On my last thread I said I was gonna build the iron duke as my first ship..... But then I saw the Colorado. How does she fair in combat?
highly recommended IRCWCC beginner ship! A tiny bit big ( class 5.5) but has plenty of room for putting stuff in, has good gun placement, is very forgiving and everyone I know that started with on has done well.
The duke turns better and has less target area. The Colorado has a lot more weight and is much easier to get right. The turning Makes duke better but not a ton better
I love the clipper bow of the New Mexico, Tennessee, and Colorado classes. Looks wise they are my favorites (Tennessee in particular). There are differences in deck layout and armament but all are markedly similar.
That's what I like the most about them too. I also like that the Colorado is wider than the duke which means its more stable right?
Well the Colorado is the winner for now but I can't promise anything because knowing me I'll start questioning my decision again. Who knows what ill end up building Thanks guys
Having both Colorado and Iron Duke in my fleet, I can say that they occupy different food chains. Colorado is a good fleet boat. It operates well in an environment where it has support from fleet mates to make up for its less than stellar maneuverability. It has very good hull volume and can carry quite a bit of power to feed a big pump motor and take lots of damage. Good for close melees where there are a lot of boats blocking exit routes. Can also shoulder its way through a melee without too much difficulty. More like a linebacker than anything else. Eats BBs so other boats don't have to. Not so good when it doesn't have friends to help corral targets. Iron Duke is far more of a predator. At close to 10lbs lighter than a Colorado (you want to run the Duke around 22-23lbs), it can't push and shove with the big boats. It makes up for this with being a very nimble & agile attack craft. It has one of the best (if not the absolute best) positioned haymakers out there. When it's on target, you can guarantee that the only thought on the other guys mind is getting out of dodge (or the impending wet pants he is about to receive). It doesn't have the raw hull volume that the bigger Class 5 and 6 boats do so you have to play quite a lot smarter. Much more of a quarterback than a lineman. It's still in the melee but it doesn't take the hits nor can it push through like the Colorado. Can also be effective in open water where its maneuverability helps to make up for the 26 sec speed.
On taking hits ... I've routinely seen Dukes take 40, 50, even 60 belows without sinking. Additionally, the Dukes tend to sit low in the water and have long stern decks, making it more difficult for opponants to get hits on the boat. Can't count the number of times we have seen another ship bounce BBs off a Duke's low riding deck. All in all, it adds up to a very popular and effective battling boat. The down side is that there are LOTS of them on the water at the moment. Heh.
Oh, not saying that the Duke can't take the hits. It just can't shrug them off like the Colorado. It gets sluggish much more quickly in comparison.
Well I would like to be more of a predator and I also have to consider costs. The duke is a cheaper than the colorado but not by a huge amount. I'll really have to think it through. I do have a question though, I don't know if I missed this in the rules or it isn't in there but is it legal to fit the either ship with two pumps and 3 cannons or am I limited to one pump and 4 cannons
A person can allocate units as they see fit for the most part. All cannons and no pump ... three pumps and 2 cannons ... or three cannons and two pumps. All is legal.
Go with 1 pump and 4 cannons... in an Iron Duke, you're wasting the extra pump capacity because you'll be out of ammo way before you'll need a second pump. And if you have two pumps and actually need them, you'll be resheeting over lunch, and before dinner.
Best batteries are the 20ah LiFE cells. Two cells for 6.4 volts total. Everything running on one battery pack.
