http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/FileManager/Storage/633368630974789133.png The first “Sea Trials” for the new hull I brought back from NATS 2007. My son Zach was about 35 pounds (The weight of the ship) so we put him in the ship in our wading pool. They grow up too fast, or they could battle the ship from inside. This is not as bad as Lars holding his first born (Grant) for the first time and saying “Hey he weights about as much as my cruiser!” http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/FileManager/Storage/633368613703695383.png Guess I should have taken a photo of it before I cut out the hull. I laid out and taped the hull Labor Day Weekend 2007 in Arkansas at Kevin Bray’s building session. Then it sat that way in the basement for a few months as I finished the FN Montcalm (Visible in the background). As I typically do I drilled holes at the corners of the windows so the corner is rounded. Round corners are stronger, that’s why airplane windows are round. It also helps you keep the Dremel from cutting into the rib, further weakening the hull. You can see the nice stringer at the armor belt. I have more ribs at the bow then the stern. I’ve been told this BC hull is scale where the Swampy hull and some of the wood ones move the bulges down and do not make the armor belt as pronounced so it is easier to sheet. Not that this would make the ship any better in a fight but would be nice to have easy sheeting. For the record I have no idea what is really scale. The hull itself is very good quality. Uniform fiberglass thickness and little extra glass at the deck and stringer. http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/FileManager/Storage/633368614368226633.png The front of the ship. The first few ribs are a little over 1” apart. I’m hoping to keep out some of those stern guns. http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/FileManager/Storage/633368621315101633.png The internal lay out of the ship. I marked the turrets, probable motor placements, the rudder gears and rudder box on the bottom of the hull. The guns, rudders and motors are stuck in place. Other stuff needs to be built around them. The ¼” square spruce (I think it was spruce) is the start of the water channeling. Wide enough for the pump at the stern a little less at the bow. http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/FileManager/Storage/633368621683382883.png The start of the balsa wood water channeling. It will be 3/4” think at the bow and ¼” until the stern. Just enough to get the pump to prime quickly. Too much (Like I had in Warspite in 2004) and the water will make the ship top heavy. When you take damage you’ll list and sink before your reserve buoyancy is gone. I have the sections by the large channel slopped to the center just a little. I am putting balsa in the bulges, hoping to keep the water in the center of the ship and keep her a little more stable. http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/FileManager/Storage/633368622031976633.png This is the probable layout with most of the parts in the ship. I will be installing a reverse system in the ship by turning the outside motors in reverse only. This should help me start/stop better than other NCs and maybe good enough to get away from the Bismarcks that have reverse motors. From my experience on the Warspite I’m only going to install cruiser size motors and props for the reverse system. Bigger ones on other ships seam to make them go too fast in reverse. I made the accumulation tanks a year before I got the hull. Now I think I might need to shorten them up, we’ll see how things fit. The pump motor will be replaced by a Stinger. I will be using the BC gear boxes for the reverse motors and Traxxas Villain gear boxes for the main motors. Once the shafts are done I’ll put more water channeling in the stern. http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/FileManager/Storage/633368622320882883.png This mess is the wiring for the radio box. At the left are the Team Delta boards used to fire the guns. They are coated with 3M Scotch Coat, can
Forgot one step in the photo posting process. But it will not let me edit it. You should be able to still see the photos.
Really looking good Bob. I used the same Deans 4 pin connector for my solenods on my tripples in the Roma, going to the box, but at the solenoids themselves I added a single 2 pin connector, just in case one went bad and I had to replace it in a hurry. Also where are you adding in the damping diodes that go around the solenoids to take of the field collapse? In the box? Also how are you lowering the voltage to the TD firing cards, using a diode, or are you using a regulator? Did not see these items in your pictures. Are you fixing the forward guns, or taking advantage of the MWC rule, that allows any ship over 720 ft, to have 2 guns per side, in a different turret. So both forward guns could be rotates, which would give you twice the fire power of most ships. The NC can do it, the SD can't. I'm working on my Roma right now to get her setup that way, most people won't bother, but pull along side the Roma next time, and be suprised. But she will not make it to Nats this year, too big to carry so far.
The only thing I've had go bad in a solenoid is the plunger. That's easy to replace. The dampening dioes are with the test switches on the box. This way I can't plug a solenoid backwards and fry the diode. I have one Diode inline with the radio to drop a volt and prevent reverse polarity. I have one diode in line with the TD drop drop another volt. The forward guns are going to be fixed. I'm with "The most people" rotating guns defeats KISS. But it is an iteresting idea.
Yep same here on the solenoids, I did see Alan Oster lose one when I first started, the winding shorted out internally, and the whole thing was glowing orange. I like the ply as armour up front, its always a pain trying to get it all the way forward, amazing what we learn from watching others.
How did his coil fry in the solenoid? You'd have to pull on the wires pretty hard. I've seen one guy pull the wires out when he was stripping them. You have to leave a little wire at the solenoid or you could do that.
Thanks for showing the pictures Bob, gives you a real good idea about how to put all that stuff in the hulls. Can't wait to see you out there on the water!
It was in the water for a battle, and we saw smoke starting to come out of it, he pulled it out, took the top off, and you could see it glowing. Luckly the thing did not just catch on fire and burn up. Well then again it was a NC, or SD, so it would of been ok. [}] Since it was a Allied boat. He just put a new solenoid in, and was right back out the next battle. He opened the solenoid up and all the lacquire around the wiring was burned just about off, so I think it was just a defect in the coil, that just finally broke down over time.
Nice pics Bob. I'm watching your water chaneling to see how its done. Do you install than seal or seal everything than install?
I never have got around to updating this page, guess I'm a bad blogger. But I did put together a web page for portpolarbear.com I battled the Washington this year at 3 Regionals, NATS and 5 local battles. That's about 56 sorties of battling. I've already put sheeting on her 3 times. There have been no major problems and only a few minor ones. I don't really have anything I want to change either. She got a good workout in her first year. To see the finish of construction and the finished interior go to: http://www.portpolarbear.com/reports/Inside%20the%20USS%20Washington.htm
