I'm building a big gun maryland and had a few questions. One : do i build the entire hull first then cut windows for the pentrable area? How do i build the armor belt. Will someone please help me!
Are you doing fiberglass or wood? If you're doing fiberglass, then you get a fiberglass hull (build it or buy it) and cut windows in it. If you're building wood, then you don't need to cut windows in it because it naturally has penetrable areas.
Ribs, my friend, Ribs we are taking about. You build the boat with the ribs and then sheet with balsa across the ribs.
Have you seen any completed boats up close? Get with your club and ask to see how the hull is constructed. It helps having an experienced person at your side as you plan/build your ship. Does your club have buliding sessions? Do you have your club's ship building rules on hand?
Well, I have plans and the old MBG building rules. But, other than that, im on my own. Several people in the midwest own ships, but i've never met one or seen a ship up close. I have a pretty good idea how to build it, but other than that.......
And I am sorry to say that it will be a while before I am back in Illinois again I am working on Tirpitz right now. My next ship will be Bismark for a guy who lives in northern Illinois.
Just had a thought. Check out MABG.org web site. We have a lot of photos of ships underconstruction posted there.
Fiberglass works. It's not as nice as a well-built wooden hull, but it's also not as bad as a badly-built wooden hull. For your first build, without any examples of excellent woodwork to imitate, fiberglass is probably your safest bet.
Well, my father and I, who are building the ship, are both experienced woodworkers. When I was younger he finished our basement, and some of our projects since have included a trebuchet and a mobile lemonade stand. My father is a licensed electrician, so wiring will be no problem. The plans that we have are very good- all the ribs are layed out seperately, and so is the bow and stern keel. We have decided to go for wood.
Nice. Make sure you double-check that the ribs are in all the right places. Lots of ribs is good, but if they're in all the wrong places then you've got a lot of ribs that need to be re-drawn. I've always been fortunate in that my ships never needed more than a few re-drawn ribs, but from the few I have done, it is quite a pain. Good luck with your build, and be sure to post photos!
Rib placement is VERY important. With a glass hull, if the ribs are not cut right, the hull will be useless! Just like the thickness of the rib governs the spacing between ribs. Wish that you were closer to us.
Not sure of your exact rules but I will show you an example from our rules set.The stern is solid for one inch the bow for two. The total solid is 15% or 85 % penetrable. For example if the boat is 30 inches long then you can have a total solid or impenetrable area of 4.5 inches. With two at the bow and one at the stern that leaves one and a half inches for ribs. If each rib is 1/4 inch that means you can have six (6) ribs. Where you place them is your choice. This stuff should be in your rules so make sure you check yours and good luck
WEll, The MBG has the same spacing as the WWC, and i can have 90 % pentrable. I stall am wondering how the armor belt is built in big gun...... ( Knight4hire, in case u have not figured this out i am superarp on the WWC And MABG forums
Uhhhmmmmm, huston....we have a problem. My plans have 85% impentrable. However, all is not lost.....I'll just have to make the bow and stern kell smaller to compensate.........
sry 85% pentrable.....I have compensated. That cuts about 1 and 1/2 inch out of the stern area and .5 inch out of the bow
Awwwww! I had hopes that is was the Mid West group was growing. I have some dear friends in your home town and I have access to some ponds there in the State.
Well, anyways, there are still people interested, and im sure most of the old battlers could be persuaded to rejoin. After all, the MBG had like, 50-60 ships at it's hight, right? Anyways, I still am wondering about the armor belt. Since i'm planning to build the subdeck/ribs this weekend, and maybe plank the bottom of the hull with plywood ( I will glass it, the ribs, and the Bow and Stern later) . I just drew up the subdeck. I've mesaured it so that the deck is in three sections. The fore deck, the middle with the superstructure that floats when the thing sinks, and the rear. The maryland is annoying in that it has a little drop in the middle of the deck - I plan to use some foam at the front of the floaty section so it floats level.
