Tugboat's Evstafi

Since the last installment of "Haze-grey's Anatomy (of the ship)", Izzie got a rear deck, a forward subdeck, and the last two ribs. I will drag the half-pound camera to the shop tomorrow for pics. I hope to get the forward deck put on, and the stringers as well. Then the epoxy-dance can begin... on the next episode of "Haze-grey's Anatomy OTS"!

At present, Effie's sitting on the bench wondering when I'm going to finish dressing her. 8O (I did buy a 1.5" PVC end cap that'll be sliced to provide barbettes for the main turrets)

 

Yes, it's going to be sheeted at the build session on Sunday and run around the lake! I hope someone has a camera so I can post pics; I still can't find the $%^#@ charger for mine.

 

I'll post you a pic of Izzie tomorrow. She's getting closer to being shippable.

 

Okay... been a while, but an update: I have been super-busy finishing nursing school and working, but nursing school is over in one (1) week. This past weekend, I made a battle, in Evstafi (minus superstructure). Marty, Steve, and Matt of IRCWCC came down for the battle and between Steve and Joel Goodman (MWC) we got a section of cereal box and a few sticks painted grey and glued to the deck for SS. In the Sunday battle, I did battle with Steve's NC and sank her. She already had some damage, but I did let him empty his triples and sidemounts into me to test damage control before I shot him. Steve then added a dollar to the 54 cent bounty on my cardboard SS and at the end of the day Leif claimed it by sinking me about 15 feet from shore. The mud then claimed my flip-flops. But I was happy, as it's bad luck for a new ship not to be sunk on her first battle weekend. David Ranier and Don Coles both had Iron Dukes and they are very impressive ships. That's probably at least 50% due to their building skills, but I like them. If I wasn't raising the Soviet banner over Region 3, I'd probably buy one right now. If only I could find plans for Gangut (the later one with 12 guns, not the PDN), I could run an all-Soviet fleet. Maybe next winter I'll do Arkhangelsk...

Thanks to Marty, Matt, and Steve for coming, it was a great battle and having some guests with more boats made it even better. Brian K and I _will_ make an IRCWCC regional up north next year. It was also cool having Leif and Joel show up (not that I've been around much lately, but still

Lessons learned: (Stuff that was done in a hurry and will be fixed in the winter overhaul is marked with a *)
-Having a boat that's just under 32" and 12 pounds is great! I can load everything in my Toyota Avalon and enjoy true comfort driving to the battle.
-I need to seal the forward solid area, I was really rushed to get it done and it leaked*
-Need to unsheet her, and smooth the hull out where the balsa attaches*
-I need to drill the little priming hole out on the Greg-designed pump*
-That said, the Greg-pump and gradual restrictor move rediculous quantities of water. Once it primed (my fault for not drilling the hole) it was like a fire hose. Absolutely awesome.
-The dual bow guns are a good setup, altho in the name of making the battle, I did not switch to a half-unit pump and take the third gun. Better to have 2 guns than not battle.
-Also, you can get more downangle on the front guns than you would on the stern turret. That stern deck is pretty long (relatively!)
-A stern gun would have been great fun in the melee.*
-Props must go close to the hull and near the rudder* (I know it's obvious, but she was built in 30 minute spurts here and there over many months)
-Water channeling would be nice (even on a 31" turtle boat)*
-Real superstructure would be cool as well, though the cardboard box made it till the 2nd sortie of the afternoon battle*
-31" turtle boats are rediculous fun. The hell with building a battleship over the winter. I'm refitting Evstafi properly and using her next season.

Anachronous, I will be applying the lessons learned (at least the ones that apply) in finishing your hull over the next couple months. It's impossible not to laugh as you drive between & around the battleships in a free-for-all doing drivebys.

I have some pics of Effie on the water and off that I'll try to get posted.

Did I mention she sank a North Carolina?

 

??????, ???????! I was to be having great fun as warrior of the proletariat this veekend! My American Adversaries spent their time pumping and listening to their 'rock and roll' music, and were the worse for it! ?? ??????!


Are those plans Gangut the Dreadnought, or Gangut the PDN? It would be marvellous to wave the Red Flag at Nats in 2010!! Plans are to overhaul Evstafi and build the CL Svetlana and the conwoy freighter 'Industrious Prole' (which looks suspiciously like FS Elorn, our comrades in France must have slipped us the plans)... It will be strange to be at Nats with nothing over Class 3, but I'm cool with it. The Gangut would be splendid surprise for the bourgois Allies (or Axis, they are all against the People!)

Any chance you can make MWC Nats 2010 if they're in Houston? Think of the glorious battling Revolution we could have as roomies with our Soviet flags and 'Better Red than Dead' posters on the walls! Glee!

 

Splendid, ???????, splendid!! I will get Izzie done forthwith so that the workers in the people's shipyards over there can get her outfitted! I have Brian K's help with the turrets... I can make the plug, but he's got the casting skills and the fancy vacuum chamber! I'll get 6 turrets from him (a pair plus a spare for each of us), and then Grey Wolf can keep the mold. I will start a thread in the SAS forum to discuss our October Revolution...

I was running 3 blade, 40 pitch, 1.5" props this weekend, which were what I had on hand, but I think I'm going down to 1" props for testing to see if I can improve the turning (which was below par to say the least).

 

Matt had a VDT and Lief had his Bismarck.

 

Ah, Comrade Marty, so good to have had you visit glorious soviet port in Savannah! I was happy to have Steve contesting control of Soviet waters in the slot! But remember, Evstafi was rushed onto the water, and was fighting with only 2 guns You just wait! I will spread the Revolution north to one of your spring regionals, while the bourgoisie listen to their rock and roll music and dance in their discos... and we perform missile drills. Bwahahahaha!!