Albacore continued

[greenman407]

Next, I took the equipment tray and started to wire and consolidate and check functions. Heres a picture of the original electronic mixer for the x-tail circuit. It still works fine. Im going to use a Y harness to split ch.1 so that when I use the rudders the sail rudder will function right along with them. To vary the amount that the sail rudder moves in relation to the others we will first observe the results and if need be we will try varying servo arm pin/pushrod locations at both ends.

[greenman407]

Minor setback. The old, venerable D&E subdriver developed cracks radiating out from the counter sunk screw holes holding the ballast tank bulkheads. I tried CA but it pops loose when I insert the new bulkhead for the engine compartment. So I ordered a new tube from Mcmaster &Carr and cut and marked it today. Work will commence soon on moving the stuff over from the old to the new. Ive done this before without any issues but I think Ill do this one differently. Instead of countersinking, Im going to just drill the holes and use pan head screws and seal around the heads from the outside, to keep from countersinking and possibly starting cracks of my own making.

[greenman407]

SCRATCH THAT! HOLD IT! Im going to move the ESC back into the back and mount the APC to the top of the 3s battery in the front. Part of the motivational factor for this move is that my new LEDs need that 3s voltage to show up brightly so that I can keep track of it dont ya know. At anyrate, todays progress. I made a equipment tray out of aluminum plate that I would have considered a little on the thick side but it was all I had at the moment. Then mounting the three servos and there pushrods. The third servo is for the sail rudder.

[greenman407]

Due to practical considerations, Ill have to change my plans a little bit. It was my intention to run her on 3s power. Unfortunately, the little 3" Subdrivers front battery compartment is too cramped for that. What with the battery and the equipment shelf on top of it which houses the APC as well as the ESC and associated wiring going back thru the conduit. After this phase of upgrades are finished, perhaps I can buy a 3&1/2" Subdriver and use that to give me the additional space needed for 3s power. We will see.
At anyrate, today I spent time reconfiguring the front compartments equipment shelf and wrapping everything there with Sorbothane. I also put in some battery locating rails to keep the battery from moving around and stabilizing everything in the front compartment.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

The horror! ....the HORROR!!!!!

M

[greenman407]

[greenman407]

I spent some of the day doing this. I needed another bulkhead to help hold the 3&1/2" WTC. Using the driveshafts to locate it front to rear, I fabricated the new bulkhead out of two thicknesses of plastic. I kept slowly trimming it down until I got it just a little too low. Then I cut a narrow piece of bicycle tube rubber and CAed it to the surface that the WTC would sit on to bring it right up where it needed to be. I also added a couple of hooks for the rubber bands to hold it in place.
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED for the next segment. It was time to cut down the old venerable D&E Subdriver that has been in this boat for many a year. Women and children might better go into the other room. Now that there is no one left but us OLD Grizzled Salts........we can proceed. Dave supplied me a while back with a 3" endcap. I will use this to cap the Subdriver right behind the rear most Ballast tank bulkhead. So I marked the clear tube 7/16" behind that bulkhead. Using my diamond blade on the Dremel, I carefully cut to the line. Because I put the ESC as well as the APC in the forward battery box, there are many wires that run thru the conduit , therefore those wires have to go thru the new bulkheads.
From inside the 3&1/2" endcap I had drilled numerous holes so that later I could drip thin CA into them like plug welds for additional strength. After rubber banding them down I applied gap filling CA to the joints and allowed it to flow around the perimeter of the joint. So after curing I can move on to the motor bulkhead equipment setup.

[greenman407]

Today, I did a little bit. I removed the wood bulkhead that supported the 3" Subdriver toward the rear. It was glued in good................for all eternity. So I employed my Dremel Multi-max and "Lickitysplit" out it came. So I made two new bulkheads and installed the forward most one and reinstalled this same wood bulkhead to it. We are coming along.

[greenman407]

Todays meaningless meanderings. By saying that space is limited, I mean that I dont want to move the Subdriver forward to create space because the front to rear balance is good as far as the location of the ballast tank. So to maximize what I have left we shortened up the output shafts and now Im going to shorten up the drive shafts to gain real estate for the motor bulkhead/engine room internals. In the first two pictures you can see the beginning lengths and then the shortened lengths. By the way, normally I make new shafts of the proper length. In this case I decided that I could just redo these. I used a soldering iron to heat one end of the shaft and melt CA and holding on to the dumas coupler with a pair of plyers , pulled it apart, cut the brass tube to its new length and re-install the coupler and then using the same pin and the same hole.....re-pinned it. Then New CA.....of course. HA!
Once that was done I could now hold the bulkhead in place using the drive shafts to determine its new position. Everything else was measured from there. I then deduced the length of the new 3&1/2" clear tube and cut it at 5 &11/16". Here she is
Now we are free to make a new Subdriver support bulkhead and move that rearmost wood 3" bulkhead forward to support the 3" part of the old Subdriver. It looks like the original Factory plastic bulkhead to the rear will be useful to help hold the 3&1/2" portion of the Subdriver add on. WHEW!!!!
As you can see I didnt want the angle of the starboard drive shaft to become too great, otherwise I would have shortened them some more, but enough can be too much.

[greenman407]

On to the Subdriver mods. Its very cramped back there. I need all the room I can get. Here we have the 3&1/2" motor bulkhead. First thing we need to do is shorten the output shafts to save space. So I took it apart and marked the shafts did the surgery and put it back together. With that done, we can properly mark and measure.

[greenman407]

So here we go with todays meager offing. Got the forward hatch installed and the sail mounted and sail rudder fiddled with so that it works without binding. I put a small washer above and below the rudder to keep it from rubbing and also the one on the bottom also for establishing the hole in just the right place and for keeping the hole from wallowing out over time. This boats got to last for 500 years ya know.
I filled in some cracks caused by collisions in the past from encounters with Rogue Chinese and Russian submarines and the occasional.........uncharted under sea Mountain. Also, the seam where the nosecone attaches. About every time I redo something I have to redo it. The Evercoat seems to shrink over time.
At anyrate, tomorrow Im taking the Seaview to Clearwater for the long deferred test runs. Video should be in the offing. The next step on this thing is to slather on some paint and get to the Subdriver mods.

[greenman407]

Well I definitely cant compete with that................but then again, I am the guy looking over your shoulder from 1,200 miles away................and my vision aint that good neither.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

[greenman407]

Now that I know what Im looking for and at................its time to commence. Using the picture of Daves Albacore, I started by marking out the front hatches location. Then I drilled it out somewhat to make removal of the affected area easier before I cut it out with a Dremel end mill. Then using needle files I filed it to the lines.
I then made a lower piece and put a recessed area in it to locate the wheel. Tomorrow I will look at putting it in place and then making the sail rudder mechanism

[greenman407]

As far as the light on the fins is concerned it must be the one on the starboard side as the pictures show the port side as being without one(unless its been removed), at least on the museum ship.