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Testing of my model was undertaken this last Sunday, and marked the 27th month of construction.
Things went far better than I expected, mostly due to a generous offer by the intrepid Greg Sharpe to help me get her trimmed out.
I brough the Nautilus over to Greg's secret "Sharpe Cave" and we threw it in his custom-built testing tank. Surprisingly, the Nautilus floated on a dead-even keel, slightly high in the water.
We also tested my motor / prop combo (automotive radiator fan motor and scratch-built sledgehammer prop). This motor has punch! It actually rolled the sub over at 30degrees to port at full throttle and blew water five feet behind the tank. I was suitably impressed, as was Greg who initially favored a more conventional hobby motor.
With the redistribution of foam and the addition of some lead in the keel, we had her sitting just above scale waterline, level while surfaced and just slightly low in the stern when submerged (not really noticeable, so we decided to leave well enough alone until after our first lake-test). The addition of the lead in the keel also significantly reduced the torque-induced-roll that we initially experienced.
The ballast system performed flawlessly, and I got ten full blows from the system before running out. My ballast tank is a cylinder measuring 6" in diameter and 6" in length.
This week I will be cleaning up the foam, painting it where it shows under my deck grating and mouting it permanently with silicone. I'll also wire my lighting system to the WTC for remote operation.
Her maiden voyage is scheduled for this weekend, weather permitting, at nearby Thetis lake. Greg has even hinted that he may pull a sub or two off his shelf himself!
I've got a few pics of the completed model on My Site. Feel free to check it out.
Surfacing / Diving .AVI (approx 10mb)
Throttle Testing .AVI (approx 4mb)
Edited By Bob the Builder on 1077045705
Things went far better than I expected, mostly due to a generous offer by the intrepid Greg Sharpe to help me get her trimmed out.
I brough the Nautilus over to Greg's secret "Sharpe Cave" and we threw it in his custom-built testing tank. Surprisingly, the Nautilus floated on a dead-even keel, slightly high in the water.
We also tested my motor / prop combo (automotive radiator fan motor and scratch-built sledgehammer prop). This motor has punch! It actually rolled the sub over at 30degrees to port at full throttle and blew water five feet behind the tank. I was suitably impressed, as was Greg who initially favored a more conventional hobby motor.
With the redistribution of foam and the addition of some lead in the keel, we had her sitting just above scale waterline, level while surfaced and just slightly low in the stern when submerged (not really noticeable, so we decided to leave well enough alone until after our first lake-test). The addition of the lead in the keel also significantly reduced the torque-induced-roll that we initially experienced.
The ballast system performed flawlessly, and I got ten full blows from the system before running out. My ballast tank is a cylinder measuring 6" in diameter and 6" in length.
This week I will be cleaning up the foam, painting it where it shows under my deck grating and mouting it permanently with silicone. I'll also wire my lighting system to the WTC for remote operation.
Her maiden voyage is scheduled for this weekend, weather permitting, at nearby Thetis lake. Greg has even hinted that he may pull a sub or two off his shelf himself!
I've got a few pics of the completed model on My Site. Feel free to check it out.
Surfacing / Diving .AVI (approx 10mb)
Throttle Testing .AVI (approx 4mb)
Edited By Bob the Builder on 1077045705
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