Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Working Vessels => Topic started by: nmbrook on July 17, 2018, 08:42:20 am
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Hi All
I am returning to modelling proper after probably about a 3 year break due to work demands.Basically I have actually got a reasonable amount of freetime back.I have a log on my Fairmount Alpine,but that is staying on the shelf for now as I address a much more long standing mothballed project.
I bought the Seabex kit and drives etc as the last available one in the country not long after discontinuation by Graupner.Shortly followed by the F14 Navy gear with double twin sticks,two expansion models with decoders and a boatload of relay and polarity reversing models.Needless to say the bill was quite substantial for everything.
I got part way through the build and was less than impressed by the quality/design of the kit.The extensive vac formings lacked detail and crispness and numerous areas of the model was quite simplistic.
The model sat in storage until a couple of years ago when I took a fresh look.I hadn't had a lot of freetime,but when I wasn't planning the way forward,I have managed to produce a mould using the reworked hull of the kit and a new hull using Epoxy and woven cloth.I have also looked at the Marx schottles and replaced the plain bearings with stainless ballraces.I have removed the notoriously noisy gear reduction and converted to a tooth belt system.The Graupner 600 BB turbo motors I bought with the kit are to be replaced with brushless items I have bought for the project.These weigh a fraction of the BBs,factoring the saved weight can be used elsewhere.
So I start the log,not quite from the beginning,but to be honest my posts would have been far too sporadic over the last 2 years to warrant a log.
I will start by adding pics of where I am at now at the weekend and take it from there.
Kind Regards
Nigel
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Hey Nigel,
I once built a Seabex 1 back in the late 80s when I was about 17, so I will follow your blog with interest to get a blast from the past :-)
Dom
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Hi Dom
Any pictures,or is your build just confined to memory?.I could probably start a retro section.I have the rereleased Krick Romarin Happy Hunter and just recently obtained an unbuilt Hegi Oceanic {-) .
To be honest,the only kit parts left on Seabex will probably be the lifeboats,fire monitors and a few moulded fittings,the rest is scratch.As you will see in the pics,the superstructure is 75% built from 1/32nd plywood,all windows cut out on my Proxxon miller with enlarged table.Even the diecutting on the original plastic parts was very poor and all over the place for the windows.
I have developed a fully articulated motorised 1/75 knuckle boom crane based on a 150T Hydramarine original.This is similar to the one on Seaway Osprey,the modernised version of Seabex's sister ship Seacom.This is not true to the original,but I feel will create much more of an impact in operation then that of the original crane.I have given up the notion of trying to make an exact replica.I have just about every photo of Seabex from the net and none of them are clear when enlarged as they are from the predigital age.
I could of stretched and widened the hull when producing the master to make what is now the Kreuz Installer,the latest incarnation of Seabex,but to me the current version just looks like a cobbled together afterthought,which it actually is in a way.
Kind Regards
Nigel
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looking forward to seeing the photos,
This is one boat i've alway want to build.
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Any pictures,or is your build just confined to memory?
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, and she's long gone. Only some faint and fond memories left. After she was left and forgotten in the garage for the better part of a decade, I eventually gave her away to some dude who intended to give her a fixer upper. I have no idea what happened to her.
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Hi Nigelfunny you found the kit a pile of crap. I have her too and thats what I thought. Mine sits on a shelf only part started . Look foward to seeing your photos. There is a guy on her who did one goes by the name oldiron or some thing like that. He did some seroius deck hatch mods which improve acess a lot .
If your on Facebook check out Haller 3d, he is doing some serious stuff.
https://www.facebook.com/261884960874521/photos/pcb.525506157845732/525506117845736/?type=3&theater
John
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John
Thanks for the link,check out www.haller3D,com.With deep pockets you can play a game of 'pimp' my Seabex and get carried away.Fully functioning Cranes,davits and diving bell tower all available to order :o .
I think the kit design is let down by Graupner's attempt at making it a 'quick build kit'.Naff vacformings let it down.These are ok for stuff that is rounded on the original like on a megayacht but not something that was fabricated from steel sheet in real life and has square corners.It just adds a toy like appearance.
The rereleased Happy Hunter is completely different.Krick kept Robbe's half decent vac formed hull and junked the dodgy diestamped sheet abs parts in favour of fully lasercut sheets.The quality of these is fabulous.
Kind Regards
Nigel
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I work nights Monday to Thursday which is why I said I would sort some pics at the weekend.However I have got a bit of time before work so I would take and post some easy ones.I will leave the hull to the weekend as I will get better results if I take it outside.
I have been working on the superstructure in tandem with fitting the hull out as it is a good fill in while waiting for various bits of hardware to arrive.I am trying to plan the hull fitting out as much as possible to keep things tidy and shipshape.I am very much inspired by the work of Leon Boers and his fellow members of the OSV society and their incredibly tidy running gear installations.
The superstructure is 1/32nd birch ply and work in progress.I chose ply for several reasons.It is more rigid than plastic of the same thickness,I figured it would be more stable outside on very hot days as the complete unit is quite a large assembly and finally I could use the mill to cut the windows without plastic melting to the cutter.I could mill windows if I was using a cnc machine because the feed rate could be set high to avoid melting but that is beyond my budget.
The ply is treated with epoxy finishing resin during construction and 5mm square sapele has been used for reinforcement a this is a stiff timber.
Kind Regards
Nigel
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I have managed to get the hull out into the sunshine to take pics.Doubt I will photograph the mould,this is a heavy 3 piece affair which now resides in the loft.
The hull is laminated with epoxy and woven glass backed with chopped strand mat,it is obviously heavier than the vac formed kit part,but far stronger.
The motor and drive mounts are in at the stern and the drivetrain was trial assembled.The forward thruster support bulkheads are work in progress.The front schottles will have a servo each on a y lead,I don't like the overcomplicated kit design for this.The front sub deck isn't glued in place yet.
Kind Regards
Nigel
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Ah, the memories :-)
Good idea with your improvements. I remember the front schottles never turning full angle with the weird kit construction.
Dom
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Thanks Dom
Updates are real time now.Saving pics of the crane until I resume work on that part ok2 I have modified the second pair of Schottles(other 2 were done a good few months back).These have been kicking about in the garage for a few years and needed a good clean after stripping down.They have never actually been in the water.The input shaft bearing supports were cut off and flats filled to take the grubscrews of the timing pulleys.The sintered bearings were replaced with stainless ballraces the same size.Only difference is the ballrace flange is thinner than that of the sintered bush.This necessitated the fitting of a stainless thrust washer at the base of the shaft to ensure the gear meshes properly with that in the prop unit.The units were regreased during reassembly.
Regards
Nigel
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I have completed the front drive installation.All ply has had 2 coats of finishing resin.The hardware has all been mocked up.The wires on the Mtronics esc's have been shortened and the gold plated female connectors supplied with the Leopard motors soldered on.Everything has been stripped out again to be finally assembled further in to the build after the internal fabric is completed.I propose to spray the internals white before final fit out as well.
Regards
Nigel
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I have been beavering away inside the hull.I have come to the conclusion that both the developement of the internal structure and the integration of the many working functions together with how these tie in with the F14 expansion modules is probably more work than the topsides.
Many things have taken place that don't show in any pics.Firstly the model was rigged up and placed in the test tank after the main battery tray was fitted in front of the moonpool.The model was very light at the stern.This allows me to run a fourth lead acid battery in the stern.This gives me a total of 2 12v lead acid batteries and 2 6v batteries.Each battery will be connected to it's own action electronics distribution board with digital voltage display so charge status can be monitored.The mounts for these boards and voltage displays are fitted and can be seen in the pics.
I have started and tested a simple circuit board for the endpoint control of crane movements.This uses microswitches and Schottky diodes.The Graupner wiring diagram used both the normally open and closed terminals,my system just uses the normally closed contacts.
The bowden outer fitted is for the rope that will raise and lower the diving bell.I gave up coming up with a design whereas the winch for this would be close to the moonpool,just too much to cram in the rear of the boat.
You will notice the mounts under the rear battery tray.These take two high torque servos to operate the working moonpool doors that are under construction.I have bought a y lead that reverses one of the servos allowing these doors to open and close in tandem.
The moonpool is becoming a project on it's own.The kit version does suffer from looking bland very much like the inside of a heating oil tank.The ribbing fitted will take an outer skin that is perforated with various holes to provide the baffling effect.I have fitted pockets to take dummy hydraulic rams for the moonpool doors.All these details while most probably fictitious on the original have been researched on the websites of companies that currently fabricate the real ones. Comes in handy the web.Just a shame Seabex was built before the advent of the internet otherwise there would be many more pics of her about.Yes I know there are a few of her in more modern guises but both her and her sister have both been chopped about several times.
The anchor pockets are also in.These will both work independently.
One point for anyone using an expanded F14 with futaba's 2.4 GHZ module.I spent ages last weekend testing the crane rotation circuit coupled up to the radio gear.I was baffled why it wouldn't work.The k no's on the decoder pins do not marry up on 2.4ghz.I moved the connector to a different pin and hey presto it worked.
The wire loops bonded in are to take cable ties.Trying to keep this tidy as I envisage many,many meters of cabling in this model
As if this project wasn't enough,I have ordered the xbow Oceanic Vega hull from Mobile Marine Models %) Brian showed me this at Doncaster show last year,it is awesome.It has taken me 18 months to source the Ulstein GA drawings.Now I have them,I feel I have enough info to build this as MMM don't supply any drawings.
Anyway a few pics,and yes I am now going to brush paint the insides.Spraying would be virtually impossible :o
Kind Regards
Nigel
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Hello Nigel
looking via nice. Nice to see you doing your own thing with her .
I too have unstarted one that one day i hope to start once I have finished off current builds .
john
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Nigel......very tidy internal ply construction indeed :-))
Have you had trailed the motors driving the pod elements?........do the motor mounting plates resonate under load?
Due to the orientation of the images, it was difficult to draw.....I am not suggesting reinforcement supports looking like this....simply located somewhere along the areas.......and possibly a second plate at 90 degrees
Derek
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Thank you John and Derek.One step ahead of you Derek,The ply pieces are waiting for the finishing resin to dry and being bonded in tomorrow ok2 The drives haven't been run and won't be until the internals are together and the hull painted.Unclipping the front drive extensions appears to be a nightmare once fitted so trying to avoid it as much as possible.The location of the strengthening plates is at the other side of the motor to your pic making it more central to the mounting plate but will achieve the same goal.I hadn't thought about resonance but was concerned that the belt tension will want to pull the mount upwards away from the horizontal risking premature belt wear.
Kind Regards
Nigel
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After a coat of paint,I have started "phase one" of the hardware and electronics.I plan on installing all the internals before the decks are fitted but all serviceable items will still be accessible through the hatches.The two crossmembers are for a Perspex shelf to take the receiver and further electronic goodies including one of the F14 decoders.The Robbe relay switches are for the twin 12V pumps for the fire monitors on the stern goal post.The front drives have been tested and everything works spot on albeit the brushless motors sounding a little like a small get engine :} .This is my first foray into brushless and these fairly small units are real powerhouses.The hitec robot servo towards the bow will have a drum for the diving bell cable.
Regards
Nigel
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Again....all very tidy & ship like to see white painted machinery spaces in new construction
We see you are using Standard Futaba S3010 servos and connected with a ??10-32# Dubro style Ball Crank connectors to the Schottele drives
So with the 32 TPI, dual Ball Cranks, are you able to get a totally neutral Zero centered trim Schottele pod when the Tx stick is self centered?...or do you use some form of pulse to get the pod to a totally neutral setting?
Derek
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Thank you Derek and what an excellent question.Because the servos are on a y lead the answer is 'near enough' :} .The two servos neutral are slightly different,I have used adjustment in the pushrods and the trim on the transmitter to get it as close as I can.The real test is when the model hits the wet stuff.Personally I prefer the reliability of this set up compared to the overcomplicated convoluted linkage layout Graupner suggest.I am aiming to try and keep this model minimal maintenance and hopefully as long lasting as possible.I feel the flimsy suggested layout of bellcranks to run off a single servo will wear out a lot quicker than my set up.The stern thruster set up is much more straight forward so doesn't present any such issues when run from a single servo.
The rudder stick isn't self centering as it is a second twin stick F14 unit in the right hand well rotated 90 degrees.That in itself does add a little guesswork to what is true straight ahead but hopefully makes it less likely for me to have a 'brainfreeze' when steering the model {-)
Balancing the speedcontrollers to give equal neutrals was much more fun and games %) Again there is a bit of compromise with one motor starting slightly after the other,but this is at very.very low revs.Fortunately the Mtronics units have a wide neutral 'window' so I have both drives at stop when the stick is neutral.
Regards
Nigel
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Sorry.... wrong equipment <*< ...I was thinking the Action P94 was OK with brushless motors.... :embarrassed:
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Work continues on Seabex.I have completed the moonpool doors and these have been put aside while the filler primer hardens off.I will put pics up of these assemblies at a later date after sanding and topcoat.Order of painting in this moonpool area is causing some headscratching.When fully assembled the baffled insides are going to be a nightmare to get proper access to spray,so things are going to have to be done in stages.Painting the louvred doors off the model before fitting them in situ removes one such headache.
The aft deck is fitted in place as this doesn't reduce access for wiring,it pretty much just covers the structure that is already there.The deck was laid up by myself using epoxy resin and woven cloth.This gave it enough stiffness to negate the need for ribs underneath where the battery compartment is.Space is limited above the tops of the batteries so this was a bonus.I did have to cut to tempory hatches in the deck either side of the moonpool to allow fitment of the pins that hold the dummy rams in situ for the moonpool doors.The deck needs to be on to paint the moonpool inner lining,but the moonpool needs painting before the rams go in.Yeah you get the idea %)
The Perspex cylinder is the base for the fully working knuckle boom crane.As I said before,this is artistic licence as I feel the original design is a little boring in operation.I have fitted bearings top and bottom to give smooth rotation.I don't own a lathe and dropped lucky with standard Perspex tube sizes and bearing diameters to avoid any machining.The large inside diameter allows another Perspex tube to slide in to house the motor which operates a worm drive to elevate the main section of boom.This section has been built as far as basic structure and animation.I am really pleased with it's operation but I will save that for a section of posts just featuring the crane.The crane construction,animation and details is a build all on it's own and will be a bit chunk of the hours involved in this model.
Neodium magnets have been fitted to attach the removable rear deck.There will be a silicon sealed Perspex sub deck below this to prevent water ingress.There should be no need to remove this during operation or to charge the batteries.Perspex 'chimneys' will not only provide clearance for the aft drive motors but some venting for when the aft battery is charging.These chimneys will be hidden by some rather nice 'o' scale Maersk containers I have acquired that will be fixed to the removeable deck.
Regards
Nigel
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Just in case someone pulls me up on it,I meant oo scale containers {-) I have revisited my post and spotted it when it is too late to edit :embarrassed: O scale would have been just a tad large :-))
Regards
Nigel
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Hi
Looking good, over many years I built mine. Would do a bit then lose interest. The moulding as others have said were poor.
She's sailed a few times in her life but now sits on display on a shelf with the odd outing to the club shows. Following your post with interest.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4822/44012897360_442a758a1d_c.jpg)
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Thank you bgrunes,your build looks great!
I made a decision with the moonpool doors after applying some filler primer and flatting back not to topcoat them yet just fit them.There was that many accumulative dimensions involved that I had a feeling some 'tuning' might be required when installed.I was right,I had to sand the odd edge back to get them to meet perfectly when in the closed postion.
The doors started life as 1/48 scale plastruct stairs.These were ruduced in thickness and built into a frame of styrene box and finished with styrene flat.This gives the folded steel louvres typical of the ones I have seen on the net.The louvres are orientated so water will flow across them when travelling full steam ahead .Reverse manoeuvres will be at slower speeds so I am not overly bothered about the drag involved.The combination of the doors and the baffling still to be fitted should eliminate the big wave in the moonpool that I have been warned about by some other builders of this model.
2mm Caldercraft fineline propshafts have had their outer tubes reduced in length and oilers fitted.The shafts run inside the door frame.The other end of the doors has a stainless shaft going into aluminium blocks with blind holes in.Both doors will operate simultaneously via 2 Futaba servos,one for each door using a y lead with reverse on one servo.The doors open inwards from horizontal.I have just opened them outwards for the pic to show the internal detail and the brackets that will take the rams.
Regards
Nigel
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Work continues at a steady pace on the moonpool area.I have fabricated what will be the four dummy hydraulic rams that operate the moonpool doors.These are simply made from brass tube soft soldered.These aren't stressed so I feel silver soldering would be unnecessary.The pistons are aluminium tube so they can be left unpainted as the units will slide in and out when the doors are operated.Only half of these units will be visible,the rest will be hidden in the pockets by the baffled structure.
As a small distraction,I had found a SeaKing helicopter in a local modelshop.I had bought an italeri helicopter that had seats and many windows similar to the S61 originally used on the vessel but it had a drop down ramp and felt it wouldn't look right.
The Airfix one has the option of a Norwegian airforce rescue helicopter which I feel will fit in with the colour scheme.Seabex spent a lot of time in the Norwegian oil fields where commercial saturation diving was first experimented with,so it isn't unplausable that the helicopter would land on her helideck.
I opened the kit to find it had the provision to add a motor to make the rotors spin and was an optional extra.Bonus I thought,one less job to engineer,ironically Airfix's AF1004 motor is now discontinued <*<
Regards
Nigel
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Hi
I have some small motor's, that may do the job if you P/M me your address I could put one in the post.
Fred
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Thank you for your kind offer Fred,but I am going to research this further before I make a decision.I am probably going to purchase another one of these kits as well for a future build.
I have found a video on youtube showing a 1/72 Seaking with a circuit board controlling both rotors and full scale lighting.I need to investigate further and message the poster to find where this is available as it seems like a proper product,not something homemade
Regards
Nigel
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Hi
That's O.K just let me know if you need it.
The motor came out of an old infrared Helicopter.
Fred
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A small update.I boxed the area in around where the front bearing blocks for the moonpool doors are fitted.The hull was stood up and two part acrylic adhesive was poured into this 'dammed' area,This should prevent water ingress into the structure.
The inner skin for the moonpool was cut from 0.5mm ABS.There will be a mountain of these slots to cut in these inner skins.Next up I airbrushed the area where the skin will sit in primer then topcoat.The gluing faces have all been masked,I had no confidence in getting proper coverage when the skin is in place.Airbrushing inside the moonpool is awkward enough anyway which is why I am doing one face at a time.
Regards
Nigel
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I have both ends in place in the moonpool.The pics show work to create one of the sides.This is built and painted in layers.The finished baffling forms pockets for the working moonpool doors to retract into.Ladder rungs are from 0.28mm copper wire inserted into 0.3mm holes.As they say a picture says a thousand words and yes,I am sick of cutting and filing out slots %)
Regards
Nigel
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I am starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel as all the sides are in place in the moonpool.I still have some detail work to finish then I can fit the gantry and crab unit for raising and lowering the diving bell.
A kind chap has been in touch with me via facebook and sent me some pics of this area on the original.As I suspected Graupner's design is massively over simplified.The deck below the work deck is open to the moonpool.To model this would mean loosing the battery compartment so I understand Graupner's methodology.The chap is building his Graupner Seabex as Seaway Osprey,her sister ship.He is friends with her Captain and First officer.He did confirm Seabex did have closing doors at the base of the moonpool,so I have got something right.
Regards
Nigel
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Looking good Nigel keep up the good work 👍
Derek
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Thanks Derek
Your stuff is in the post,probably land Tuesday or Wednesday ok2
Regards
Nigel
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Impressive work! Level of detail is beautiful :-))
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Yes, that's awesome work indeed!
As a former owner of a Graupner Seabex One in the late 80s I had no idea how much detail they omitted.
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Thank you.
In actual fact this isn't true to the original,this simplified !A member of the osv society has contacted me and sent me some pics of Seabex's moonpool.I am right that doors were fitted at the bottom,however the deck below the workdeck is open to the moonpool.This would mean a massive redesign of all the internals to relocate the batteries to the point of probably not being feasible.I have been asked not to post these pictures and I respect that request.
Regards
Nigel
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Thank you.
however the deck below the workdeck is open to the moonpool.This would mean a massive redesign of all the internals to relocate the batteries to the point of probably not being feasible.
I did wonder. For instance how would mechanical/ re provisoning of online systems work take place on any submersible without it being hauled up on deck? I can't comment on the Seabex but other similar ships, this space is a work hangar for storage of one or more submersibles when not in use.
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Hi Brian
The pics I do have indicate ROVs were launch either over the side or through the moonpool from the main work deck using a frame gantrys.The vessel was operated by Comex who was at the forefront of commercial saturation diving in the 80's.I have a picture of a large ROV with hydraulic jaws produced by Comex used for working on subsea pipelines.This could only be deployed from the work deck using the main deck crane.In addition and missing from the kit,there is a platform on tracks that moves over the moonpool as a stand to place ROVs/submersibles on.The moonpool area has been extensively altered in refits and is currently covered over by a work hanger,in fact the vessel has been extended,widened then reduced,basically beyond recognition.
Regards
Nigel
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I can’t help you too much with the Seabex but 2010-14 I was one of the resident Field Engineers on the Osprey so I know how she was and some of it might help. I went through all my photos the other night -believe it or not, I have nothing showing the clamps and moonpools which are good enough to show to the unfamiliar, not sure if I could post them anyway. It’s always the same, if I just stood 6 inches to the left or right it would have shown what I was looking for now LoL!
I should be OK to post this information but warning, it's a bit of a brain dump coming...
Back in the day I believe there were 4 DSV’s which were the original pioneering boats which built the North Sea…
Uncle John (semi-sub)
Orelia
Seabex One
Seacom
Comex pioneered commercial diving and hyperbaric welding. Monsuir Jacques Cousteau pioneered air diving and the invention of SCUBA diving.
I thoroughly recommend you check out www.anciencomex.com (http://www.anciencomex.com) . I showed this to my old colleagues on the Osprey and they never knew it existed but some of them are in the pictures and my old Shift Supervisor “Mike” is heard on the dive comms in the Leo movies. Some of the old guys I worked with were on the Hydrogen dives -I shudder to think how dangerous that was when I heard the stories!
If you want to see bells, clamps, diving kit check out on google things like "Comex", "Comanex", "Divex" and have a rummage. I imagine allot of detail might be very small at model scale though.
The Seacom became Norskald became Seaway Osprey then Acergy Osprey then Seven Osprey and is now, sadly, scrapped. The Seabex One as you know changed names similarly but is still going. Both vessels were heavily modded. Both had sponsons added at least -the Seabex One just grew arms and legs everywhere. Cranes on the Osprey chagned positions at least twice and the original lattice crane changed for the 150Te Hydramarine Knuckleboom.
The sisters looked closer originally from the outside but I can’t see much about the internals of the Seabex One. On the Seacom there were 3 moonpools. Two transverse just before midships and a larger one centre aft, with dive control sandwiched between the three. The aft moonpool I think survived into Seaway days then it was plated over top and bottom -we used it as a store for umbilicals and parts...
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...The “aft deck” on the Seacom > Osprey isn’t the main deck! Main deck is one below and this is the watertight deck. The aft deck and fore deck were No 1 and 2 f’csle decks -I forget which one was which. So it seems to me the deck you refer to below the aft deck surrounding the moonpool is actually the main deck.
…What I’m saying now relates to the sat diving spread (heliox) rather than air diving (nitrox), but in some cases the bells were used for deeper air diving also. Otherwise air diving for us was done using modular spreads positioned on the port side. I hated air diving -too chaotic, sporadic and the type of work was complicated for the Project Engineers to keep track of!!! You also had allot of Divers onboard occupying cabins which would normally be free.
The port and starboard bells on the Osprey travel the moonpool in what’s called an active cursor that slides up and down on rails and winch wires. The cursor stops the bell banging round during launch and recovery, and when it is lowered, means the bell umbilical exits the hull at the bottom rather than from decks above. Above the moonpool on the deck above is the winch room with the bell winches and heave compensation. For some reason I can’t remember but the heave comp was different Port and Starboard -one done on the winch and the other done on a cylinder and sheaves if I recall. The cursor is pulled up into a big sliding trolley which moves back and forwards using hydraulic cylinders. So to recover the bell, it’s pulled into the cursor, the cursor raises to the top and is locked into the trolley. The Deck Diver, opened the outer side door on the bell, then cleaned the flange, the Dive Tech then drove the trolley forwards until the bell flange met the transfer flange on the wet pot trunking. Once the flanges were parallel, a big pair of C clamps (pinned at the top of the trunking flange) closed using a small hydraulic cylinder at the bottom and a pin was pushed through two holes on the bottom of the clamp so it couldn’t be inadvertently opened...
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...I can’t remember the procedure exactly but the transfer trunking was brought up to pressure and as it came close the bell door could be opened (chamber doors always work AGAINST) the pressure so they can never blow open. Once the wet pot door was opened then transfer under pressure (TUP) could start. The divers exited the bell and closed at least the wet pot door behind them. The wet pot is where they undress and leave their wet gear, before entering the living chambers (called the “bin” 1 deck below main deck. Doors in the system were closed afterwards so loss of pressure couldn’t travel through the whole system.
When the bell was launched, the divers TUP, and when both doors on the trunking were closed, the trunking was depressurised, the clamp opened, bell trolley moves backwards, the bell side door is closed, the cursor lowers to main deck level and the Deck Diver performs last minute inspections etc then he clears, the cursor lowers to the bottom and the bell continues on it’s own umbilical and wires from the bottom of the hull.
…In actual fact the bells are stabilised by a pair of guide wires, inboard and outboard of the bell which have a clump weight on the bottom. When the bell is at the bottom of the moonpool, the guide weights are lowered to a safe distance ABOVE the highest structure to be worked on. The ROV checks the deployment. Once they are in position, the bell is lowered down two guides down the guide wires and the ROV tells the winch operator to stop when they come within a few metres of the clump weights. Only when this is done and the all clear is given, then the castellated lock on the bell bottom door is opened and the door swung inwards into the bell. Diver No 1 can then enter the water.
So for the Seabex I’m not so sure because the only dodgy sketch I can see on-line shows a dive system very roughly similar, but with a slightly different moonpool bell(s) launched at the front end with a cofferdam separating them??? I know the Seabex One and the Seacom used to launch and recover things through the aft moonpool also though.
Worth noting anyway: Trunking for diver transfers was something like 600mm in diameter (measure your shoulders and think how tight that is, I used to struggle to crawl through when the system was vented for maintenance!). On the transfer trunking at the wet pot to bell flange, the surface had a stainless steel “sacrificial ring” bolted to it. Because the split clamps would slide across the back of the trunking and bell flanges, they would wear over time and the clamps would eventually fail to seal. The sacrificial rings would be changed out for thicker ones over times to maintain a good seal. When the wear got too much then the clamps themselves would be replaced, and a thinner sacrificial ring would be swapped back-in...
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...By the way, it’s not uncommon to have a dive system mounted on the deck (exposed). In that case any maintenance is done in the open. This is the same for many ROV’s -the Launch and Recovery system (LARS) on the Osprey was just forwards of the HRV on stbd. Side and the TMS was pulled up onto the “mezz” dec (same level as foredeck). The same deck, by the way had the gas bottle quads in storage -Nitrogen, and Heliox at various mixes plus quads of Oxygen. The main gas storage was at the bottom of the ship in the gas room -where there was a huge bank of enormous steel cylinders called the “kelly’s”. When diving in the old days I’m told they used to vent heliox and it just got replaced next time in port. When this became expensive it stopped. Recovered spent heliox went into the “gas bag” in a room next to the trushers at the transom. The bag inflates until it’s full. The gas can then be scrubbed, recycled and the Gas Man can balance the Oxygen so it can go back into the kelly’s. The quads up on deck are to balance the lost gas, or to being on specific gas mixes for different jobs.
…Bit of extra info here which might be applicable to the Seabex One?
I didn’t realise until recently the Seacom was apparently the first DP3 vessel in the North Sea! Not sure if you already know but it might explain the propulsion system on the boats. From memory there is a tunnel thruster and two retractable azimuth thrusters forwards. A tunnel thruster and two main azimuth thrusters aft. Tunnel thrusters are horrid, noisy and slow things. As far as I can remember one of the fwd azi’s was fixed pitch (FP) variable speed (VS), and the other was variable pitch (VP) fixed speed (FS). One of them was locked transverse when we were on DP. I can’t remember if the aft azimuths were VP also. So they are all different combinations because some can turn and produce thrust at different rates, with the tunnels used last because of the vibration etc. On the Osprey the Dive Tech Sup’s office was near the aft thrusters and tunnel thrusters, you got used to the noise and bouncing after a few weeks! The clients cabin up forwards always picked up the fwd thruster noise and vibration. The Project Engineers hated us Field Engineers because our cabin was up high in the middle of the boat -no porthole or fresh air but theirs was at the side down below and was quite noisy from the fwd thrusters.
There are 3 types of DP: DP1, 2 and 3. DP1 effectively means a vessel can stay roughly in place, like a supply boat. DP2 means the vessel can be fully positioned on station -many folk think DP3 is more accurate than DP2 but it is NOT. It’s the power management and redundancy that is different. So the difference is more like if there is a partial power outage, whether the vessel can remain on-station or not. It's not actually this smple but hey-ho. This changes depending on what thrusters are available or out of service etc. Generally, you can dive in open waters on DP2 but close-in work and some other complicated work requires DP3...
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...Also, to consider how the vessel sits on station it has a number of systems as references…
On the osprey we usually used a taught wire on the stbd bow. This is a very thin steel wire lowered to the seabed on a small davit. Sensors on the sheave at the top sense the angle of the wire and hence, movement of the vessel from an initial point. Second system might be a transponder, lowered from the vessel. This pings sonar waves back to the HiPAP transponder which was lowered through a vertical pipe just forwards of the moonpools so the “bulb” on the end is clear of the hull. Thirdly was GPS / DGPS through satellite antennas on the mast. Fourth for close-in work on DP3 was FANBEAM above the bridge. The LASER on the fanbeam bounced a beam to a reflector on a platform. The reflectors used to be positioned appropriately per job, but to be honest “reflectors” is a bit much -a reflective tea tray or foil wrapped could be used if they reflected OK. Fanbeam is always a last resort -it’s reliability is reduced by rain, spray and fog.
Osprey was an awesome bad weather boat (legendary!!). Because of the position of the bells and type of heave comp and DP we used to start diving way before, and stop way after boats 30 years newer. I remember the Skandi Arctic sitting a couple of miles from us (biggest and best in the world at the time apparently) giving up and running for home while we were still diving. We used to sit on DP during storms also when everyone else used to run for cover. Actually it was a bit of a pain because when it got too bad, we couldn’t get a berth because everyone else bolted first and was sitting tight in port so we just had to sit and wait somewhere a bit more sheltered off the coast.
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...sorry for the brain dump! I was just glad to remember offshore days on the DSV and I thought what the hec, just post as much info as I can reasonably remember as I spend my time sat in an office now. Despite writing off-line and checking there are a cpl of typos and some things out of sequence so I hope what I said makes sense!
I can go on about sat. diving ops. and the type of works we used to do. I always think when I look at models of DSV's and look at the kit on the deck, they never look like a real working ship! This class of vessel is obviously close to my heart.
Hope the info helps :-))
Rich
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Like this one .
Regards Derek
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Rich,thanks and wow lots of info.I am familiar the comex link.There is a bit of a cross over in my interests.Obviously building model boats,both RC and static but also diving watches,in particular Rolex ones vintage and modern.And no,whilst I have had a few over the years,I am not financially endowed enough to own a genuine Comex Seadweller {-) .There is one site of a former Comex diver that not only covers the watches but also briefly features Seabex One.
Regards
Nigel
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Yea sorry Nigel, I thought for ages there was so little out there on the vessels, why not just brain dump a few things. I could have listed 3-4 times info again.
I can't see quite what the Seabex sat system was like. One web site shows the front end of the moonpool split with a cofferdam and life support systems below deck like Seacom, others show the big gantry and bell up to aft deck.
...Anyhow, whether it's right or not it looks like youre making a good jb of it. The detail in your moonpool is great. Most things in models are a working compromise anyway. Just put plenty of rust on everything. Its amazing how quick it shows -even just one month from refit. Dive bells can look really rusted and dented -until you realise the outer surface is actually fibreglass!
...theres a few guys out there collecting comex watches. I remember one of our Clients saying there was an ultra rare rolex -something like 20 made for Comex and 20 made for NASA at one point in recognition of the extremes of operation. Comex ones worth abouth 50k, if you can find one, or convince anyone to part. I make do with my Divex std. issue one that everyone has -its just a pain getting batteries because everyone wants to try to charge a hundred quid to replace seals and pressure test. I'm no diver -just bung a new battery in please!!
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Hi Nigelfunny you found the kit a pile of crap. I have her too and thats what I thought. Mine sits on a shelf only part started . Look foward to seeing your photos. There is a guy on her who did one goes by the name oldiron or some thing like that. He did some seroius deck hatch mods which improve acess a lot .
If your on Facebook check out Haller 3d, he is doing some serious stuff.
https://www.facebook.com/261884960874521/photos/pcb.525506157845732/525506117845736/?type=3&theater (https://www.facebook.com/261884960874521/photos/pcb.525506157845732/525506117845736/?type=3&theater)
John
Yes,. I'm the one who did Seabex one. Still have it. Don't run it much anymore. If there's any help I can offer let me know.
John
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Yea sorry Nigel, I thought for ages there was so little out there on the vessels, why not just brain dump a few things. I could have listed 3-4 times info again.
I can't see quite what the Seabex sat system was like. One web site shows the front end of the moonpool split with a cofferdam and life support systems below deck like Seacom, others show the big gantry and bell up to aft deck.
...Anyhow, whether it's right or not it looks like youre making a good jb of it. The detail in your moonpool is great. Most things in models are a working compromise anyway. Just put plenty of rust on everything. Its amazing how quick it shows -even just one month from refit. Dive bells can look really rusted and dented -until you realise the outer surface is actually fibreglass!
...theres a few guys out there collecting comex watches. I remember one of our Clients saying there was an ultra rare rolex -something like 20 made for Comex and 20 made for NASA at one point in recognition of the extremes of operation. Comex ones worth abouth 50k, if you can find one, or convince anyone to part. I make do with my Divex std. issue one that everyone has -its just a pain getting batteries because everyone wants to try to charge a hundred quid to replace seals and pressure test. I'm no diver -just bung a new battery in please!!
Don't apologise,I find this stuff fascinating and it is all relevant.There aren't many logs still in existence on the build of this model,and many builds pre date the internet anyway.I think to produce an accurate model,you really would have had to have been there on board in the 80's with lots of camera film.This vessel has been butchered so many times that recent pics are only a minor help.Photobucket and shipspotting pages didn't exist back then.There will be pics in existence,but sat in a box in someone's loft.
You may find this an interesting read and there are one or two pics from the period we have been discussing and the author's interesting career http:/ing-watch.net/COMEX-ROLEX-
Regards
Nigel
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Yes,. I'm the one who did Seabex one. Still have it. Don't run it much anymore. If there's any help I can offer let me know.
John
Thanks for the kind offer John.How did you find the kit?I wasn't impressed but I feel we need to remember it was 80's technology and modern kits have 30 plus years of evolution since Seabex was released.
Regards
Nigel
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With reference to your detailing inside the moonpool (or anywhere really) I think you'll find as I have with the Stril Barents build, there is very little info to be had easily. The only way is making contact with (ex)crew in the hope they have photos they could share ( I got many from the 1st officer on mine)
However the thing to be born in mind is, 'who will see it and know its not correct'? In other words we as builders know something is not right and are never happy because of that, but the average viewer at poolside or shows will have no idea as to whether there is one watertight door or two inside for instance the moonpool, 1 ladder or 2. They will see detail and go oh and ah and coo, because it looks technical and good. They really have no idea as to whether it is correct or not unless they have photos to compare it to.
In other words we want it to look as correct as possible, but we have to bear in mind that sometimes this is just impossible to achieve.
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Thanks for the kind offer John.How did you find the kit?I wasn't impressed but I feel we need to remember it was 80's technology and modern kits have 30 plus years of evolution since Seabex was released.
Regards
Nigel
I agree, the kit was certainly less than stellar, but it was the eighties. I think Graupner produced many of their kits , at te time, as "quickie" type of kits . I built new decks, scratch built the main deck house, redisgned hull access, which was almost impossible the way Grgaupner designed it. A friend of mine built one and claimed he could never get it to steer right. I never had any problem that way though. It was an impressive vessel that could do all sorts of antics, but not a terribly good one if you built it as provided. I had trouble trying to find photos of the protoype to detail my model from. Looks like there is more available now, but not during the early 90's when I built mine. Now mine sits on the shelf. I've tried selling it, but no one here seems interested.
John
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With reference to your detailing inside the moonpool (or anywhere really) I think you'll find as I have with the Stril Barents build, there is very little info to be had easily. The only way is making contact with (ex)crew in the hope they have photos they could share ( I got many from the 1st officer on mine)
However the thing to be born in mind is, 'who will see it and know its not correct'? In other words we as builders know something is not right and are never happy because of that, but the average viewer at poolside or shows will have no idea as to whether there is one watertight door or two inside for instance the moonpool, 1 ladder or 2. They will see detail and go oh and ah and coo, because it looks technical and good. They really have no idea as to whether it is correct or not unless they have photos to compare it to.
In other words we want it to look as correct as possible, but we have to bear in mind that sometimes this is just impossible to achieve.
I totally agree Brian.What enhancements I have added,are purely based on researching 'generic' shipyard practice via google.I have given up any attempt to produce an exact replica.Much easier to adopt this approach on a relatively new vessel.As an example,I did purchase Graupner's Nordic kit before Christmas.Aside from the kit being on a different planet to Seabex,I have obtained a book by a German publisher solely on the design and construction of her.The book is English text and has countless pictures of her being built and when complete.Also I have many additional pics I have easily found off the net.Out of the box,the kit is accurate to my info above the waterline,the korts are simplified as are the becker rudders below.So I can say the model will be pretty close to the prototype when built with a few small additions,not alterations.Mainly deck lighting and under deck bracing.
Regards
Nigel
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Nice model John!
Yes one or two more pics have appeared since I got this kit in early 2000's but still not masses.Not heard the steering issue one,main complaint I have heard about is the 'bow wave' washing over the aft deck from inside the moonpool when full ahead,one reason I have done so much additional work in this area.
Regards
Nigel
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Nice model John!
Yes one or two more pics have appeared since I got this kit in early 2000's but still not masses.Not heard the steering issue one,main complaint I have heard about is the 'bow wave' washing over the aft deck from inside the moonpool when full ahead,one reason I have done so much additional work in this area.
Regards
LOL, yes that moon pool bow wave is impressive if you get too much speed up. I never saw an detail on the inside of the mooon pool until this thread. I've learned a lot from that, including how to abate the moon pool bow wave.
John
Nigel
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John
I am in contact with the chap that built the model when it was first launched for an exhibition in London in the 80's.He is still doing bits to it now.He says he has got around the problem by fitting what I can only describe as a 'aerofoil' under the ship in front of the moonpool.It is only like a flared bottom to deflect water downwards to reduce this effect.This is a simple retrofit solution to anyone who has built this model and doesn't want to chop it about.
Regards
Nigel
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John
I am in contact with the chap that built the model when it was first launched for an exhibition in London in the 80's.He is still doing bits to it now.He says he has got around the problem by fitting what I can only describe as a 'aerofoil' under the ship in front of the moonpool.It is only like a flared bottom to deflect water downwards to reduce this effect.This is a simple retrofit solution to anyone who has built this model and doesn't want to chop it about.
Regards
Nigel
Thanks very much for the tip
John
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I am now working on the false deck and hatch.Basically I want to sort this area as I am going to portray the two tracks that run down the deck and carry the support frame for the moonpool.
There is a subdeck from clear Perspex.This has to have holes to clear the motors as everything is so tight.There are two holes to add for battery venting whilst charging as I have an additional battery aft.Around all the holes will be slivers of clear Perspex tube.these will butt up against the underneath of the removable deck.The Perspex sub deck will be sealed with a bead of clear silicon around the top.This should eliminate ingress from water splashes on deck short of full on immersion.
The actual deck panel is laid up Epoxy glass and will have small galvanised washers epoxied to the underside to marry up with the neodym magnets I bonded into the combing.
Regards
Nigel
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nmbrook I think you are doing a fantastic job on this. My one comment with regards to modelling would be to avoid silicon adhesives like the plague. If you have a tube of proper siicon keep it away from absolutely anything you wish to glue or paint afterwards. Folk however, often confuse tubes of mastic "silicon" which these days are mostly are acrylic and they are OK but please keep silicon away from everything else you expect to be glued or paint afterwards. It is such a horrid infectious product that the vinegar smelling fumes affect everything else you might want to glue or paint in future and the clean-up isn't worth the hassle in the first place.
...Also to say as someone who has worked on DSV's and converted a pipelayer. I would not be too concerned with matching plans exactly. I'm guessing in an ideal situation for these types of vessel, the design is in principle. I have seen it myself -what leaves the yard is perhaps something different. I can tell you also that some things change within about 10mins of sea trials -what modellers always look for is the builders plans, and whats ends up in service is potentially very different.
For me, you mention ladders in the wrong place -etc, if it were me I would try and represent something so corroded in the first place that although the procedure said the rescue diver should go down there -he wouldn't even consider it in his right mind!
Moonpools on this hullform attract allot of drag I guess. On the Osprey -with "open" moonpools in rough transits -water flooding main deck was occasionally an issue and very wet decks even when on DP. They were very wet areas on some rough transits. There were some very long standing personnel on the vessel who did not understand the concept that the watertight door at the moonpool couldn't be tied-open for "convenience" -eaxactly because this was a huge potential for flooding and any fire to propagate into the accomodation, least-wise form the watertight integrity of the vessel.
Water in the moonpool area at main deck was apparently always an issue. As I mentioned before, we dived in quite bad conditions compared o modern competitirs, I never saw it myself but there was water up the moonpool, flooded dive control, washed down into the old moonpool area. Main deck totally flooded in a deluge. Main deck on this design is not that much above wl, 3m-ish, but when you work in something like 6m sig wave height before any alarms on the bell start sounding etc. In that respect your choice of closing doors on the bottom of the moonpool for transits looks entirely representative.
I would't hit the original makers of the kit too hard. For me I find allot of European kits in different scales are a prepresentative. For example I find railway kits are moulded in some form of pre-coloured plastic -the idea of modifying, painting or even weathering afterwards seems an alien concept. Also, on the other end of the scale, I gave-up on "N" gauge modelling because the quality of the apparanely "acceptable" kits meant I had to file-back detail and replace myself, or other such mis-moulded parts were so badly formed I had to scratch build myself. Throwing away up to 90% of a railway kit is apparently acceptable and perfectly normal. I have always said we do it better from the start in marine modelling.
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Thanks Rich
The idea is just to use a fine bead of silicon around the edge of the Perspex after it has been dropped in position.The bead can be sliced through with a scalpel and the Perspex removed for maintenance,and a new bead run round when the Perspex when refitted.This sealing will only happen after completion and painting.Yes I agree it is awful stuff but does have some uses,
My moonpool doors are a copy of those fabricated by a company who specialises in these.Good old google images.I have had it confirmed Seabex did have some sort of doors but the actual design is as yet unknown to me.I have just gone with a feasible representation based on general modern shipbuilding practice,combined with my experience of nearly 30 years in heavy steel fabrication.Nearest I have got to offshore though is building some skids for a rig many years ago.,I do work with a few lads who have worked at shipyards in the UK and Holland and one or two from Heerema who mainly worked fabricating rig jackets.
Regards
Nigel
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Hi,
Doors seem sensible. In normal weather the column of water in the moonpool on the Osprey caused a huge in-out rush of air into the adjacent spaces (I say normal -up to 6m waves!). In rough weather, the main deck could take some water and in really bad transits the water did come up and did flood areas sometimes.
Not all pipelayers / DSV's have bottom doors on moonpools. Sometimes the aft edge is profiled though, I have never heard of a profile on the leading edge but might make sense. I was sent a doc. control drawing update today ("clearance for ILT's and PLETS through moonpool") and on the vessel for the company I'm contracted to now it looks like they have bottom doors also. I'm guessing though that bottom doors will never be watertight.
...think you're on the right track though.
Rich
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A bit of a pause in updates but work is still moving along.I have being trying to get my head around the order of paint and further construction.My design of integrating the funnels into the hull moulding is great for strength and a seamless finish but makes things interesting regarding painting.The funnels can't be completed without fitting the front deck but the wiring needs routing before this can happen.The inside of the aft section of the hull needs painting inside before the wiring can be run as well a fitting the hardware
Basically I have decided in view of the size of this thing and the increasing amount of delicate items topsides to fill/prime the hull and get the dark brown antifouling on so the aft drives can be fitted and the remaining hardware.At least then I reduce the amount of handling as the model is starting to get heavy even without batteries.The funnel areas will require further fill/prime and blending in later in the build before the red goes on the upper hull.
What is shown is two sessions of filler primer,flating back and acrylic 'stopper'.I used Halfords plastic filler primer initially to get a chemical bond to the hull.Subsequent layers are regular filler primer.The plastic version has a 'chemical' etch quality which in my experience causes sinking when trying to build a decent layer to flat back.So far there are two litres of paint gone on to the hull,however quite a lot has been flatted back off again.I have been using 400 grit wet and dry and will only go down to finer grades after the filler primer stage is complete.The main thing is the use of a long rubber bodyshop sanding block.This avoids ripples on the large flat areas.
I have been spraying outside mid afternoon at around 14 to 15 degrees.Cool yes but the air is dry so haven't had any issues.If anything this has helped with paint flow out.A light breeze has also helped with drawing the solvent out of the paint.Big advantage at this time of year is no insects about to get stuck in the paint :-)) The model is taken indoors and left alone for a full week before continuing.
I anticipate another two applications of filler primer and flating before I can think about the grey primer base for the Vallejo brown antifouling.If anyone is wondering,the two holes forward of the aft thrusters are intakes for the fire monitors
Regards
Nigel
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great model, awesome job.
i have a seabex one that was build by a guy that is a trophee-builder but he didn't go as ... "fanatic" as you did, however as mine had been sitting in a transport box in his shed for many years i quickly discovered issues.. for starters it used 2 transmitters to drive the ship, 1 for the ship and a separate MRC 5 wire one for the crane.. i ripped them both out, my much more modern X9E cant work with the old servo's and 5 wire.. nope.
i have it set up as follows now .speed controllers -2 1 for bow , 1 for stern.1 x 996 mg servo for stern 2x 995 mg servo's for bow (these take 2 channels and the bow ones can be connected in the transmitter)2 5A speed controllers for the crane/boom/winch, still have to figure out how to make the end stops work (see attached drawing)1X 996 360 degree servo for crane rotation.1x 6 turns sail servo for diving bell.flying RC helicopter (separate IR transmitter)micro Toy Submarine (separate 27mhz transmitter)
1 x standard servo for the pump
1x 7 channel switch for lights/radar/other gadgets/sound
as the transmitter i plan to use is either the taranis X9D pro, the Taranis X9E or the Flysky i10 and all have the s-bus function channels is not an issue, s-bus decoders are easy to set up and cheaper then a 2nd receiver. (i have all 3 transmitters and several more)i am not upgrading the drive units, yes i know the plastic steering/shottel latches are cracked but thanks to a German forum i have the .stl files and i have printed replacement ones.
main issue is the wiring in the crane, as i replaced the 2 graupner/faulhaber 05 motors with much newer and stronger and smaller 5V n20 motors that draw less current and discovered part of the technical schematic is missing.. i'm now stuck.
the end stop switches only had 2 wires for the winch and 3 for the boom, no matter how we tried to figure it out.. it didn't work as we missed part of the schematic, any suggestions would be welcome. i have 2 dual over relays on order from Hong Kong (8 pin) as well as some nice Kevlar thread to make the crane functional again.
thanks in advance, pictures will be taken tomorrow during 1 of the many trials.
Krijn
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update
the voltage in the previous post is nolonger 1.5 V but 4.8-5V
thanks
Krijn
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how about using a arduino. Use the mircoswitch as triggers.
There a few on here and me that could help out ??
Cheers
tim
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I'm not that good with Arduino's , i fix real computers (laptops) for a living but coding is not my forte.
i had a friend make me an Arduino for the 18 gun turrets on my USS Midway and that took 8 months, and its still not right ... took me 5 months to figure out how to get auto-bed -leveling to work on my Tronxy pm802 printer.
besides... i don't want the boat to be smarter then i am %%
for sound.. yes arduino with sd card reader, but for the crane.. nah i would only get confused.
besides the schematic can't be that hard to figure out, its a case of knowing the connections... and i don't.
Krijn
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Hi Krijn
I am using old Robbe polarity reversing modules.I bought a few before the demise of Robbe.These are now reavailable under the Romarin brand.Graupner's wiring diagram was as much use as a chocolate fireguard to me,I couldn't get my around how the microswitch limits worked.I adopted a system using diodes.Basically there is two circuits for each motor but each has a diode in so will only function with the motor turning in one direction.A microswitch is incorporated into each circuit to stop the motor turning in the direction of the particular circuit.I only used the common and normally closed terminals on the microswitches
Kind Regards
Nigel
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Hello Nigel
could you draw that schematic out so i can see it, i am now waiting on my 5A speed controllers for the crane to arrive as i just can't figure the schematic Graupner gave us out.i also discovered another issue with seabex.... Torque-steer...
on 12 volt my 996 digital MG 15kg servo can not keep the shottels on the centerline, so i asume its time for some changes to the stern steering.
i have an arduino coming so if all else fails i could make a self-programmable crane, one that learns from its mistakes.but i would feel useless, having an rc boat with better memory and more intelligence then me... nope.. well maybe..
i have the new motors in, 1 of the 2 5a esc's, and 2 5v dc 8 pin relays on the way, that reminds me i also need to find counter rotating props.
enjoy
Krijn
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Hi Krijn
I will attempt to draw a schematic.Electronics is not my strongpoint,yes I know Seabex isn't really the project to learn on {-) Give me a couple of days.I am flat out trying to organise my new workshop over this Bank holiday weekend.We moved house a couple of months ago hence the reason why no updates.
The circuit took a bit of trial and error until I got what I wanted,but isn't really that complex.
Kind Regards
Nigel
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Hi Nigel
did you ever finish your Seabex one ?
John