Subject: Submarine (R/C) Squadron Five – Sun ‘N Fun 2010 Patrol - Report of.
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Having enjoyed a wonderful weekend of r/c submarine running last year, Sun N Fun 2010 was again held in Houston, Texas at Hermann Park. Situated in the city’s museum district, the park contains the Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Reflection Pool which measures 740 feet long and 80 feet wide. The water is perfectly clear with a center depth of five feet. The natural beauty of the park, water clarity, and expansive running area makes it perfect for submarine models of all sizes.

A major change this year was the date for the event. Over the past seven years the event has usually been held in August. While the events were fun, the Texas heat has been difficult to endure at times. So the event was pushed back to the first weekend in October and the results were wonderful. The weather was perfect: a cloudless sky; cooling breezes; high temperatures in the mid 80’s. Personally, I didn’t break a sweat the entire weekend.

One unintended consequence of the new date was it fell on the homecoming weekend for my kid’s school. As a result I was missing in action for the Friday night rendezvous of squadron members. Regulars Jeff Porteous, Tom Kisler, and Lee Giles did get together. Squadron plank owner Wayne Frey was on his way when his van broke down and caused him to miss the event entirely. We missed Wayne’s smiling face the entire weekend.

After a quick breakfast, our group headed to the park Saturday morning. The gorgeous weather provided a much larger crowd of visitors than previously experienced and parking was competitive to say the least. We set up shop under the trees next to a small, rectangular fountain on the east side of the pool which served as a perfect tank for trimming out boats before going on patrol.

Many new faces showed up at the event. The first to appear was Jackson Chu. He brought his 1/144 Trumpeter Kilo conversion project which is in its final stages. This is his first project and Jackson asked a lot of good questions and listened intently to the advice offered. He also has a Precision Pattern 1/96 Permit kit and looked over my Thresher which was built from the same kit.

Thresher sported a new custom WTC this year. The old D&E WTC-3 is gone and the new tube sports a custom ballast tank setup, end caps by Rogue Subworks, and a planetary gearbox with 6:1 reduction. Final preparation of the boat for the event was hurried and resulted in some extraordinary shakedown experiences.

The first step was to get a trim on the boat which I worked on in the fountain. As is always the case at these events, with all the new faces and questions, the temptation is to get in the water quickly. I got an approximate trim and headed to the deep with the expectation to fine tune things later.
Heading out to sea, the new ballast system worked well giving me the scale submerging and surfacing for which I had hoped. With the trim still lacking, she tended to porpoise a bit but it was compensated for with some focused attention on the stick. After a few successful circuits of the area, however, in a bit of scale irony Thresher lost power, slowed to a stop in the center of the pool, took on a stern-heavy attitude, and sank to the bottom.

The clear water and known depth of the pool was a true blessing. In no time I waded to the center, flipped the boat up off the bottom with my foot and hauled her back to the bench. The causes of my first official sinking were several. Upon inspection, the battery compartment end cap had worked loose creating a flooding casualty. The aft end cap also appeared to have leaked. The bilges were drained and the electronics were set out in the sun to dry.

Meanwhile, Jeff was doing what he does best at Sun N Funs, driving his Small World Models 1/96 USS Blueback. Having come from the San Francisco fun run only weeks before, Blueback was ready to perform and sailed flawlessly throughout the weekend. He very generously gave Lee Giles a long session at her helm and the grin on his face told everyone the fun he was having.
Lee brought his amazing 1/32 British S-class project with him. The boat is based on a Darnell hull he has heavily modified to better represent the subject. His skill at scale details is amazing and will look stunning on the water. With WTCs installed, Lee is ready to tackle the electronics and we chatted about the components necessary for completion.

Tom Kisler then launched his 1/96 USS Scorpion. His experience fell more in line with mine than Jeff’s. First, he tackled some trimming issues created by a new LiPo battery and started to patrol. However, the fun was cut short by a rudder linkage failure. Tom hauled her out and performed some temporary repairs.

Don Baker arrived with several of his operational subs. He brought a Type 127 Seehund, a Marder manned torpedo, and a ThorDesign Sturgeon. Both German boats were built from 1/22 scale kits made by RPM Tech. Don ran his Seehund first which is wonderfully weathered. The iron cross insignia on the conning tower added a wonderful European flavor. However, he had the same problem I did – water in the people tank. As a result, the boat took on a decidedly “bow up” attitude before being pulled from service.

After a thorough drying out I tentatively powered up Thresher’s electronics. To my surprise, everything came back online without incident. Newly enthused, I reassembled my WTC and secured the end caps with electrical tape for good measure. Back at the water’s edge, Thresher headed out to sea again. She ran much better. After a lengthy patrol I was able to bring her back to shore. Upon opening her back up there was more moisture in the bilges although in a much reduced amount. I dried her out once more and planned a short list of additional modifications to make overnight.

Jeff continued to run Blueback successfully. He even gave me a turn at her sticks. This was the first time for me to run his boat and it was a real thrill. She is so nimble the skipper can make her do just about anything. Jeff modified his rudder stick by removing the centering springs and that took some getting used to. Over time I learned to compensate.

While learning this new skill, I noticed a fellow standing next to me. After I handed Jeff back his boat, he introduced himself as Andy Hunt, long time SubCommittee member. Andy and I had corresponded via email ages ago. He gave me my first web design tips back when he was the SubCommittee webmaster. Andy now lives near Houston and is looking to get back into sub modeling after an extended absence. He has a Wallace Kairyu kit he wants to r/c. It was a true pleasure to meet him and I look forward to running with him in the future.

At this point Don got his second boat in the water, his ThorDesign Sturgeon. Matt Thor and Don worked hard to get her trim dialed in during SNF 2009 and the fruits of their efforts were on display. Don drove her flawlessly, a great run for a great looking boat.

Another new SubCommittee member, Chad Divine, showed up from Austin that afternoon. Sun N Fun was Chad’s first sub event in twelve years, his last being a SubRegatta in Groton. Chad has one of the great Ray Mason Disney Nautilus kits. He is also embarking on a scratch project based on the submarine UX-1 from the Japanese anime “Submarine 707”.

Due to all the talking and sub driving, the day slipped by without a stop for lunch. With stomachs growling we packed things up and Jeff, Tom, his wife Marsha, and I headed out for the semi-traditional SubRon5 southern seafood dinner. The meal was delicious and after a short rest we headed back to the park for the absolutely required SubRon5 night run.

As pretty as it was during the day, Hermann Park was gorgeous at night. The crowd disappeared, the water became completely still, and music floated across the lawn from Miller Outdoor Theater. Tom entered the water first with his 1/96 scale Liberty ship. He let me drive it in slow circuits around the pool. It was a great treat – even if it was a target.
Jeff launched Blueback in full illumination mode: burning navigation lights, running lights and a submarine identification beacon blinking on top of the snorkel mast. Jeff conned Blueback around the dark basin, her ID beacon blinking in its properly timed sequence. With batteries exhausted, we packed up. Tom and Jeff headed to the hotel, which proved to be a wonderful, friendly place to stay. I returned to my workshop to complete overnight repairs.

On Sunday we returned to the park and found a much smaller crowd. This eliminated any parking difficulties. Once again, Jeff’s Blueback ran great. She definitely deserved the Most Valuable Model award for this year’s event.

Fitz Walker, another new face, showed up to add to the boat count. He brought a 1/150 Japanese 1-400 by Doyusha. It came as a plastic non-r/c surface running kit powered by a 280 Mabuchi motor. Fitz added an electronics suite to create a dynamic diving r/c boat. Fitz scooted her under, maintained depth control and really put on a show. The sub ran amazingly well. Fitz also has a Revell Type VII kit which he hopes to r/c.
Thresher got back in the water and her performance was much improved. My confidence in her was such that I gave Chad the transmitter for some much needed stick time. When all was said and done, the fixes proved effective and the WTC was dry at the end of the run.

Unfortunately, Tom remained plagued by the breakdown bug. After some initial running, Scorpion’s rudder linkage fix failed again forcing him to return to port. Fabrication of a brand new linkage jumper is on the agenda for the near future.
With the boats dried off and put away, a few group photos were taken and everyone began to head their separate ways. For myself, it was hard to leave the park – it was that pleasant an environment.

Respectfully,
P.H. Crozier