hi folks
an update for you all with regards to building a true scale ship for model tug towing;
most of our tugs are around the 40" mark so we need a tow that would be in scale with our tugs
i have proposed building a working ship so we can get as real to life towing as possible
this is now going to be a reality
i have on sunday just gone commissioned an sd14 type ship to be built
she will now be 17 feet in length
her breadth will be 2ft 6 at midships
hull depth at midships is17"
hull depth at stem 24"
radar mast to keel 49"
superstructure block will be 29" length 22" width 14" in height
she is going to be constructed in 3 sections
she will have a 4 bladed 6.5" prop
5 hatches 18" length 14" width 3" height
each hull section will be on castor wheels so she will be easy to set up on dry land
i have changed the idea of ballast due to the sheer size of her and gone for 5 litre oil style containers that will be filled with water on site
other ballast will come from 7 ah 12v batterys that i have lots of and will be disguised as deck container cargo
fully radio controlled ship that will have propulsion steering and the facilty to let go her bow and stern tugs by use of drop down bollards via the 6 channel radio control
the ships keel will be laid in january 2008 and should be completed prior to june 2008
i hope that this tow can be used around the tug towing scene and that maybe courses may be designed around this size of vessel
i have designed this size of tow to fit in with a eldergarth/portgarth size tug and should be quite a handfull for even the biggest of tugs
hope that you can all have a tow of her in the near future
regards to you all
peter fitzpatrick