Conning Tower #1

The conning tower has been started!   Now I can start putting together the hatch, windows, diving planes, dash and electronics.  The fun stuff.

Fig. #1.  Assessing the gaps that need to be welded.  The whole tower needs to be lowered by about 20 mm in order to sit flush with the rest of the hull.

Fig. #1
21/05/2016

Fig. #2.  After running around the conning tower with a fine tipped marker I had the basic lines that needed to be cut.  The shallow ribbing in the drums make this quite fiddly.

Fig. #2
21/05/2016

Fig. #3.  Sitting nicely against the hull.  The gaps range from 2 mm to 4 mm .  Not perfect but good enough to weld.

Fig. #3
21/05/2016

Fig. #4.  After getting the tower level and at right angles to the rest of the hull, the first weld goes on. 

Fig. #4
21/05/2016

Fig. #5.  Making sure that the frame for the hutch fits. 

Fig. #5
21/05/2016

Fig. #6.  From the inside I cut into the hull and bent the flaps up to match the tower.  I'm not sure if I'll weld these to it yet or not.  It might turn out to be too fiddly in the small space.

Fig. #6
26/05/2016

Fig. #7.  All bent upward.  There's actually a lot of room once your in. 

Fig. #7
26/05/2016

Fig. #8.   Cleaning off the paint ready to weld it. 

Fig. #8
26/05/2016

Fig. #9.  The start of a long welding process.  All the welds on the 1 mm steel have been down at around 50 - 60 Amp, depending on how fast I move.

Fig. #9
26/05/2016

Fig. #10 to #12.  The outside welds. 

Fig. #10
26/05/2016

Fig. #11
26/05/2016

Fig. #12
26/05/2016

Not sure what'll be next, but I'm thinking I'll start putting some ribbing inside for extra strength.