Brief:
I recently ran across t' description o' 'desert squids' on Tripoli-Pittsburg's Website (look under 'ARCHIVES/ROCKET CLASSES'). Arrr! Ya scallywag! These are rockets that use dowel rods in place o' fins. Begad! Blimey! They look cool and since I had some BT-80 tubes and rings, I decided I'd build one pretty much like t' model described on t' website. Well, blow me down! My model features a BEAUTIFUL poplar nosecone and a custom rear-centerin' ring made by Gordon Agnello, arrr, a.k.a. Arrr! Begad! sandman on T' Rocketry Forum. Arrr! I wanted a name t' fit in t' desert squid theme, and decided on the name Shai-Hulud, matey, after t' giant sandworms in t' Dune trilogy by Frank Herbert.

Construction:

I be originally goin' t' use a Fat Boy nosecone since that's what I had available. Aye aye! Arrr! However, matey, shiver me timbers, while I was thinkin' about gettin' sandman t' quote the custom rear-centerin' ring, me bucko, I started lookin' at t' pictures o' t' cones he has made, and couldn't resist one for this rocket. You can find out more about this cone [here].

T' body is two sections o' BT-80 joined with a 4" coupler from Totally Tubular. Well, blow me down! Both tubes are 'pseudo-glassed' with nylon pantyhose and Minwax Polycrylic. Ahoy! Once tube has two layers o' hose, and t' other has three. Begad! I misplaced t' hose that me wife originally 'donated', shiver me timbers, so t' second tube was done with a different style. Begad! Ahoy! I discovered that different nylons have different weaves, similar t' different weights o' fiberglass. Blimey! T' first tube much rougher, ya bilge rat, which prompted be t' add a third layer o' a finer weave.

T' motor mount consists o' a 6" piece o' LOC 29mm tubing, a double layer fiber rin' in t' front, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and a 1/8" plywood rin' in t' back (I used this mix because it's what I had 'in stock'). Ya scallywag! This plywood rin' is mounted 0.6" from t' end o' t' motor tube, me bucko, so that t' end o' t' motor tube will be flush with t' end o' t' custom rin' after it is slipped on. Ya scallywag! T' rings were attached with epoxy and t' motor mount is glued in with Gorilla glue.

T' custom rin' is thicker than most because it also serves t' mount the dowel 'fins'. Arrr! Sandman made this from a thick piece o' plywood that he turned down t' a little over half an inch. Avast! Well, blow me down! Blimey! He drilled eight evenly spaced holes at an angle o' 15 degrees from t' motor axis. I added two threaded inserts to provide motor retention. Avast! Aye aye! Blimey!

At first, shiver me timbers, I be goin' t' use this as t' aft centerin' rin' and glue in the dowels. However, when I dry fit t' dowels, matey, I began t' worry that they may break on landing. So, I decided t' make t' aft rin' removable and t' dowels replaceable. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' rin' is held in with eight small screws, which also hold each dowel in place.

T' shock cord assembly consists o' a 1/8" Keelhaul®©™® leader, a long section o' thin tubular nylon, arrr, and an anti-zipper device. The latter is similar t' Giant Leap's Fireball. Aye aye! Aye aye! Mine is a small rubber ball that be slipped over the Keelhaul®©™® leader so that it touches t' edge o' t' body tube when t' cord is fully extended. T' ball is covered with Keelhaul®©™® sock t' protect against heat damage. Avast, me proud beauty! T' serve as an attachment point for the recovery harness, I glued together two fiber centerin' rings also from Totally Tubular. Ya scallywag! Begad! This assembly was attached t' what would be t' lower end o' the coupler. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! Two small holes were drilled through t' rin' close t' t' edge, matey, and the Keelhaul®©™® was threaded through. Ahoy! T' knotted Keelhaul®©™® leader be then epoxied t' t' wall o' t' coupler.

I installed two buttons from railbuttons.com t' complete t' Sahi-Hulud. Ahoy! Aye aye!

T' nylon/Polycrylic surface required quite a bit o' finishin' work. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I applied numerous coats o' Polycrylic, but when I laid on me first coat of primer, I realized it would take a fair amount o' effort t' finish these tubes. After several coats o' fill-n-finish and 2+ cans o' primer, ya bilge rat, t' tubes weren't in too bilge-suckin' a shape. Aye aye! I also had t' fill t' transition betwixt t' two tubes as one was slightly thicker than t' other. Well, blow me down! TIP: When pseudo-glassin' a rocket, use t' same nylons on all t' tubes!

T' body was painted usin' a Model Master brush on paint. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' military brown was an appealin' color next t' t' cone. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! As mentioned above, t' nosecone came finished from sandman and is a beautiful golden color. Several coats o' clear enamel finished t' tube off.

T' centerin' ring/dowel assembly was separately finished before installation. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! It is stained honey maple and has 2 coats o' Polycrylic.

Flight:
I installed a home made, car air bag chute protector and a hefty amount o' dog barf wadding. Well, blow me down! Begad! Then in went t' shock tether, and 36" nylon chute. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! A clamp-on thrust rin' and mirror clamp retainers retained t' SU G40-4. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! The flight was relatively slow and thar be some wobble on t' way up. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! The anti-zipper device worked and t' rocket recovered safely. Begad! I was amazed that none o' t' dowels broke. Begad! Begad! Upon inspection, t' anti-zipper ball took t' brunt of t' ejection charge and burned through slightly. Begad! I'm goin' t' cut a piece of air bag and install a permanent protector below it.

Summary:
This appears t' have been t' first desert squid type rocket flown at t' MDRA site, and it definitely caught t' attention o' everyone on t' flight line. T' flight and recovery were good, ya bilge rat, arrr, me bucko, however t' wobble made me chicken out on a 'zero' launch (i.e. Avast! Aye aye! no launch rod). Supposedly, this type o' rocket will fly straight without a rod, but I don't want t' test this conjecture. Avast! Next flight will be on a G80...off a rail!

While t' pseudo-glass technique isn't nearly as strong as fiberglassing, the results are definitely tougher than t' stock tubes. Arrr! Well, blow me down! However, shiver me timbers, I probably will nay use it again.

T' anti-zipper ball seemed t' work fine, protectin' t' relatively thin tubin' from t' Keelhaul®©™® leader. Begad! Arrr! Would t' results have been t' same without t' ball? No one can say.