It should come out as close to the pump as you can. With as few bends as you can. There was a fad a few years ago to point it straight out the stern. People thought it would give them more speed. But if you're pumping that hard running will only sink you faster. Staight up is most common. No matter where you put it it gets everyone on shore wet. Dave, how can you fit trip bow guns, and the pump in the bow? You'll be "That guy with trip sterns that can turn in reverse"
I dont know of any rule that says they aren't allowed to discharge through the bilge, actually i believe there are a couple of carriers and such that do just that as decoy. But doing that on a battleship will reduce your output and who really wants that, that and its hard to tell if its on or not and how hard you are pumping if you cant actually see it.
Well not actually the bow, it come out the side of the forward casemate, so its very low to the water line, so the pump does not have to lift the water much. I have no water proof box, so that free's up alot of room in the hull.
The exact location of your pump is up to you, and your local conditions, etc. In djranier's case, putting the pump through one of the casemates pointing forwards was a tactical decision, to perfectly mirror another VU whose pump points backwards. And from what he's said, it does an excellent job confusing people. For me, I put the pump outlets on my small transports on the port side, above the main deck. I chose above the main deck because when the pump outlet goes underwater, your pumping rate gets reduced. And by putting the outlet above the main deck, I effectively guarantee that my pumping rate won't be reduced at all until after I'm well on my way to Davey Jones Locker. And every second of full power pumping means I'm a little bit closer to the safety of home port. As for putting it on the port side, that's because the Axis convoy route starts on the right side of the pond, goes over to the left side, and comes back. By putting the outlet on the port side, I can see if the ship is damaged while I'm heading out, and can turn back if it's bad. And it doesn't matter if I know I'm damaged or not on the way back, because I'm heading back anyway. Of course, that doesn't work so well if I'm on the Allied team, but I don't like those Allied scum anyway [] I've also seen people put their pump outlet aiming straight up through the main deck. This has the benefit of clearly broadcasting when you're pumping, and exactly how much water you're pumping out. The higher the stream, the more you're pumping. Of course, the downside is that you clearly broadcast that you're damaged and may trigger a feeding frenzy when the sharks smell blood... Another variation is putting the pump directly parallel to one of your more devastating cannons, often a stern triple. You can then use the pump stream as an aiming aid, so you know exactly what direction your cannons are aimed and possibly even exactly where they'll hit the water (if you're really good!). Knowing exactly where you're aiming can help your accuracy quite a bit. Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to incorporate in rotating cannons, so if you were hoping to make cannon barrel #2 of turret A into a pump outlet on a Big Gun battleship, you'll have to think again.
I've always put mine out somewhat close to vertical just aft of the step or other convenient location. I like to shoot mostly up because it looks cool. And I've never really had a boat where an interesting location for my pump exit was feasible.
thanks guys, that does help alot. like the aiming aid idea. was thinking of having it though a turret and make it look like a main gun. then have the other barrel be a real gun that is set to hit close to water line. when i passes a allied ship like a small crusier the pump pumping horizontaly may be enough to force the allies ship to list away alittle and hense exposing a easy below the water line shot. just a thought.
I make the pump outlet part of the main deck and have the stream going towards the stern. This way the outlet never gets detached or drops below the deck. Just cut out a small 1 inch by 3 inch deck and drill a hole through it. Epoxy the outlet to the deck piece. Drill a hole on the outside edge and screw it to the subdeck. Now you can take off the main deck and the pump outlet will stay in place. Mine goes towards the stern for two reasons. 1 is I hate spraying the guys on the shoreline with an upwards mounted outlet. 2 is in case the ship loses main propulsion, my outlet will at least give me something (has happened at NATS to me). You don't really gain any speed as pointed out earlier and you are causing the ship to sink faster. But if you are mossed up wouldn't you rather have some movement? [] Be very careful in the way you attach the hose to the pump and the outlet to the deck/superstructure. Can't tell you how many times captains have sunk themselves when the outlet slipped below the deck.
The biggest thing I have seen, was the hose comming off the outlet inside the hull. I have seen it happen quite a few times. Why my newly designed outlet has a hose ring, like a barb around the end. Push the hose on, add a small tywrap, and presto, will never come off. and with its internal design, it will move about 30% more water also.
Hose clamp underneath. Outlet glued to the deck piece. Hole in the side is where it mounts to the subdeck.
yeah window screen works, ive used the mesh from a mosquito head net I found at walmart, I like it better since its more flexible.
