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Author Topic: Mantua "Mincio" Woes  (Read 3599 times)

rmaddock

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Mantua "Mincio" Woes
« on: April 27, 2011, 04:23:20 pm »

My Mantua Mincio, crewed by Mini Me and Mini Herself had it's maiden voyage on Friday in our local park. Here's a LINK TO A VIDEO that includes it and my two boys' new boats too.

I was very pleased...for a while.  :-))
Apart from the obvious balance problem....she's a bit bows down in the water.  >>:-(
I was going to rectify this when, a few days later, I found a quantity of water sloshing about under the floor in the front compartment. It had swollen the balsa and pushed the mahogany planking out.  <:(
So, a major refit is afoot!  {:-{
First, the crew members have lost weight via the medium of a drill bit.  :o Then, the front compartment has had the floor removed and the hatch sealed and then been filled with expanding foam. The floor in the engine compartment has been drilled and also foamed. The battery compartment (cockpit) will received a nice coat of epoxy once all the foam's gone off and been tidied.  Then I'll have to clean up the outside again.  %%



I'm a bit cross about all of this as it was obvious during the build that the unprotected nature of the balsa below the floor was not such a good idea. I'm cross that Mantua didn't tell me to do something about it as I was building and cross because I didn't do something about it off by own bat.  :embarrassed:

Hey ho! We live and learn. It looked good on the water though!

Cheers!

R.
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triumphjon

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Re: Mantua "Mincio" Woes
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2011, 09:10:37 am »

the only downside to all the expanding foam now in the bows of your model is it adds weight where you dont want any !
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rmaddock

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Re: Mantua "Mincio" Woes
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2011, 01:45:56 pm »

the only downside to all the expanding foam now in the bows of your model is it adds weight where you don't want any !

Yeah, I realised this but thought it was probably worth the risk. The little people have lost a bit of weight (ouch) and the magnets that were on the hatch have gone so....swings and roundabouts. It'll probably end up quite low in the water, yes, but then I'm a big chap so it'll probably be a realistic scale effect!  {-)
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w3bby

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Re: Mantua "Mincio" Woes
« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2011, 08:14:17 am »

the only downside to all the expanding foam now in the bows of your model is it adds weight where you dont want any !

Not true, the biggest downside is that it now takes on a life of it's own and will continue to expand and contract at will, pulling the hull/deck with it. It will absorb water and gain weight over time. Pulled loads of this out of a old hull of mine and could squeeze water out of the remnants. Best advice, rip it out again and seal the innards with epoxy, making sure it is totally dry beforehand of course.

Don't forget some flotation in case the worst happens.

martno1fan

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Re: Mantua "Mincio" Woes
« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2011, 08:24:37 am »

I Agree with Ian remove it asap because it will keep expanding and contracting and will either split the hull open or pull the deck out of shape and ruin your boat.I have a cat here made from fibrglass that had it in and it pulled the deck in so bad it needed a ton of body filler to get it back to its orriginal shape.It does also soak up water over time so id get rid now before its too late.Get some poole noodles to cut up and use as floatation once the hulls sealed with epoxy,even poole noodles soak a little water up over time but at least these are removable,another idea i like is use wine bags inflated to the desired size,very light  ;).
Mart
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tobyker

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Re: Mantua "Mincio" Woes
« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2011, 10:45:24 pm »

I reckon you can see the bow getting lower in the youtube video. I'm afraid I agree with the chaps that foam is no substitute for watertight integrity - I suppose she's too small for a couple pf ping pong balls?
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martno1fan

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Re: Mantua "Mincio" Woes
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2011, 11:46:37 am »

If you ask arround for those airbags you get in packaging they work pretty well for small boats but be carefull not to puncture them  ok2.
Mart
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rmaddock

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Re: Mantua "Mincio" Woes
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2011, 05:31:38 pm »

Thanks for the replies everybody.
I'm sorry to say that I am going to wilfully leave the foam where it is now and face any consequences. The Mincio is built like a tank...I don't think it's going to warp in the limited bows area and the section was properly proofed before being injected.
I shall live and learn and you can all point and sneer later on  %)
Besides which, I want to get this sorted a.s.a.p. so I can move onto the next project!  ok2
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