RC model of confederate submarine H.L. Hunley

[SubRegattaSmalley]

Thank you for asking if I would build you a model of the Hunley.

Many people have asked me for one, but it just takes too long. The original took over one year of my spare time and a couple of hundred hours to do. I was approached a few years ago by a company that sells RC models about selling a copy of mine. Unfortunately the owner of that company, turned out to be less than honest, so there will be no kits or copies of my sub. Sorry.

[tmsmalley]

NOTE - I know that the HL Hunley wasn't the first submarine to make an attack, unfortunately, the TV reporter didn't. The first attack made by a submarine was in 1776 when David Bushnell's submarine "Turtle" attacked the British flagship "Eagle" in New York Harbor. While a tactical failure - the torpedo couldn't be attached to the bottom of the enemy ship, it was a strategic success, since when the British became aware of the attack, they moved all their ships out of NY harbor.

[SubRegattaSmalley]

NOTE - I know that HL Hunley wasn't the first submarine attack, unfortunately, the TV reporter didn't. The first attack made by a submarine was in 1776 when David Bushnell's submarine "Turtle" attacked the British flagship "Eagle" in New York Harbor. While a tactical failure - the torpedo couldn't be attached to the bottom of the enemy ship, it was a strategic success, since when the British became aware of the attack, they moved all their ships out of NY harbor.

[GOAMember]

The CSS Hunley was the SECOND American submarine!

The first American submarine was David Bushnell's "Turtle" built 88 years earlier in 1776. On September 7th, 1776 an Army volunteer Sgt. Ezra Lee attempted an attack upon the British warship HMS Eagle. The attack was unsuccessful because the screw device was unable to attach the blackpowder warhead to the ship's hull. Unlike the CSS Hunley, the Turtle returned unharmed, and as far as we know, undetected.

[generaltodd2]

i say, i wouldnt mind having a R/C model of the Hunley.

[Dauntless07]

Cool! That's a neat hobby, and brings history to life! I know the confederated resurfaced by pumping water from the tanks by hand, but how do these subs surface?

[tmsmalley]

@Dauntless07 In some RC subs, the water is blown from the tank using compressed gas released by a valve. Others use an airpump to inflate a blood pressure cuff.

[laflinslim]

Awesome sub! the first time that I learned about the hunley was from tv's nova, scientific american frontiers. and being involved in rc I just put the two together and looked on you tube. I found you. great project, great history. thanks for the vid, you should post more of the hunley.

[hinatatsunare]

is cool to have a rc submarine.

[alalaty]

thank you tim i wanna know your sub its free flood ??

[tmsmalley]

That's correct. The hull is free flooding. All the electronics are in the water tight compartment.

[alalaty]

yes thank you too much now i,m buildeng submarine its like tayphoon russian .. i cut one big wood and sand it for 1 week soon i will cut it to half and mold it by fiberglass ..

[Elevationary]

hey Tim, on the Original H.L Hunley, how did the Engineers connect the propeller to the crank shaft, while preventing water getting in through the Axel,is the Engineering any different than the R/C submarine models.....,i am trying to figure out how they were able to connect the propeller to the crank shaft inside the vessel without letting any water in........

[tmsmalley]

@Elevationary The prop shaft went through a "stuffing box" - same as most other ships of the time - up to today. It consisted of a packing of oakum wrapped around the shaft that was held against the shaft. Google "stuffing box" for more info. RC subs use commercially available (Mike's Subworks) shaft seals.

[Elevationary]

@tmsmalley Thanks very much,but when i asked that question,i was talking about the real seal between the Engine and the Propellar on a real submarine in todays world,and i got it from a friend,they dont use oakum any more,they use someting else.

[tmsmalley]

@Elevationary - when you asked "...on the Original H.L Hunley, how did the Engineers connect the propeller to the crank shaft, while preventing water getting in through the Axel..." I assumed you were asking about the 1863 Hunley. Back then, they used a stuffing box with oakum back then on the prop shaft. Today, they still use a stuffing box but with much more sophisticated shaft seals than oakum. Small research subs use a rubber o-ring like material, on the big nukes - I don't know.

[icemandelta]

GREAT MODEL

[chiburui6]

I bet your gonna be a real popular grandpaw some day LOL If I did this I'd never get my grandson's to go home!

[AskJeeves17]

I used to be obsessed with learning about this submarine, awesome!

[sOnarPL]

I love Hunley. Great model and great movie. 5/5

[organics4me]

Very cool.

[pikasurfergyrl]

dude thanks for putting this up! i learned a lot for my 8th grade us history project and now i feel inspired to make a submarine as a visual!

[victorytc92]

Great historical topic combined with present day model building....

[RealHumanist]

A history in my hands, gj, keep goin

[r33013]

Neat