Tips on propulsion setup please - 1/48 Balao boat

[themongoose_OLD]

Hi Gang, I ordered my props and shafts today. I also cut out a hatch over the rudder area to gain access for installin everything. Could anyone share their experience with settingup the rudder and the props?

On the rudder i'm interested in how you set up the servo...wire drive, single or double rod from the servo in push/pullmode? Also do you pin the shaft into the rudder once you drill it out or can you glue it in somehow?

On the props I'm interested in how to make the best measurement so that the shafts go thru the hull at the same point on either side of the hull. Once in do oyu put some support around the penetration or just leave it alone(shaft is in a sleeve on mine)? The hardest part looks to be making the struts. Does anyone have any pictures of ho they did theirs? I'm assuming the technique would be similar whether you have a fleetboat or a U-boat but that's a guess.

Anyway, all your help would be greatly appreciated!

Chris

[boatbuilder1]

chris
these tasks can be dounting

chris
these tasks can be dounting can't they.
the best way to acomplish these are as follows
1) Good referance material, for the fleet boat I suggest you get the plans book from http://floatingdrydock.com/
its around 45 bucks but in my opinion you cant build a fleet boat accurately with out it !
2) once you have the book just scale up the profile drawings and take measurements from that.I have done a few 1/96 gatos and a 1/48 balao.
mark you measurements with either a surface gauge. or an engineers steel rule you can get this from micro mark esentially it is a stell rule but is had tiny slots above the numbers, and you simply mark with a pencil in the slot you can't get much more accurate than that. lastely heed my advise " measure twice cut once! and please take you time .
once you have the dimensions correct drill undersized holes for the tubes and file out to the correct shape. then using a moto tool or rasp file and elongate the hole to an oval ,keep trial fitting the tubes for a good fit. once you are satisfied tack them in with Thick Ca DO NOT USE ANY OTHER GLUES UNTIL THE PLANES ARE INSTALLED AND THE SHAFT SUPPORTS THE PENATRATE THE HULL ARE IN.
the control surfaces are quite straight forward to install simply drill the correct sized holes and insert brass bearings made from brass tube the best way to get these in at right angles (90degrees) use a small steel rule as a guide hold it up on the planes and against the hull to get it right.
the rudder is really very easy to do the same way . once you have all the bearings in place and tacked down, glass them in withe fiberglass resin mized with micro balloons to make a thick soupy glue and apply with a cotton ear swabs. you might have to use a brass tube or similar object to tape the swab to so you can get at the hard to reach areas
hope this helps and if I can be of assistance email me directly

chuck

[boss subfixer]

Chris,
Let me expand a little

Chris,
Let me expand a little on chucks reply. The plans book from the floating dry dock are great to have but very hard to find. In an old e-mail conversation with Tom he said he was sold out and wasn't sure if he would do a reprint, this was about a year ago, so it might not hurt to check with him. I bought a copy from white Ensign Models and as I'm writing this I just checked their website and they are sold out. If you can't find it used any where you can contact the wisconsin maritime museum and get a copy of the drydock plan for the USS Cobia. It is the original drawings (copied) that were drawn by Electric Boat in 1/4 scale, They will be about 30" wide and around 10' long. The plans (one sheet) will show you where the shafts, rudder and stern planes belong as well as all the hull penetrations and if your modeling your boat from one that was built by E.B. then it also gives you all the limber holes on the super structure top side. Here is the web page; http://www.wimaritimemuseum.org. Click on library and archives on the left side of the page then scroll all the way to the bottom of the library page and you will see a link for reproduction services, click the link and you will see their price list. Their phone number is on the bottom of the page. The plan number you want is 2025-22. They are very nice to deal with, reasonable prices and I had my plan within a week of placing the order rolled up in a mailing tube. If you would like I could e-mail you the index for the plans they have for the Cobia, you will need to have Microsoft Excel to view it. The last sentence goes for anyone that wants this information, I have the museums permission to distribute the file. This plan in no way replaces the book. If you can get a copy then do it. Tom put alot of effort into making the book and it shows. I hope this helps and good luck.
BSF

[themongoose_OLD]

Great stuff guys! This is

Great stuff guys! This is just the direction I was hoping the thread would go. I had no idea you installed a bearing for the shafts to ride in. I'll do a search for the book and see what I come up with and then check out the 1/4 plans.

What are microballoons?

Found Micor Mark on the web. The scale sounds like a good idea.

Thanks for the help and please keep it coming....Chris

[boatbuilder1]

hey why didn't I think

hey why didn't I think of that I am only an hour and 20 minuets from there
the neatest thing about the cobia is the museum has program for overnight stays on board cool hey
if I can be of help just ask
I would be more than willing to scan something in from the book and send it your way but please no copies of copies to pass around I wish to respect the copyrights of tim while still lending a hand
chuck