USS Sturgeon SSN-637 Ship Drawings

[Parallax]

Hi All,
I have come across several options for plans in regards to a 637. Could you guys let me know which options make sense with an eye towards 1/72 scale as far as accuracy.
Issue 17 of the SCR report has the plans for a long hull Sturgeon by David Merriman. It says it is for 1/72 scale however I believe because it was scanned, the image appears to be a bit wavy.
The Floating Drydocks has plans listed for 1/96 though I am sure I could upsize it or see if they will fill request for a larger print. The plans I have seen from them appear to be detailed with cross sections
Taubmans Online which I believe is a subsidiary of Loyalhanna has plans listed for 1/72 scale on 3 sheets. I cannot see any examples of their plans.
I have seen Mr. Greg Sharpe mentioned several times as a good person to get plans from but he no longer has a website.
I believe Windjammer-Arts has ship drawings of the Sturgeon and appear to be similar to the floating drydocks in style.

I always thought the sturgeon had a smooth curve transition from the main hull to the bow. Looking at the low quality scans of Sturgeon plans I have seen, it seems like its not a perfect curve after all. Is that correct?
Thanks,
Mike

[JWLaRue]

Mike,

I have an original copy of Greg Sharpe's 637 drawings. I can get them scanned, scaled and printed quite easily at my local blueprint shop. I can also send you the scanned image....

-Jeff

[Parallax]

Jeff that would be amazing if you could send a scan or get a printed copy. Please let me know how much that costs and I will reimburse you right away. This is kinda turning into an obsession for me, I just wish I had started a lot sooner.

[wlambing]

Mike,

The 637s had a fair curve hull to bow in all axes. The Greg Sharp plans are good ones to use for a model. If you need any interpretation regarding a feature in the plans, give me a holler. There are some things people get wrong as they look at the graphic representation.

Bill Lambing
USS Trepang (SSN-674) 1983-1987
A-Gang LPO

[Parallax]

Bill,
Thank you, I will take you up on your help for sure. I guess its just when I look at the profile, it seems like the curve is more abrupt then I thought it would be. I should probably sketch out what I mean. In any case I am going to start a new thread soon to determine the best approach to modeling the plug and making molds for a 1/72 scale Sturgeon.

[wlambing]

Mike,

The 637s have a blunter, shorter curve than the 688s that everyone is used to seeing. Also, the sail is closer to the bow. The Seawolf class got even blunter, partly due to being rather girthy. VAs have gone back to something similar to the 637s, but still a wee bit different. They have a bit more beam in the main hull cylinder than the 637s. Changes the curve a bit.

Take care, I'm off to run boats!

Bill

[Ralph --- SSBN 598]

If you are looking for just the hull shape, there is the large drawing of the 637 with the interior view which I have no idea how accurate it is on NavSource.
Resizing it to needed scale would be an easy task.

637 boat

[Parallax]

Hey Jeff, Ralph,
If you take a look at the two pictures I attached, I am not sure if it expresses what I mean about the hull shape. It seems like in the one plan, there are some very abrupt angle changes at the beginning of the curve, and towards the very bow, perhaps mroe abrupt then I would have expected? Its pretty hard to determine what is and is not accurate. I feel like in the one image, the curve begins before the sail, and the other begins after.
Jeff, I had a hard time seeing the details but do you think the Greg Sharpe drawings deviate significantly from what I have attached here?

[Ralph --- SSBN 598]

The line drawing has frames on the left side of the drawing.
The drawing I posted was an artist wall mount representation of the 637 boat.
It appears to me the artist took liberties in smoothing out some lines.
Example: the bow from the front to the A mark is a partial sphere. Round not parabolic.


It does appear that the hull lines start to curve at or just behind the front of the sail.
But then the sail looks flat all the way to the front of the sail.

The reason I think the artist took liberties is the location of the sail planes.
They are not centered on the sail which they are on the line drawing and in photos of the boats next to the pier.
----
Here is a model of the 637 that shows the abrupt curve change that I think you are referring to...

=============
More photos of the model 637

[wlambing]

The Greg Sharpe plans are much better than the attached above. The blue illustration is pretty correct for hull form, sail height and sailplane placement. Please, do NOT base any of your efforts off the Motionmodels debacle shown above! That line drawing is way not correct either.
Be patient, get the Sharpe plans, build a nice boat.

Bill

[JWLaRue]

I don't recall seeing the abrupt hull changes when seeing the 1:1 Sturgeon-class boats at Groton. Appeared to be smooth transitions. In any case, we (almost? ) always trust Bill on these types of questions!

-Jeff

[Parallax]

Hey Bill, thank you I will take your advice and wait for the Sharpe plans! Jeff thank you again for hunting them down. I am going to go ahead and start up a build thread to start planning out the route I am going to take to build this guy. I figure even if I do not have the plans, it makes sense to make weigh out my options and make decisions so I can gather whatever materials and tools I need. I think a little practice on a less ambitious scale might honestly also make sense.
I have also been downloading a ton of Sturgeon class boat pictures for added source material. The ones I have been finding the fewest of are drydock and construction photos showing the underside and propulsion.

[JWLaRue]

Mike,

...you do have a soft copy of the Sharpe plans...the one I sent you....

I hope to be able to get to my local blueprint place late this week to get the original scanned and copied.

-Jeff

[Parallax]

Jeff please ignore me, to borrow the expression "What a maroon! (me)" Please do not rush on the plans, whenever is convenient for you. I have more then enough to get started now!

[rshoker]

Jeff,

Do you or anyone else tell me what the dimensions (initial width and center height) of the towed array fairing? I am thinking of building Plunger (I know she is a 594 boat) in her final configuration and the fairing is one of the many mods I need to add to Matt Thor's excellent kit. Thanks! Randy