So I have an old Swampworks Northampton for fast gun that I bought in 2004, I cut the windows out back then and then life caught up and could not commit to traveling to battle. Still have every thing and am ready to go... Any of you guys have or have had one that can tell me what NOT to do while im finishing her off? Ive been building rc models for years and have a moderate background in robotics. I know "how" to build her, I'm looking for you guys to tell me "how NOT to" build her. Thanks. Im also building Enterprise and Nautilus but I'll ask questions about those in a different thread.
If I was going to build a American cruiser, the Northampton would be it. So what not to do, don't put bow guns in it, that stern turret placement is to kill for.
http://www.portpolarbear.com/reports/Inside the USS Minneapolis.htm Pretty much just copy what Bob did, don't reinvent the wheel, simple is life.
The Bike was a very good cruiser. The hull has started to do funny things as it aged. I first built it in 98.
That overview is awesome... Im totally taking notes. Is it better to have the twin stern cannons spaced apart by the middle barrel or is the spacing irrelevant?
Close together and very slightly toed inward. Generally you will want the BB's to hit directly next to each other at the range where they hit the water off the stern. For a rookie boat just focus on getting them close together and generally parallel, they can be adjusted once the rest of the boat works and they shoot hard enough and reliably. Based on your picture in the Nautilus thread, you should probably remove most of the cross braces in the forward half of the boat. They will obstruct access to the CO2 bottle/regulator and watertight box if you choose to use one. If the hull is 'flexible,' consider leaving one cross brace if you want. You will also want to connect the subdeck where the deck steps down which should make the hull more rigid.
Most of the cross bracing you see is temporary... was using it to hold the hulls shape while I glued and clamped the wood that will support the deck. I was using large quick clamps and I didnt want to it to warp anything. Ill be posting some pics here soon....
