A Skipjack in Ireland

[Pawly]

Hi Rob,

I would still run a separate BEC unless you know what the current draw is for your electronics and it comes in under what the ESC is capable of.

I run a Castle Creations BEC 10.

Regards

Pawly

[The Boattrainman]

Here is are some more shots of the painting progress. The gratings got a wash of mucky brown and light dry-brushing with off white and are a bit more defined.





I've managed to darken down the grey a bit. Other than some salt washes, I'm not big into heavy weathering of my models.




The lights look fine, the top sail light is a bit small to be seen at distance.




The five pieces of glass in the sail will have to wait till all the varnish coats are finished.

The Boattrainman

[The Boattrainman]

Getting some conflicting information, is this ESC suitable for the 11.1V LIPO Battery?





I saw a website indicating that it is not LIPO 'safe' (whatever that means).

The Boattrainman

[Pawly]

Hi Boattrainman,

That ESC is not for LIPO's. The LIPO battery will destroy the ESC. LIPO's can release a lot more energy than the NiMH or NiCad's can.

You will need an Mtroniks TIO ESC to use with a LIPO. One of the two below will work with LIPO's.

http://www.mtroniks.net/prod/Boat-Speed-Controls/tio-Marine-15.htm

or

http://www.mtroniks.net/prod/Boat-Speed-Controls/tio-Marine-30.htm

Regards

Pawly

[type7]

I use viper esc's with lipos. Since they were not meant to be used with lipos, they allow the battery to drain down to too low a voltage which affects the battery life. You can use a separate battery guard or don't run the sub as long.

[The Boattrainman]

Thanks for the heads up, much appreciated.

Rob

[The Boattrainman]

In order to make a stab at the hull markings, I'm using BECC vinyl Lettering (Cornwall Model Boats), they have sizes from 2 - 14mm, plus lifeboat signage, cargo ship warning signs, chequerplate flooring, miniature bezels, instrument clusters etc. etc. etc........

I'm using this because Decals are the spawn of satan (for me at least), I can never get them right even using Decal Setter plus the carrier film always spoils the look. An alternative is Woodlands Scenics dry transfer (rub down lettering), but again I'm useless with the stuff.

The kit decals are a useful aid and are stuck beside the location as a guide. Each 2mm letter is picked off the sheet and positioned, they have a sticky back which sets in 24 hours, but you can move them around to get them in line.





Here is the name and the finished tail fin/rudder.




So they are perfect? WRONG!

They don't come in a range of Fonts (I think the Sculpin is close to Franklin Gothic 45 Degree), so if you are a stickler for detail, the larger sizes won't look right, but at 2mm I can't tell the difference.

The Boattrainman

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

n order to make





Thisish

Laser-cut numbers!? .... where can I get this stuff at? Neat!

David

[The Boattrainman]

Sorry David,

You got in before I had the text uploaded. BECC as per above, they also do model cloth flags, pennants and come with excellent instructions.

http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/becc_flags_decals.html

Rob

[The Boattrainman]

And finally, two shots of the hull side depth markings, the BECC numbers are very crisp and give a very neat finish.




No carrier film around the numbers, no smudges, a coat of matt varnish and they will blend in well to the hull.

Two evenings work.

The Boatrainman

[The Boattrainman]

Here is the final electronic install, the Mtroniks 15Amp ESC for LIPOs that was recommended. This small fitting is made to hold the ESC switch.




The ESC sits on the small aluminium heat sink, and air can get around the unit.




The wiring is cut down to suit, it's BEC gives 1.2 Amps to the Receiver.




The Boattrainman

[The Boattrainman]

The final install of the rudders and dive planes takes place, here is the wiring of the rear rudder light.




The install of the 5000Mah LIPO is below, it slides into the holder and is kept in place by the upper lip, a Deans plus is connected to shortened wires.




There's just enough room for the 'battery to boat' lead and the LIPO balance plug when the end cap is installed.




The submerged trim is fixed not with round styrene tube, but square section. I used some Styrofoam attached to the outer hull to guesstimate the volume of tubing needed...........




...........the square tubes are sealed at both ends.............




.........and the tubes are trial fitted up under the top hull, above the waterline so they don't affect the subs surface trim (the pencil lines indicate the outer limits of where the tubes will go).




No nasty closed cell flotation foam here!!!

The Boattrainman

[The Boattrainman]

The inner hull with the flotation tubes gets a coat of primer and varnish for protection.




Some excess wiring for the sail lights is left loose so I can get the sail off for maintenance.

he


One minor addition was to add a small bead on the end of the On/Off switch as the bare brass rod was scratching the hull on installation.




The Boattrainman

[The Boattrainman]

This build is effectively finished.

Other than putting the glass (plastic )in the sail there is not much remaining to do.

At the bow and stern points where the top hull mates with the bottom, I put on some very tough Yacht Varnish, as this is the area that will get nicks and dings, plus I'll smear some silicone grease along this shiny part as well.





Here are some final test tank shots of the boat in surface and submerged trim.











The slight sacrifice to get the sub totally submerged (the last 2/3% of the Piston Tank) is that it has to surface run a fraction low in the water, a small compromise.

I'll post some shots of the sub on the shakedown mission in a few weeks, in the meantime, many thanks to everyone who gave useful tips, this was my first build log, and I would certainly do it again.

Rob (The Boattrainman)

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Rob,

It was a joy following this WIP. Most comprehensive and instructive. Thank you very much for the time and effort it took to post this good stuff. Looking forward to video of this beast on and under the water.

David