Daniel J Morrell - Lake Freighter, 1:160 scale

prusaprinters

SS Daniel J. Morrell was a 603-foot (184 m) Great Lakes freighter that broke up in a strong storm on Lake Huron on 29 November 1966, taking with her 28 of her 29 crewmen. The freighter was used to carry bulk cargoes such as iron ore but was running with only ballast when the 60-year-old ship sank. When built in 1906, she was the "Queen of the Lakes", being the longest ship then in service on the Great Lakes. (Wikipedia)Initially, the bow sank and three survivors climbed onto a life raft. Due to exposure in the late November storm, only one of the three men would survive. Because the ship was running empty on ballast, when the ship broken half, the heavy engine tilted the open cargo section of the stern up and allowed it to continue motoring on for 3 hours. The stern and the bow are separated about 5 mi in Lake Huron.Originally I was going to build a model of the Henry Steinbrenner, but the ship was too small for the battery I planned on using at the scale I planned on making it. After giving up on that, start to finish for the Morrell was about 7 months of on/off work. I had never finished a 3D print before, so sanding plastic, priming it, and painting it was all new territory for me.In between the bow and the stern are six cargo sections. The bow and stern each have a bulkhead, and the entire cargo section is one hollow bathtub, just like the real ship. The bow pilot house, and stern deck house are both removable to access the battery storage and electronics respectively. Although the entire ship could be printed in just over one roll of filament, it took me three, including design changes I made for the center cargo section to strengthen it. The finished model is 1150mm (45-1/4”) long, 1:160 scale (N-scale) and needed to be ballasted with sand because it floated too well.All parts were designed by me in Fusion 360, except for the bow anchors, deck winches, lifeboats, and propeller.I used an M12 battery in the bow underneath the removable pilot house for power. The stern houses the radio receiver, ESC, drive motor, u-joints, and rudder servo. Because I made the rudder to scale, maneuverability is poor. The turning radius of the ship is probably about 20', and at full chooch will go at about a fast walking pace.