Bilge Keels??

[Ticonderoga]

Novice Scratch Builder seeks advice.........

I am very interested to learn about the technique used to transfer the shape/curve of the hull on to the inside edge of the bilge keel its self.

I "understand" that the bilge keel center line is pretty much equidistant from the center line of the hull for its entire length. (at least my frame drawings indicate this is so). What I don't know how to do is to transfer the complex curve on to the inside of the bilge keel.

Any advice is most welcome.

Andrew

[ARH]

Andrew, How I do it is , I get a large piece of thin card, offer it up to the hull and with a pencil mark a line on the card, then cut out that shape.
Do the same again and again till the shape of the hull is on one edge of your card, when it is correct mark the outside edge , this should be 1/2 to 1/4 inch , then cut where you have marked, then transfere this on your material you are useing for the bilge keel.

If right, it should look like a bannana.

[Laurent]

depends on what kind of hull you're building, if there is no parallel middle body, yes, it should look like a banana, but if your hull looks like a freighter's hull, there will be a right part on the bilge keel. Seems logical.

no parallel middle body:


parallel middle body:


mainly, we may say that the bilge keel most of the time follows the turn of the bilge plating strake, out of the side of both the quay and the bottom.

Regards,

Laurent

[commodore4]

What I usually do is use a contour guage .That way I can be sure the side to the hull is accurate . The fact is there is differing schools of thought on this subject.I always defer to simplicity on R.C. models and accuracy on 1/350 models .The laxity in R.C. is because if you get it wrong here ,it can , affect the performance of the model when rudder is aminship . commodore4

[Guest]

Here's what I've thought of:

Mount the hull on a plate and turn it 45degrees on its long axis so the turn of the bilge is the outermost point of the hull.

Use a pencil set at the level of the outermost point. and mark a horizontal line.

That line should be the line of the bilge keel. Mark it and use a contour gauge to capture the curve.



Sorta like this?

[Ticonderoga]

Hi Guys,

Just thought I would finish off my question with some results. Here are the keels being fitted to my Varyag.