Discussion Modeling Boats, Ships, and Other Watercraft in Orbiter? Experiments with Hydrostatics and the Touchdown Model

[N_Molson]

These boats are quite old, so the one on the picture has probably been overhauled with more modern electric connectors/switches. There are many points were the manual and the actual pictures obviously differ, so there's a bit of room for creativity.

Now it is possible that given the position of the switches, they wanted to make them completely waterproof. You don't want to fry the electrical system because you left a window half-open and a rogue wave sneaks in. And from my own experience it always happens!

 

[N_Molson]

@Urwumpe : and see that one, completely different switches setup!

https://flic.kr/p/aV4t36

 

[N_Molson]

...and I found the switches ! Water-resistant stuff, as I expected. I like them, let's go for it.

Blue Sea Water-Resistant Contura Switch Fuse Panel - 6-Position Vertical

Designed to for above-deck use, the Blue Sea Water-Resistant Contura Switch Fuse Panel has a watertight mounting gasket and can withstand exposure to salt spray, wet weather, washdowns, and momentary immersion.

www.overtons.com

 

[Urwumpe]

Generally the manual usually only mentions what equipment the boat should have, but doesn't mention the precise manufacturer, except in few exceptions like compass or engines.

 

[N_Molson]

Also the hulls on the photographs have been retrofitted with Furuno civilian radars, while the USCG was equipped with the military-grade Raytheon AN/SPS 66A.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

@Thunder Chicken : I'm curious about the series of 6 switches you can see below to the left of the helm. Never seen that type of switch. Are the grey parts switch covers, or the switches themselves ?

https://flic.kr/p/8digjB

From the manual images those are the various vessel light switches. I believe the gray parts are the switches themselves, something like this:

It seems in older variants they used standard toggle switches without any sort of cover.

 

[Urwumpe]

You are right there, I first thought you meant the older AN/SPS-59(V) or LN-66 radar, but actually it was that modern.

https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA115641.pdf

 

[N_Molson]

Yes, they really did things right.

Switch panel, with fuses, of course. Will look even better with a bit of normal-mapping, of course we can change the labels as required :

 

[Urwumpe]

The original 44ft has just three switches there: One for each search light and another one for the blue light. The picture you picked for reference has many modifications to the old baseline, that might suggest its used no longer for SAR, like a missing depth finder. Also the old LORAN-C receiver is gone, but thats expected since there are no longer any LORAN-C stations in the world....

 

[N_Molson]

We can make good use of these 3 extra switches. A master 'Electronics' makes sense, as I think we want to be able to use the radar screen as an Orbiter MFD (and then have access to Map MFD, and why not a dedicated Radar MFD).

 

[Urwumpe]

We can make good use of these 3 extra switches. A master 'Electronics' makes sense, as I think we want to be able to use the radar screen as an Orbiter MFD (and then have access to Map MFD, and why not a dedicated Radar MFD).

Not sure if the Lua module supports it, but in C++, its possible to create dedicated MFD modes for a vessel module.

 

[N_Molson]

If we want to go into the radar I think it is the most convenient way to do it, yes.

 

[Urwumpe]

If we want to go into the radar I think it is the most convenient way to do it, yes.

At least I don't think that a general MFD mode for maritime navigation would find many other users here. Technically, we should even have everything needed now to simulate sextants.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

When I was in aircraft maintenance in the USAF, it was common for the aircraft to have panels retrofitted due to changing avionics, sensors, etc. One switch was next to a light, both of which were obsolete but the light still illuminated from time to time for some reason only the avionics guys knew. Crew chiefs quickly grabbed their label makers and dubbed it the BEER LOW light.

 

[N_Molson]

The big issue is that we don't have bathymetry, and from my own experience again, this is the first thing I'll be looking at if I have to chart a course with a small boat.

For the J-80 we used a (big) hand-held GPS, with 16 colors and the marine charts, including dephts, displayed in real-time. It was quite a fantastic tool, especially at night. It ate batteries like candy though.

 

[Arvil]

Yes, they really did things right.

Switch panel, with fuses, of course. Will look even better with a bit of normal-mapping, of course we can change the labels as required :

I like the contrasting light-colored switches over the dark panel, easier to see in the dark. Incidentally, the black switches in the photo look identical to the ones in my fire trucks. Didn’t know they were that common.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Sailing the heavy seas of dirt:

 

[kuddel]

...imagine that with a hovercraft mesh and it seems totally right.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

...imagine that with a hovercraft mesh and it seems totally right.

Only if it is full of eels.

 

[N_Molson]

Engine controls, as per the manual :