Topic: HMS Javalin

[Tommydean]

Hi all.. have been lurking for some time. I have started my HMS Javalin. here is a pic of my
engineering spaces so far instead of the wood I used fibreglass for the bulkheads (in red)
in .0625MM thickness and used west system slow cure epoxy for glue.
   Tom

[karlgalster]

Hi Tom
Looks nice and neat. Are the bulkheads bonded in yet? If so I suspect you may have problems ahead. I can't spot any holes in the hull for the prop shafts. Might have been advisable to have fitted the prop shafts first before the bulkheads especially as the aft bulkhead will need to have holes in it for prop shafts. Just a thought.
Robin

[Tommydean]

Hi Robin.. I gave some thought to which to do first and after seeing a friend install the prop shafts first he noticed the hull had to be drawn into shape and when he did that it cracked the clue joints and put the shafts in a bind. (this was a hull of another manufacure).  the red fibreglass i bought from McMaster Carr here in the states and it easy to cut and work with as I put more of the components in place I will cut holes were needed.
  Here is another view
    Tom

[Tommydean]

here is some of the parts I been working on for the HMS Javalin. I was working on the rudder this last week on the left of the photo is the scale size..dont think it would be very effective in turning the ship so I modified the one of the drawings and the center one is the one i will use (simiscale?) and the one on the right is the kit rudder. The kit rudder and the simiscale rudder have about the same surface area. the material i am using is polycarbonate. all is left to do is drill the hole for the rudder post and file it to shape   

[karlgalster]

Hi Tom
I know you have already made your rudder but.... HMS Kelly has an identical hull to HMS Javelin. The models both suffer from the unfortunate reality that in general single rudders mounted between two props do not work very well on models. Even though the full sized ship may have excellent turning characteritics in my experience this is not translated to the model. In models turning forces are due mainly to the propellor wash striking the rudder surface where as in full sized ships I suspect the dynamics are different. Only solution is to have a non-scale rudder. I fitted a rudder to Kelly about twice the area of the kit as I wanted reasonable manoeuvrability. If you are happy with a 6 metre turning circle then the standard rudder is OK. On the other hand you can wait and see how it performs when finished - changing the rudder size at that time should be starightforward (provided you can get at via the small rudder hatch!)
Robin
Robin

[Tommydean]

Hi Robin thats interesting...I had thought that the size of the kit rudder had been determinded by the "engineering dept" at Deans Marine as being big enough to make reasonable turns. Its no big deal to make a bigger rudder right now.
anyway here is a pic of my prop shaft housings i made.
  Tom

[karlgalster]

Nice workmanship Tom. Could you explain a bit more about the design of these prop shaft tubes. I assume you have discarded the kit items? As to the size of rudder as specified by the Deans Marine design department: I assume they have taken the actual ship drawings and scaled it down, after all the kit could be built as a static model where model dynamics would not matter but proportional accuracy would be important.
Robin

[Tommydean]

Hi Robin   I have been using the drawings out of the book "The Kelly's" for the detail above
and below the waterline. the kit rudder and the one in the drawings in the book didn't look the same so I made one from the drawings and added some Length so the rudder could be more effective and from your experience it sounds like needs to be even bigger.   the prop shaft housings I made from 5/16" heavy wall brass tube. the end that is exposed outside the hull I made it taped like the one in the drawings in the book out a piece of solid round stock and then inserted a 1/2" piece of brass tube as a bearing for the shaft. the other end I turned a piece a of brass rod and at one end i drilled it out to 5/16" the other end i milled it to fit a stainless ball bearing that you can see in the photo. I will post a better photo of the prop shaft housing soon. I used 5/32" stainless steel ground shaft for my prop shaft and am using G.Sitek three blade naval style props in 1.25" dia
   more to come
               Tom

[Tommydean]

here is a mock up of my work on the stern area so far, I still have to make the inboard struts. the prop shaft housings as you can see are tapered as per the drawings from "The Kellys". the gray plastic blocks are spacers for when i mount the props the correct distance
from the buttom of the hull. they are glued with rubber cement so they can be removed
easily

[karlgalster]

Its looking like a really serious engineering project. I see you have only a single support strut for the propellor shaft. I used the kit shaft and the "A" frames - have you decided to not have A frames? Were they used on the actual ship?
When I was building HMS Kelly I also used "The Kellys". One of the features I was not sure of was the depth charge launching rails on the stern.  The Kelly kit drawing shows 2 rails side by side whereas the drawings in the book show just a single rail mounted centrally. I decided to go with the book but was never able to find a photo to support my decision. Incindentally the white metal kit depth charge rails need to be binned and scratch built as they are too large.
Robin

[Tommydean]

I am making the inboard struts right now. the drawing in "The Kelly's" shows a side view
that hides the inboard strut. I replaced the depth charge racks with photo etch ones from
John Haynes.   will post more pics soon
        Tom

[Belgium Crazy Team]

That's a very good adaptation of the kit.
It makes it more realistic.

Kurt

[Tommydean]

Hey gents here is a couple more pics of my progress. the struts for the shaft support is in place.  sorry it took so long for more pics, I had some camara issue's and couldent post
  enjoy   Tom

[Tommydean]

Hey guys sorry I have been taking care of the duties at home but here is a couple of pics
of the project. so far i have mounted the prop shaft and housings for glueing into place.
I am using west systems epoxy and added some rosathix to thicken up the epoxy.

[Tommydean]

here is another side of the bulkhead before epoxying