The Ship Model Forum

Hello Guys,
This is my first R/C attempt and up till now she's rather satisfactory.
A 1/72 Flower class, but not built as a Flower.
The engine set up is good, but I'm having trouble with my rudder! I adapted the rudder because the engine's pretty strong and there's a four bladed prop too.

But I can't seem to find a good drive for this rudder. Could someone (Dave Wooley or others) please provide help?

This is what I have. But after a month of thinking I can't seem to find the good solution...



Sorry about that colour Ron, this terror on the water is more my style than an old corvette. She'll change a lot in the future too.

Regards
Roel

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The merchant shipyard

Hi Neptune Take a look at Picture Post on HMS Mersey .I posted up a number of pictures for you of the drive train and servo to rudder linkage hoping they might be of some assistance.
Dave Wooley

Yes I have looked at them and that was the reason why I actually asked. But I have made my own rudder and so there are no real standard parts in it (for connections etc.). I can still move the servo, but I don't know how to make the linkage to the rudder stanchion...

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The merchant shipyard

Hi Neptune The rudder linkage can be any piece of stiff wire that will move the rudder horn without bending. The easiest way is to aquire a length of wire and measure that length so that it is at a right angle to both the rudder horn and the servo arm. Allow sufficient material at each end so it can be bent in a right angle and fit into both the tiller and the rudder arm. Here a small length of thinner gauge wire is then soldered parallel to each end to form in effect, a clip and will stop the linkage jumping out of either the rudder or servo arm when the linkage is moved. This is a simple form of linkage but it is effective . Rudder horns or tiller arms can be fabricated from the pins of electrical plugs. Although they will need to be drilled on the flat with a series of holes to accept the linkage. Hope this helps
Dave Wooley

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH, Hand me the tablets quick, get the doctor, ggggggggggggoooiiiiiiiiinnnnngggggggggg ddddddddddoooooooowwnn hiiillllll very qqquicccckklllly,

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Simple but effective.

Au Contraire mon ami,

the flexible stuff is the best! i forget what exactly its called but i use it in the Kumano and will in all my other ships! granted you can do with a stiff rod in those hollow hulls of yours, but when your hull is packed full of batteries, motors, pumps, radio equipment, guns, co2, etc etc etc .... you need some american ingenuity involved!

If you want i'll try to figure out the name of it but i stole the idea from R/C Airplane folks... who use it in their planes. You just stick a short stiff rod in one end connected to servo, and another short stiff piece connected to the rudder in the other end. Move the servo arm, and it moves the rudder.... but is flexible so it can manuever around other stuff.....genius idea. I usually just stick a piece of wood in the middle, with a hole for the tubing to go through. its very small.....most of the stuff i've found is a yellow color.

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It's not who you are, but what you do that defines you.

Yeah, I made my own flex cabelf ro my RC sailplane, just find a plastic tube and some bendable wire and there you go! However a stiff wire should work just as well for rudder control if it lined up and secured right.

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The Black Dragon

Rob J You'll find I make use of a stiff wire linkage within the outer plastic sleeve of a bowden cable in order to give good support over the extended distance between servo and rudder. This is clearly seen on HMS Mersey whilst keeping the linkage straight and maintaining a right angles to the servo and rudder arm. But for short distances a push rod of stiff wire is the simplest way of achiving the same results.I try to keep the servo close to the rest of the installation for ease of maintenance. If you seal off the servo then you can be sure it will develope a problem.
Dave Wooley