I was talking about the inside as I see pics with them covered. Do you than put clear plastic on them to separate from the inside. I also wanted to ask about the dummy props, do they just get epoxied to the shafts?
Im not sure what you are asking about with the ribs, what pictures are you talking about? Do the dummy props have set screws? if not I guess epoxing them is fine. ive never uesd BC's dummy props so maybe there is something that works better.
The wood on the inside of the hulls is a personal choice. Some of the older fiberglass hulls needed as they were pretty thin and would break apart. The new BC hull will stand up for several year. Some ribs will break and need to be replaced. Not to hard to do, some epoxy & glass cloth. It's a lot of work to put the wood backers in, I old do it so I have something to hang the interior armor on. On every 3" or so. A 1/8" stringer should have a backer to it as then are not as strong. For the dummy props I put a collor with a set screw on the shaft behind it and the drag disk to hold things in place. An old hub from an old prop with lost blades works too.
SnipeHunter There are no set screws just plastic props. You can see in my lower pics that I'm posting. I'm posting them to get you opinions on if my set up for my dummy props looks ok. I think I saw the ribs on your Von der Tann covered in wood. Here is the Maryland pic I saw it on. Thanks for the input Bob this is the BC Maryland. Maryland pic.
You could always drill the prop shaft all the way through the plastic dummy prop and put the collar there, that may be what Bob is suggesting. I wouldnt get to hung up on it, using epoxy will probably work. The dummy props dont look level with eachother but that could just be the picture. Thier alignment isnt as important as the main shafts, its less of a performance thing but symmetry is nice. I wouldn't bother with putting wood on the inside of your ribs to support them, maybe every 3rd or 4th rib to attach the armor too but thats it. Thats how I did it on the VDT, I actually did that towards the end when i was fitting the armor.
SnipeHunter Tried to get the dummy props to look a little more level to each other. Check it out and let me know. Do most guys buy an extra set of real props or maybe paint these brass?
Yeah that looks better, id say go ahead and epoxy them in place. I build my own dummy props out of brass sheet and a dremel and then just solder them to the shaft. Might be a little crude but they look ok I think and Id rather lose/destroy one of those then a real prop. They are also easy to make and replace if something happens to one. If you think they would look better painted go for it, thats a personal choice. I dont think most people use real props on the dummy shafts, its to easy to damage or lose one. Some people do but thats normally for looks or they have those shafts powered in reverse.
Drill a hole through the dummy props. Put a junk of 1/8" brass rod at the end of the shaft. Place the collar after the prop. You'll want to put a drag disk on the shaft that is the same size as your drive props. Helps a ton with turning, acceleration & deceleration. From the bow you'll have drag disk, prop, collar. The drag disk is just a round peice of plastic or wood. Make sure the struts holding the shafts are glued down really good. They take a beating when you run into things and set the ship down. You should put some on the outer ones too. You can make a single strut with a small peice of 1/8" plywood, like I did on the DVD.
Bob I have 2 singles that Rick sent me with the kit. I can use singles or doubles I have both. Which do you think is better?
Have the rudder mount built and dummy propshafts epoxied in. Have to add shaft supports than don't know whats next. What should I do next?
Water chaneling (WC) is next inside the ship. Then seal the decks and WC. Then start on the radio box. Wire the motors, pump, solenoids. Then make accumulation tanks and put the hoses in. Then make the guns. Install the interior armor. Sheet the ship. Install everything. Make the SS. Battle. Sink. Get your ship. Repair, repete until you do not sink as much.
I think I have the front water channeling done as in earlier pics. I do have to get the back WC in place. What does this mean - Then seal the decks and WC.
Seal the decks and waterchannel with epoxy so they dont get water logged and rot. I like to install the pump after I get the drive train done. Then I normally do the electronics followed by the CO2/guns. I dont think the order is of great importance as long as you leave space for anything you need to add later.
I have all the wood (WC) inside epoxy coated.Really have to do sometrhing with the back WC area. See Pic. Are you saying seal the main decks now?
Well, after you have the holes for the guns cut, hole for the pump cut, the junks of wood to hold the guns in place glued on, the junks of wood to hold the decks down glued on then seal the decks.
I must say she is looking nice. How is the rear servo bracket working. Are you able to move the large gear back and forth with your hand, and everything stays in place?
Really haven't screwed it in as yet but it should. I think a screw down and a screw into the servo block should do it. Don't know the next step.
It looks like its coming along rather nice Ron, maybe carve up some balsa to fit in the rear and get the water channel finished up so you dont have to think about it any more. Have you hooked a battery up to the motors and run the props a little yet, I like to do that just for kicks and if there is a problem its probably easier to fix it now. its probably going to be noisy with metal on metal gears. what do you want to do next? you have choices. Whatever you do we'll help you out. there isn't a "correct" order to build things, mostly just personal preference. so pick something you want to work on or want to get done and we'll go from there.
