after having just worked 2 double shifts (16 hours each double, which I only had 8 hours in between them, so pretty much no sleep) and recovering from that with 8 hours of sleep, I decided to test the sterns again. I didn't check anything, just popped the air hoses off and flipped the bottom of the mag around, and hooked it back up. It's definitely too loose now, thing is a machine gun, not a cannon. so for sure it's that on those guns. I did adjust the psi to 140. I'll test the bow another day, and the haymaker will need to come out for the mag and such. Hopefully I can get a coil mag though so I can just have it pull straight up and out through the barbette. Really this was all done just to get new Amazon AA rechargeable batteries and charger.
Boat sits at 24lbs 1.3oz with adding 2lbs 3.3oz of lead. Would like to me the weight into bilge keels to keep the weight low, since bilge keels wpd be as low as possible. I'm not sure what weight I can run the ship at though, at it's current 21lbs it sits jist below the waterline that came on the boat. The IRC sheet says 24.16lbs for standard weight (24 lbs 2.56oz) If I can get away with the current weight, I probably will do so. If I have to add, I really wamt to add the keels to keep the weight as low as possible. If I have to have it above the 24.16lbs, I do have 1/4oz stick kn weights I can add 6 of to just tip the scales of the standard weight. Once I get some time, I'm going to work on the dual sterns. I'm going to pull the 75 round gun and try to get it to work outside the boat, amd redo it's mounting so it doesnt interfere with the stern mags, so there are no mags crossing over/under other mags, that's the big issue putting the sterns in with the 75 in. Still looking for a coil mag, if I can get just the mag and a T, I can throw the guts of the straight mag into that and get it working. There is plenty of room since the motor is more aft than where it "should" have been, but I'm done dicking around with the ship, I want to get the guns installed, get them firing properly, get the casemates cut and sheeted, amd get it out on the water and to battle (which won't be until 2021 due to work scheduling) I'm not going to be hacking out the motor or the deck area that isn't removable, at least right now, while I don't have a working ship. I do need to move on from it, and get a cruiser going, and then my Bismarck.
You have two sides to the ship, route the stern guns down one side and the haymaker down the other. I ran the Baden for 7 years and had room for guns and two pumps. It can be done.
As a generic on ship weights, I tend to like to go towards the actual standard displacement for the class (not the IRC shiplist weights which are based off the heavier full and full+10%) to maximize agility. Baden is 28,000 long tons standard so I'd target ~21lbs (28,000 / 1333) as my starting weight. At 24lbs, you're already pushing a little past the full load displacement for the class - 31700 long tons (23.78lbs). You still have weight that can be added before you hit IRC max weight, but definitely at a point where you are looking at trading agility for lower freeboard. I wouldn't add anymore weight than is needed to trim the boat.
I’ve read though this whole build thread. You have to accept the ship will never be 100%. It was a second hand ship It will most likely never meet your standards. do the best you can and get on the water. I myself was in a similar situation with my First ship the Andrea Doria. The ship was second hand I was going to make it perfect and it was going to be the best ship on the water. Well that’s a hell of a mountain to climb. There no fun in a ship sitting on the bench. I finally sucked it up slap it together took it to the brouhaha. My first battle sank 4 times, smoked a pump Motor, borrowed a pump, Burnt ESC up, and lost a drive motor. And the guns worked some times. Moral of the story I had a blast learned from everyone there got back home applied what I learned. Builder fatigue will eventually set in and that’s no good many potential captains have been lost to builder fatigue
One stern goes down each side now to clear the motor, since it sits a bit more back in the boat that where it "should" be, due to the angle the shaft was in. I replaced the 1.5" prop with a 2" and shaft that was in the boat, the tube was the same OD, so I just ran with it instead of cutting amd drilling more to get the motor to mount lower and farther forward. I'll just mess around and make some kind of mount to keep it inboard of the one stern. In the meantime if I find a coil mag, so be it. But getting the sterns working, and then the bow will be the order of business. I'll keep it as is then. I will need to get it out to a pond to get a good float test to make sure it's balanced, but Im at 21 pounds now. Those 1/4oz will come in handy. Yes, this. I'm definitely at the point where I just want to see the ship on the water. I know there are tons of stuff that could have been done differently, but at this point i just want to battle it. I have other ships I want to build, I have a Bismarck/Tirpitz sitting in the garage I want to get going, I want to built a Deutchland crusier or a Prinz Eugen, and then I want to also build a couple Allied ships as well. And of course a neutral convoy ship once my combatants are ready. I really want to dive into this hobby, not just stay stalled out on 1 ship that isn't finished.
Good on ya, dude! Texas was a total trainwreck when I finished her. *but she got me on the water* FRAG0 was terrible. a barely floating scow of a boat. FRAG1 is operational, turns like a puking dog but she can fight and not sink in every sortie. FRAG2 is gonna be my January, and it is going to be a back-refit using all of the knowledge I attained in the 19 months it took to build Idaho FRAG0. Idaho was so good, and I was used to Texas being so *BAD* that I rode out like Hector to slay Achilles every time and had a BLAST! I sank in nearly every sortie due to my excitement, but the sheer joy of bringing a combat-ready boat into a battle and not having to hobble her back together after every sortie was sublime. FRAG1 Idaho is going to be an absolute monster once I finish relaying my cannons and fitting these larger props. Next spring, I'll come out to a GLAS battle and we'll see how your boat measures up to Texas. if you can hold your own against the third major refit of my boat, then buddy, Ya Done Good.
I'd just mount the guns in however you want. You'll learn more from something that turns out to be a mistake than you will from just following the herd. You'll be on the water battling while you learn. If you find that not being able to remove your guns easily was a mistake, you can refit it later with a lesson learned. IMO, the guns are the /least/ important part of the ship. Your drive, maneuvering and damage control systems are top priority, and until you get it on the water (with or without guns) you'll have no idea how well the marriage on those systems work. Use the KISS principle; Keep It Simple, Stupid. Just get the boat to work using the most simple means available. Refine it when you determine what you like about it and what you don't like. Don't let your struggles frustrate you too much in the meantime.
I second this I went to Bradford PA for a battle with my Des Moines the pump motors and rudder worked one gun worked all the time one worked sometimes and one didn’t work at all. I battled for two sorties one without guns due to blowing an air line and had to come in early on another due to a wiring issue. But still got out on the water and drove around with guns and without guns. Still had a blast and I had a couple of guys lend me guns to use for the second day but the wiring issue was bigger than we thought. Just get it on the water whether all guns work or not get the experience. For racing cars I drove the races for my first two years with a high mileage engine and stock trans. Not because I couldn’t afford it but I was still setting up my car and wanted to get seat time. Get her on the water and do what you can do get the stick time in.
So haven't touched the ship in a while, and probably won't until next year. But as it sits, I just need to figure out the sterns, which should just be tightening down the cap where the piston is. They wouldn't fire before, so I backed the cap off half a turn, and now they are machine guns. Definitely just a matter of adjusting the piston. Also will be getting a new 75 round gun and will get that mounted up and tweaked once I can. Then the ship will be battle ready. One idea I had that will solve my gun mags running into each other would be to swap the sterns with the haymaker. I know I lose that nice gun, but it would make it much easier to route the magazines. I would keep the 75 a sidemount (now in D turret) and run the dual sterns (in C turret) off 15 degrees or straight back depending on where they end up aiming at. I know it's not the most ideal, but it would work, and doesnt stray too far from the regular formula I could swap to a single stern 50 round sidemount in D, 75 round haymaker in C, and dual 15 bows in B as well, I would just need to get another straight mag gun for that. Before I go doing all that, I'm going to try to route the new 75 to where it won't interfere with the gun mags and still sit in C turret.
the dual bows is fun, but it needs a mind toward mobility. I run mine almost dead-ahead with minimal offset and they're fantastic for strafing targets of opportunity while you're maneuvering your sidemounts onto somebody. I don't know if you could get the kind of down angle with both guns that you'd get out of a single, since you're limited to 15 degrees. Might be worth a shot. if you can't get the offset and down angle to work, straight off the bow, barrels tight together, with a bit of down angle is perfect. makes you into a bit of a Mullet Boat: Cruiser in the front, Brawler in the back.
when you have that setup and get attacked by a cruiser, it's a lot of fun to turn into them and bum-rush 'em while firing away with the bow guns. it may be ineffective, but the surprise factor is a total blast.
I'm still going to try to get the 75 mounted in the haymaker with the dual sterns, since they are already mounted. But a single gun in D turret would make life much better. I still am considering moving the duals to the C turret though too. So I'd have a 50 in B on a Starboard Sidemount, Dual 50s in C 15 off starboard, and a 75 in D off port. In theory too I could put a single gun in each turret, A and B as 15 degree bows (opposite each other) and C and D as sidemounts. Probably alternate which superfiring turret is on each side, so A and C off port and B and D off starboard for instance. C turret of course would be the 75 in this case.
The down angle may be pretty sweet in the dual sterns in C turret. might get enough to be a real nasty setup for landing ons and belows at close range. With the other setup, I'm intrigued. if ya have the channels, I'd really like to see if that works out for ya. ie next spring. when I come for a Saranac battle. It'll be interesting to see how much these new rudder rules change the maneuver dynamic.
So pretty much this then, right? I know not the most ideal, since it would be better to have a single 75 round in the C turret, but this way at least let's me put the dual mags on the same side and not have to route a mag around a mag. Might move the B gun to the A turret, but I dont know if I want to. I do have the B gun pretty set right now.
So I got a couple 75 round coil mag guns, just need to take out the straight and drop in one of those, tweak them all so they fire reliably, and it is good for a sea trial. After that I will still need to cut out the casemates for it.
yeah dude, looks like a sick setup. Moving the sidemount to A might be ok. it might shift your point of aim forward relative to your hull, which will reduce the amount of your bow that is exposed to fire. I will say this though, having the 75 in D turret is how PPB rolls with our brawlers and battlecruisers. dealer's choice though. I have my 75 on my aft turret (D on Idaho, E on Texas) in both of mine, and when I build my Derf, that's where it'll be.
I did find 2 75 round coil mags, so I do have the option to just drop that into C and call it good. the D turret 50s as they are now are removable, and the B turret 50 is as well. If I do that 75 right, it should be able to be popped out for out-of-ship testing as well. I still need to tweak the dual 50s in D, as they are machine guns currently (should just be tightening the cap on the bottom to set the piston to the right height). My biggest hurdle right now is my maze of a garage.
So garage is cleaned up enough I was able to move around out there. Took the Baden down and removed the old 75 C gun. In went the new 75 coil. Not ideal of course, but it works much better getting the gun in and out, getting the sterns in and out, and all that. Need to mess with the turret cap, but that's on all of them. Rest of the stuff still needs to be done though. Posting more to get them down as a list, maybe get feedback if I'm forgetting something or how to go about doing them. Tweak pistons on dual sterns so they fire single BBs. Confirm the 75 and 50 bow side mount shoot reliably Cut and sheet casemates Replace the small drag props with the correct size drag discs tweak turret caps so they fit properly and stay in place.
