed. I did snowblow an access path to it though.
I hear you, man... this 80-degree winter weather is killing me! (Not kidding, it was like 80F yesterday) I'll try to get some pics tonight... Brian's bringing over the gallon can of dope and I'll be painting silkspan on Malaya's outer hull. And waterproofing the radio receiver so I can do pool tests tomorrow! Then it'll be time to get serious on the cannon systems! No more crappy cannons! (Note: I blame myself for my cannon performance, not anyone who might have built them.)
Well, I got out into the shop and Brian came over, so that we could get a little work done... The main thing I wanted to do was epoxy-pot my receiver, but Brian has a few other tasks to perform before we were ready to mix the epoxy (waste not, want not, yadda yadda). So I cut some more blue foam for water channeling, to go aft of the motors and pump, on top of the wood water knuckle that I'd already put in. It actually fit pretty good, and I applied a good bit of plumber's goop to the area, and pressed the foam into it, such that it fit around the driveshafts, etc. Then, I weighted it down with batteries to keep it in place as the goop cured. Below is a pic of the recycled rudder linkage. It'll stay there until I get the new printed parts done. It looks hokey but I get full travel ont he rudders, honest So we had all the stuff ready to go for epoxy... Below is one of the two Golos getting the rudder post epoxied in. Followed by the rudder posts on Brian's QE... yes, they look funky. I told him that the delicate lacy stuff was NOT making me feel good about my decision to go Allied. Followed by Dave Winnette's SoDak rudder posts. I really like BC's rudder post design, very spiffy. And yes, my receiver did get done, it went first! It gets a second coat tomorrow and a third on Christmas Day And last pic of this post... a shot of the now fully-sheeted hull. With one of the Golos on top.
That is an awesome amount of work you two have been doing!:blink::blink: I am curious, how long was that day in the workshop? I would love to have half your efficiency!
LOL, I wish I was MORE efficient! There are so many hulls languishing in the shop for want of attention! One day I will die and leave a shop full of hulls in various stages of completion. I'm going to finish Malaya and the Golos and my Gearing, then see what's closest to being done and work on that, and so on down the line. But Brian's son Christopher (a holy terror in his Bayern) got bored one day and counted... some where north of 30 hulls in the shop. I am actively trying to get the number down, but more seem to find their way here from time to time. Mark Jenks' USS Texas kit keeps gnawing at my psyche...
Loi. I have few pictures of that BB-35 I have taken personally if you need them and if you move into building that kit. He he
Tugs looks like you and I share the same affliction for hulls popping up like rabbits. Awesome amount of work guys. I hope to be back in the shed this weekend to move NC. along.
I'm sorry I teased you with my Texas kit;-) I really enjoyed getting to talk ships and smell the smells of a shop! The ships are looking great.
So I had just enough time to run out to the shop and pull the batteries out of the back end and see how the blue foam water channeling was doing underneath... With the wood underneath, it makes for a nice 1/2" high knuckle aft of the pump to keep the water from rushing to the back end. Tomorrow, the gas system gets installed!
Nice work there Tugs. I swear that foam is in there so neat I think you must have laid down carpeting professionaly.
Got precious little done today, everything was crazy, including the little old laptop that has been running the printer. Sigh. I did manage to get the holder done for the 2 MAV-2's with MPA-3's that will fire the dual sterns. Below you can see the one that's going int he boat, and a spare that has no valves on it. The hole on the bottom is for a small screw to mount it to the ship, and the 'nose' is just for structural reasons. One top corner has a 'P' printed on it. That's to help remember which one is the port gun of the pair. Want it to be as easy as it can be when doing maintenance! Below is the mount with valves and hoses connecting it to the MAV-3 on the servo mount. The valves for the stern guns sit forward of where the pump goes. I pulled the pump out so that it'd be a cleaner pic. Why green plastic, you ask? I ran out of grey and it's out of stock. After a bad experience with some gold filament from another producer, I am sticking to known good sources. So some pumps and gearboxes and such may be green for a while
Ah. I cheated and made mine single-prop Seemed expeditious and most freighters are single screw in that size range anyhow
Yes I am, they're cheap, too, like $3 for the dual and $4 for the triple (not pictured). I don't think that I put a price on the dual MAV holder with servo mount yet. If you want one of those, let me know and I'll think on it. I'm making a big run to the post office on Saturday with pumps and such.
