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[Taranis]

For the stanchions
If it seems too forceful to waggle the blade of the stanchion into a round hole? I drill another small hole adjacent and then insert a scalpel to join them after which it should fit with ease. I never glue my stanchions in place, all my railing sets can be lifted out carefully and none have come out accidentally. Also all my brass work is soft soldered and contrary to the occasional protest from an outspoken member non have broken.


An example from my Stevn's Arctic

[Taranis]

I also should have paid complements to your work so far    great stuff 

[Hande]

Thank you for your kind words, Andy!


I am smart enough to listen to the advice from more experienced model builders.
Your approach makes sense to me - I have tried to make everything removable as far as possible, too. My remaining concern is the wheelhouse. Should I make an attempt to make the roof removable in order to reach the wiring that I'm going to draw underneath it? I like to have maintenance hatches wherever I can.


And you just gave me the solution for the stanchions - now that you told about your method, it is just obvious ... funny how one doesn't come to think about such outside-the-box solutions  [size=78%] [/size]

[Hande]

"Official" maiden voyage reported here:

https://youtu.be/D5ExScWWEQE

First sailing in a real-world pond. Location is in Espoo, Finland. A lot of detail is still missing - you can tell! Disappointed with the "Noisy thing" - it is noisy in the wrong way. In transportation, I broke the radar and scratched a chip off the stern-end fender (but that't what fenders are for - right?). First day, the battery was positioned too much towards starboard - fixed it for the second day. For some reason, although I thought I had charged the lead battery, it didn't deliver. Recharging made it allright, though. I don't know what happened there. I love the Taranis system and Open Tx - It allows me to program it in any way I desire.

[Capt Podge]

Hiya hande, it's good to see your boat has made it to the water. Your 2nd day was definitely the better of the two.
The points you mentioned in the write up were evident in your footage and I'm sure you can sort them out without too much trouble. Still some details to be added but you're definitely getting there now, so well done. 


Ray.

[Hande]

Thank you, Ray, for your support during these years. Now I have to maintain the momentum and finish the build. The railings still worry me, but I will prevail, I'm sure!
I'm afraid, I have to be very careful and dry the boat of water every time. My woodwork is poor due to inexperience and ignorance. I got a small cup of water inside - although it doesn't matter for the ABS plastic hull itself.

[Capt Podge]

Hiya Hande, I'm trying to think how any water got inside your hull.


I know you greased the prop tubes - has the grease deteriorated at all?
When going astern the water can be dragged up the tubes.


Are the anchor chain hawse pipes sealed?


Did you grease the rudder tubes?


Note : I'm fairly certain your main deck is well fitted against any water ingress...


Note 2: I found that in choppy weather there is a tendency for water to spill on deck through the front bullring and somehow finds its way below. To avoid this I have installed a 'plate' to the inside of that opening.


Hope this helps you a little...

Aye,
Ray.

[Hande]

Answers to Capt Podge:

I know you greased the prop tubes - has the grease deteriorated at all?
- No grease come out either end. I don't believe that's it.


Are the anchor chain hawse pipes sealed?
- Yes.

Did you grease the rudder tubes?
- no (that's something I missed. I just thought since the upper ends of the tubes are above water, water would not enter. And there is a silicon spacer down at the lower end. I will put a test paper around the tubes next time.)

Note : I'm fairly certain your main deck is well fitted against any water ingress...
- the deck itself is water-tight.
- Well, otherwise, hard to admit; I studied the edges of the removable deck and it is actually leaking on the other side over a length of about 10cm ever so slightly. Enough to allow the demonstrated amount of water to enter. - I think this is it. The second day, water was spilling through the forward bullrings and the side flood openings as well. Intermediate solution is tape. A sustainable solution is under pondering.

Hope this helps you a little...
- Thank you, Ray, like always! I'm preparing for my third voyage, hopefully later this week.

[Capt Podge]

Hiya Hande, good to hear you have pretty much eliminated all prior suggestions, other than the main deck, so we'll look forward to your next sailing day findings.


As you said earlier though, that amount of water from a day of bobbing about, hardly matters.
Real vessels usually have a bilge pump for this exact reason anyway. 


Aye,
Ray.

[Hande]

I sailed again today on a glass surface. Not a drop of water inside.
So, quite sure the water comes in overboard and through the gap on the deck.

[Capt Podge]

Well, that is good news and shows your efforts have been well rewarded - well done Hande!


Aye,
Ray.

[Hande]

All good for now, except for the worst idea ever: making the rudder supporting fins out of wood 
I think the thing is the hole that the rudder pin goes into. I tried to seal it with epoxy and grease on top of of it. Also, no matter how you paint on wood, with my skills anyway, it won't be watertight. To add to the poor idea, there's poor implementation: The fins are made by glueing together about a dozen (exagg.) little pieces. Thanks, Billings!


I must be prepared to manufacture new ones out of an aluminum rod that I found in the back of my hole.


I know now why in newer S.N. kits the support fins come in the fittings bag - whole 3D pieces made of plastic of sorts, if I understand it correctly.

[Hande]

I returned to my shipyard and finally started to work on the railings.
So far, having begun with the (easier) top of the wheelhouse, I'm not desperate, yet.
Against conventional wisdom, I used the deck itself as a jig. I stood up the stanchions with the two lower wires on the deck and soldered the joints there. I'm pleased to see, how decent the result looks. By far not perfect, and I messed with the soldering iron and spoiled the paint a little bit - call it "weathering" 

[Hande]

So, now I'm somewhat experienced from this little railing ...


Progressive soldering from joint to joint presented the problem of earlier joints melting as I went over to the next one.
I solved it by wrapping an aluminum wire around each of the adjacent joints as heat drains. Worked well.
This problem is probably preempted by soldering the railings flat on a surface, as I have seen everybody else do. I will have to consider that after all. It's just that I am not convinced that I would get the positions of the stanchions right


The lower deck is going to be more complex with the staircases. Anyway, I'm not as terrified by the challenge as I was - for years already 


I went by the directions of Billing boats. The top hand rail is 1,5mm and the two lower ones are 1mm thick. However, I agree with a note made by a Mayhemmer earlier in an other thread: The simulation should be made with far thinner wires to make the railings look right as per  scale!

[Hande]

I never thought I would make it this far!
Now, with some experience, I will tackle the most difficult section behind the stacks, down the staircase.

[Hande]

Two more...

[Hande]

sorry... this is the third one

[Capt Podge]

Hi there Hande, you're certainly getting the hang of it now, nothing wrong with your soldering that I can see. Your paint job looks really good as well 


Cheers,
Ray.

[Hande]

thanks, Ray 
Yet another victory over my scare of the more difficult challenges.
Not meaning that I've perfected my skill in any way, to be sure

[Hande]

The final section I thought would be the most difficult, but so far so good.


See how I injured the paint below a stanchion. The reason is that the stanchion's seat on the deck gave in and the stanchion went down with my iron on it 
More difficult than making the railings is correcting a ruined spot in the paintwork so that the result is at least satisfactory. I hate patchwork!


To summarise my method with the railings:
1. identify the pair of stanchions that are most central, or stable, or definitive for the section that I'm working on AND have a straight stretch between them. This makes the ass'y somewhat rigid already.
2. assemble - without soldering - the loose stanchions AND the middle wire between and around the above BEFORE any bends, and soldering around them.
3. first solder the lowest wire of the above, and then move forward between and around.
4. bend as I move forward
5. when the lowest wire is soldered proceed with the top handrail
6. last, solder the middle wire, which should be very easy


This is theory. Today I felt that the middle wire must be fixed in place before doing the awkward bends down the staircases that will follow.


Note that the two stanchions of point 1 are actually the two in the middle.

[Hande]

Progressing slowly. I realised that its good form not to work more than about two hours at a time. After that errors - er... setbacks - are bound to happen! For me, that is 

See - I started the patchwork on the damaged spot. I have attained an enormous revelation:
The Vallejo acrylic green has been difficult without great levelling properties until now. (The V varnishes are a horror story). For me. Well I have learned that the "flow improver" can be used as a retarder. WHAT a difference! Even with my poor brush painting skills. So far, I have had no success by thinning with a thinner. Cold water was better than thinner. But the secret of the enigmatic "flow improver" is unraveled now. For me. I know that you experienced Mayhemmers probably smile at me kindly...

[Hande]

more railings..!

[Hande]

In case someone wonders;
this is how I keep the pieces put while soldering 

[Hande]

To summarise my method with the railings:
1. identify the pair of stanchions that are most central, or stable, or definitive for the section that I'm working on AND have a straight stretch between them. This makes the ass'y somewhat rigid already.
2. assemble - without soldering - the loose stanchions AND the middle wire between and around the above BEFORE any bends, and soldering around them.
3. first solder the lowest wire of the above, and then move forward between and around.
4. bend as I move forward
5. when the lowest wire is soldered proceed with the top handrail
6. last, solder the middle wire, which should be very easy

Oops! In case someone is interested in my method:
In stage one, the point is to solder the bottom wire at the mentioned two "seed stanchions".

In stage one, if the two "seed stanchions" are not adjacent to each other, MAKE SURE that you place the the stanchions that come in between on the wire before soldering. Those will be soldered in stage 3.

You see - in stage 2 it is impossible to include any stanchions between the "seed stanchions" after they are soldered.

Not that I expect anyone to imitate my method... You are excused 

[Hande]

It is done save the little gates on the front side 
Next cleaning and painting.

Large scale is bliss in this work phase. How some of you manage this in 1:100 scale is beyond me! These marvelous model builders are in another league - I applaude to them!