minimans

Yes on the black and white drawing it shows a venturi just below the windsreens I guess to push air up and over the pilot/captain when at speed? it looks to be the same idea as the front cockpit one.......

minimans

Well I started the lower cabin windows tonight as per Dauntless fans idea's and I must say I'm very happy with them! comparing all the photo's I could find that show the windows they seem to be very narrow compared to the pilot house ones and the curve down from the roof is very pronounced and I hope I've not overdone it!




In a previous post somebody mentioned using LGB train figures so the third picture shows one on the boat, I think maybe there a bit small but would do in a pinch..........
Also if you notice the sides of the boat are quite smooth without any filler It's definatly not my superior boat building skills! I had the idea of using a very thin Balsa veneer to cover all the lumps and bumps and save me hours of filling and sanding. they sell the sheets for covering model aircraft wings that have foam cores. You coat both surfaces in alphatic wood glue and let it dry, then just position and iron it on! the glue reacts to the heat and pressure of the iron and gives an instant bond. it may be cheating but my arm's and hands will love me for it.............................................

minimans

More ruminations! I am intending to model my Dauntless as built without pilot house roof and fitted with the twin V12's Was the Dumas model designed after the V12's were removed? hence the two twin throttle quadrants for four engines? does anybody know what side of the consul the single quadrant was fitted? Stupid detail I know but I was thinking about it last night and it bugged me.......................Oh as I'm typing I'm thinking maybe the Quadrants are for the Packard's? forward and reverse on one lever and throttle on the other? so two quadrants needed for two engines? I was thinking four levers four throttles at first........

dauntlessfan

Mini your model's looking very nice. Your balsa idea for smoothing the hull is great.

There were defiantly two controls on the right in the earliest pic of topless Dauntless docking. The rods were longer and the ball at the end of each rod looks like it may have been metal or chrome. Unfortunately in that pic the other side of the helm is blocked so I'm not sure if there was another pair on the other side or not.

Rich404

The Dauntless whether duel engine or quad engines had duel throttle on each side. On the left side, one was for fwd/n/Reverse and the other was for for throttle speed. Same as the other side, one controlled fwd/n/reverse and the other for speed. What was different however was the instrument guages, with two engines, she had two of everything whereas with 4 engines she had 4 of everything. Above shows her with the 4 engine setup.

When she was refitted to 4 engines, she was designed with a transmission that allowed her to cruise with one engine per shaft for better fuel economy or she could be run with 2 engines per shaft that were synchronized for greater performance. I'm sure the (4) 671 Detroit Diesels were not as fast as the two Packard's but she saved a fortune in fuel costs.

-Rich.

minimans

Finished the cabin windows last night! Then I tried to draw up the top-less pilot house, at first I thought that they had used the existing structure and just roofed it over but after studying the pictures it appears not. the wrap around bulkhead appears to be a totally different piece, the sides do not go as far back as the originals and had no windows in them, the front section appears to be different as well a bit straighter? I am trying this from one photo and the plans, which is not very clear!! I really need more pictures of a top-less Dauntless or a plan drawing of the bridge layout which would solve a lot of the problems...........Does anybody have any thing that would help? pretty please...................................Paul..... .......

minimans

Well I guessed as best I could , and came up with this I modified the original deck guide for the wrap around then ran a wire around it to get the shape then transfered that to a sheet of aluminium and formed the wrap around. after getting the shape right I then used the wire I used to get the curves as a stiffener for the coaming. after getting that epoxyed on I soldered up a windscreen the frames a bit thick but it's what I had in stock!
Then since it was still early and the F1 GP qualifying is rain delayed I made the false floor for the pilot house.................Paul

dauntlessfan

Way to go Paul, I love how it turned out!

Rich404

Very cool Paul!!

-Rich.

minimans

I'm still building but I need to glass the hull and it's too cold at the moment! who would have thunk California too cold! I seem to recall that the e poxy could be thinned out a bit? but cant find the right page now anybody got any idea's?

deep sky

hi all hope all is well i am starting to get dauntless ready for summer .as for the glass you can put it on safe to about 40 and put lots on hardner in it it will kick off might take a while also you might try heating the glass by bringing it where its warm.i have done glass work for 30+ years and have put it on in the cold .i live in ore it gets cold here.anyway try heating the glass just before you put in on and use lots of hardner work fast.

dauntlessfan

I used 20 min finishing epoxy to glass my hull. Long working time and no need to thin. Once the mixing cup started to warm up, you knew your working time was about to expire.

deep sky

thanks df i forgot about the heat that lets you know your almost out of time

machinist007

I've got a question for anyone that has the answer. I'm almost ready to put the Dauntless back into the water with spring finally coming to Maryland. Thing is I've got a delay in the motors starting. The starboard one starts then about 2-5 seconds later the other one starts, there is one big thing I should mention is that I've got two different ESC's on my boat. I was not willing to wait at the time and just bought what the hobby shop had in stock. Any idea's out there or am I going to be buying another ESC soon.

John

Sound Sailor

While I have never tried to use 2 different ESC together, I would have to think that would be a problem just by experiencing different ESC in single applications. Just the power up sequence time can be different as well as throttle response. For instance the Proboat ESC throttle spread is VERY different than the Mtronics ESC.

Bill

minimans

Thanks! I'll give it a go tonight then, I just didn't want to start and have it go t*t's up and have to sand it all off again!!

rblubaugh

My Feedback: (5)

Paul,

Check this tutorial for fiberglassing.

Bob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujk-wBQDUSk

P.S. Others I know who use this method use only 30% alcohol rather than 50%.

Bob

minimans

Fantastic just what I needed! don't know why i didn't think to look on YouTube...................

dauntlessfan

John I think Bill's got it right. Different ESCs have different programming for throttle stick position. How is it all wired? Can you post some pics?

minimans

Right finally got my finger out and started glassing the hull! Don't know what I was worried about just followed the advise given in the youtube video and haypresto the first section done. I'm going to do the bow in two sections with an overlap at the keel just to add a bit of strength to the bow and keel. will do that in one session tomorow. In another video it was suggested to drape the cloth over the curved sections overnight and let the cloth relax over the hull so the last picture shows that I hope it works!!

rblubaugh

My Feedback: (5)

Paul,

Nice glassing job. Be interested to see if the fiberglass cloth really does "relax" overnight. Maybe you will think to take a picture before you put the epoxy on.

Bob

minimans

No the cloth didnt relax over the bow!! but it still was pretty straightfoward just brush gently away from the keel and around the bow and it eventually formed itself to the curve, I had to make a couple of slits where it wanted to fold over on irtself but a new exacto blade just slices through the glass and then lose the surplus over the top. I actually got to enjoy the whole process with the epoxy thinned out with the alcohol it worked easy and gave plenty of time to massage it around as needed.

So I finished up last night with the first coat and this afternoon gave it a good sanding and applied the second coat, just need that to dry off and tomorow after work I'll give it another coat.

So while I was waiting for the glass to dry (much the same as watching grass grow!!) I got on with the super structure as they say a picture is worth a thousand words I'll just give you the pictures!

minimans

So did I screw up somewhere? the aft cabin roof is lower than the cockpit rear wall, I have checked the drawings and I seem to have put the aft cabin together correctly? is the cockpit rear wall supposed to be lower? or is this correct it looks a bit wrong though???

minimans

Final coat of epoxy is done! just have to let it dry and sand sand and sand again...................The body shop that does my paintwork for the restoration business has said they will paint the hull for me once I get it primed and ready so I may just let then do it rather than spend weeks with me trying to get a perfect finish using rattle cans. the hull has come out so nice I don't want to spoil it! Plus they will use a good primer and paint and bake it on so it will be tougher than rattle can paint and UV stable..............




I just noticed in the pictures how messy it is in the shed......................................I'll clean up when it's dry..............

dauntlessfan

Mini you did it correctly. On the real boat the aft cabin roof was lower than the cockpit wall too. You could add stained wood boards there like the original had in her glory days (see Rich's model in pic).