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This is
much easier to clean up than the automotive grease you
would use to pack wheel bearings. |
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The bearings in the stuffing boxes are milled to close
tolerances, demanding adequate time to properly align the struts.
YOU MUST CORRECTLY ALIGN THE STUFFING BOXES AND THE
STRUTS! When properly aligned, the shafts will turn with very little effort. Because
of the close tolerance, any slight misalignment will cause the shaft to bind. And I
mean any slight movement. If you do not take your time, you will cause the motors to work
harder causing shorter battery run time and hot motors. |
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The struts attach to the outside of the hull with four small
bolts and nuts. If you are building a scale model, you may want to add a little
filler around the base of the struts. This will blend them into the hull. They
will look built into the hull instead of just looking "bolted on".
As for the rudders, the modeler must trim them down to 2". These were cut
very easily with a motor tool. They contained mold markings and flash. The
rudders did clean up nicely but did required some filler. |
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Now that you have
all that time in sanding your hull, now it's time to put
some holes in it! |
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(Click on image to view larger picture) |
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The following are the
instructions included in my running hardware kit. |
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1. Remove the cabin and
turret from the hull, place the hull upside down on the bench. It is a good idea to pad
the bench with an old towel or blanket. |
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2. Draw two lines down the
bottom rear of the hull. These lines should be parallel to the keel and 1 11/16" to
either side of the keel. These lines are the centerlines for the rudders, struts, and
shafts. |
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3. Drill two 5/32 holes for
the rudder bearing tubes 1-11/16" from the transom on the shafts center lines. These
holes should be vertical to the water line. |
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4. Scuff the rudder tubes
with sandpaper (1/8" T.D. x 1 3/8" long) then tap them into the holes you just
drilled. Leave about 1/32" of the tubes exposed. Zap the tubes in place. |
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5. Install the struts as
shown in figs. 2 & 7, don't forget the reinforcing ply inside the hull. A little trick
that we use to line up the struts is to place, a shaft in the strut and line the shaft and
strut up with the line drawn on the hull. We then "Zap" the strut in
place. After removing the shaft we drill for the mounting screws. We leave the strut on
the hull for painting. |
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6. Insert the shaft back in
the strut and push it forward until it contacts the hole. Use this contact point as a
guide for the hole for the stuffing box tube. The hole should be enlarged a little bit at
a time until the shaft will pass through. Slide the |
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