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Gun, Decks and Capping Strips

Having suddenly remembered that my wife is dragging me off for two weeks in Mauritius next Tuesday, I thought I had better update things. Construction of the windlass was very satisfying so I thought I would jump the gun (sorry!) and build the 12 pounder. Another annoying incorrect part number for the gun platform (399 read 361), but the remainder of the mini build went OK. The suggested use of scrap 0.8mm ply as a ensured parallel planking on the gun deck platform and again, the white metal parts required very little fettling. Instructions say to fix the stanchions in place, then thread the 0.2mm railing wire. I think it would be easier to thread the wire onto the stanchions and then glue them into place. I also found that the vague instruction to leave a gap in the railings on the 'left rear side' for the ladder, required fine tuning to avoid the bottom of the ladder coming up against a cowl vent. Shouldn't have jumped the gun! Next job was to glue the ply capping rails around the top of the hull. I used superglue which gave a quick fix, together with the usual stuck fingers. However, once sanded and painted the end result was very pleasing. Supplied are sheets of 'screen printed' deck overlays, which are detailed with planking etc. Instructions say that these decks can be lightly stained, which I initially decided to do. Not a good move! Even a light staining masks a lot of detail. Luckily, I only messed up the foredeck, so a trip to Jotika for a replacement. A chat with John (Jotika) resulted in leaving the decks unstained, which will later be clear lacquered. It seems that the decks were originally screen printed giving much 'heavier' detail which would take a stain. However, the current decks are laser etched so the planking isn't as heavily defined. (More about that later). Ok, I have been ordered to start packing my case, so more in a few weeks.

5 years ago by cormorant

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Fitting the Rudders

There are four rudders on this boat. The design for these is a vast improvement on the Aeronauts Pilot Boat I recently completed. The first stage was to drill all of the required holes in the hull. These include two for the anchors, two for the prop shafts, one for the water inlet tube and four for the rudders. As this is an ABS hull moulding, drilling is not usually too much of a problem but due to the cost of the model, I decided to protect the insides around the holes with tape to decrease the possibility of cracking. I start the holes off with a 3mm drill and then increase to the final size which in this case was 4mm, 6mm, 7mm and 4mm respectively. I gently filed around the holes to get a nice slide fit and correct alignment of the tubes. The deck lies on a support rib which will later be glued around the inside of the hull. The instructions highlight the build of a simple device which will hold a pencil at a height of 7.5mm. A pencil is taped to a straight piece of wood of about 30cm long with a suitable in between which was 3mm in this case. You can then place the stick to contact both sides of the hull and then draw a constant line at exactly 7.5mm down. Simple but effective. This will form the height guide for the deck support. This line was also continued around the bow of the ship which will form the bulwark later. The next job was to prepare and glue the side supports inside the hull for the rudder tube support board. Next job was to glue the support board in place. I did not notice at this time that the support board had quite a bad bend in it. The bow was upwards which resulted in the two centre tube alignment inserts being above the end of the tubes. The solution was to glue the two middle alignment inserts under the support board instead. A little awkward but the result is good. The rudder tubes were now fitted and glued to be water tight with Stabilit Express glue. This is good for water tightness. I painted the four rudders matt black and then protected with Lacquer. Although the instructions state that the rudders should be fitted and set up at this stage, I have decided to leave this for as long as possible to avoid damage. The next job is to fit the twin motors and prop shafts. This is a job for next week.

5 years ago by MouldBuilder