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All great journeys start with a single step.........
With PROTEUS on hold waiting on supplies, and other projects in the cue waiting on better weather for painting outside, I decided to get a start on KEY WEST.
For those of you who may not know, this particular hull is per-owned, and was purchased from our very own Nautilus Drydocks. (Shameless plug...great source for your Submarine $#*!)
I do have a very old Scale Shipyard 1:48 Hull (came in 3 sections, bow, center, tail) that has had all the scribing done, but may pass on, or have buried with me. As this "new" boat is a lot closer to the finish line, the cost of purchasing vs my time (I have a value on my spare time in $$) spent in getting the SS hull to this point made the purchase a no brainer.
The ND hull was configured as a 688(I) less Towed Array appendages or scribe lines for the VLS and Torpedo Tube outer doors.
I'm converting her to one of the eight Flight 2 boat's, the aforementioned SSN-722. So I'll need to scribe in the 12 VLS & Torpedo doors. Plans is to make the last row, outer two, VLS operational (Tubes 15 & 16), as well as the upper torpedo tubes (Tubes 1 & 2). But that will come in time and actual tube positions based on fit. I don't have to remove any Towed Array appendages, but I do need to remove the fixed bow plane appendages and add the SS hull fairwaters to the sail. What can I say, I'm biased towards fairwaters and proud of it as it stems from the period when I served. Regardless of public opinion, they work quite well with a properly trimmed boat.
Now that the build background is behind us, here's the small step.
I built the double cup seal last night (all that reading for this???).
I plan on using the same exact PROPULSION system I used in SHARK but with one major difference!
Belt drive gear reduction. Similar to this......but beefier.
I'm going to start with 4:1. because I need to swing this!! The left is solid brass!
This build will provide an opportunity for another another shift in thinking with regards to RC Submarine Engineering. All the servo's will be in the wet.
Just the electronics (RCVR, ESC, APD, BLM & auxiliary electronics) and the Drive Motor will be in watertight box's. These boxes proved so successful in SHARK and I think are better for the large boat.
Builds after this point may just have the electronics housed.
What an exciting future lies ahead.
Hoping to have sea trials before Groton.
With PROTEUS on hold waiting on supplies, and other projects in the cue waiting on better weather for painting outside, I decided to get a start on KEY WEST.
For those of you who may not know, this particular hull is per-owned, and was purchased from our very own Nautilus Drydocks. (Shameless plug...great source for your Submarine $#*!)
I do have a very old Scale Shipyard 1:48 Hull (came in 3 sections, bow, center, tail) that has had all the scribing done, but may pass on, or have buried with me. As this "new" boat is a lot closer to the finish line, the cost of purchasing vs my time (I have a value on my spare time in $$) spent in getting the SS hull to this point made the purchase a no brainer.
The ND hull was configured as a 688(I) less Towed Array appendages or scribe lines for the VLS and Torpedo Tube outer doors.
I'm converting her to one of the eight Flight 2 boat's, the aforementioned SSN-722. So I'll need to scribe in the 12 VLS & Torpedo doors. Plans is to make the last row, outer two, VLS operational (Tubes 15 & 16), as well as the upper torpedo tubes (Tubes 1 & 2). But that will come in time and actual tube positions based on fit. I don't have to remove any Towed Array appendages, but I do need to remove the fixed bow plane appendages and add the SS hull fairwaters to the sail. What can I say, I'm biased towards fairwaters and proud of it as it stems from the period when I served. Regardless of public opinion, they work quite well with a properly trimmed boat.
Now that the build background is behind us, here's the small step.
I built the double cup seal last night (all that reading for this???).
I plan on using the same exact PROPULSION system I used in SHARK but with one major difference!
Belt drive gear reduction. Similar to this......but beefier.
I'm going to start with 4:1. because I need to swing this!! The left is solid brass!
This build will provide an opportunity for another another shift in thinking with regards to RC Submarine Engineering. All the servo's will be in the wet.
Just the electronics (RCVR, ESC, APD, BLM & auxiliary electronics) and the Drive Motor will be in watertight box's. These boxes proved so successful in SHARK and I think are better for the large boat.
Builds after this point may just have the electronics housed.
What an exciting future lies ahead.
Hoping to have sea trials before Groton.
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