Spring 2020 edition of FleetOps 144

HMS Queen Elizabeth dreadnought is fitted out and now COVID-ready to battle at the IRCWCC National Competition in Bradford, Pennsylvania.

Sheltering at home left me with time (finally) to catch up on a lot of home projects as well as organizing tools and parts in the shipyard (boat work area). One project has been to clean up my travel tool box to contain only parts I need for my current ships. In looking over all the various stuff I keep in my tool box, I noticed one was a compartment packed full of drive motor gears. I like having a variety to allow finding just the right size to get a ship on speed, but this was far more than I needed, and being all packed together in a drawer bin as they were made it difficult to see which sizes and how many I actually had (None of my ships have more than two active drive shafts I should at most only ever need to bring two of a particular size with me to any single event).

I decided to keep only two of each gear size with me in my tool box and keep the rest in storage at home. I also wanted to organize them so I could easily see what sizes I have. I remember a former Captain at one battle showing me block of wood he had with small 1/8" brass pins drilled into it, each with a different size gear mounted on it. It was probably the best organizer for gears I have sen, but I wanted something quick and more easy to make (too many other projects still waiting). So below is what I came up with:

I cut two 1/8" diameter brass rods about 5" long (6" might be better if you keep a couple more gear sizes with you - but I wanted to make sure these fit in the drawer of my tackle-box/toolbox) and slipped one of each size of gear onto each rod, in order from largest number of teeth to smallest number of teeth. This actually helped me to quickly identify the gear sizes I was missing (which I quickly ordered from Battlers Connection so I could fully stock my tool box) so I would have a complete set in my kit I carry to battles..

Editors note: There are many different places the members of our hobby communicate: several different Facebook pages, the RCNavalCombat forums, email listserves, etc - it can be hard to keep up and even communicate (we are victims of too many social mediums). Christopher Koehler has offered to assist, by regularly reviewing discussions on the RC Warship Combat forums and providing summaries or highlights of any that seemed would have a high impact on our hobby and/or provide a useful tip or advice in making our ships better. I hope this becomes a regular feature.

Greetings, captains! As you probably know, our club email groups have always been a staple of planning, discussion, and good-old-fashioned chatter. But did you know that there’s another way to keep in touch with fellow battlers? The R/C Warship Combat Forums host discussions of every R/C warship topic imaginable. The past few months have seen many great conversations, and in case you missed them, here are some of the highlights:

Thoughts on HPA over CO2
A thrifty battler thought up a good idea to save a bit of cash: why buy all new CO2 equipment when I’ve already got a whole set of HPA (high-pressure air) equipment from paintball? The answer, it turns out, is mostly logistics. HPA bottles are harder to refill, hold less energy - which means less shots fired per fill, and have issues with the rules in some clubs. While HPA is certainly usable, CO2 is still the better option for a warship.

Destroyer Regulator Trials
What CO2 regulator should you use for a destroyer? Weight is a concern, but so is its ability to maintain flow. And of course, safety and reliability are important with any part of the cannon system. In this thread, three popular regulators were put to the test: a standard Battler’s Connection regulator, a generic ebay “kegger” model, and a Palmer Pursuit Rock Lite. The BC reg, as expected of something designed for capital ships, performed excellently but was a bit on the heavier side. The ebay model, while much cheaper than the others, was large and heavy, difficult to calibrate, and failed to maintain pressure under prolonged testing. It seems you get what you pay for. The Rock Lite, finally, fared the worst. It was by far the lightest model of the set, but unfortunately it repeatedly lost pressure calibration and even stopped regulating completely after prolonged use - a safety risk. A teardown revealed some answers, but not why the Rock Lite failed. Make sure to pick your hardware carefully - and test before it goes on the pond!

Treating Wood Components (from BC Mogador Build)
Finally, here is a neat ship construction trick for chemically treating wood components. By diluting West System with alcohol, it will soak into the wood and provide a better seal. An alternate tip is to treat the wood separately, then strip the outer surfaces to provide a clean bond with the ship’s hull.

Stay tuned next issue for more updates on the most recent ideas and tips from the RC Warship Combat forums....

SAS February Fracas 2020 Battle

SAS managed to organize a small winter battle (more easy to do in the southern states) before the COVID-19 shutdown. While it was still a smaller battle (this out-of-season battle usually is), a lot of fun and friendship (and brutal combat) was had between the captains who could attend. Below are a few highlight photos from the battle.