Louis Heloise MAR 2431

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Yes Bob I looked at that picture and saw the "trapdoor" but I will need to raise it a bit as well, not sure how that will look.

I have made the taff rails but they don't look substantial enough so I'm going to make some more.

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Final attempt at handrail ( we used to call them "taffrails" ) as the first wasn't the right shape and the second was too thin! Thankfully they fit but it is a real faff to clamp them!

[Amy jane SeptemberParticipant @amyjaneseptember49770]

Hi there Brian

Nice to see her coming along, really starting to look the part! I think that rudder should be fine….

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Cheers Amy Jane, the taffrails are all in place now and they do finish off the hull nicely.

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Cheers Amy Jane, the taffrails are all in place now and they do finish off the hull nicely.

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Lots of electrical bits to get in, fortunately plenty of room in this model

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

The steering servo is struggling, I wonder if the rudder is too heavy, the stern post is angled so the cross bar turns at an angle too? Any suggestions?

[shipwrightParticipant @shipwright]

Brian – it would be easier to comment if you could provide a sketch or drawing of the rudder, shaft, mechanical linkage to servo and servo. However, my first observation based upon one of your external photos of the ship is that there will be a gravitational load due to the mass of the rudder in addition to the obvious thrust on the surface of the rudder. I assume that the servo shaft is parallel with the rudder shaft. What is the weight of the rudder and could you estimate the approx. c of g of the rudder measured wrt to the rudder shaft (that will allow an estimate of the moment about the rudder axis ie torque – also need to know the angle of the shaft wrt the vertical). In the more conventional arrangement the load due to the weight of the rudder is transmitted directly to the ship's structure via the rudder tube and the servo does not have to deal with a torque due to the weight of the rudder (I am ignoring the transient torque that arises for any rudder due to its moment of inertia). Hope this makes sense !

Ian

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Thanks Ian, I am busy on some other stuff for a few days, I'll reply properly when I get back in the workshop.

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Here is a quick drawing of the rudder, the rudder post is angled parallel to the stern post, so the bridle is angled upwards. Sorry the pic has loaded upside down!

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Sorry, forgot to add, rudder weighs 100g

[shipwrightParticipant @shipwright]

Hello Brian,

100 grams doesn't sound that much to me. However it looks as though the rods that connect the servo to the tiller arms are not at right angles to the axis of the rudder shaft – so there is a component of the torque that is trying to pull the tiller arms downwards towards the bottom of the boat and that might be a contributing factor to your servo problem (this will force the rudder shaft down on to the top of the rudder tube). I am assuming that , as your sketch shows, the rods are parallel with the keel. I am not sure whether this geometry can be changed as it would require the servo to be positioned higher than the current mounting – and the deck above the servo might prevent you doing that.

Ian

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Ive been having a careful look, when I used a rudder that didn't have pin at the base and it turns much more freely. By using a rod I realised that the tube for the rudder post to go through wasn't perfectly parallel to the stern post! Not much of an angle but enough to stop it moving smoothly.

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

I am having problems with getting the electronics to work. The steering and sail windlass work fine, using either a 4 AA pack plugged into the RX unit OR a 6 AA pack connected vi the Viper 15, BUT the motor won't run on a supply plugged into the RX unit.

When I connect the 6 AA pack to the Viper 15 the motor sometimes runs (when it is not connected to the prop shaft) but then appears to cut out or the RX appears to loose its connection to the Planet TX. The battery pack gets very hot too?

Ive never had problems like this before!

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Great joy! I had another battery pack and tried it, seems the connection on the first one was a bit dodgy! All appears well now.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Brian

Any chance of a few WIP pix, please?

Bob

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

This is the new rudder, much lighter and not supported on the keel extension, appears to work very smoothly, but waiting for pond trials to make the final decision.

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

I have put on a flexible ply deck skin, and made a removable section around the tiller assembly, with a raised box that leaves room for the steering harness.

[shipwrightParticipant @shipwright]

Hello Brian,

The surface area of the rudder looks very large (your photo of 25th Feb). Now that you have removed the bottom support bearing for the rudder shaft there will be a significant bending stress exerted on the rudder shaft when the boat is in motion and the rudder is not straight ahead. What is the diameter of the rudder shaft (which I assume is stainless steel) ?

Ian

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

This is the decking around the trapdoor section giving access to the steering gear. I'm a bit worried about water getting in here, but I've made it as snug a fit as I can

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Brian

You really do need the bottom rudder bearing…….Even if it's just for appearance

You could have a very loose fit to avoid the out of alignment problem

Bob

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

I am going to make a rudder closer to the one shown on the plans, the keel extension for the lower rudder pin is detachable so I can fit a new one and insert a new tube to locate the new pin a bit further from the hull.

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Pine decking completed

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Pine decking completed

[Brian MuirParticipant @brianmuir84327]

Arranged some of the deck "furniture" to get a feel for how it will look….

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