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[Capt Podge]

A good point well made. Thanks for that Brian - I'll tread careful when paint is applied to the inner hull wooden bits. 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Brian60]

Ray you were asking about lighting further down. Have a read of the word document I've included, it should help with what you need.

[Capt Podge]

Excellent !
 
Many thanks indeed Brian - I've just had a quick squint through the document and it appears to be a "jargon buster" so even I should be ok with that.
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 
 
 

[Capt Podge]

Continuing|:
 
The 540 motors were stripped and cleaned then new suppressors and leads soldered on.
 
Mount for the rudder servo made next. This was a lamination of 2 x 18mm blocks of plywood to attain height. The servo was then mounted, in it's own box, atop of the platform.
 
The new motor mounts arrived today, so motors, huco couplings and propshafts were lined up and guide marks penned for the motor mount locations.
 
Motors were then removed for ease of access and mounts screwed in place.
 
The whole lot was then reconnected and checked for alignment. Happy with that, so the motors were connected direct to a 6v battery, run for 1 minute, all ok.
 
While everything was lined up I took the opportunity to hit the proptubes with some epoxy resin.
 
The hull was set up at an angle so that the glue would fill the indentations in the hull, thus ensuring the tube entry holes were smothered. This also prevented any glue from entering the insides of the proptubes.
 
...here's a few photo's of the job to date....
 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 
 

[Capt Podge]

Forgot to mention - the reason for mounting the servo so high in the hull is to get a more or less horizontal run for the rudder actuating rod. 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Tug-Kenny RIP]

I would not have rated this an important feature.  As long as the rod is parallel to the stern, the slight angle over a long length would not really have a bearing on the working ability.

The disadvantage of your idea is that the balance of the craft might get top heavy.

Just a thought.

ken
 

[derekwarner]

With the greatest respect Ken, it really is all about geometry

Whilst it is difficult to judge from the photo images from Ray, it appears possible that the servo if mounted lower in the hull would appear fine with the linkage AFT to the rudder arms in the straight ahead position, however when at full to port or stdb, the linkage rod may foul on the spider in the rudder arm setup

A straight push/pull motion is cosmetically if not superior from a technical point of design. It is also far easier to constrain the off axis longitudinal motion of a push rod it we were considering one plane only ......so my money is certainly with the higher servo mounting  ..... Derek

[Fastfaz]

  I agree with having the servo as near to level with the rudder arm as possible and I would move the servo further back nearer the stern shortening the length of the connecting rod meaning less flex and being shorter will be more rigid. The servo on my Norton cross (metal geared high torque and quite heavy) is level with the rudder arm and this does not affect the ballast just make sure that the ballast is as low in the hull as possible. Hope this helps.
        Cheers,
              Faz.

[ballastanksian]

Just caught the sorry tale of the vandalism(?) of your lovely Tug and the pheonix like ressurection back to her original glory. You are a bigger man for not accidentally letting the currs car tyres down or worse, and demonstrating real accomplishment by working hard (a second time) to get your Tug back to the water.

I know we all have different skill levels, and some are put off (both jokingly and actually) by a great build, but you have a be a bit inadequate to even think of damaging someone elses model.

I assume this is what hapened reading between the lines?

[Tug-Kenny RIP]

I have just looked again at the picture.  There appears to be two rudders but with no linkage between them.

How is a centre driven push/pull mechanism going to operate without fouling the link between the two arms unless you move the link to the back ?   I would have fitted  the servo parallel to one side rudder and then linked across to the other rudder.

ken

[JimG]

Looking at the geometry of the rudder linkage it would be better if the right hand rudder horn was rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise. This will give a straighter link  with less of an angle. If you are concerned about the connection between the rudders clashing with the pushrod then use ball links on the linkages.
http://www.slecuk.com/balsa-wood/Ball-Links.html
Fit one linkage above the rudder horn and the other below the horn, this will give enough clearance to stop any problems.

Jim

[Capt Podge]

Evening all - thank you all very much indeed for your input.
 
Jim - your idea of the 90deg move sounds like a winner, I'll give it a try next time I'm in the workshop.
 
Kenny - I've removed the temporary linkage between the 2 rudders as I kept catching it while working (it's there in reply no.26 & 27) . My original setup did have the servo where it is now but lower down. Note: this hull sits so low in the water that the servo "tower" won't have any significant effect on stability.
It should also be noted at this point that the "tower" is not yet fixed in place - I just put it there for effect.  , although I do intend to secure it there.
Also, ref moving the linkage to the back, this is still an option.
 
Ian - On reflection, I guess there wasn't enough room on the display table for his model, so probably gave mine a "little shove" to make room.
Oh yes, I was absolutely livid at the time, but revenge would not have achieved anything. Lesson learned on my part - NEVER let your model out of your site .
 
Derek - you are right. The photos I put up are a bit misleading - maybe for the next lot I can stand one or two items in to give a clearer perspective.
 
Once again guys, thank you for taking the time to give me your pearls of wisdom
 
 
I'll come back when I've had a bit play about with the linkages etc...
 
Regards,
 
Ray.

[ballastanksian]

  People eh?

As regards this forum, I am always amazed at the generosity and wisdom of the membership. I feel cheeky asking sometimes. I suppose the only way you can repay such help is to try and reciprocate.

[Capt Podge]

Settled for JimG idea of the 90 deg rotation.
 
So, a new pushrod was made and fitted. This will be a temporary rod until I can find something more suitable. Made it from a spare wall tie I had lying around. Had a bit of difficulty trying to straighten it out and as can be seen it has a number of kinks in it - but it does work, so that'll do for now.
 
Then, all the running components were "jury rigged", mainly to ensure the ESC still works - it does - not bad, considering I've had it for 18 years.
 
Here's a couple of photos...
 
 

[Capt Podge]

 
The next step was to glue the rudder servo in place so, the tower was glued in using "sticky stuff" and left to harden off overnight.
 
The old platform for the electricals was given a good sanding down and positioned. Some scrap balsa was then used to create slots for the frame to sit in. The platform, which is a slide fit to the frame, can be lifted clear and, if necessary, the frame itself just lifts out of the hull, should any future changes be required.
 
A further set of slots was then installed to hold the battery in place - in this model I'm using a 6v/5Ah/20hr battery.
 
More to follow...
 
 

[Capt Podge]

Now to tidy up the electrics...
 
Removed all 3 tamiya plugs. Pos and Neg from the motors routed into the frame and up through the top.
All leads from the ESC terminated to choc-block.
The on/off switch is routed through the for'd bulkhead, temp soldered joints, they will be joined properly when the deck goes on as the switch itself will be sighted on the foredeck.
 
Test run carried out on the bench and all functioning correctly.
 
More to follow...
 

[Capt Podge]

So now the moment of truth has arrived - is she watertight ?
 
Bath test carried out and all systems working correctly - BUT - water was trickling in at the proptube entry points.
 
Back to the bench, dried her off, applied more epoxy resin, this time on the outside. Now the hull has been set aside to harden off. 
 
While that's going on attention turns to the main deck.
 
The first of the 69 bulwark support locating holes was cut out then the corresponding support was brought into the workshop (from it's safe location).
Using this as a template, a new one was fashioned from 2mm plastic. Sounds easy but it took 2hrs to make. I was going to use 2mm ply, as per the original, but I've none left in stock.
 
I'll continue with the plasticard but I'll get some ply next week in case things go awry.  
 
Last couple of photos for now...
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[carlmt]

Very tidy job all round there!!!  Bit of a bummer about the prop tubes - are you sure the water isn't actually coming up around the shaft itself? Have you oiled them yet?

[Capt Podge]

Thank you Carl - yep, I gave the shafts a coating of silicone grease initially then followed up with light oil.
 
To be honest, I wasn't watching the inside at first - too busy admiring the turbulence at the stern. 
 
However, after I stopped the motors, I could see the water seeping through under the epoxy. Perhaps I've gotten a drop of oil in the indents of the hull and obviously the epoxy can't seal that.
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

So, another bath test was carried out and she's STILL taking in water. Further checks done on the bench and found that the solder joints, on the oiling tubes, had gaps.
Found these gaps by shining a torch into the tubes. Didn't fancy trying to resolder near the ABS hull so the oiling tubes were wrenched free.
Now, I needed to find a way to seal the holes in the proptubes - couldn't come up with a viable solution so instead I cyanoed clear tubing over the holes and plugged the tops. Then, Evo-stick "wet grab" was smeared around the tubing. This stuff is described as waterproof - we'll see....
Now had another 24hr wait for the next test. In the meantime it's back to the bulwark supports.
 
 

[Capt Podge]

Did another bath test this evening - STILL LEAKING.
 
...and now for some humble pie...
 

are you sure the water isn't actually coming up around the shaft itself? Have you oiled them yet?

Carl - you were right all along. Yes, I had applied silicone grease to the shaft, but only a smear. 
 
Right-oh then - back to the bench, shafts removed, high melting point grease syringed into the proptubes, reassembled the shafts & props - fourth bath test carried out - BINGO - after 45 mins running she remained dry.
 
So, finally the penny dropped, now to get back to the bulwark supports - I've only made 9 so far, 60 to go....
 
Hoping to have some progress to report in a few days...
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Martin (Admin)]

Found someone else building a Neddy, on facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/kees.demol.16?fref=photo
https://www.facebook.com/groups/42710318369/permalink/10153370879568370/

[derekwarner]

Guys......I am sure we have some build detail here in our MBM files from this same Dutch model builder Mr Kees de Mol

Again from memory, his work was top class

Derek

[Capt Podge]

That's quite impressive - never thought of mounting the rudder servo that way.

Things are moving along rather slowly just now - in fact I've just completed bulwark support no. 36, so still have 33 to make - I'm also trying to spend less time on-line as it is getting in the way of actual modelling work.

Another update will follow sometime over the weekend.

Regards,

Ray.

[Capt Podge]

Another update will follow sometime over the weekend.

...didn't say which weekend though. 
 
So, FINALLY got all 69 bulwark supports made.