SMS König (IRCWCC) I was in the process of building a DKM Scharnhorst but decided after talking to people at the last Oakboro Nats and watching some battles I decided I would rather build a slugger than a runner for my first boat. I have always had an affinity German battleships (I’m a major kriegaboo) especially for WWI boats, so I decided to pick up my favorite dreadnought from Battlers Connection (which I was lucky for them to have). Finally got some life out of the way and got around to working on my Konig. Once again I’m using Ron Hunt’s expertise and shop and to him for that I am grateful. The hull I received from BC was very nice. No defects in the glassing and nice thick sides. Shout out to Charlie and Lee. Scribed the gelcoat in ¾”ths of an inch intervals on 4 different locations on each side. At weight the waterline was exactly where it should be. (Thank you Ron for the use of your super luxurious tub.) Using Ron’s G-10 deck rim method, I made little pegs the width of ribs and drilled and riveted them in at the location of what will be the future ribs. Made the subdeck/deck rim out of G-10 as well then CA’ed it to the pegs then GOOPed it to the hull. The final result is surprisingly sturdy and about as resistant to warping and rot as it can get. *edited to make the pictures smaller.
The next step was the bilge keel. Got some of those rubber threshold stop strips at Lowes in haze grey. The first step was to measure and cut slots in the hull for the rubber to rest in. Then I cut slots in the rubber strip that would line up with where it rested on the hull. Then it was a matter of filing the slots to make them wider and more square to ease the pushing of the rubber through them with a flathead screwdriver. Then for increased durability I forced a 1/8"th brass rod down the channel in the rubber after CAing the back of the strip to the hull. The final step was massaging and cutting the bilge keel until it looked somewhat uniform then I GOOPed it into the hull to hold it in and plug the holes the slots made in the bottom. The final result was rather strong and aesthetic so I'm pretty happy with it. The next steps are probably going to be the underwater detail on the stern like keels and what not, then on to the propulsion system.
