Naval Tug ? Mk2

[jbryce1437]

Keep up the good work Ivor, sometimes progress is slow, but the end result is worth waiting for. Power to your elbow.

Jim

[ivorthediver]

Thanks mate , I will bare that in mind when feeling miffed ....still in fairness managed to do a bit despite threats of having to go in with very bad chest infection but better than phenomena at this stage

[ivorthediver]

Well talk about pushing rocks uphill , beginning to wish I never started with the refurb of the bridge on the Tug

Thought I was getting near to completing the superstructure [ always fatal ]

I completed the bridge structure which is bigger , more accurate in many ways , and now has radar monitors, power supply meters and much more detail in the bridge , so thought I would repair the superstructure and repaint that as well .....whilst about it there was evidence of a small crack in the bottom where it bolts the the hull so I beefed up the side panel base and when I stood it on its base. after it had cured over night ..... woo and behold... the glue had split the base on drying as it cured

So off with the refurbed fittings and handrails and tidy up and fill the split with plastic putty.... which I will leave to completely cure before rubbing down all over again and repainting the flank affected

As if that was not enough , whilst rerouting the ESC [ electronic speed controller ] cabling and generally tidying up I ran the system to check out the wiring and found the ESC was not functioning correctly [ it has micro circuitry which resets the last known position of the gimbals and clicks during the process of set up .......but it didn't !

So striped it all out again and noted a little corrosion on the underside of the PCB which may be the culprit , so contacted the supplier who for a small payment will refurb the unit back to as new condition and only charge a fraction of the cost of a replacement unit which delights me as they are not cheap to buy , but I have been using it in a couple of different models and is quite a few years old now , so well worth the cost [ and less embarrassing than having the rescue TUG recovered by someone else in the club

So further delays whilst it is away but I will keep you posted

[jbryce1437]

Things are never easy Ivor and I hope the latest setback is quickly resolved. Pleased the supplier is sorting the problem at reduced cost, a great gesture.

Jim

[ivorthediver]

Thanks Jim , on that point I had an email saying it will be despatched tomorrow which can't be bad , as they turned it around in 48 hrs lets hope it was nothing sinister on the report accompanying it .

All coming together now so unless there is anything else unforeseen lurking in the bilges ..., I might even be able to get down the club lake this weekend

[ivorthediver]

Well needless to say That never happened and after a seemingly endless round of repairs , rewiring and refurbishments she is finally ready in all respects for sea duty tomorrow [ subject to adverse weather that is ]

Some of the more recent alterations were the result of a replacement car collected on the 14th and as such minor subtle changes were needed to accommodate the Lady Karen , [ and as luck would have it the license plate for the new car ends LKN .....and whilst not purchased by us the selection of number plates available included that one

Any way all being well we will be at the club lake tomorrow morning

[jbryce1437]

Good luck with the post refit trials tomorrow Ivor and I hope she performs to your satisfaction. We had a flurry of snow here today and tomorrow is forecast for heavy rain and strong winds so I hope it doesnt come your way.

Jim

[ivorthediver]

Thanks Jim , it was certainly a blustery day and some of the members yachts were blown sideways ! , any way here are a couple of close ups of her in her transport cradle which is rolled down into the water and then piloted out onto the lake .

It is a bit cumbersome to handle but her all up weight is very close to that for one to handle and when I am helped with it out on to the path I can roll down on its built in wheels and restrained by chords and fired up and driven out and the reverse to transport back home once the water has drained out of the frame

Cant get photos to load so I will try again later

[ivorthediver]

Lets try again.............

well this seems to have worked, and the bridge is a better representation to the previous and although its not very clear in the photo the two radar displays in front of the captain are illuminated as well , so this one will remain the representation I had tried to achieve .

I will try to do a launch and recovery picture next time as my explanation wasn't very clear

[jbryce1437]

It looks good Ivor, well done. The bridge layout looks like an aeroplane cockpit with all the dials and controls

Jim