Topic: My Krick Victoria - MkII (Read 112737 times)

muleears · « **on:** April 18, 2012, 10:30:29 pm »

Apparently, MiniSteam learned something about shipping after the fiasco with my first Victoria that arrived damaged. This one arrived (at a friends house because they wouldn't ship to me) unmolested by UPS. The first boat exhibited signs of the box being crushed. This one did not. But most importantly, MiniSteam packed the INSIDE of the kit as well. The first kit was just loose in the Krick box. This one, as you can see in the pics was carefully packed inside to prevent the damage that happened the first time. Well, enough of that. Time to BUILD!

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I will be working on this boat for the time being right where you see it, on our kitchen table. I will be using this thread for guidance from you'all in the construction of this beautiful boat. I already have a PMR 8M V twin built and ready to go, a MacSteam 3.5" boiler and fuel tank and a JR 6 ch. radio. I have built many kits of various types, planes, electric and gas speedboats and I have partially built an African Queen (Billing Boats). But I have never undertaken something such as this. I will need to move on this at a sprightly clip as the Christening is scheduled to take place July 9th at our annual family reunion! So I have little more than 60 days!

Advice on the first steps of construction are welcomed! Below are some pics of the kit and my boiler/motor. Thank you all in advance, you are a great bunch and I am very much looking forward to this.

Mad_Mike · « **Reply #1 on:** April 19, 2012, 10:35:08 am »

60 days? seems like forever to me but maybe i should slow down i tend to rush my builds. Good luck with the build.

muleears · « **Reply #2 on:** April 19, 2012, 11:40:33 am »

Quote from: Mad_Mike on April 19, 2012, 10:35:08 am

60 days? seems like forever to me but maybe i should slow down i tend to rush my builds. Good luck with the build.

I'm afraid 60 won't be enough. I will be learing as I go, plus I have a full time job and other responsibilities! Weekends will be my primary time for building. For example, all I got done last night was the cradle put together! Four pieces! I figure (while at work, on breaks etc.) I'll read the instructions. It appears I will have to use the German instructions too. Some of the diagrams the english instructions refer to are only in the German version!

Tonight I hope to remove the hull from the excess ABS. I am a little unclear on exactly what I am cutting off. I don't see the "line" the instructions refer too as the line I am to follow with my cut. Is there supposed to be any lip left on the hull, I'm thinking not. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

muleears · « **Reply #3 on:** April 19, 2012, 11:05:46 pm »

Now the questions begin! I have removed the excess ABS from the hull, it wasn't as difficult as I expected, I was afraid I would slip and the knife would slice into my hull! I still have to sand off the sharp edges but the bulk is gone. In reading ahead in my directions I see that one of the first steps is to attach the deck supports (inside the hull) and the rubbing strakes which are outside. My question is this; when do you finish these parts? Do you attach the raw wood and finish at a later point or finish them before attaching? The rubbing strakes are mahogany and will be finished (at some point) with a satin polyurethane, they won't be painted. This brings up another question, when do you paint the hull? Some of these parts need to be soaked to soften enough to bend to shape, these parts cannot be finished first can they? I know this is a bunch of basic questions, any input is greatly appreciated. Hopefully in a week or two my questions will slow down and become more intelligent~

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #4 on:** April 20, 2012, 12:05:42 am »

Hi Muleears, bes way I found was to sand the edges of the deck to a snug fit in the hull and assemble the deck beams to the underside of the deck (after marking out from the plan). Clamp the beams at the edges as there is quite a camber. Whilst that is drying, fit the deck supports to the hull, 1.5 mm down if memory serves me,check first. Do not fit the rubbing strakes untill after the deck is planked, as the upper one is flush with the upper surface of the planking. When deck supports are ffitted, you can fit the previously assembled deck. Once the deck is in place, make up the two bulkheads, plank one side of the front bulkhead after fitting the engineroom floor support, and add the dummy door.

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #5 on:** April 20, 2012, 12:23:35 am »

fix the floor support to the rear engine compartment bulkhead, and fit these in place DD NOT Glue in place yet. Next drop in the engineroom floor, you will probably have to tilt the rear bulkhead backwards to get the floor in, then push it all together. Now jump ahead a bit and open up the hole in the hull for the shaft and slide it into place, through the hole in the bulkhead, you will, eventually have toreduce the length a little to accomodate the steam plant. Now is the time to start planning the engine room layout, it will be very different to what is shown on the plan as you are using a horizontal bouler, but dont worry, it will all go in. Well, that should keep you busy for a little while, I will post some photos when I get home tomorrow or Saturday. Oh, and dont worry about the paintwork just yet. Happy building and good luck.

muleears · « **Reply #6 on:** April 20, 2012, 06:48:45 pm »

Thanks for the pointers Nick. I'll have plenty of questions about mounting this motor, I am sure. I understand about not adding the rubbing strakes till the deck is installed and planked but when do I finish the strakes and the planking? Is it done after its attached to the boat? What about waterproofing the interior? Should I varnish the ribs and deck supports and such to protect them from water absorption before installation? Regarding the propshaft; Ian suggested that I install it at an angle that would allow slightly more prop clearance, as he says the motor will have plenty of power and a larger diameter/higher pitch prop will allow it to run slower and use less steam. Seems to me the way it is designed the angle of the propshaft is pretty much fixed. I guess I will have to trim (or shim) the two fillets that go above and below the propshaft (stuffing box?) after it exits the hull.

muleears · « **Reply #7 on:** April 21, 2012, 02:48:51 pm »

I glued a lot of parts this morning... somebody tell me if I've got some of these bits in the wrong place before I glue the deck on please! The pics show the deck upside down and placed on the hull.

Nick: You instructed me to now make up the two bulkheads and plank them, which two bulkheads are you speaking of?

Thanks!

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #8 on:** April 21, 2012, 03:08:31 pm »

Good afternoon Muleears,. As far as I can see your deck is ready to be fixed down, so go ahead and fix it. There is a support for the rudder servo to go in, the instructions say to fix it before the deck goes down, but I left mine till later in the build and shimmied it into position, either way, fit the servo first or you will have a job getting it in through the small hole in the deck. You are best fitting the rubbing strakes before you shape them, it is much easier to work on them when they are fixed in place and you can eye the job up as you shape.I am using a 65mm coarse 3 bladed prop and find it is ideal, don't bother with the supplied plastic one, it has nowhere enough pitch. I will post some photos for you later, arrived home to find my computer had gone on the blink and I have had to reinstall windows, as soon as I have reloaded all my photos I will post them.

muleears · « **Reply #9 on:** April 21, 2012, 03:46:36 pm »

I have ordered a 2441 prop from the PropShop as recommended by Ian. It is 2.4" (61mm) with a 4.1 pitch. I believe it is a 4 blade.
I may be at a slight standstill as I can't fit the servo until the radio I purchased arrives.
I thought I would wait on the rudder doubler also. I could not tell from the plans precisely where they went, so I thought I would wait till I was mounting the rudder to add them.

Thank you for the help Nick, sorry to hear about your PC, hope everything loads ok.

Regards
Cal

muleears · « **Reply #10 on:** April 21, 2012, 05:11:56 pm »

I forgot to ask, there are two 3mm square strips, (part number 10) the aligning strips for part 115, that I cannot figure out where they go. They are 140mm long. I can only see them on the end view in the plans. I'm stumped with this one.

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #11 on:** April 21, 2012, 07:15:41 pm »

Hi Muleears, here's some photos as promised. I have taken the engine etc out so I can get everything finished, so I willtake a decent photo of the pin and disk coupling tomorrow. I do not have plans to hand at the moment, as I am building the boat in my mates modelshop, but I will look into your question about the 1?8 square strips tomorrow and get back to you.

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #12 on:** April 21, 2012, 07:50:30 pm »

Hello again,here's the rest of the photos I will post more as I find them. I tried the engine in place before building the tilted engine mount, as you can see it would not line up 'flat' I decided to be a bit arty with the planking and put a couple of 0.5 mm maple strips down the deck, they look quite nice now its varnished ( photo to follow). The 1/8 strips may be for the supports for the rear deck and/or cabin wall support strips, I will check. The bulkheads are best planked before fitting, as it will be a pain to do once fitted. Keep the questions coming and I will do my best to provide answers.
Regards,
Nick.

muleears · « **Reply #13 on:** April 21, 2012, 11:25:42 pm »

Thanks for the pics, they are very helpful. Since I am kind of stuck, I decided I could plank the rudder while I wait for my radio to arrive and to figure out where these part #10 alignment strips go. I'm sure they have to be applied before I glue the deck down. Below is a pic of the only place I can find part #10 on the plans and it is no help in locating it for me.

Included above is a pic of the two alignment strips setting on the bow.

Thanks again Nick, you are most helpful.

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #14 on:** April 22, 2012, 09:04:13 am »

Good Morning Muleears, If you look at the parts layout in the back of the instruction book, you will see drawn on the the picture of the deck the positions for part 10n and some measurements to get them in the right place, they are the top supports for the rear cabin walls and should line up with the oneson the rear of the bulkhead that sits between the engine bay and the rear cabin, best to plank the rear face of the aforementioned bulkhead, between the 2 angled strips while it is still out of the boat, leaving 1/8" between the plank and the strips so the cabin walls can slot in.

You can just see in the photo the back face of the cabin bulkhead and the planking and angled strips thereon. part 10 should line up with the top of these strips. Rudder is looking good, I put a strip of Mahogony around the perimeter of the rudder to hide the exposed ply of the rudder blank. Another tip, there is a packet of brass nails to simulate the rivets for the brass banding for the rudder, these have to be cut down to about 1/8". do it inside a bag or you will be on your hands and knees for hours looking for the heads that have flown in all directions. Its off to my mates model shop for me now for another day of building and playing with boats of all shapes and sizes, what better way is there to spend an otherwise mundane Sunday!

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #15 on:** April 22, 2012, 09:16:56 am »

Just found the German instruction book, you need to look at page 14, the position of parts 10 are shown on the layout of ply sheet 1. they go 24 mm back from the engine bay cutout and 20 mm in from the sides, lining up at the other end with the outside edge of the rear cockpit opening.the mirror of these parts (Part no 103) go on the topside of part 98, which is the floor of the rear cabin. The word 'Teil' means part in German. these parts are shown with dotted lines as they go on the underside of the deck. parts 47 go on the cabin side of the bulkhead, part42, again, the required dimensions are shown. Hope this has helped you figure it out.
Regards,
Nick

muleears · « **Reply #16 on:** April 22, 2012, 12:09:50 pm »

Yes Nick, that was a tremendous help. I now have parts 10 attached. But even with all your help I still made one mistake! I aligned one of them with the inside edge of the cockpit opening instead of the outside... Should I remove/replace it, or can I work around this?

Have trimmed the completed side and planked the other side of the rudder. I have left the last plank (nearest the stern) for when I add the hardware. I think I will plank the edge as you did also.

I now have everything attached to the bottom side of the deck that is supposed to be there. I only have to install the servo mount (as I'm waiting for my servo to arrive...), I assume I need to wait to join the deck and hull until this is done? What glue did you use to join hull to deck? I probably have a servo or two lying around here somewhere, servos are pretty much standard size, maybe I should trim it to fit one that I have and forge ahead?

I know I should plank the aft side of the middle bulkhead before installation, what about the other side? Should I plank the front bulkhead before installation too?

Your assistance has been very valuable, I greatly appreciate it. I am afraid I won't have as much building time today...my lawn is getting taller by the moment... Enjoy your day of building!

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #17 on:** April 22, 2012, 03:19:49 pm »

Good afternoon, I would carefully remove the offending strip and fix it in the correct place, as it is needs to be correct for lining up the lower cabin sides, You are best plankinf all the bulkhead surfaces before fixing, also make the imitation door in the front bulkhead, all this will be awkward to do once in position. I used medium cyano to fix the deck down, but be careful you don't get any runs where they can be seen. Use Aliphatic resin to fix the planking down to the deck, its waterproof when dry and sands easily. I have taken some detail photos, these I will post later when I get home. Oh, my humble advice re the lawn, flag it, then it will only need sweeping!

muleears · « **Reply #18 on:** April 22, 2012, 05:04:34 pm »

Good afternoon to you too sir! Below is a pic of how it lines up now, what do you think? I may have made a big mistake but I have been applying my planking with CA. Have I screwed up? I would have to wait till wednesday when my local hobby shop opens to get aliphatic resin. I have thin and thick CA, 5 min. Epoxy, and epoxy resin. I also have some "Titebond" white wood glue. Should I have used any of these instead?

Thanks again for the help, oh, regarding the grass, fortunately we've had a downpour and its underwater!

Enjoy whats left of your weekend.

Cal

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #19 on:** April 22, 2012, 06:01:34 pm »

Hi there, I personally prefer Aliphatic resin for jobs like planking, but Titebond PVA will do just as well as long as it is waterproof. The problems with Cyano are, hard to clean off if you get any on the planks, where as pva wipes off with a damp cloth, You don't get much time to adjust anything, and cyano is very hard and can leave a ridge between the planks when you sand down. Your picture did not appear, so you may have to post it again. Heres some pictures I took today, showing the pin and disk coupling. You need to keep the steam plant as far back as possible as Victoria was intended for a vertical boiler, and you need room in front for the gas tank, as it is best mounted near the burner in order to pick up a bit of radiant heat to help the gas vaporise on cool days, and there is a ladder and the enginemans seat to go in. It also helps with weight distribution when you come to ballast and trim the boat. I have not added ballast where the instructions say, but have put some lead under the servo mount, this way you are moving the fulcrum further back (see Photo).. Apologies for the state of the engine bay, its a bit messy and that's after only a couple of short runs.

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #20 on:** April 22, 2012, 06:12:08 pm »

Ha, I have seen the photo now, yes, it does seem to line up, but the other end may not when you come to build the cabin but you should be able to work around it.

muleears · « **Reply #21 on:** April 27, 2012, 09:13:27 am »

Nick, it has been awhile since I have been able to touch the boat. Lifes other events sometimes intrude on what we want to be doing! And I still haven't cut the grass... Anyway, I have finished planking both sides of the middle bulkhead except around those alignment strips on the one side, not sure how close I can come to them and if I should do the area outside of the strips (see pic). My radio has arrived so I can fit the servo, which will allow me to go ahead and attach the deck, correct? My prop has also arrived from propshop, it looks very well made, and has a LOT of pitch! I guess at this point I can also plank the front bulkhead and finish the rudder. If I am ahead of myself please stop me.

Is your boiler/engine mounted on one piece of wood/brass/stainless/whatever? So it can be removed as a unit? I'm beginning to think about how I'm going to mount this. Did you use the flooring that came with the kit? I have a piece of aluminum that I could probably cut to fit for a boiler/motor combo mount.

Middle bulkhead:

New prop:

Hopefully between cutting the grass, working on the car and picking strawberries with the grandkids I'll have some time for the Victoria this weekend!

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #22 on:** April 27, 2012, 09:46:06 am »

Good morning Cal,You may have to mount the engine and boiler as two separate units if you are going to mount the engine in the slanted position (see previous photos) There captive nuts supplied in the kit, with a bit of forward planning, you will be able to utilize these to suit your boiler. If you make a tray for the boiler, fix it from underneath with 2 countersunk screws into the bushes provided on the boiler then fix the tray in place using the captivated nuts, then, when the floor is fixed down, you can just unbolt ehe boiler without fear of nuts being inaccessible under the floor. I will take some photos and post them later. No need to plank the area outside the strips, they wont be seen. I went to within 3mm ( the thickness of the side walls so they will slot in later. I have now got the coaming around the engine bay, tips on that later.
Have fun,
Nick

muleears · « **Reply #23 on:** April 27, 2012, 09:53:12 am »

Thanks Nick, I see your logic. Should I finish the bulkheads before gluing them in place? Did you finish the rudder then add the brass or cover the brass with varnish too?

I'm off to work, so I won't be able to post again till I get there!

pettyofficernick · « **Reply #24 on:** April 27, 2012, 08:21:22 pm »

Good evening, some more photos for you. But first the rudder, I have put all the brass work on first, below the waterline it is painted, and the varnish will help to stop the brass from tarnishing.. The first photo has the boiler sat in the boat, that is about as compact as you will get with a horizontal boiler. The next one shows how much room you have left forward, just enough for the gas tank. Quick hint here, when you come to do the coaming, don't soak the 2 pieces No 95 or they will de- laminate, I did mine dry using clamps and a piece of timber wedged off the rear bulkhead, after a practice run to get the clamps etc right, I glued it up and left it over night. when I took the clamps off it held its shape perfectly for fitting to the boat along with the other coaming parts.No 3 is the former for the cabin, part No 106, it has to be beveled first, then glue and clamp overnight, I used epoxy for this as the part is quite stiff and it has to conform to the camber of the deck. No 4 is a general view into the engine bay, the 4 bolts to the left of the engine are for the condenser. No 5 is a view of the baseplate I got from Tony Green Steam Models here in the UK, it started life about 12.5 inches long and was slowly whittled away during the engine bay planning stages. and finally No 6 is the boiler sitting on its baseplate.

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Author Topic: My Krick Victoria - MkII (Read 112737 times)