Recent Posts
π¬ Re: Rigging-Screws
5 months ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Try eBay. There are numerous left hand taps and dies.
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π¬ Re: my workshop
9 months ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Looks interesting. What are the floor dimensions and do you have any plans?
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π¬ Re: Bilge & Circulating Pump Outflow.
2 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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I would have thught that they would be lower so as not necessitate cutting the irons. But hey, what do I know!
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π sail control ????
2 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi,
On the weight of the keel, may I suggest that you place it in a filled bath and add weight to it until it floats to the waterline? Then remove the weight and weigh them. I take a small amount of the resultant weight to allow for trimming.
I hope this makes sense.
Best of luck
Edward
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π Servo issues etc
3 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi Dave
I've stripped the main sail servos out and I've mislead you all. The arm servo is HiTec HS-765HB and the main sail is a Futaba S5801.
Cheers
Edward
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π Servo issues etc
3 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi Stephen
I've just measured the model; its 4 foot long pus 15.5 inch bowsprit. It has a 14 inch beam and the draft is about 6 inches plis 4 inches for the bulb keel (detachable)
Cheers
Edward
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π Servo issues etc
3 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi Dave
I'll try and answer your questions.
Ch1 Jib (arm) & Foresail (drum)via Y adapter
Ch 2 Speed controller; Mtronics Viper Marine 15
Ch 3 Main Sail - Drum
Ch 4 rudder - normal high power servo.
The battery splits via a Y lead to the Mtronics and a bus bar that serves the two drum winches.
All servos are Futaba. I am not aware that Futaba make different drum winches and I've thrown away the boxes. I would have bought the strongest they do at the time.
The tests done so far have been under a No Load state so the current draw should be minimal.
Does this help?
Edward
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π Servo issues etc
3 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi Stephen,
The model is about 4 feet long, plus a bow sprit. It has a beam of about 12 inches. The ballast is about 12Kg. Sorry about the range of units - put it down to my age!
Yes, it is an auxiliary motor; a monoperm special if I remember correctly. The speed controller is a Milltronics. I can do some pictures but not now; its bed time here!
The Servomorph P96 is currently unavailable and I'm waiting to hear from Components Shop when they hop to have them.
Edward
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π Servo issues etc
3 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Thanks Garry, I'll give it a try. Will they work with the speed controller too? Edward
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π Servo issues etc
3 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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I am building a twice scale Cariad Bristol Pilot Cutter. I have a Futaba servos for the rudder, main sail (drum), Jib (arm servo) and fore sail (Drum), a Miltronics speed controller and BEC. The Receiver is a FrSky while the Transmitter is a Futaba 6EX-2.4GHz. I have been told that the Transmitter will not work with a FrSky receiver, but it has binded together fine and works on the bench.
The problem I have is the throw of the servos is not sufficient and the speed controller is either on or off and will not go in reverse. There is no graduation of speed.
Last time I used R/C was in the early 1980s and that was with 27MHz. I am currently at a loss how I could improve the servos and any advice would be gratefully received.
The boat is almost ready to go into the water but I need the servos to work correctly.
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π¬ Re: Scratch built, Working Steam powered Drifter trawler LT100, to 1:24th scale.
3 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi,
I know that steam locos have a bypass valve on the water feed pipework to allow the partial return of the feedwater. Would one help with your system?
I'm enjoying your blog!
Keep it up
Edward
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π HMS Dido
4 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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HMS Dido did indeed start off life with two twin forward turrets but was soon fitted out with three.
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π HMS Dido
4 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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White Ensign do a 1/700 kit. This could be a bit fiddly but the cost would be relatively modest. Deans Marine used to do a 1/96 semi kit and Fleetscale Marine do a 1/128 semi kit too. Personally, I like the Fleetscale one.
The main difference in HMS Dido to the other ships is the cross-bracing on the foremast and degaussing wires around the hull being exposed. The armorment changed over time too so select the right date!
Good luck with the build and let us know how you are progressing!
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π Casting a lead bulb keel
5 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Useful information. I'm not sure where I'd get these powders from though. When I designed the plugs I avoided undercuts and had no need to use the mould more than once but if anybody did need to your advice seems more than sound.
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π Casting a lead bulb keel
5 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Mine were left in the workshop for about a month, possibly longer, before being put in the oven for a couple of hours. The problem with the last casting was that the Plaster of Paris was too old.
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π Casting a lead bulb keel
5 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi,
Iβm sorry about the car. It got copied across accidentally.
Best wishes
Edward
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π Casting a lead bulb keel
5 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Please note. The photographs are in reverse order!
About three years ago I started to make and cast a bulb keel for my wooden Pilot boat, Cariad. Well, I have finally done it but not without some false starts and accidents. I donβt propose to dwell too long on them!
My first task was to establish how much weight I would need. The boat is larger than the fibreglass hulls produced by Chris Brown. The hull is almost complete and painted so I ran the bath (while my wife was out!) and floated her in it. I then added weights until her waterline looked right then weighed the weight which was just over 13Kg. I decided to make the bulb keel a bit less than this to leave room for trimming the model.
I how needed to make a plug of the keel. Luckily I have a lathe which simplified the process although you could use an electric drill to turn down the front and rear ends. The density of lead is 11.34g/cc or there about, so it possible to calculate the size I would need using basic maths. I did this in sections, firstly the nose and tail (made from sheets of plywood glued together then turned down on the lathe), then the body (made from a plastic rainwater pipe) and finally the attachment to the hull (from wood). From the total I got the final weight. I adjusted the weight by altering the length of the body.
The mould needed to be in three parts: two sides and a section to reflect the size of the keel. It was made from Plaster of Paris. To contain the mould I made up some timber boxes and a plywood sheet to hold half the plug to start the moulding process off. This had to be greased well so as to release the plug. To hold the casting to the hull I needed a threaded rod which I originally made from 1/4β brass rod which was incorporated into the moulds prior to casting. Later I changed this rod to stainless steel.
The first mould I made was a bit damp even though I had let it dry for a couple of months in my dry shed. Too much air bubbles were introduced and the size just didnβt look right. Iβd also included some feeder holes to allow me to fill the lead and for air to escape. They were not successful either because the lead solidified around them. The casting had to be re-melted and the mould re-made.
For the second mould I made a new plug using a narrower section of drain pipe but the mould was also a bit damp but the main problem was the filling points. Again, they were just too narrow and clogged up with the lead. I decided to do away with the filling points and left the top of the mould open to the air. I did this by cutting the Plaster of Paris with a jig saw and making up the irregularities of the cutting with more plaster.
The next casting caused me no end of trouble because it leaked like a sieve despite being held together with clamps. I had to stop casing the lead. Because I had about 12 Kg of molten lead to deal with, I didnβt want to leave it as a solid lump of lead. It is better to have a number of smaller bits to add to the melt pot gradually: melt a small quantity first and gradually add other bits. I therefore cast it into small ingot moulds. What I did was cast one ingot, wait a minute for it to solidify then dunk it into a bucket of water to finally cool it which resulted in the ingot and mould separating. The mould would then be removed from the bucket and set aside to finish steaming. Another mistake! I thought it had finished steaming so went to cast another ingot when it exploded and scattered molten around, including over me. I was lucky and only ended up with a burnt left arm and needing to buy another pair of glasses.
After being severely told off by my wife as well as being very nervous about trying again I again made yet another mould. This one I dried off in the oven (my wife was out!) for a couple of hours at about 140 deg C. This helped no end but I still got a bit of bubbling. However the casting looked alright despite needing a bit of cleaning up.
Lessons Learnt:
Use fresh Plaster of Paris
Grease the plugs before casting the Plaster of Paris, including greasing the mould interface to prevent sticking.
Make sure your body is well protected, including a full face shield while casting lead.
Use stainless steel rod as the fixing to the hull. Brass is too bendy/soft.
Make the filling hole in the mould as large as possible.
Ensure the mould is as dry as possible before casting
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π¬ The bow blocks & outer keel
5 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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I read somewhere that if you diagonally plank a hull that can give you concave hulls. I have never done this but would be interested to hear from people who have.
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π Brixham trawler IBEX
5 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi Sam,
Yes, a Monoperm Super I think it is. it is only small as I reckon the original would only have had a small motor.
I had issues with getting the rudder to work because the rudder shaft is at an angle. Another thing I'm anticipating is the size of the rudder; it may need to be increased in size.
I think that thinking how problems can be overcome is half the fun!
Edward
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π Brixham trawler IBEX
5 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi Sam,
I guess so. if you want to be technical I suppose you need to think where your centre of gravity is, and where your centre of effort is from the sails etc.
Are you going to cast the keel or make it up?
Edward
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π Brixham trawler IBEX
5 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi Samnewbie
I have a Cariad which is wooden hulled at twice scale. I decided to use a false keel but as I bought the hull completed needed to retro-fit one. I agree with you! if you can fit the tube as early on as possible it will make life a bit easier. My keel needs to be about 12kg and the tube is a couple of inches behind the mast. I am still trying to cast the keel; I'm now on my fourth attempt!
I have calculated the keel weight and plan on it being about 1kg lighter than need be. This will allow me to finely trim the boat up once complete.
Good luck with yours.
Edward
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π Props
6 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Clockwise, looking at it from the photo.
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π Ebay Horrors
6 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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I can only agree with your advice. I have had similar experiences and would like to add, always pay using PayPal. I know Paypal's fees to a seller are high but this shouldn't effect you. Anyway, I'm glad it worked out for you. Edward
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π¬ paddle tug Aid
6 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi,
I have a copy which I bought new in the early 70s for 60p! There is no ISBN number. The original was published in 1948 so my version is a reprint from 1971.
Aid looks a nice boat which should make an interesting model. I am looking forward to reading how construction proceeds and the techniques you adopt. Good luck with it!
Edward
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π¬ progress
7 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Great.
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π¬ progress
7 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi. Looking good.
Are you happy that you won't get any water ingress? it looks like the tightening screw will be below the waterline.
Edward
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π Brixham trawler IBEX
7 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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A detachable bulb keel will result in a more stable sailing experience. The further away the weight is from the centre of buoyancy the better.
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π Brixham trawler IBEX
7 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi
With my sailing pilot cutter Cariad, when the hull was largely complete I put her in the bath an put weights in until the waterline was reached. I then weighed the weights. I then tried to make the bulb keel slightly lighter to allow for trimming.
I would make provision for the bulb keel at an early stage of construction. I didn't do this and it was a right pain!
Good luck
Edward
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π¬ CERVIA "TUG" 54" (4.5 foot long)
7 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi,
I had one of these too although she is now sold. I bought my hull from Greenwich Maritime Models but they are now well gone. She will be an impressive model when finished although personally I would not use an ic engine.
Best of luck
Edward
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π¬ Turbine boat
7 years ago by
π¬π§ cenbeth (
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class)
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Hi Les
I enjoy problem solving, in essence. Currently I'm building a twice scale Cariad, a Bristol pilot sailing boat. Currently I have a 12kg bulb keel to cast; I'm on my third attempt! Still, it's fun.
I'm interested to hear how you get on with yours. Do you have any drawings you could put on line?
Edward
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