Battleship for a friend's funeral

[iganatz]

I hope I'm not intruding; I'm not a R/C enthusiast so I also hope you don't find this request offensive. My oldest friend died this weekend and we intend to give him something of a Viking funeral. After completing his naval service, he claimed his one regret was never serving on the USS New Jersey.

It is our intent to purchase a R/C battleship, load it with his ashes and explosives and send him out with a most glorious farewell.

I know some obsessive collectors and model builders so I realize that our plan may seem like sacrilege on this site. I apologize if that is the case. Nevertheless, I hope some among you may help us. The largest R/C battleship I found from retailers online was 31" long. This just doesn't seem quite majestic enough for our purposes.

Are there larger battleships available out of the box? Or maybe the largest are models and we can pay someone to assemble it for us? Do you have any other advice that may be of use to us (outside of the legality of what we're planning on doing - we will get all the proper permits; luckily we're connected with our local political scene)?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. The man we lost was a good and kind soul and we wish to honor him in a way we know will make his spirit smile.

regards,

adam sanders

[pyrobus]

My prayers for your you and your friends family, and good luck I hope you can find a good ship. Sounds like a great farewell! Good friends , good times.
Love the idea and good luck in the future.

Pyro

[pimp_squeak]

Wish I could help, but I can't so I'll offer my regrets instead. I hope you succeed in your endeavor.

[Kmot]

Explosives? Are you serious? :eek:

Where are you located, and planning to do this?

[darkseacret]

Going out with a bang , now thats what friends are for , good luck .

[jcstalls]

Since you all are honoring this warrior in an old Vicking manner, one could take a few freinds, some foam panels from your local Home supply store, glue, blade and paint.

Just a thought, as as you all build, you may honor this gentleman with hours of discussion and prase.

Food for thought, and darn economical too.

Jared
Former Army
Father fromer Navy from the early 20's, and served on some Battleships when they were still coal burners.

[kaptain Jack]

dear sir I just might have what you looking for,some time ago I bought on E bay a radio control warship I believe it was Missouri,$350,Pictures looked grate but in reality it was very sloppy job,I gutted the mechanical and electronical parts it is made of soft wood meausers 56" and got pleanty of room inside as I mentioned earlyer on the pictures it looks very impressive,If you interested i could take some pictures for you,packing it and shipping should not be more then $100 or$120.Best wishes.Jack

[kaptain Jack]

Just in case it was misunderstood Im not asking any money for the ship,only shipping.

[wartoy]

Here are the only two companies that offer one big enough. Hope this helps.

http://www.loyalhannadockyard.com/
http://scaleshipyard.com/

[cos918]

I hope I'm not intruding; I'm not a R/C enthusiast so I also hope you don't find this request offensive. My oldest friend died this weekend and we intend to give him something of a Viking funeral. After completing his naval service, he claimed his one regret was never serving on the USS New Jersey.

It is our intent to purchase a R/C battleship, load it with his ashes and explosives and send him out with a most glorious farewell.

I know some obsessive collectors and model builders so I realize that our plan may seem like sacrilege on this site. I apologize if that is the case. Nevertheless, I hope some among you may help us. The largest R/C battleship I found from retailers online was 31" long. This just doesn't seem quite majestic enough for our purposes.

Are there larger battleships available out of the box? Or maybe the largest are models and we can pay someone to assemble it for us? Do you have any other advice that may be of use to us (outside of the legality of what we're planning on doing - we will get all the proper permits; luckily we're connected with our local political scene)?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. The man we lost was a good and kind soul and we wish to honor him in a way we know will make his spirit smile.

regards,

adam sanders


Hi there I don't know were you live. I work with explosives. Doing what you say with in the EU is a BIG BIG NO NO unless you are in an industry that works with explosive , then the paper work would be out of this world. I would assume the US is the same given the world state on terrorists. Sorry to say but you might want to rethink your plans. Fire works might be acceptable but you would have to check. Good luck

John

[Diegoboy]

The scale boat club I belong to has done this very same type of ceremony. except he was placed in one of his own boats, and the boat was rigged with a trap door to breach the hull on command and sink it. Maybe an option to consider.

[Wingnut31]

My condolences Adam. Your friend meant a lot you and I only hope that I leave enough of a mark on the people around me that they would be moved to do as much for me.

I don't have a boat to offer but, I do advise you to approach this with caution. If you try to build your own charge, do be careful. I wont tell you how to make one but I'll offer you this. Take every course you can to do it legal. You can really get bent of a stump by playing with things that go bang in this day. We used to play with this stuff long long ago. See if you can find a licensed explosives technician that can help you find out what has to be done in order to send your friend off.

If you decide to do it your self, do it safely. home made charges are NOT safe. Static can set it off, shrapnel can cover a lot of distance. Radio interference can make the boat go where you don't want it to go, or ignite the charge if it is set to be remotely detonated.

I want you and everyone who reads this, to understand that I'm not trying to give any advice on how to build a explosive device. I just want to try to prevent anyone getting in trouble, or hurt. Please be careful and I wish you well on this. You may try contacting local law enforcement to see if there is a technician that may be able to do it for you. Maybe they can turn it into some kind of training opportunity. Who knows.

Take care and good luck.
Brian

[iganatz]

Thanks to all who took the time to respond to my post. First, as to the explosives, I want to assure everyone that we weren't planning on loading up on C4 or anything like that. I have a friend who worked with munitions in the military who was willing to professionally handle that aspect of our ceremony in an intelligent and conscientious manner.

It's all a moot point now that we've had time to discuss his wishes at length. Our original plan, while similar in intent, has been modified to something more poetic.

We now intend to commission someone to carve out a replica Viking longboat. No moving parts, chemicals, explosives or pressure treated wood to pollute the small, idyllic body of water we've chosen. A simple, beautiful wooden vessel will slowly burn as it floats away. Hopefully, some of the hull will sink to the bottom where it will provide sanctuary for small aquatic creatures to hide, play, and reproduce. Keith was extremely conscious of the environment and he would've wanted it this way.

Thanks again to the r/c community for your positive and supportive replies.

All the best,

Adam Sanders