A word of warning..

periscope · 09-05-2006

At last I've got my sub correctly weighted and can now drive it straight and level a couple of feet under water - went to the club pond today and had some really great testing time. BUT.... after a while I got myself tangled again in the dreaded weed, this time it stopped the sub dead. I tried to drive out of it but the sub would not respond forward - nor would it go in reverse although I could hear the motor turning, eventually I got the boat out of the pond by lassoing it with a length of cord. (Now maybe this is a common problem but I've never heard of it happening before,) when I got it on the stand to free the massive clump of weed I found that while the powerful motor had been turning in reverse it had actually unscrewed the prop and forced it against the rear dive plane which was by then badly twisted but luckily returned to shape when the pressure was taken off it. So, sub drivers beware...

Ian

Mankster · 09-05-2006

This is what you need

Or 242 if you want to take your prop off in the future

**Bunkerbarge** · 09-05-2006

This could actually happen to any boat so the requirement to securely lock the prop is of paramount importance.

Threadlocking and a tight locknut are both essential.

Just as a smile, my first outing with the Robbe U-Boat saw me practising geting the feel of dynamic diving. Not being used to it and getting the planes all mixed up I took it a bit too sharply and dived quite steeply. What non of us realised was just how shallow the pond was and just how deep the layer of mud, rotten leaves, duck crap etc actually was.

Consequently she went in nose first with the back end out of the water (and the props fanning the ducks) stuck fast!! Luckily after a few minutes it slid free and I was able to thrash it around and give it a wash off. It provided plenty of amusement for all watching though.

tigertc · 10-05-2006

I must admit I know naff all about subs apart from they either sink or swim! But it has occured to my simple yet devious mund, that if you sharpen the blades on your propeller to razor sharpness.
Would it not cut through weeds and also any unlucky ducks that get in its way?
Thus killing two birds with one stone..........................!!!!!!!!!!!!

periscope · 10-05-2006

Thanks for the tips Guys - I'll see about some thread locking stuff this weekend. - Under normal running I don't think the Seawolf prop can get off due to the rear drive planes (unless it's driven hard in reverse when stuck) but I'll not risk it again. As for the prop cutting through the weed I don't think that would work but the idea is good Terry - when our local weed in Goole gets tangled around the prop it takes some cutting off - in fact it's been known to stop a full sized prop on a narrow boat... some weed eh?

Ian

new to trains · 10-05-2006

i am lucky my research sub is in a cage made of stainless steel , so to get weed in near the prop is not that easy, but the threadlock is important, also if youcant access thread lock use nail varnish, does the same job !- and i can be loosened with acetone !- dont get caught by the wife though....

fooman2008 · 2 Weeks Ago

you can get thread locker from almost any autoparts store, although the cheapest I have found it was in Ace Hardware locally(surprisingly)!