Hello all, I am laying the ribs out on my Tirpitz and had a question on "Legal" rib spacing. I have two areas in question. First the ship info: Tirpitz hull length is 69.33" That gives you a rib spacing of 2.24" centers. I would like to have a rib forward match up with the armor belt. That is done with a rib that the spacing will be 2.00" center. I would like to also do this with the armor belt aft. This however gives a rib center of 1 7/8". The other questionable area is the extreme bow area. The first rib has a spacing of 1". Are any of these areas not with-in the rules? Thanks,
That sounds legal, atleast under MWC rules. As long as the first rib is spaced atleast an inch center to center its legal. If you're using 1/4" ribs and the first window is at least 3/4" edge to edge I would argue that it is legal since the bow solid area doesnt have a rib center to measure from. If you're worried about it being a big deal just make the first opening 7/8" edge to edge if using 1/4" ribs. Other than the minimium spacing rib placement and spacing is left to the builder. Rib size and spacing doesnt have to be uniform as long as it conforms to the rules.
Thanks Snipe, so the minimum between ribs is 1"? And yes, I forgot to mention that I am using 1/4" ribs. Thanks again.
Fortunately the rules also don't say anything about both sides being the same. A boon to some of the less organized among us...
And don't forget the sneaky ones, that place their ribs differently on each side depending on the location of their side-mounts. Mikey
Hmmm - spacing for 1/4" ribs is 1"? or 1/8"? In NTXBG, it is 1" per 1/8" of rib thickness. That is, a 3/8" rib is 3", 1/4" is 2", 1/8" is 1" on centers. We also have a 15 percent rule (15 percent of the length of the hull, measured at the waterline, is allowed to be constructed out of whatever you want and can be impenetrable - divide it how you like between bow and stern - thus, example, a 60" hull has 9" allowance for bow and stern impenetrable areas, so on a particular ship, that might be 4" in the bow and 5" in the stern or 2" in the bow and 7" in the stern or some other combination adding up to 9" total). Cheers,
"And don't forget the sneaky ones, that place their ribs differently on each side depending on the location of their side-mounts. Mikey " Nothing sneaky about that, completely legal! ;^} Also I have mostly 1/4" ribs but 3/8 where I expect to have balsa sheets end when sheeting, gives me more space to glue each side. Marty
