Holes in the Hull ?

[toppack]

Since all my RC ship building experience is with surface ships, cutting and drilling all the huge holes in the hull just seems 'Wrong', but I gritted my teeth and started doing it anyway. :D LOL :D
I did the lightening holes in top of hull first then started doing some the oblong shaped holes in bottom of hull and these are very difficult to make even, smooth and equal in size.
I think they are going to be most time consuming things of this build. I probably won't make as many holes in bottom, as you did David, since it seems they would only effect the fill and drain times when putting model into water and taking it out, correct?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Since all my RC ship building experience is with surface ships, cutting and drilling all the huge holes in the hull just seems 'Wrong', but I gritted my teeth and started doing it anyway. :D LOL :D
I did the lightening holes in top of hull first then started doing some the oblong shaped holes in bottom of hull and these are very difficult to make even, smooth and equal in size.
I think they are going to be most time consuming things of this build. I probably won't make as many holes in bottom, as you did David, since it seems they would only effect the fill and drain times when putting model into water and taking it out, correct?


Yes, not punching in all the holes will increase flood time. But when you blow the ballast, that water IS going to come out -- even if it has to split the hull to do so!

Bite the bullet and drill all the holes indicated!

David,

[toppack]

I did not realize there would be that much pressure.

[toppack]

I got another Major Step completed, that I've been dreading. Romoving the top of hull for SD access. I used a Dremel-Saw, set to slowest speed, which is the thinest saw blade I have. By making several passes, I made the cuts without melting much of the plastic.
I made the cuts high on the hull, up under superstructure/deck, so the seams will be hidden. With cuts that high the SD has snug fit, when installing and removing it, but it goes in with no problems, by sliding forward end in first, lowering it in and sliding it back to engage drive-shaft-couplings.

[toppack]

I suppose I'll have to start working on those Dang Holes in bottom of hull again. :( :( :(
I may just go get my 45-automatic and put 'em in the quick way! :D

[toppack]

Well, I did not use the 45, but I now have 54 big holes in 'er bottom. She should Sink with the Best of 'em Now. :D

[Outrider]

The real trick is getting back to the surface when you want to...

On a more serious note, I think another problem for those of us working on scale replicas is the tension between trying to be accurate and ensuring good in water performance. From what I've seen, accurate drainage hole patterns can be hard to sort out. Within classes of subs, there seem to be countless variations among hulls--a pattern that increases over the service life of the original boat. When working with mainstream kits, like the Trumpeter Kilo, the manufacturer's instructions often leave these details out, making that much more work to sort out what's right.

For our Kilo, we just looked through David's Notes to the Cabal and found a photo of him drilling out the holes and used that as a rough guide. Sometime later, we may build another hull with more emphasis on scale accuracy--but for now, we just want the Kilo to go down and up when its supposed to.

[toppack]

Yes, I agree, I went for good water flow, more than scale accuracy, also.

Mainly 'cause David said 'the hull will explode', if I didn't! :D LOL :D