ir3

I spent some tome getting the Paddle Wheel area up to date. The railing stanchions from the kit are stamped out of sheet brass but I did manage to find a single ball stanchion 15mm high which is exactly the correct height. There is an opening in the aft bulkhead for the maintenance crew which I may simulate with a black door. This is just about it for the stern. I may add some miscellaneous stuff but that is TBD. Next update will include detailing for fore deck. Until next time, IR3 BTW, some of the likes are going to my previous build (which I wish I never parted with!!!)

This boat is gone. Turned over to another modeler to finish. But that is only part of the story. I really missed this boat. It should have stayed in the shop. Being a glutton for punishment, a basket case appeared on RCG but it had the complete steam plant for this boat, Y2DR, B2F, Burner, and Puke tank. So lock me up in a padded room but here goes. The original owner purchased this kit in 1994. Being a very difficult kit, he was way over his head. I purchased this mess knowing a bit about how it goes together. I am just about finished with the hull and 1st deck. It will be rebuilt as near to current configuration. It will have a mixture of goodies so I place it around 2008+. I will add more pictures later as the rebuild goes on but the main feature is a replacement paddle wheel. The replacement just looks like it really belongs. You can compare it to an earlier picture. Next update from my Mental Ward!!

Mark, thanks for the reply. My biggest problem is running across something interesting and different and I just have to do it. Like implementing the Lurssen effect on the Schnellboot. I am too quick to gobble up an old kit only to realize that getting the running gear and fitting kits will be almost impossible and so more improvising. The Schnellboot was an interesting adventure but started taking up too much precious time. I do have some very nice Steam projects that I have collected over the years and will concentrate on them. For sure, there will be no improvising on them, just straight forward builds with excellent instructions and steam plants designed directly for them. Time is moving on too quickly.

I have had so many problems getting the prop shafts to line up and getting the Lurssen effect working that I decided to just do a static build. I can see now what the kit manufacturers go through to engineer running gear in the models. It is above my pay grade. If anyone wants to try a motorized version of this, please let me know. I have all the components removed and may offer them. Thanks for the followers. When I get back to working on this, I will do more posting.

Yes, I do believe it will be quit fast. Electrics installation is just about done. The Power Distribution board, the Battery Combiner board and ON/OFF are installed. The switch is a Double Pole ON/OFF so instead of disconnecting batteries when done for the day, the switch will connect the positives of the batteries to the Battery Combiner. The Battery Combiner will run with just one Battery connected so depending on weight distribution I can run 1 or 2 batteries. When wiring the batteries, I might use a Deans 2 to 1 connecter so I can hook up the charger without taking out the batteries, TBD. The last of the installation will be a suitable location for the RX. I am still using my F-14 Marine radio running on 75MHZ. The RX position should not be a problem if kept away from the ESC's. Until next time, IR3

Once again, thanks for the likes and the comments. The hull has been painted and final installation of electronics and running gear has started. I absolutely hate painting so no micro close ups of this paint job. When I paint the model it comes from the shipyard with battle damage. If it came to a choice of painting or going to the dentist for a root canal, in the words of a famous old comedian, "I'm thinking about it". But, oh well, my goal is to have a reasonably acceptable model but testing of the Lurssen effect it on the top of the list. We will not be getting any closer to the model to check out the paint job.😀 The motors are in as well as the fuse boards and fans. The motors are wired to the fuse boards. Nice to have all screw connections. The fuse/fan board fits nicely and has ample clearance to the deck. I think with the deck house on there will be enough openings to get some cooling air in. Also, some hatches will be open so hopefully some air will exhaust through them. I am not too worried. Until next time, IR3

Hi Mark, There will be a few open hatches. Hopefully it will be enough. About the torpedoes, Merriman sold a torpedo kit for the 1/72 Revel Gato running on compressed CO2. I suppose that one could use the same system here but probably not. But, a very interesting question. Thanks, Iran

The fans just arrived and will be installed tomorrow. The fans should keep a reasonable amount of air moving across the motors. While waiting the torpedo tubes were installed. Before going too much further the hull needs painting. I will be doing flat white above the water line first and then follow up with the rest at a later date. It'll be easier to do the painting above the water line before any decks and deck detail is added. Also waiting for the rest of the electronics. Until next time, IR3

Thanks Lou, The Hansen Dam boat pond is quite large. The Irregulars used to meet regularly but that has dropped off quite a bit. The Violators group is on the pond on Saturdays and they are running the fastest boats around so there is plenty of room. I do not have a programmable radio so it is great that the P94 has a lot of options and several mixing modes. As soon as I have all the electrics I will do a water line test. I purchased the Dual Battery adapter from Action and so to make up the weight I can experiment with one or two battery packs at different weights or simply use some shot ballast. I have the fuse blocks in place above the motors and room for two very light 30mm square fans. If the motors to not get too hot they can be removed. Until next time, IR3

I do appreciate all of the input you are providing. The power source will be 7.2V but probably closer to 6.5V due to losses. I never did a 3 prop boat and from your input and the P94 setup instructions, it is not quite as simple as one would expect. The prop diameters are 1.25" so that will affect the analysis or the current flow somewhat. The P94 has 4 modes of operation. Mode 4 is what they suggest for MTB's such as this one. In Mode 4, the center prop is slowed down in turns by a proportionate amount TBD by rudder movement, In another mode, the center motor speed does not change with rudder movement. The mix is adjustable from 50% to 100% so this will be set in trial runs. It's quite complex as to how the transmitter sticks control various outer prop configurations depending on movement of left and right sticks. I have a lot of studying to do on this. But I think that with the larger props the loads will be a lot greater so perhaps putting a fan above the motors can't hurt. I read some other experiences about the Lurssen effect on the S100. Some reported no effect until near top speed. Others used only the center motor in which case the Lurssen effect would not work at all. I think this is correct as the effect depends on the outer props which have a big influence on the stern wave. There is no definitive discussion of this effect as applied to the S-38 or the S-100. It will be interesting once the pond runs are made to see what actually happens. It could end up with a lot of effort and get very little result. But it is fun doing the implementation. I did find a picture of an implementation that has the outer rudder servo offset from the center line to keep the geometry correct. In the design that I first followed, the geometry was all wrong and it probably didn't work at all. The build thread never made it to boat on water. A bit winded but in the meantime, more parts were ordered from Action so the complete installation of electronics will be set back a few weeks. I will continue installing the parts that I have. Until next time, IR3

The spec on these motors is 5.9A at 22000 rpm. I'm not so sure I will run the motors at top speed so the current draw will be somewhat less.

Started on the electronics installation. All the electronics will be on boards that can be removed in case repairs are needed. The first items to install were the ESC's for the motors. I used the action P94 "Lite" for the outer motors and the Action P79 for the central motor. The fuse blocks will go on a panel just above the motors. There is a problem with cooling the motors. I purchased the Traxxas Heat Sinks for 380 motors but unfortunately they just don't quite fit the RE380 motors. They are supposed to snap on but this will take considerable effort. So, when I install the fuse blocks above the motors I will include a small fan to keep air moving around the motors. I forgot two items from Action (a senior moment) and I have to order them. That should delay the final installation of electronics for a few weeks. There is a lot to do, however. Here's the pic of the ESC's mounted in their respective boxes. Until next time, IR3

Nearly there. All of the geometry is now correct. All the rudders are moving at the same rate and I am just about finished with this setup. I do notice a bit of flex in the rudder tubes so these will be reinforced. There is a little bit of skewing of the sled so I moved it as far back towards the stern as I could. The skewing seems to be a bit less. The only test to see if this works will be on the water. Next will be the installation of the Action electronics. Until next time, IR3

Thanks for the input, Lou. I will have to go through your explanation a few times to fully understand it. I have a Vario CH53 that I will be finishing in the late spring and the comments will be very useful. After giving it a great deal of thought, the first implementation was too complex. Geometries were all off. I didn't like having two different connectors on the large servo arm which caused the sled to move differently than the main rudder. The solution is to have the servo push/pull the sled and have the sled push/pull the rudder. In this way all the linkage is kept in a straight line. The position of the connector on the servo horn is exactly the same distance of the connector on the main rudder horn. Geometry is perfect! Now it's off to putting the Lurssen servo on the new sled. This will be positioned so that the angles to the small rudder connectors will be exactly the same. The result is that when the large servo moves the sled the main and outboard rudders will track exactly the same. Here is the new main rudder implementation. Now its back in the shop to install the small servo and put this part of the project to bed. Until next time, IR3

Well, after banging my head against the wall trying to get the outer rudders aligned, it became perfectly clear that the small servo must be centered between tiller arms. The geometry is all wrong with the current implementation and the rudders do not sync. I will be widening the sled to accomplish this. Now that I know how to build the sled, it should go quite quickly. I should have it all posted by tomorrow afternoon. The discussion is great. Lurssen was quite an innovator. Till next time, IR3