hoghappy

I took her out Sunday for a nice quiet day on the lake. No rain in the forecast till the nest day. In the first photo one you can see she is becalmed on a hot lazy afternoon. Then came the storms. I managed to get her in and beach her just as it started to rain. I removed the sails and rolled up the jibs for what I thought would be a little afternoon shower. Three hours and 2 1/2 inches later I finally gave up and retrieved her and took her home. It was blowing really hard and bolts of lightening kept me in the car. I just watched as she was pounded by the whitecaps. I thought it would quit...but it didn't! I learned that even the best treated wood is not waterproof after 3 hours of pounding. I almost did not get the mast or bow sprit out of their holes. I had over a pint of water below deck from running down the sheet polypro tubes to below deck. It rained so hard that the water was running out the gun ports. Man what a test! She is fine though. I little TLC and oil on the wood and she is ready again. I did loosen up on the tolerances (sanded down) on the mast and bow sprit though.

I will learn from this...I hope!

MyWay

Yikes! A floating lightning rod.

hoghappy

Yeah...I thought long and hard before I went in after her. It was actually dropping bolts around her when she was in the middle of the lake. I was worried that she might get burned to the waterline if she got hit. I don't know if you can tell from the smaller pic...plus I didn't get the camera focused (I was trying to sail from the car with the transmitter antenna hanging out the window) but if you look real close you can see the rain drops in the pic on her way in. I am now trying to figure out how to waterproof my remote. It would be cool to sail in a rain shower/rough water....minus the thunder and lightening.[sm=sunsmiley.gif]

MyWay

Yea! White caps, wind, rain, bilge pumps running. Now thats what I call a sailer.

hoghappy

Speaking of pumps....any of yours equipped with a pump?

MyWay

No pumps. Scuppers work fine.

hoghappy

You taken any water below deck? The amount I had would have shorted out the electronics had I left them turned on. The rudder harness velcro came unstuck from the bottom of the deck...I have glued it on now. The harness extension connector was laying in water. I was surprized I didn't short the battery leads as they are almost touching the servo deck, and it was wet. I did notice the yardarm was turned to it's max as if the servo had received a spike even though the reciever was turned off. I will sail with that servo unplugged when not using the squares from now on. I sure am glad I had already removed the squares just before the storm blew in...it would have been a lot harder to tack to shore and I could have had a disaster. I do think I will replace the sheet polypro tubes on the fore sail with some taller ones...at least to the same height as the bottom of the gunports. The scuppers could not keep up with the rain on my ship. I wonder how much weight a bilge and sensor would add. I could replace the pound of weight aft with one if I can mount it there. My main concern would be where to place the discharge hole and how bad it would look.

MyWay

Haven't taken on the amount of water you describe, however, I haven't sailed the ships in bad weather. Sounds like maybe a bilge pump with a one way check valve would solve your problems. The pump could discharge water anywhere above or below the water line.

hoghappy

Not being a bilge pump expert here....what happens if the check valve gets stuck open? Will the water go back through the pump and flood the ship? If that is not a concern it would appear the most attractive option as I could hide the discharge hole below the waterline. Know anything about this or any other options. I can't find any more info. on line.

RAM 45 Boat Saver w/Bilge Pump 6 - 12V senses water, turns on light & pump $29.95

MyWay

Your so right. I forgot about lake water having material that would ultimately cause the check valve to stick open. Sorry about that.

hoghappy

The lake water......what about all the trash that would come floating up out of the bilges! [sm=cool.gif]I had all sorts of things floating around down there....cut tie wraps, drill shavings..etc I am still interested though. I am also thinking about a marker bouy using a wood or plastic spool mounted under the deck aft and 50 ft of 30lb kite string tied to the coach/deck house that would become the marker float. Tie off the other end to the servo deck. 30lb line would be strong enough to pull it to the surface. Easy to do and would give piece of mind.

What you think?

MyWay

With my luck the bouy would get caught up in the rigging.

LtDoc

hoghappy,
The hatch cover as a float would/should work. Or how about a net bag full of ping-pong balls under the hatch cover? Just make the hatch fit 'loose'.
Depending on how much room you have inside the hull, a bilge pump made from an old windshield washer pump should work fine. Power it from a 'dedicated' 6 to 12 volt battery, use a water sensor, or just turn it on with a servo every now and then (be sure to use a 'self-priming' pump, though). A discharge from the stern or side, flush mounted wouldn't be very noticable.
Or if you're really into 'scale', make a scale 'butter churn' type bilge pump. They work just like a bicycle air pump does, flapper valve and plunger, kinda thingy...
- 'Doc

hoghappy

Yea...I thought about the rigging problem...I guess thats a chance you take. If you put enough styrofoam under the house to make it more buoyant, perhaps that would help.

I sent Philip Roberts some pics yesterday and he suggested he has sailed in the rain but not for 3 hours. He also suggested using Vaseline in the sheet tubes (which I haven't tried), the rudder protrusion through the deck (which I did pack with vaso), and around the masts (which I also did). Of course there is the antenna tube to think about too.

He said he DID try a bilge pump, but it interfered with reception. He also said it is extremely important to keep the below deck dry and doesn't see how the mast swelled if they were sealed.

Any way...it is a learning curve and am glad this place is here to share ideas and experience.

BTW...the ping pong ball suggestion might be worth considering in that if you put enough of those suckers below deck....maybe she won't sink in the first place? Wonder how all the servos/rigging would work in that environment?

LtDoc

hoghappy,
A couple of things just for 'grins'...

Try using one of the lubricants/grease for fishing reels, etc. It isn't water soluable like vasoline. It works very 'nice' in stuffing boxes too.

For antennas, why not just seal the thru-deck opening and put a connector of some sort above deck? A fairly tight fit with a metal rod and tube works just fine. Using wire for some of the standing rigging as part of the antenna also works fine (sometimes even better than the antenna that comes with the receiver, cuz it's higher).

As long as whatever you use for floatation isn't metal, and as long as it doesn't interfere mechanically with the 'stuff' in the boat, the radio system never 'sees' it, so it shouldn't bother the electronics. What you use for floatation just depends on how much room you have to work with, what you have available, what you are comfortable working with, and how expensive the stuff is. Got a 'limp' baloon? Stuff it into the space you have available. Put a few coats of varnish (or whatever) on it and it'll hold it's shape. You'll probably never get it out again LOL, but who cares? If you really wanna go to extremes, fill it with helium! Or seal the deck/hull and fill the whole thing with helium! (Can you see yourself dragging around a 75 pound helium bottle etc? Naaw, don't bother.)

Imagination!

- 'Doc

hoghappy

Hmmm...I actually thought about wheel bearing grease and it never entered my head that the vaseline is water soluable. I have one other thing to consider in the choice of grease...it gets very, very hot here in Bama. It needs to NOT melt while in the sun or car.

BTW...know anyone who makes a waterproof case (like a scuba camera case) to use in the rain while sailing?

Hmmm...a marketable idea or not?

LarryLudwig

We did have one boat here that was using a bilge pump. There was no radio interference (caused by the magnetic field of the electric motor when running which was 10xs the size of a servo motor) but it was a fuel pump for model boats/planes used for water instead. Cheap and easy to find. If you can't find a good hiding place for the port, then just use surgical tubing and rig it when you need it and leave it off when you don't.

hoghappy

Larry...are you talking about a 6 volt pump used to pump fuel from a flight box/bottle into a plane or boat. Won't I also have to add a servo to activate it...and how will I know when to?

Something like this maybe?

LtDoc

hoghappy,
That looks like it ought to work. If the pump is not self priming then you will have to prime it begore you sail. (Ran into that with a 'water cannon'.) A self prining pump is just handier to use.
There are a couple of ways to rig the thing. Use some type of water sensor to turn the pump on, or put it on a timer. Or, the simplest way is to just hit the 'bail' button occasionally. If it 'spits' water, you know you need to run the pump, if not, then you don't have to.
You will need something to activate the pump. That can be a sensor or a servo. The sensor approach can be made to work automatically. Using a servo would require another channel in the radio. Or, you can rig a switch that turns on at 'full travel' of an existing servo.

As for 'rain proofing' a transmitter... got a large plastic bag? If you have a ~very~ large plastic bag, you could get into it too...
- 'Doc

hoghappy

Found this at Tower Hobby today. I don't know it is self priming, but I would think it would have to be. And... I don't know if you can mount the discharge below the waterline without water backing in through the pump and flooding the hull. Maybe if it did try to flood the hull it would activate the pump to discharge it again....in that case the pump would wear it self out turning on and off...



This is the Boat Saver Bilge Pump Designed For 6-12 Volt Operation.
When installed into the bottom of your radio box or hull, this device will
detect the presence of water in the boat's interior. This is used to protect
your radio equipment from shorting due to water damage. With water detected,
a bright warning light turns ON and the included bilge pump engages.

FEATURES: Easy to Follow Instalation Instructions
Hard Plastic Base Insulates Botom of Motor
Detection Light Warns of the Presence of Water in Your Model

INCLUDES: One Boat Saver With Bilge Pump Unit
One Ram Product List
One Instruction Sheet
One Water Tube

SPECS: Length: 2.5" x Width: 1.75" x Height: 1.5"
Tube: 1/4" Outer Diameter
1/8" Inner Diameter
6-1/2" Long

REQUIRES: One 6-12 volt Battery (9V Clip is Included)
Screws or Glue to Mount To Hull Or Box
1/4" Drill
Double Sided Servo Tape
krm 6/22/99



ir/jl