Mister Phes, on May 7 2007, 09:55 AM, said:
It looks fine enough to me in these pictures, so what didn't turn out as well as you hope and what were you design limitations?
Simply put, I hoped it would look better (more 'piratey' I guess) than it did. It's too long, too narrow and too tall. I really hoped to be able to widen the hull a bit, but the hull geometry doesn't match standard LEGO geometry very well (eg the sides of the hull are off-vertical, but they are far more vertical than a tall slope).
The design limitations I used were simple - no pirate parts. (Just to see if it could be done).
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It does look as though its missing an aft sail though...
It is... I borrowed the calico sails from
l'Ambassador Rouge for the pics, but didn't have a gaff sail/spanker to suit (and didn't want to modify one either).
bonaparte, on May 7 2007, 11:14 AM, said:
This is an incredible result considering the hull that was used to build this ship.
I have never seen this been done before. Very original idea.
Was this the one you used?

That's the one! And the fireboat set provides a reasonable number of 2x2x2 tall slopes - a most useful piece for ship building.
Mr Tiber, on May 7 2007, 03:10 PM, said:
Does that mean you already have weights in the hull?
No, it just means the superstructure is way too heavy for the bouancy of the hull.
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And since I don't have one of these hulls, I'd like to know how the underside looks... Is it possible to attach bricks on the underside of the hull?
Not directly, but things can be attached by way of a technic axle and parts - the motor that comes with the fireboat set attaches to the hull via a technic axle included in the motor moulding.
Mister Phes, on May 7 2007, 05:46 PM, said:
Without actually testing the ship's current buoyancy aren't these assumptions just speculative?
Well, that
is the nature of speculations ;-)
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Wouldn't it be easier to just fill the bath tub and put the ship in, then see how it performs so you can decide what is required to give it the appropriate buoyancy?
Um, no, not the least because I don't have a bath tub. :-D
However, I have observed the performance of the fireboat model in a swimming pool, and I can compare how much the
Nonlibre Billet weighs compared to the standard model, and I can conclude to my complete satisfaction that it is too heavy to float, in any reasonable way.
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But I write this with little knowledge of buoyancy... :S
Bouancy is about mass and volume - what the
Nonlibre Billet needs is more volume, not more mass.