I use a holesaw in my drill press. In the absence of that, I'd drill a small hole to fit a jigsaw blade thru and carefully saw it out. Saw a little too small, and after you have the PVC glued down, use your dremel to sand away any excess wood in the hole.
I want to use something to hold the main deck on, but I want it to look shippy not big screws. I'm thinking thumb screws on the edge of the deck. Any suggestions?
Useing decks that slide under decks that are glued in place is best. Useing secondary guns that turn and latch under the deck also works well. I don't have a photo of one though.
Did some fitting of the decks and temporary holddowns. Really need some water channeling info. Where the lower deck meets the higher deck should this be trimed straight off. Any pics Which way do the V supports for the shaft go? What is used to glue down the rings for cannons?
The subdeck sticking out needs to get cut off, and you need to make a peice to go from subdeck to subdeck. And then cut the main decks to fit. But I have to say she is looking really nice. The V supports slide up the stuffing tube, and the flat side aligns with the end of the stuffing tube. You can move it up a bit if you want to, I usually install it 1/4 inch from the end of the tube. You will have to sand the feet sticking out to match the contour of the hull, where you decide you like the placement. I then tack in with SG, and epoxy it in.
Ahh water channeling, its good stuff, and very important if you dont want to sink to quickly. First off the basic idea is to help get the water to the pump as quick as possible, this also mean you want your pump to start pumping with a small amount of water in your hull. So you want your pump at the lowest point in the hull. You want your pump towards the stern, right in front of the motors. For the water channeling the most common method uses balsa which you then coat with epoxy, its easy to work with and light weight. Basically you want to make a channel about 1-1/4" wide down the length of the hull it only has to be about 1/4" high. on either side of that get some balsa and cut and sand and fit it to the inside of the hull, then tack it in place with some CA and epoxy it all on place which also waterproofs it. In the bow, maybe the first 6-12" you dont need a channel that area should be taller than the rest of the channeling, say 1/2" instead of 1/4". Towards the stern where your pump will sit the channel should be large enough for your pump to fit in nicely. These photos are from Bob's build thread about his Washington but are the best examples of this method I could find. (Thanks Bob!) You can also see it in some of Steve's ships, check out the photos of his Maryland and Alabama. Visit this site Visit this site Of course there are other ways to do it, Dave was recently talking about how he used some sort of sealant in his new boat. I think that looks good but it might be a tad heavy, then again in your boat weight isn't a huge issue. As for the rings around the turrets i use something small like 1/16" brass rod to pin them to the deck and then just epoxy them down too.
Thanks Guys Guess I better buy some balsa pieces. Looks like channeling just gets the water to the center for the pump to get out fast. What about water in the back? Can it get in the channel? Still trying to figure which way to put the V supports. It looks like in Steve's Maryland pics the nub that sticks out more on one side of the down shaft goes toward the back. Sixth pic down http://www.geocities.com/wtpat2/maryland.htm See direction pic. This way or other way? Steve's looks like this way and cut the top the other way.
djranier Thanks, that was the hardest part of this almost. I'm looking at that water channeling. Does this really work better than without? What is the difference? Anyone ever not do it?
Ron when it comes to things in the water on boats think of the Hydrodynamics. You want anything that can be drag to slip through it as best as possible. So allways places tapered ends forward when your choice is between tapered and blunt. Rudders are a bit different. You want them to be a foil shap so the narrowest part to the rear and the rounded part forward. And please do not take this as an insult, it is mear advice for the future. I used to do competive sailing so I tend to get a bit over done on some things below the waterline. I am all about smooth and sleek hulls and all protrusions being smooth so they will produce the least amount of turblence and drag on the ship for me.
Ragresen I never take anything as an insult, still learning. Its just that I'm looking at it and with my back round of being a physics and chemistry teacher and a professional Hydroplane boat racer from years back it just seemed to need to be questioned. I don't mine doing it but is it worth the effort? Maybe it is! Has it ever been tested and compared?
Never tested or Compared as far as I know. Wish I could take a Hydroplane boat for a quick strait line run. I am sure it would give me the jitters as much as running a Corvette C5R at Road Atlanta did.
There you go Ragresen! I got a bunch of balsa in my travels today and plan to build a channel down the ship. I guess all the balsa needs sealing after building to fit and than the install. Still could use some further channeling ideas or pics. I think That's next as most djranier and Snipehunter stuff is done.
take a look at me water channeling http://theclarkyempire.piczo.com/?g=10262331&cr=7&linkvar=000044 there are a few pics of it on that page the channeling is is a very importain factor. if ur ship was taking a high speed turn and had alot of water in it u could make ur ship capsize if there is no water channeling as all the water channeling. also it helps direct ur water on to ur pump.
Look back at my early PE pages when I did my water channeling, I used the concrete patching material, so far I love it. A few others have said they have used it also, and really like it too. You need it so that the water will pool in one spot, the goal is that the pump will prime with the smallest amount of water in the hull. Without it you will be close to sinking before the pump even primes and starts pumping. My PE has no more than 3 or 4 ounces of water in it, and the pump will prime and start pumping. Also as Jason said, on a tight turn you will capsize when the water flows to one side of your ship, I have seen it happen to a Littorio, had a few holes it it, made a tight turn, and right over it went.
I talked to Don and Rick today and told them you were about to start your water channeling. There are a few ways to do it. Rick and Don right now are using the foam method, my other boats have used it also. Cut the pink wallboard foam to fit, and glue it in place. We used the gorlla glue, work well. Then I covered it with a layed of glass and West System resin. The Balsa as you see in Bob photo's is another way. But Don who has been in the hobby for a long time, does not like this method, he says he did use this method, but over time the resin cracks, and the balsa becomes water logged and rots, and the side it gets wet add weight to the one side of the ship. I have never used it myself, so I don't know. Then the concrete patching material, you install the form, and just squeeze it in, its self leveling, it does take a few days to dry, and smells bad, till its fully dry, but so far looks, and works great, and is totally waterproof. There may be other methods also, but I have not seen them used, so it will be up to others to add to this list. So you need to decide what way you are going to use, and we can try to help you going forward from there.
Thanks JasonC and djranier All three pics are great! Snipehunter sent Bobs pics and you guys sent some great pics. I have to look for those early djranier pics. I want to start to water channel tomorrow but I think I have to seal everything after I make it than install and reseal.
Jason C How do you water channel I see the pics and it looks like you glass over it but do you use foam?
