bensid54

Nice work Bob but then again we expect nothing less from you.

Not sure how to take the Donkey bit. The reason I like doing these things is not so much making it accurate but in the thinking up and creating the mechanics. Give you an idea how my mind works, because I'm a Mechanic I like to figure out how things work even down to the human body, I look at my body as a machine which is how I invented my leg cramp prevention device. I looked at my toes and what happens to them during a severe leg cramp the fact my toes always head in the same direction when I get a cramp gave me an idea, I created a device I wear 24/7 that has prevented leg cramps for the last three years so I patented it, I have several people wearing these things and they work for all of us. The thing about my invention is it doesn't make sense and yet it works great, that's the bottom line. You will see as I build things that my thoughts don't always follow the beaten path, sometimes that's good and sometimes it gets me in trouble but I won't give up till I make it work. I already have an idea how to work all those oars of a Trireme which will actually follow the lines of the hull this too has never been done but I can see it working, but first I want to build the oarsman for the river Styx before I start another long project. Still scratching my head over this Jacka$$ thing though.

Just bought some jewelers glasses on Ebay $30 shipped come with three different strength lenses, now to try and get to be half the builder Bob is.

Nice work Bob you must have very steady hands. Looking at how small that build is you must have glasses like my Dentist which are like wearing microscopes. I have to get a pair.

Watched the trailer now I want to see the movie. Ioannis do you have a Bireme as well as a Trireme? The Trireme looks like the mechanics would be easier to make now that I have the Bireme somewhat figured out, I built the Bireme because there were less oars to deal with and I had never built a rowing ship or even a static model of one before. I am getting Greek warship fever though and the Trireme is becoming more attractive to build a RC replica of. I also am making plans to build a RC model of the Boatman of the river Styx, I plan on mounting a camera under his hood and have his head turn left and right so I can use my Fat Shark goggles to cruise around a pond. Is it possible for me to get plans of the actual Trireme? 

I'm about 3/4 of the way to having all the epoxy removed and am now finding cracks between the planks that the epoxy did not fill, so my next job will be to carefully fill those cracks. So as it turned out the mistake I made in the first place helped me correct a mistake I made before that.

Yes Patrick painting the hull would be a shame but I am finding a way around it. With a wire wheel attachment for my Dremil I can actually move the epoxy in waves plus some sprays off because it becomes fluid when heated so I can get most of it to spray off and what doesn't get flung off piles up and moves along as you see in the picture. Once I have the wood mostly clear of epoxy I use 240 grit sand paper which takes it back down to the wood, very time consuming but worth it in the end.

I clear coated the bottom of my boat with several coats of spray only to find that it dried in several spots like there was oil there, So I sanded it smooth you can see the results in the picture. Problem is when I used epoxy to glue together the planks I smoothed the excess over the planks I joined thinking I was going to seal the wood, bad idea! Epoxy it seems repels some paints and clear coats plus it won't blend together with itself just sticks together so sealing wood with it is a bad idea.

A friend of mine did that with a cannon I made and photo shopped it into a civil war surrounding. I should go find that picture I think I know where it is but in the meantime here is a picture I took of it.

Glued the rowers hatches in place today, I plan on having rope handles for opening them. Cut and fitted the mast today, it actually looks better than I expected so I think I'll carry on the path I'm on.

The rudders as they are, I attempted to slot the dowels with my milling bit but only managed to split them so I used my little table saw. As I was cutting the dowels I was making a fair bit of smoke so I assumed the blade must be getting dull so I continued on. Once I had cut both dowels I checked out how dull the blade on my little saw was to find out I had been feeding the dowels into the saw the wrong way the whole time! Some days I wonder how I manage to dress myself without labeling my shoes right and left!

Began building the hatches yesterday, used my modified tile saw to cut all 22 hatches for the rowers to pop out of and shoot arrows at the enemy. I made them out of basswood for some contrast and the handles will be brass they will be spaced as far apart as possible to allow a roped area between the hatches. The Amati model has a plush area near the stern for someone important to sit in which would be a very bad place to be in battle so I think mine won't have that. I will be checking out other styles and models to finish the deck and come up with something more suitable. 

Thanks Michel!

I checked out the website Steven and the rams all appear to be the same basic style with some variations so I had better not deviate too far from those designs.  

Thanks Steven I'll check it out.

Always nice to relive childhood memories! I think the ducks would have no trouble avoiding my RC boat, it may be the first time I will see ducks laugh.  

Thanks Patrick and Bob it turned out quite well once I started using a soldering torch inside of my small electric soldering gun. I plan on dressing it up more with some very offensive looking spikes.

Thanks Mtaylor it went easier than I thought it would so that was a blessing, next I have to complete it and add some of my own touches!

Time to make the ram! Started out by cutting templates from cardboard I cut out to fit the hull, taped them together to make sure the fit was right. With my paper templates I traced them on to brass sheeting I have, then using tin snips I cut them out of the brass sheet. I fitted the bent piece to the hull then traced around that piece on to the brass sheet below it. With that last step being done I was able to solder the rest of it together now the worst part is done but I've only half finished the ram.

More pictures of added Keel strips.

Adding a strip of wood to the keel, other than help with the finished look of the ship I believe it will help to stop the pivoting the oars create when they are finding their balance stroke.  

Good one Bob I got a chuckle out of that. At least you have it that's the first hurdle now to learn how to use it!

Since I started building my Bireme I have wrecked one pair of shorts and about three "T" shirts by getting epoxy rubbed or dripped on them as I'm sure many of you have had a spill or two at your own work stations, my wife of course would spot my screw ups and tell me about them, so I came up with a solution. Last year I acquired a Serger and sewing machine to make samples of my night time leg cramp prevention invention that I patented in November 2014 that works very well, and I must say I have learned how to work those machines and made myself an apron or at least I think that's what you call them, so I thought I would post a picture.  

Thanks Mark I am making some real headway now, the oars were splashing water on and in the boat before but now the only water getting in is from the gaps in the wood at the stern. 

This is how I improved the stability.

https://youtu.be/p7t6JKZA-cc

Thanks for the compliments Patrick! I think they could turn on their own axis as long as the guy yelling orders gets it right. Yes I am very happy with it took a lot of time to get to this point, I can improve the stability by adding rudders and the battering ram that should smooth it all right out. I think I may actually have it done before the end of the year.