I couldn't get enough of Lil Scharnie, but there are some things that I'd love to have done differently that would require an inordinate amount of work to change... So I did the logical thing for a man who builds a lot of hulls and has far too many populating the shop already... I bought another SMS Scharnhorst hull from Rick and Tim at Battler's Connection. Since Lil Scharnie is not going to be dismantled or inconvenienced (indeed, she will be a loaner ship, being an excellent choice for loaning to someone that is apt to get somewhere that normal cruisers shouldn't get), the new addition to the family is going to be SMS Gneisenau, aka Lil Gneisie. Gneisenau will have solenoids for the guns, brushless motors for pump and drive, 3D printed rudder servo mount, gearbox, and superstructure(SS already being in testing on Chase Hargraves' Gneisenau), and a totally gorgeous 5-blade 1.5" prop from Strike. Strike also had the regulator I needed, which is light and this makes me happy. The bracket for the battery and for the CO2 bottle (5oz) will be 3D printed, as will the rudder, although the shape will be a very vanilla mild airfoil like Strike and BC sell. Nothing fancy, maybe 3/16" to 1/4" thick. The subdeck, deck, and caprail will all be from fiberglass sheet. No warping and low maintenance! Thanks for the idea, Lou
Fiberglass sheet? Errrrrrrrr??? Why didn't I think of that. How do you plan to cut it to shape? Would a scroll saw work? And how thick? Info! Schnell!!!!!
I'm using 1/16" thick board; Gneisenau is relatively narrow so droop shouldn't be a problem. I will cut it with my bandsaw and scrollsaw, then sand it delicately to fit, and use a little glass mat inside to help the epoxy really hold it to the hull. The hull is at the proper beam, so I don't have to wedge it wider like some hulls have to be. But I'll get the subdeck and caprail in and secured before I start cutting the windows out. McMaster has a 36" x 24" sheet that I bought, it came very well protected and I will have extra for other projects going forward. I would consider using it for SS, but I'm printing THAT.
I highly recommend trying the abrasive saw blade for your jig saw. I have been surprised at how well they work. I found some at Harbor Freight and can’t tell the difference in the way they function from more expensive brands. http://www.harborfreight.com/2-34-i...68087.html Give them a try before you ruin your band saw blade. Keith
I actually have some blades of that type for my 5" scrollsaw. Special ordered at the time, they might be easier to come by nowadays.
I could not find abrasive scroll saw blades in local hardware stores. I did find some on line, but they were expensive and I was not sure at the time that they would work. My jig saw blades have shown no sign of wear . I will have to go look for scroll saw blades again.
I can't remember where I ordered them from, but it was in Canada. I ordered them at the same time I ordered blades for my ancient 3" scrollsaw. I couldn't find such blades in the small southern town that I'm stuck in I may order a set of the HF blades just to play with. I get a lot of tools from them. The bandsander needs new bearings in the motor but it's been abused and it's 7 or 8 years old with no maintenance (bad Tugboat!). Ditto the cheap cheap cheap drill press that I've done a LOT of work with.
Gneisenau has been suffering while I rush to get the Ormerod 3D printer built. Brian (who is building his at the same time) will be camping this weekend, so I will be getting some serious deck-work done!
Poor Gneisenau. Her big sister in my workroom knows exactly how she feels. I really need to sit down and get the new wiring done.
