RUDDERS
I really did not do much to the
rudders. I removed a small amount of rudder to reshape them. Then I added some
filler to make them more hydrodynamic. This is one of the easiest things I did to
make the model look better. Look at the before and after pictures.
BEFORE
AFTER
"A" Struts
The running hardware included two single leg
struts. Fine for pleasure craft,  but
not the case for ships. Don't get me wrong, they will work and work well. But IF you
want to make your Crockett look more scale, get rid of the kit struts. Take a look
at the picture of the kit struts, (Click on image to enlarge).
Now that you are going to make your own
struts, locate the items you will need to make your support struts. I used
streamlined brass tubing for the struts and made hubs with brass tubing. The boss on
the propellors I am using is 1/4". So I know I have a 1/8" shaft and the
maximum boss diameter of 1/4". I use a brass tube with an inside diameter of
1/8" and built up the outside diameter with other brass tubing until it was
1/4". I then cut out two pieces and turned a taper on one end of each tube.
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With
the shafts inserted into the stuffing boxes, support the other end with the jig. Use
your source (my source was the plans from the Floating Drydock), and locate reference
lines for your support legs. Then take an measurement from each reference line to
the shaft. Make sure to subtract the thickness of your hub. This will give you
the length of each leg. The legs on each hub will have a small difference in the
length for the inboard and outboard legs due to the curvature of the hull!
I used a home made jig to support the hub so I could solder some
tabs on the hubs to accept my supports. The system you use is up to you. I then
inserted the struts onto the hubs and soldered them together. On the other end of
the struts, I inserted some brass flat stock inside the struts. This stock
will slide through small slits in the hull. I then inserted the shafts and placed
epoxy around the brass stocks that passed inside the hull. I them supported them
with blocks of basswood and glued the four struts securely to the hull.
Although the struts have now been secured to the hull, make sure
there is now binding of the drive shaft. If you held everything in alignment while
the epoxy dried, there should be no binding. My propellers do NOT contact the hub of
the strut. There is about a 0.020 gap between the prop and hub.
Props
These were big on my list of things to change. From the
picture, the new props made a big difference in looks and improved the performance in the
water. Plus, boats have three-bladed props, ships have four. ;-)
I got my props from Lee Duvall at
Working Boat Models. Lee is no longer in the business.
For props, I highly recommend:
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