When to paint

[novagator]

Well I at the point in my construction of my thor Alfa, that the control surfaces need to be permantantly installed. It would seem that it would be better to paint the sub at this point before finishing since I want a two colored hull instead of the all black, unless someone has a trick to painting the tail section after its built.

[JWLaRue]

...you're specifically looking at the

[color=#000000]...you're specifically looking at the moveable control surfaces, yes?

If they are not made to be removed (not necessarily a good idea from a maintenance point of view!), then after painting the lower hull the red/green/whatever and making sure that the lower hull color covers above the demarcationline....I suggest using something like the 3M low-tack blue masking tape to carefully mask that demarcation line for the upper black. Where the horizontal hydroplanes are mated up against the fixed part you will probably need to mask-and-paint twice]

[novagator]

How do you remove the

How do you remove the control surfaces in an Alfa once the pins are glued in, and the outside support pins are clipped to the edge. I don't see how you can get it apart.

[tmsmalley]

As Jeff said, you don't.

As Jeff said, you don't. There is no reason to. I have had my Thor Alfa for 5 years and have never needed or wanted to remove them.

[novagator]

As Jeff said, you don't.

As Jeff said, you don't. There is no reason to. I have had my Thor Alfa for 5 years and have never needed or wanted to remove them.

Thanks, I miss read Jeff's post the first time.

Thanks Guys!


John

[JWLaRue]

Correct.....however some of us are

Correct.....however some of us are especially paranoid given some of the sandy/gritty ponds we play in.

So, in the case of the Alfa I would make the outboard ends of the fixed horizontal planes removeable. Essentially cut them off and re-attach them with two flush mounted screws.

For my Skipjack (same kind of design), I was able to make the fixed planes completely removeable. For the Alfa that is, of course, not really an option due to the fairing that is done.

But Tim is right.....it's not likely that you will have a problem.

-Jeff

[novagator]

Correct.....however some of us are

Correct.....however some of us are especially paranoid given some of the sandy/gritty ponds we play in.

So, in the case of the Alfa I would make the outboard ends of the fixed horizontal planes removeable. Essentially cut them off and re-attach them with two flush mounted screws.

For my Skipjack (same kind of design), I was able to make the fixed planes completely removeable. For the Alfa that is, of course, not really an option due to the fairing that is done.

But Tim is right.....it's not likely that you will have a problem.

-Jeff

Jeff,

You got pics of your skipjack? Are you taking it this weekend to the RI?


John

[JWLaRue]

I can take photos....what are

[color=#000000]I can take photos....what are you interested in seeing?

re]

[novagator]

Photos of your removable dive

Photos of your removable dive planes

[JWLaRue]

Okay....but please remember that the

[color=#000000]Okay....but please remember that the way it's done for the Skipjack is probably not applicable for the Alfa unless you aren't going to worry about the fairing between hull and fixed planes.

So.....photos coming, but in the meantime]