Death of a hull

[SJFE]

After removing the stickers I found structural damage. IMO it's terminal. Come to think of it I bet it's from a blow over in 6 inches of water last month. I have allready replaced the hull thanks to avengersteve..the SV parts king;) . I am going to slap a layer of devcon over it tonight. I am going to get the testing out of it @ least. I just installed the DPR after all. If I blows over again in the shallows and breaks up...It will make for some awesome video:D
SV hull damage (http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e343/STOAK/?action=view&current=MOV00564.flv)

[avengersteve]

man that stinks! lemme know if ya need anything elese.

[SJFE]

Will do. I think I'm good for now. The turn fin was bent...and loose. I fixed it. I just noticed the stern is cracked all the way across along the transom doubler. Ive seen them crack posted on RCU before. I'll epoxy it. I'm going to run it untill it almost falls apart.

[SJFE]

I just got finished dumping the rest of my 2ton hold devcon in the hull. I used some thin glass cloth on the side that was all the way through.

[yz120]

it doesnt look too bad.
i stuffed mine in about 2ft. of water and broke the nose,cracked the port side half way from the back,ripped the batts out including the epoxied in velcro straps,ripped the water line in half,and cracked one of the stringers.
it now runs better than our other sv 27.
good luck tom,

there is a pic of the nose in rc flix

[SJFE]

I tend to get all bummbed out when this stuff happens. With in 10 minutes of finding the first crack I bought a new hull....lol. Now I have one to paint and beef up while I beat this one to death testing...lol I will how ever keep my word and complete the project we where talking about first;)

[yz120]

thats awesome SJFE

[mike a.]

I bet that the thing will last a long time like that. Whenever i break something and fix it to show my parents that im attempting to save whatever it is, it ends up lasting a long time like that. I sometimes wish that it wouldnt so i could buy a new different model.

[SJFE]

Yeah I have a feeling my panic attack netted me a new hull and hatch to collect dust. But that is what I do. I keep alot of spare parts around. When I do have a problem it's solved with out having to make an order most of the time.

[Mich. Maniac]

Hey yeah its amazing. I got my first glass boat which is the sv 27 and it is amazingly flimsy compared to my abs hull. its not loose flimsy but I expected an extreme diff between the two. not true.

[SJFE]

Yeah I was suprised also. Do your self a favor. Bathe the sides and transom in some heavy epoxy. Sure tha thing up. I wish I had done it in advance. It would have saved me alot of sanding and painting this comming winter.

[Jeepers]

correct me if I am wrong but I have been told that to repair fiberglass that uses polyester resin you have to use the same resin, same with epoxy glass, as epoxy and polyester resin are not compatible, this would make any repair a temporary fix as it would not create a strong bond between the two. I have also used the devcon 2ton epoxy good stuff one of few glues that I have found that are said to be water proof. As one of my other hobbies is high power model rockets I have found that using incompatible glues result in air frames that do not hold up under the stress of these engines, the compatible glues did however hold up. and some of these rockets are exceeding 600mph with over 150lbs of thrust in a 8lb or lighter rocket. when we use JB Weld(high heat rating) we rough the surface to be glued with 40grit sand paper, that stuff has yet to come apart.

[Piranha2]

...from my experience, you are correct.....you can't mix and match. For instance, Zerzes won't bond to Owens Corning and vice versa. The bonds hold up to an air test but when liquid pressure at 32psi is applied they fail miserably. (I realize we only apply approx. 7/100ths of a pound of water pressure) When glassin' make sure you use a corrugated roller as this will eliminate any air pockets or voids and insure the resin has fully penetrated the cloth.

[SJFE]

As one of my other hobbies is high power model rockets I have found that using incompatible glues result in air frames that do not hold up under the stress of these engines
Well luckly none of out boats are going 600mph. One thing I learned right up front about FE boats it that almost nothing from any other area of RC applys. The diffrence in epoxy to the glass on the SV hull doe's not appear to be an issue. In fact I have used it on a proboat hull allso with no ill affects. It sets cures and is almost impossible to remove. The advice you received to use only polyester on polyester is good and makes sence but is not necessary in this case. I did't use a roller to remove the air because I had no room. I would have liked to.

[Piranha2]

Thanks SJFE, I do believe the only thing better than knowledge is experience itself. We never thought the F4 or stealth fighter would fly, but they do! And sorry for the Xerxes spelling, it's just that the Z is so close and it sounds right.

[Jeepers]

thanks pirahna thats what I thought. not to bash anyone but strenghting a SV27 hull with epoxy just doesnt seem like a good fix to me, but if it has worked for you guys then I guess it works.:D in my experience the aquqcraft hulls are thin and have been told that they use polyester resin ( could have been misinformed though) as i converted an Miss Vegas with a neu 1521 1.5d 18 cells the torque of the motor really flexs the hull resulting in cracks around motor area & stuffing tube, so I repaired cracks by cuttind in to them and fillin with with a mixture of resin and glass cloth, then laminating another layer of glass over the hull after sanding area with 40 grit resulting in a much stronger repair. yes it time consuming but results are much nicer. Just my opinion!:)
Sean

[SJFE]

Sounds like you are doing the right thing Sean. I would love to use resin. I really don't know what exaclty to use or where to buy it. Another problem I have is the work space. It's in my kitchen. So the fumes are a problem. Working in the house is one of the reasons I use Devcon. No odor. If you can please point me in the direction of the resin you use I will give it a shot.
Thanks,
Tom

[Jeepers]

SJFE, I just took the hull down to the local automotive paint supply shop and they pointed me in the direction of what to use, thats when the told me that stuff about using compatible resin to repair damage like that, I apologize that I dont remember the name of the stuff i used though but I am sure one of those places could point you in the direction. I had to special order a small quanity as they mostly carry 1 gallon cans & i didnt need that much. I used the devcon on my dark horse mono when I crashed it last year in to a concret wall, splitting the nose as I figured it was epoxy glass hull that stuff should work & its held up fine so far! I just thought you guys would like a differnt approach on how to repair the SV hulls, thats all:) hehe! I feel your pain working in the kitchen, (apartment) and my 2nd bedroom is full of other boat projects! I just need to get a house, with big garage! :D