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2.7.1 Installing Cannon for Ease of Maintenance
(Original Articles by Phil Sensibaugh and Tim McCarty, edited by Bill Pickl)

Phil S. has long been a proponent of mounting your cannon on modular platforms that can be quickly installed by hooking, snapping, or bolting to the bottom of the ship. Tim McCarty took the modular platform on step further by attaching posts that are cut level to the deck and secured to the deck structure. Since Phil's method is easily modified to Tim's we'll start with that one then finish with Tim's idea. Personally I like Tim's method since the screws that hold the platform assembly in place are much easier to access.

First create a paper pattern for your gun base plate. If you are mounting a pair of cannon on the same plate it works best if the baseplate is long enough so that it sticks at least ½" forward and aft of your two cannons. If you are rotating your cannon you will need to extend the length of your base plate to accommodate your rotation device. If you followed the instructions for the water channel you should cut a 2.5" wide piece of paper and tape it centered in the water channel. Make it more than long enough so you have paper to work with. Next measure the plans to determine the location of the center of the turret(s). Transfer this measurement(s) to the piece of paper in the bottom of the water channel. Also mark the waterchannel itself at these locations so you know where to put the platform later on. Sit the two cannons and your rotation servo in and measure to make sure they are in the correct positions and centered. Use a pencil to mark the forward and aft edge of your platform. You want to make the pattern long enough so that you can see and edge on both ends. This will give you a spot for attaching the platform to the bottom of the deck, which will be discussed later on. Remove the cannon. Remove the paper and draw in your for and aft ends of the plate. Now draw a ½" wide by 1" deep rectangle centered on the fore and aft ends of your base plate pattern. Draw an X in this rectangle as it will be cut out to make a fork shape on each end that will allow you to center your base plate. Cut the baseplate for your cannon from a ¼" thick piece of 5 layer plywood. Use your marks to locate the center position for each turret and drill a 9/32 whole through for attaching the cannon.

Set your baseplate back into the waterchannel and line it up with the marks on the water channel and make sure it is centered. Trace the sides of your forks on the bottom of the hull as well as the fore and aft edges of the baseplate and remove the baseplate. Cut two ¼" slices from a ½" by ½" piece of hardwood to form two guide blocks. Also cut four ½" long pieces of wood from ¼"x ¼" hardwood to form four stops. Next glue the guide blocks on the marks made in the bottom of the water channel with some epoxy so that they line up the outside edges of the baseplate and sit between the marks for the sides of the "fork". Also glue the stops on the bottom of the hull at the end of each "tang" of the two "forks" of the baseplate. While you are waiting for the epoxy to set apply a good coat of either paint or epoxy to your baseplate. After the guide blocks have set mix up some more epoxy and coat the guide blocks and stop blocks completely. Note the guide blocks will center your gun baseplate, while the stops will keep it from moving for and aft.

When everything is dry attach the cannons to the baseplate with the screw provided. Use some silicon adhesive to ensure the cannons will not rotate. Test fit in the hull before the silicon sets up.

Now you need to install a platform for your rotation servo. First measure the depth of the hull in the location where you plan to put the servo (usually directly aft of the B cannon or foreward of the C

(Continued on page 21 )