It will be interesting to see how it handles compared to Charlie's. From the video of his ship it moves better than any ship like it I have seen.
When you order props from Propshop, you can tell them in the comments section what size hole you want drilled Kevin. I have all mine drilled to whatever size I plan on using. I did the same thing you did with a prop, it wobbled so bad, lol.
My set up probably won't have the same turning (or pivoting) radius as Charley's, but I do have high hopes for the acceleration. We shall see. And Dave yes that's why only one of the props wobbles, I made the comment to propshop to bore them out to 3/16" but they missed the memo for that order (1 for 3 success rate). They also sent me the incorrect diameter props (one 1.6" prop and one 1.7" prop), so I made another order to get the correct sized props which they bored out correctly to 3/16" I still have one prop left to drill out for another project. The issue I've had is getting a good grip on the prop while using the drill press, so I end up drilling it out 1/64" larger and soldering it straight-ish. Plan is to put in the rudder post and rudder servo mount tomorrow.
I think @GregMcFadden had some difficulties with Propshop as well, including I seem to recall an off-center bore. Could be wrong on that recollection though.
Yep. To say I was not entirely thrilled with the quality and competency is accurate. Side note. I started using the green bearing retention loctite to connect stainless shafts to brass props. I will have to go look up the exact part number, but that stuff is spectacular. the amount of gravel I have run through without dropping props in large, so I consider it a good test.
Thanks for the info greg. I sized out the rudder and glued in the rudder post over the weekend. I cut out rectangles out of index cards in 1/16" height increments to see (what I think) about which shape gets the best coverage. Apparently ended up with 1 9/16" x 2 13/32" (or a smidge under 13/32" to get less than 3.75). The aux rudder area will equate to a rounding error and won't be functional per new IRCWCC rules. View with a reasonable rudder angle. The leading edge should cover about 75" of the outboard prop during a turn. Quick and dirty rudder post, drilled hole through hull, added a small piece of 1/4" balsa, then microfiber filler and a few small pieces of mat Planning to use 1/4" chain from servo city for the rudder drive to match my other boats, I should be able to get the sprocket in with clearance below the subdeck. I will space it out and place the order tomorrow afternoon.
Made some progress over the weekend. Lined up the rudder servo mount, made of 1/8" ply and 1/4" square balsa sticks. Used ruler to make sure it would clear under the deck. From above, epoxied. Used fiberglass to reinforce the joint with the hull. Now dry, test fit rudder servo. Getting things on center isn't one of my strong points. I cut out some of the subdeck to ensure access to the rudder post. Moved on to desk installation, working back to front. I used duct tape to pull the beam within spec, and electrical tape to provide a seal for the epoxy. Epoxied it from below, used west systems with milled fibers. I used a piece of 1/8 ply and a series of clamps to ensure the deck stayed flush with the deck rim. Dry on the next morning. The electrical tape worked well getting a smooth finish topside that will require minimal touch-up dremeling. Moved forward to the mid deck section. Test of the clamp set up. Used electrical tape again. Suspended the boat from a few boxes. Close up on the underside of the deck. I wasn't able to get the last forward section on this weekend due to school work, but it should be quick / doable during the week. This is my first fiberglass deck, and it is very nice. Once the deck is finished I will probably work towards gun construction/installation.
Looks good Kevin, The bow panel is a little more tricky make sure the overhang towards the stern is centered to the hull.
Hows is that plastic chain working, I tried the same thing years back on a Yamato, and when it was under stress when turning in the water it would keep throwing the chain off the teeth, and yes I had it about as tightly tensioned as it could get, and still work. My new Bismarck I'm going to try the timing pulley setup, I have seen a few people use that equipment very successfully.
Thanks for the heads up Charley, I should get it glued in tomorrow. The plastic chain works great on the bench I've used the metal chain for a while without issues, and the plastic chain I had passed the hand-torque test. I might pick up some extra metal chain on my next servocity order, it's just a pain to change the length and need to keep it lubed up to prevent rust.
Got the forward deck piece in Tuesday. With all of the deck pieces in. I still need to add some wood between the pieces to finish the deck off. Barbette locations marked, with the 1/16" fiberglass deck pieces. I will be out of town for part of this weekend so progress will likely be slim. The next step is to finish the deck off, cut the barbette holes and epoxy the barbettes to the deck pieces. Once that is complete I'll put together some guns and get them mounted. The plan is for a forward bow sidemount, a 15 degree stern gun in the aft turret, and 75 round haymaker.
Unfortunately I lost some momentum on the project over the past couple of weeks. I got the forward deck filled in and the barbette holes cut out over the weekend. Filled with 1/4" bass wood, one layer of fiberglass cloth And cleaned up (sorta) The aft deck with the barbette are next, then guns.
Got some work done while focusing on getting my operational boat ready for next week. Made the rudder (along with larger rudders for California and Rivadavia). These are numbers 3-6 of rudders I have built this way, using the 'fishtail' method while keeping it reasonable. 1/8 ply core and 1/4" balsa to shape Glued together with CA Sanded down. I have a burnt 550 motor I taped sandpaper to the can to do the curve, and dremel for the ply Epoxied with one layer of cloth over the sides to make them more sturdy/bb resistant Also made the CO2 bottle mount. And finished off the back deck. 1/8" ply at first Potted an ESC for the California, but it will be an interchangeable component. Made a tape box with wax paper. I might make a real 'mold' for this to use less epoxy/make it more compact Glued in the barbettes on the fly while doing the other epoxy jobs This morning after everything was dry Rudders CO2 bottle test fit Side Since I messed up getting the middle deck piece in, I had to fill in some space between the deck and the barbette. Electrical tape buffer Filled with microfibers and reinforced the deck step area with mat/cloth I will potentially make the guns tomorrow, and maybe the pump mount/outlet. Once those two steps are done the interior grinding/fiberglassing should be more or less done so I can start installing the innards. Primary focus will be the California for the Brou, but I get boat ADD frequently
Turns out I let battling get in the way of typing and building for this project too. I did make some progress this week and weekend after the Brouhaha Made the pump mount. 8-32 bolts through the hull, aluminum 'spacers,' with a fiberglass top Installed the auxiliary rudder. Must look closely to see And the pump outlet tube. Looks like 1/8" right? Side view Don't look down the barrel Pump mount drying Made guns and mounts. Stern gun and haymaker Bow side Aft gun mounts are wooden pieces epoxied to the underside of the deck since the guns will stay in the boat Closer to the turrets Gun mounts dry and guns test fit. Haymaker magazine still needs a little more bending bow side mounts loosely wire tied. They will be fully assembled, and the T's will be set before they get mounted for real. midships Bow side bottle clearance Made solenoid mounts as well. Only took a picture of the aft ones Next step is radio box and wiring, then CO2 hoses. This project is getting there, the bulk of the 'construction' work in the hull is now done.
Thanks Kas, I'm glad you noticed the coffee cup. I think if everyone followed that advice there wouldn't be nearly as many disagreements. It might make the trip to nats
Pump outlet dried. It fits in the 3/8" tube I installed the other day, circles to the pump There's an 1/8" hole in the somewhere
NO LOOPS OR TWISTS, Kevin that outlet tube has way too many bends. I would go with a couple or one, 45 deg ells to minimize the bends. Straight up and out of the pump body then one 45 deg ell to the horizontal. Those bends will trap a air bubble and then it wont prime. IMO
But the K (resistance factor) for the 90 degree bend is so high...I know I am foolish to not following the words of supreme leader, I will be punished by many sinks and duty in liberty ports. Ill do some 'testing' and probably change it Post weekend update. Ended up discussing rules for many hours at Hayes shipyard vice using the lathe to drill out gun pins. Bad. Cleaned up stringers, deck rim, casements, and ribs for about 2 hours of straight dremel time Saturday. Here is the ending result. All checked with calipers. Super compliant. Next moved to internal armor. Pet resistant dog screen found in home improvement/hardware stores Most people generally confuse this with a much lesser form of internal armor. I've had my boat 'stabbed' with barrels and have the armor survive about 15 point blank no-balsa shots, and Jeff's guns at the Brou, no breaches thus far This was the end result. phone was acting up while installing so shots of that process. I use hot glue and E6000 to glue it to the underside of the deck, Hot glue to burn my fingers, E6000 for long term attachment. Definitely better ways to do it, this way has worked on 2 other boats Made the radio boxes. Also missed process due to phone issues. made the box for missouri at the same time. 4x4ish electrical boxes. Cut a hole in side, made 1/8" balsa 'outline' for the wires. Wires come out and go along side of box to maximize sealant contact surface area. Put 1/8" piece of polycarb over sealant. Sealant is marine 5200 fast cure, the stuff to seal through-hull connections on real boats. Generally works, pretty much permanent. Wear gloves because once it gets on you, you will be wearing it for a few days at least. Here is the wiring. Only negative goes into the box. 4 leads for guns, 2 leads for pump switches (boxes will be compatible between ships for a hot swap). 2 pololu pump switches, two BC firing boards. All the tails go to one negative wire routed outside the box that will go to batteries. 4 servo leads leaving box for throttle, rudder, and back-up battery/bind. way fewer wires than my last box, might result in a few more wires outside of box Also prepped receivers and ESCs Potted in west systems, skotchcoat on the wires coming out. Next step is prepping aforementioned boards, boat wiring, then putting in/mounting components which should be pretty quick. Operational-ish by the end of the weekend maybe? Superstructure and turrets after the rest is in
