if you coat the ribs with marks a lot before applying the contact cement the color transfers to the balsa showing you where to put the contact cement on the sheet.
Since this thread has turned into things I can do to make my boat better I'll give everyone the grand tour and any suggestions for refits will be welcome. Cheers! Full Length View of the USS Des Moines Heavy Cruiser / 23 sec. (untested) / 3.5 Units / 14ish Lbs. battle ready (rated for 17 Lbs.) She has been through one Battle event (6 sorties?) Hull has been patched and repainted w/ some balsa sections replaced. View of the bow. Car pin striping tape has replaced electrical tape as the the water line due to impenetrability of electrical tape. Access panel held down by aluminum swivel (2 in the middle). It is unknown how well the deck is sealed to the sub-deck. Shower pan liner for internal armour. Forward section of internal armour seems to be AWOL and is to be replaced. Also shown is the back end of a 7oz CO2 tank and a so far unconnected on/off switch. The center access panel also helps hold down the front panel via the overhang from the second barbett. Center section access panel. SS made of epoxied cardboard w/ foam underlay. (not BB proof!) Funnel used as recovery float storage. It is currently unknown how well the deck seals to the sub-deck. Small float attached to neon orange line. (after two sinks seems to be non-functional) Forward Central section shows the 7oz tank and regulator. Previous tank mount failed during combat and needs reinforcement. Awaiting installation till receipt of Marine Goop. Batteries (10AH NiMH 7.2V) currently acting as tank elevation assembly. Also shown attached to bottom of the access panel is the recovery line spool. This current condition is most likely why it was non-functional during combat. WT box shown in the middle is currently not water tight as I have yet to figure out how to get the rudder cable routed into the box. Top left servo is the (now functional) pump switch. Top right is the gun servo and Poppet valve. Bottom left is the Mag Throttle which currently having issues tripping the reverse switch for unknown reasons. All servos and receiver have been individually scotchcoted for extra water protection. The pump is located to the right of the (not so) WT box and between the main drive motors. Main drive consists or twin 550 motors from BC w/ individual gearbox assembly. Current speed is unknown but will be checked and correct gearing installed. Positive wire leads to motors is fused (7.5amp each) Stern deck access panel held on via 4 aluminum swivels. Cannons to be moved closer amid ship to accommodate reinstallation of the turret. Deck does not seal to the sub-deck and takes on water during reverse movement. Though it takes a while as my stern is so high out of the water. Underside of the triple stern cannons. Construction of individual accumulation takes is underway. Rudder and servo use standard BC gearing. Seems to work well. So the first major refit that I know I have to do is shifting the rudder closer to the props by at least an inch. Another underwater stern view. When rotated blade to blade the props actually come relatively close to each other and are extremely close to the underside of the hull w/ 1/16th inch or less clearance. The water channel starts in the bow and ends at just before the motor mounts. It consists of 1/4" dowel spaced 1" apart and self leveling concrete sealant along the outside edge and bow area. The pump sits in the space of water channel just in front of the motors. Thank you for your patience and interest in this matter and all constructive comments are welcome (desperately needed?)
Deck seals, coat the edges with silicone caulk, cover with plastic wrap, put the decks on, let dry. Very nice work for a first boat. It's very similiar to what I had going.
Its missing something... something.. hmmmmm. I GOT IT!!! HOLES!!! Lots and lots of HOLES!!! No really, I think it was a great first weekend out. You did waaaaay better than I did last year. The ship looks fantastic, I think your guns were working well after the hoses were fixed, no major problems that couldnt be fixed in order to get you on the water. I was very impressed with your first effort. Your deck seal is important but as you dont really have deck wash being a problem until you are almost sunk anyway.. it may not matter much. I used the super blue rtv silicone which is much softer than standard silicone to make aseal. I got it at Autozone. Later Johnny
I put caps on when I get interference. Most of the time is does not happen right away. I think once the motor get rusty it happens enough to cause interferance. My newer 75mhz PCM radio does not get interference as easily as my older PPM model. I've been told the 2.4ghz radios don't pick it up from the motos at all. But I don't have one so I don't know for sure.
A 2.4ghz Spectrum is what I'm currently running in the Des Moines right now so I guess over the next few years I'll find out.
I would tie down thsoe guns as well, you have some distinctive marks on your deck from where BBs hit. Dont want to send those triple stern shots flying off into superstructure and elsewhere. Aside from moving the props closer to the rudder and adding capacitors to the motors, maybe try deleting the float (or making it work?) and adding some lead to the keel. In the bruhaha photos you looked way high in the water, but I'm not sure what weight you're at. Probably want to be close to max with all that billboard showing. Are you going to make it out to Houston for Nats? It's a great place to battle.
Nats will be great, you should try to make it out Ralph. I needed 2 -3 regionals to dial in the ship and after the Tangler I should have all the bugs worked out and be truly ready for nats. You didnt seem to have that much wrong although moving the drives shafts and rudders around is a big job but nothign a weekend wont fix. Other than that change out the hull skin with a different paint, tie down the sterns and you are in business. You are already ahead of most rookies.
Thanks guys! I'm already in the process of elevating the guns and tying them down so that I can adjust them reliably pond side. I've also put some more thought into how I can make that and I may have an idea though I'll have to find time to work it in amongst all my other refits. I'd really like to make it to NATs but I just don't have that kind of money at the moment. The Brouhaha, the Tangler, and new/replacement/spare parts have pretty much wiped out what play money I have for the foreseeable future. I'm thinking NATs maybe next year though!
