Topic: HMS Bramble build

[paul swainson]

Water proof shaft!  That's a new one on me.  I thought as the shafts were in the water they were water proof!  OK fun aside, I assume these shafts have seal or rubber 'O' rings to stop the water moving up the shaft.  So will you be able to replace these rings or seals as a shaft moving through the seals will wear just like prop shaft seals on a rear of a car differential.

[radio joe]

Hi Paul  The waterproof shafts have a delrin bearing in the prop end and a hard bronze bearing and an o-ring in the motor end and a third bearing in the a-frame and are sold as maintenance free and in reality the amount of running they are likely to get the o-rings should last a very long time.     A lot of model boats have the inboard end of the propshaft above the water line and do not have to be waterproof

[colin]

god knows how many years i have been running Raboesch propshafts.. it is defiantly a long time.. i have never had to service any of them..

[radio joe]

Yes Colin  I guess they are one of those products you actually get what you pay for and in my opinion you cannot fault their props either.

[radio joe]

have now sanded the shear line down to the plating (well I did say I was going to take my time on this one),  and as I always do marked station lines on the plan 100mm apart from the bow, then place the hull on the plan and transfer the lines onto the hull followed by the decks, I do this to try and build as close to the plan as I can, it makes it easier to cross reference measurements from plan to boat.

[radio joe]

I then measure the beam at each station mark and transfer them to the decks this gives me an accurate size to cut the decks to in this case 1.5mm out side of the printed size, to be fair to Deans they do say to cut outside of line but I've found this takes the guess work out of it. this is something I learned from my many years working in the boat building industry, next I trim and fit the decks till the station marks line up then I have the correct beam thoughout the boat, it also helps to position deck fittings etc. a staghorn bollard as an example, instead of measuring 318mm from the bow becomes 18mm aft of station 3, I think I need a nice cup of tea after all that.

[colin]

excellent advice Joe, first class   
certaily helps in the long run

[paul swainson]

I have to agree, this is they type of building advice that all new builders need so that they learn from day one.  More detail in the build is great and then the photos add the icing to the cake for the end result.   Keep it up Joe, plenty of sugar in that tea need to keep up the great work.  Paul

[paul swainson]

I see also that your deck has a lot of markings on it for supper structure etc.  This was not on our Solebay.  Is this a new idea from Deans?

[radio joe]

yes you are right Paul there are more position markings than solebay had, not sure it might vary in different kits, my next step is to fit the deck supports , cross members and foc'sle break, then I'll decide what shafts to use.

[mikearace]

Fair bit of excellent work done already Joe for a 'I'll take my time on it' stance!!

[radio joe]

Quite right Mike I think I'll have a lie down lol.

[mikearace]

that takes me back 30+ years........I have lain down a few times in Gosport ............usually in the Parks.........Stanley Park, Privett Park..........nothing to do with alcohol of course!!!

[radio joe]

A little more progress, fitted the deck bearers , cross beams and fos,sle break, I prefer to assemble the bearers dry and clamp in place and using a scrap of deck material to position, apply thin "Cyanoacrylate professional" using the capillary method, the same for the cross beams this holds every thing in place,and then apply epoxy to the underside of the bearers against the hull and to the gussets each end of the cross beams, I find this cleaner than applying epoxy to the bearers and then try to position and clamp sticky items in place.
Have also fitted rudder tube and have opted to increase the length of the tube to 25mm to keep it well above the water line.
I've also opted to have one large midship hatch instead of two smaller ones to gain better access to running gear.

[Dennis]

Your build is looking great joe. Look forward to following your build. I did the same with the hatches on my build nice to have the extra room.