Skipjack 1/72

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Also of note is that I purchased the foam and weight kit for this thing. Unfortunately it doesnt come with any info as to where the foam and the weight goes. Using my minimal powers of deduction, it would appear that this is the designed location of placement of the weights. Except that the forward one in the picture will go a little bit more forward after I trim out that radial reinforcement ring for clearance.
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Almost, Mark. That forward weight: Turn it around and move it aft till it butts up against the shock absorber -- that half-moon in the weight is there to permit forward travel of the shock-absorber pin.

M

[trout]

Done in Photoshop, Mark.

[greenman407]

OK Dave, thanks for that. Thy will be done.

[greenman407]

I glued the forward lower hull piece to the upper bow tonight using the thin adhesive. What I did since I have seen how well this stuff flows was I put the pieces together first, held them tightly with rubber bands, then using my straw method, I wicked in adhesive from the inside, letting it flow along the joint. Also I put some around the bow reinforcement assm. where it touches the hull. That way, this thing can be an ICEBREAKER in the far NORTH if need be!(just kidding). Then using the supplied brush, I put some on the outside of the seam. This joint is going to have to be sanded and filled anyway so a little bit of adhesive stain on the outside is not a problem. Tomorrow we will be installing the control surfaces in the stern and glueing on the tail cone top.

[greenman407]

Looking at the snorkel valve, its really a good design. The pink foam is the float that opens and closes it as water rises and falls within the sail. You see here it test fitted in the sail at about the location it will go.
In the next shot we see that the top of the snorkel head had two ears which help keep the walls of the sail from preventing the binding of the float so that it doesnt work. My fit is just a little too tight so Ill trim mine a little. My only concern is that the float can rotate a little bit, possibly causing the pad against which the brass tube seals against to be out of position enough to cause it not to seal. If thats the case we can add thin shims inside the sail to prevent this. Daves seal pad is large enough to take some misalignment. So we will have to check that.

[trout]

Mark, are you seeing the sail bow out because of the ears? If so, I think when you shave the ears down you will see less twist. But I can measure my float to see if it is the same dimensions if you need.
Peace,
Tom

[greenman407]

To some extent. We will see. When traveling within a city, there are many different routes that you can take to get to your destination. When you come to an intersection with a long red light, instead of sitting there for a long time, just make a right turn. When you come up to a traffic jam, instead of waiting for it to dissipate, take an alternate route. Bottom line, you CAN get there from here. But, you may have to take the scenic route.
TODAYS WORDS OF WISDOM, BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY YOUR FRIENDS AT McDONALDS!!! "WHERE THERES MORE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EGG McMUFFIN THAN AN EGG IN THE MIDDLE OF A MUFFIN"(with Musical Accompaniment)Square hole

[greenman407]

Im Sorry, Im being told that Im off my medication.

[greenman407]

This is the corrected view of where the pre-made lead weights go. Just Silicone them in for easy removal if the need should arise. I made the mistake one time of installing weights in my sub using "GOOP". Take my word for it. The grip is so tenacious you will curse the day you were born. Only use that for stuff that you will never...ever ....remove.

[greenman407]

Here we go with the base of the SAS Snorkel. Note the nifty set screw to make it easy to attach and detach the snorkel float assm. To properly locate, put it in place and align with the hole that you have already drilled by holding in place and by turning the hull over and checking that its perfectly centered over that very same hole. Then by holding good pressure, turn it back over and ,with a fine tip pencil,mark around it and inside ONE of the holes. I said only one hole because weve all experienced having drilled two carefully marked holes only to find that the holes are now off. Take the mount off and very carefully, using a 1/16" drill bit , drill your hole and then put the mount back in place and install the screw. Check alignment again and take a 3/32" drill bit and stick it in the other hole and apply light pressure for just a second. The object here is that if you put a 1/16" bit in a 3/32" hole and use that as a drilling guide, your hole WILL NOT be in the center. But, if you use a 3/32" bit(the size of the hole in the mount) and just touch it, you will establish the exact center of that hole and your 1/16" bit will be forced to center itself on it.Finish drilling the hole with the 1/16" bit and put in the other screw.

[greenman407]

Using your Snorkel head tube as a guide, stick the tube back in the hole of the mounting flange and let it stick thru enough to catch the oring of the elbow and then tighten down the set screw to hold it there. Upon putting this sub into service, if you let the tube stick inside the elbow too far you will restrict the flow of air and you will severely limit the travel, up and down, of the float.
Now, you have set the stage for the next operation of CAing the elbow in place. Using sand paper, rough up the mating surfaces of the hull and the elbow itself. Then put it on and line it up straight,making sure that the tube is facing aft, and take some Gap Filing CA and apply a couple of drops to one side and using gravity to your advantage, rotate and move the hull around and allow gravity to cause your CA to Walk itself around the elbow. If you need to add more to the other side, do so but not too much. We dont want to make a mess that we will have to clean up. Dont add any baking soda or accelerator to it. Freezing the CA will weaken it. It will be much stronger if you let it cure by itself. After an hour or so do it again. The purpose here is to build up a weld like Filet that will have some strength. Thats my two cents worth. P.S. after youve done it a couple of times, use your accelerator to freeze your next application of CA to achieve your vertical height of your fillet.

[greenman407]

Ive changed my mind. For now Im going to leave the upper rear cone off so that I can see up inside to help me with the sail pushrod mechanism. Ive got something up my sleeve on that but Ill keep it to myself until I see if it works. I wouldnt want yall to think Im a COMPLETE idiot or something like that. Also included a couple of shots of the joints that will have to be addressed.

[greenman407]

Putting all your gadgets in your Subdriver is like putting furniture in your living room. There is probably 50 different combinations of placement, so its to some extent up to you. Just make sure that the wires are long enough so you dont have to splice unnecessarily. If your wife has any say about the furniture arrangement in your living room(most do) then youll be changing it once a month(at least). Subdrivers should be different.Youll notice that I found room to shoehorn the speed Control underneath the pump motor. The INFAMOUS Sombra(last in existence)goes as close to the antenna screw as is reasonable. ADF2 was placed where I can still reach the button on the front, face it forward. BEC goes up front near the speed control.

[MFR1964]

Mark, that hole opposit your adf, will that be used?, if not, poke a rod inside, turn your adf around, so you can reach it with your rod, this way you don't have to open up your SD, and still have easy acces to your adf.

Manfred.

[trout]

How often do you adjust or reset your ADF?
Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I set it and forget it.