Hi Andrew

Nice job on the windows! Dan is right, your figurehead's a looker! green hair and all!. : )

Tim

Painting. Painted the side cabinets a toffee color to see how that looked. Might do the back wall the same. Then did the gold edging on the head rails. It really helps to blend the gold of the stem into the bow. Happy, happy. I also repainted the timberheads and knightheads brown to make the black of the swivel guns show up a little better.

Plans. Sanded down the tip of the forecastle deck so it can fit over the bowsprit. Still not sure how to attach the deck piece yet. Because of the more fragile figurehead I also need to have the bowsprit in place before I transport the ship.

Meanwhile I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get the rudder axel pin in place so it can be attached to the servo. I was able to file down the front edge flat like Dan suggested so I might be able to drill and then insert a setscrew. Got to see what sizes Loews has.

Picture day namings. I figured now was a good time to take some more pictures with everything on board, including some with four newly named Theresa Maries.

As a shout out to some friends and family, we now have Surgeon Gary, Midshipman Will, pirate girl (and suspected Viking princess) Astrid and Carpenter Carl.

Very nice work captain.

Sharp looking. She looks Sea Worthy and ready for her sails. Again, nice work.

G

Looking good Andrew!

Tim

Andrew - really fast progress and looking great.
I don't understand the need to drill the rudder post. I don't remember the stock setup. Could you post some pics? I think there are all sorts of RC servo hardware that might be used to make the connection without having to drill the shaft. If I have something on hand - and I have a fair amount of servo and R/C parts - I'll send something to you if there is another approach you would like to try.

Thanks for the happy words everyone.

Dan -- I'm not sure if they've changed the kit since your build, but here are the SC&H instructions now:

"Cross drill and pin the rudder shaft adapter in place. Leave the pin long on the fore side to allow it to be removed as required."

I assumed that meant that the plastic adapter sits on top of the metal rudder axel. And you drill a hole all the way through the plastic adapter and metal rudder axel. The removable pin (which doesn't seem to be provided specifically) locks the adapter to the axel, which can then be turned by the servo arms?

My Beagle build was my only experience with this kind of stuff -- and there were no plans -- so I'm kind of scratching my head here.

Andrew -
Two options, if you like:
1. Send me your rudder and the servo adapter and I'll drill them and make up a cross pin for you.
2. Tell me the servo make and model, and I'll make a metal sleeve adapter that will fit the servo and rudder shaft (see attached pic). It will have a threaded hole for a setscrew that will lock on to the flat you filed in the shaft. Is the flat on the very front of the shaft (toward the bow)?
For reference, mark a scale showing 5mm and 10mm marks on the instructions and post (repeat the same part of the instructions you already posted).
(no charges)
Best,
Dan

Wow that would be awesome Dan. I think I'd prefer to send you my rudder and adapter. I'll send you my info in a personal message, and I'll need your address as well.

Now that I think about it, I also need to figure out how I'm going to attach my propeller to the rudder. I like the idea of being able to remove it if possible.

see your PM's

Andrew,
Send the motor and prop assembly along too. I'll mount that for EZ on/off. Will also add a plug set to the wire.
Do you have an ESC to control the motor?

Andrew,
Did you prep for powering the motor?
I suggest a mini-Dean plug in the location shown.
You need to drill a 1/4" hole and epoxy the female plug half into the hole. The plug will have a wire attached, of course, which needs to go thru the hole and forward to the location of your ESC. The drive pod wire will have the male plug half on it.

Thanks again Dan. I mailed the stuff yesterday. Nope, don't have an ESC yet and haven't done any prep work for any of the electronics other than installing the servo mounts inside the hull.

Here's the info Rick included on the drive unit:

"The unit only needs one thing; Oil the shaft and seal before and after every run. Regular petro motor oil will do fine. You need to get a bottle or syringe with a fine metal tube so it can fit in between the prop and housing. You can gently pull the propeller aft to help fit the oiler tube.

"There are two O rings cast into the rear housing that are sealing the unit. They like to be lubed. Put some oil and run in forward and reverse for 10 seconds each to get it worked in.

"Whatever ESC you choose it will need to be able to handle 12 volts @ 12 amps max. You may use lower voltage as the unit may be powerful enough with 7.2 volts. But inversely don't go over the 12 volt of the 3s pack.

"The unit as tested pulled 7.5 amps at full load."


I'll be using the Futaba 7C transmitter I got for my Beagle and probably the same Futaba transmitter. Per Rick's advice I also got a switcher and a second battery: Turnigy 4.0.

Andrew,
The stuff in blue is what I'll add. The plug is small.
Drill a 3/8" hole thru the hull about 1/2" away next to the rudder tube.
Push thru the bare end of the wire from outside the hull and pull thru until the female part of the plug is in the hold. Epoxy the plug into place.
Attach the wires to the ESC.
The wire from the motor will have the male plug on it. Run it up alongside the rudder and just plug into the female plug in the hull.
The motor/bracket assembly will attach to the rudder with just two screws.
A pic of Syren drive is attached for reference.
Best,
Dan

With snow outside I decided to do my first water test inside the house using a dog crate tray to catch the water. In case you're wondering, these ships are too big to fit in the bathtub or shower.

To prep I applied two coatings of Olympic Waterguard to the deck wood, and did a good vacuuming and cleaning of the inside of the hull. Then I taped over the deck holes and access panel. I'll check for its water tightness later.

I set the stand and ship inside the plastic tray and slowly poured a pitcher of water onto the deck, making sure to get water flowing everywhere. These scuppers drain super fast. Then I did a careful check of the inside of the hull looking for leaked water.

Verdict? I was happily surprised to not find a single drop of water in the hull. Once it gets warmer I'll do the test again outside where I can use more than a pitcher of water. For now, three cheers for all that epoxying I did.