Bob, Steve has family in town and I am not available this Wed. Not sure how much Steve will be able to work on it while we are gone, ( I am gone until 13 Aug). We may have to hold off until then although I will see if I can get Steve and Dave together on the weekend, at least to apply some wax to the plug. I will try to get ahold of Steve tonight to see if we can, could you drop the gelcoat at his house? I know he is there for a day or so and even if he isn't the kids are home. Mikey, the problem I see with that is without a method to control the bouyancy of the sub, it will simply "bounce" up and down in the water. I think that will make the sub harder to control. And remember, Bob already has designed and proven his ballat tank system. It should only require slight modification to fit the new hull. J
Jay, The hull plugs were thoroughly waxed before Steve picked them up. That was done both for the molding process and so the silicone used to tack the flanges to the plugs does not stick too strongly and pul off the plug surface when the flanges are removed (ie, after the first half of the mold has been laid up). All Steve needs to do is tack the flanges on, let the silicone set overnight, then carefully apply 3 coats of mold release wax to the flanges, buffing each coat and filling any gaps between the flanges and the plugs. However, if that isn't done by the time I return (August 9) I'll take everything back to my workshop and finish the job. There's no point in dropping off the gelcoat as I want to be present when it is mixed and applied. The gelcoat /catalyst mix has to be carefully measured when making the molds to avoid surface defects. I'm doing two weeks of call this month to be free of call in August and have more evenings and weekends available for the hobby. Suggest we wait until I'm back and do the molds in the second week of August. Bob
Steve, Please contact me ASAP re returning the I-400 plugs with the molding flanges. I'm back from vacation and want to finish the I-400 molds so Jay and I can start the Tone mold. Bob
Chris, I think you meant to say 'Steve'. Jay, if you have Steve's cottage number please call and ask him to return the I-400 plugs to me ASAP. He's had them since mid-June. BP
Jay, Have you been able to contact Stephen re getting the plugs back to me for molding? Dave told me on June 20 that he and Stephen had difficulty making the flanges for the plugs but had almost finished them. I don't know if they've been installed but hope so because we need to get the I-400 molds made and start on the Tone. Bob
Hi Bob, I have been trying to get the plugs from Steve, we haven't been able to connect. He says the ribs are swelling due to humidity, he thinks. I have a dehumindifier and can put them all in a room. Hopefully that will help. I'll call him again tonight. J
Jay, The longer a wood and plaster hull plug is allowed to sit around the greater the chance things like that will happen. The plugs' swollen ribs (and probably keel) will have ruined the surface preparation work I did for molding. Any rib swelling would crack the plaster and paint, and possibly warp the plugs, neither of which can be corrected by dehumidifying. We've collectively put a lot of work into this project. I worked on the I-400 plugs for many hours in May and June to correct errors and make them as accurate as possible. When I turned the plugs over they were smooth, waxed and only needed to have the molding flanges made and attached, at most 4-6 hours of work over a couple of evenings. It was expected that I'd have the flanged hull plugs by the end of June and make the molds in early July. We've waited 10 weeks for a relatively minor task to be completed and now have a probable major set-back to deal with. If the basic structure of the plugs is sound and unwarped, we're still looking at hours of work to resurface the plugs for molding. Fine finishing of the plugs took about 30 hours in May and June and I'll have to do it again. That's very, very disappointing. I think this has been a learning experience: hull molds cannot be made by committee. Bob
Hi All, Jay Jennings called last night to report the I-400 hull plugs were en route to him and would arrive shortly. A report is expected today on whether they have minor damage or need to be completely resurfaced. I'm keeping my digits crossed! Bob
OK, I have the plugs and I like to be optimistic so they don't look too bad. There is some cracking of the plaster along the wooden ribs on the top plug, but no swelling of those ribs. The ribs appear to have swollen under the plaster on the main body plug, but Bob will have to look at that to see if it is ruined or not. In my simple, black and white world It could just be sanded a bit and that would be it... but unfortunately in the world you guys live in with colour and all kinds of variables things could be different. J
J, I was late getting home from work yesterday - got your message re the submarine but your cell phone was apparently off and there was no voicemail available. I'll be home this evening from 1800-2100h then out for a couple of hours. Bob
Hi J, I'll be in and out this evening buying supplies for cottage renovations but won't be able to meet until next week. I'm off to NB tomorrow and back Sunday night. It sounds like the upper I-400 hull plug can be repaired quickly by filling cracks and resealing. If the lower hull plug needs resurfacing due to swollen ribs it'll again be a one person job. Having fine-tuned the plugs and got them ready for molding once I'm not keen on doing it again. There's a 3 week window remaining to make the molds. Kim's away until October 16, so if other team members can resurface, fine sand and Zinsser the hull plugs by October 7 (i.e. in 12 days) there'll be just enough time for me to make the flanges and lay up the molds before Kim returns and fiberglassing is banned. After mid-October it'll be too cold to leave the molds outside overnight to cure. If the I-400 plugs aren't repaired in the next week and a half we should can the project and move on to the Tone plug. Bob
J, Didn't hear from you last evening. I'll be away until Sunday night - hope you and Dave can start repairing the hull plugs this weekend. If the upper hull plug just has cracks Dave should be able to crack-fill using pre-mixed drywall compound and fine sand (#350 then #400 wet and dry paper). I have Zinsser so can do the re-sealing and re-waxing as soon as the upper plug is fixed. The lower hull plug will require a lot more work from what you've described. Bob
J, Still haven't heard from you. Are the I-400 plugs being repaired? I may be in town this weekend. If so I can help on Sunday. Bob
Sorry for not getting back to you Bob, been having issues with insurance company and have other things on my mind. Haven't seen Dave in a bit. We are going to be at the Grove, probably on Sunday battling (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). We can figure out a plan then if you want. I don't think the ribs swelled, like you said they were sealed. If anything I think the plaster continued to shrink. We can discuss it more later. Again, apologies for the delay, J
We're 5 months behind our original schedule for making an I-400 mold but will resume work next week. Jay reports the lower hull plug has significant damage due to apparent shrinkage of material between the ribs. It was allowed to sit too long before the molding flanges were made so now has to be plastered and reshaped. The upper hull plug needs minor crack filling and resealing. Hopefully the plug repairs can be made quickly and we can have the molds done before Christmas. Bob
Good to hear work is progressing again. Are you going to be selling the I400 hulls directly or is Strike going to buy this mold from you too? --Chase
There are four of us involved in making the molds so I'll have to ask the other three about selling them to Strike. I'd be in favour of selling after we each have a hull. Bob
