Alrighty... Been working closely with Johnny out there in Houston. Got to work with Doug some this past weekend as well. Little by little, this ship is improving. Let me show you the ship as it started out: The boat has been tested so far but not refitted for performance. It hasn't really been float tested much either because: Some explanation: It was recommended that I move the dual driveshafts to be a single driveshaft that uses the keel provided. So... now the propulsion won't be angled downward so steeply. While preparing to patch the holes where the dual shafts were, some other issues were found. As you can see, the windows got removed. On the stern, the patches were applied and the ribs were reinforced. One other window is removed to show that the boat needs to be reskinned. Silicone was used to attach it and the result was not a contour shape. Minor details soon to be fixed. At the moment, I will be removing the old balsa skin. With some help, I am looking into redoing the ribs and adding more hard area at the bottom. We measured and found that I was giving away soft area. I'll post updates when I have them. Budget is a little tied right now but May is coming in a few weeks. Please feel free to post advice. I'll be glad to use any techniques suggested. I'll also be working more with Doug and Johnny to get the boat back on the water.
That prop arrangement.. and the way they put the balsa on... so much cringing required will you be converting to dual sterns as well?
Agreed that the prop / rudder config was...suboptimal. I'd bet she turned like a Hood with that setup. Minimal rudder throw & running the outboard props= not good. Changing over to driving center prop will have one issue to resolve: drive motor will probably need to fit directly under the aft gun turret. Do you have room there for the gun(s)? OTOH, for "Old school" servo & poppets, the box setup looks pretty good & reliable. Unless you're planning to upgrade to solenoids, I'd be tempted to leave that part as is.
Doug is converting a coil gun to a straight gun and we will mount the guns next time he is in town. Then we will mount the motor and as he was using dog-bones we should have some leeway in mounting the motor. The radio box wiring was very chopped up. He is working on his budget for the solenoids but if push comes to shove we can use the big box. He already has an esc on order so that will eliminate some wiring and headaches right off the bat.
That's a lot of ship to push with only three blades. The Octuras don't have tons of blade area (Moves more water) for a 1.5" prop. I always have cut their tips of to go to 1.25" hardly lose any blade area. Peter had the prop on his German CL, it was 3-4lbs lighter than the Suffrin will be. Not too zippy. Eric used a 1.5" 4 blade on his Suffrin, one of my old soldered together ones. Worked alright for him.
You could maybe make speed with a high RPM motor and the 3 blade prop. That kind of a motor is going to pull more amps. The higher RPM will also cause more cavatation, not good. Less blade area gives you worse start/stop, something we really need in our game. Since your ship only has one prop you get less blade area than a 2 prop ship. Compare a single 1.5" circle to two 1.25" circles. The start/stop is more of a problem with larger ships like Ted's Scharny, heavier ship, harder to get it moving. Not as bad in a 11-12lbs cruiser. But you will notice it. If it's a material purchase problem set it up for 1.5" now and use a 1.25" prop you have until you can get a new one.
Good advice from Bob. Start and stop is key for a cruiser (in my opinion). Turning is secondary as you should see the enemy coming long before you need to move.
The Suffren is capable of some pretty nifty turning though and expands the cruiser tactics book for it a bit.
UPDATE: School is out and I have different hours to play with. Still gotta do school stuff but not a steady M-F grind. Pretty much have this down to the fiberglass again. I'm going to do some sanding to get all the burble off the hull so resheeting can begin. Before resheeting, I will be getting with either Lee or Doug about my ribs. Gotta fix those...
How I have fixed my ribs: If it's a chip in the gelcoat I clean the glue and balsa off, put some marine epoxy on the hole and put some glass cloth over it with some more epoxy over that. I use lots then sand down to shape when dry. If the ribs is broken completely same method but I try to get on the inside also. I would not worry too much if the ribs just look thin and ready to crack. The Bike's ribs have been like that for 10+ years. I keep thinking they l break but have not yet.
