R/C Naval Combat

What cutting edge technology exists in our boats today. Does anyone have it all? What is the next, achievable step?

So here goes:

Hull - Fiberglass but could be carbon fiber in the future

Decks - Wood or fiberglass or carbon fiber in the future

Rudders - Airfoil, flared

Drive motors - brushless

Drive gears - gear reduction, perhaps a sealed 2 speed transmission in teh future?

Pump Motor - brushless

Pump housing - waiting for innovation!

Pump Impellor - waiting for innovation!

Pump controller - esc, firing board / relay, what could do a better job?

Throttle - ESC, where do we go from here?

Firing Circuits - Firing boards, dual-firing boards, I think we maxed out here.

Batteries - LifePO4, prismatic plastic case - what does the future hold for this?

Regulator - lite aluminum

Co2 tanks - steel / brass fitting - do they have aluminum tanks for our sizes?

Gun actuation - Solenoids, I think we maxed out here as well.

Cannons - do we have anything new?

Radio -2.4Ghz,  Do we need them, a ship controller could be used or some other variant based on the xbee 2.4ghz chip.

Did I miss anything current? I think that covers most of the systems in the ship with the most current techologies I have heard being used. Is anyone testing something that will really open up a category? Lets hear about it.

I would love to ramble on about how hand-crafting your own hull piece by piece starting with only a set of plans is a spiritual experience that links a part of your soul to your ship, infusing it with the will to perform better in combat, but I'm not sure how many people would believe me

Seriously, I prefer wood hulls to fiberglass not for internal volume (yes, they have less internal volume), nor for reserve buoyancy (no, they do not have more reserve buoyancy). I prefer wood hulls for the cool design tricks that a master builder can do with one. A classic example is how water channeling is generally easier to do in a wooden hull than a fiberglass one. Another one is making structural members like braces serve dual purpose for mounting servo trays, holding CO2 bottles, batteries, etc. One of the best examples I can think of is when one of the master builders in my club designed a watertight box for all his electronics using the twin skegs on his South Dakota and a pair of ribs. His twin keels, ribs, and subdeck all snapped together, and then he painted them with epoxy. I have also seen a few very small ships (Destroyers and Predreads) that had motor mounts and other hardware designed into the frame from the beginning. Wooden hulls allow a higher level of precision than I have seen in fiberglass hulls. On the other hand, wooden hulls also allow much more room to screw up, too, so it's not very often I see a truly incredible wooden hull. Done right, a wooden hull is far better than fiberglass. Done wrong, a wooden hull is far worse.

edit: I would love to have a "smart" ESC that can compensate for battery voltage drop.  What'd be even better is an ESC that knows what RPMs are required to move the ship at speed, and can power through minor mossing and/or long-term rust buildup on motors, etc. in addition to battery voltage drop.

Also, for Big Gun warships, don't forget how much a Fire Control Computer can affect things.  Instead of converging guns towards port or starboard, a Fire Control Computer allows you to fire full broadsides along a wide range of bearings.  The Morgret C&C system can do this, but isn't ready for general sale yet.  As soon as it is, though, I am totally upgrading my fleet.

Posted By pamnjay on 28 Sep 2010 11:55 AM
I have one question, how much does a composite fiber hull or FC computer cost?
One comment I get alot is how expensive the initial start up costs are (once I explain the cost break down, most relax about the cost) but if these items are big $$ and perceived to be the way to go or to give an advantage, most newbs will want them and then cry at the cost.
Just my 2 cents,
J

For hulls, the wood and glue required to build a wooden hull is less expensive than an equivalent fiberglass hull.  On the other hand, the saws, sanders, drills, etc. also required for a wooden hull are another cost that must be considered, if you do not have access to them already.

As far as fire control computer, the Morgret C&C system is pretty much an all-in-one unit.  It's a radio, dual 30-amp drive ESC, pump ESC, water sensor, servo controller, solenoid controller, rate-of-fire timer, and pretty much every other electric or electronic function you can imagine, in a single unit.  It is amazingly convenient, once you set it up.  On the other hand, I have out-fought each of the prototype battleships with my own old-tech dreadnought, so the actual combat benefit is not very big.