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View Full Version : Seattle native , desperately looking for a modern hydro hull!



nichismo
03-07-2015, 06:33 AM
hello everyone! Thanks in advance to anyone taking the time to read this. Im looking to build my first FE hydro, mainly just for recreational use, I dont have any real model/team design in mind or scale size either, but I do have a handful that Im keen on, and 1/10 would be preferred for my budget.

After researching a ton, I realize now that getting my hands on a fiberglass hull that actually resembles a modern H1 unlimited hydroplane is not only extremely difficult, but also going to cost alot more than what my planned budget for my eventual finished, running boat to cost! (this all started when I put my first payment down with Tower Hobbies on a AQ UL-1, I didnt see myself spending much more than what that was before choosing a motor and hardware!) The vintage hydros, particularly the miss burien, or the green bardahl, or notre dame to name a few I also really like, have still been a real option to me too. They seem to be much more readily available, simpler, and a little bit cheaper for a good quality hull.

But ive gawked and drooled at the countless galleries and pictures all over the web, and being a Seattle native all my life and my father mooring all his boats on Lake Washington as long as I can remember, so at this point im caving and going to buy the boat of my dreams. Im pretty much maxing out every bit of my budget and then some with this hull, and its going to hamper the rest of the boats components.

so ive narrowed down a few choices from my own research. The first one that I have been leaning to up until today is from Hydro&Marine in Germany. their T-5 has the specific attributes I want mostly (rounded sponsons, canard all the way in front, and cowling/cockpit size and ability to add that extended saltwater scoop i LOVE). Its perfect size at 1/10 scale. However they barely have any information on it and also their website in general is very vague. shipping is about 85$ from Germany and if they have to make the hull on order, I probably wont be seeing it for months... but overall at about 365$ delivered its tempting.
http://hydromarine.de/product_info.php?products_id=1165

It seems like every other hull as close to that one has been way off that price range, or simply looks nothing like those. Finedesign has a few hydros that are OK, but the cheaper ones for around 200 are not even remotely scale, and the better ones are 600-800$ and still not even as scale looking as that one. RCboatcompany has hulls to die for and I seriously considered one from them, even if I had to choose an older style, but in the end it was just too much. Even if I bought a cheaper one, I would still have to paint it (no experience whatsoever), and they are also too big for me, thus everything else in the boat would be that much more expensive as well.

I had noticed WestCoastCustomBoats in the past but never really followed or looked into what they do. Now that I just found out what they do and offer, and the fact that they are literally building these works of art a short drive from my home, im dying to get my hands on a piece of perfection from them! Their website has been down for days now however... I was wondering if anyone had potential contact info? I understand that I probably have to get on a waiting list, and being that I just generally want a modern hydro, Id love to get the ball rolling ASAP. However, if anyone here can vouch for Hydro&Marine or perhaps provide a little more information on them, I would still be very happy with one of their T-5 Hydroplanes too, and it would probably save me a 100$ or so .

thanks so much everyone!

rayzerdesigns
03-07-2015, 07:16 AM
Your looking at a minimum 3 to 4 month wait if not longer for a Bradshaw boat..He is super backordered..I would probably say 6 months ..but if you can wait he also will do paint..but your looking at 900 painted..really only way to get a hold of him is email..which a again he is slow to respond

nichismo
03-07-2015, 07:41 AM
Your looking at a minimum 3 to 4 month wait if not longer for a Bradshaw boat..He is super backordered..I would probably say 6 months ..but if you can wait he also will do paint..but your looking at 900 painted..really only way to get a hold of him is email..which a again he is slow to respond

wow, those really are sought after! After looking through Jim Clarks gorgeous pictures of all the races, it really puts it into perspective what an amazing cumulative effort it is to bring all that together and truly resemble a real H1 unlimited event on just a smaller scale.... pretty cool.

Anyway you could potentially provide me with a method of contacting him? Does he require that you pay entirely up front before he begins work? I would imagine as a small business that he has no choice but to make that mandatory. By the time my unlimited is ready Ill be more equipped to build one, but honestly If I have to just spend almost a half grand and get nothing for almost a half year in return, it will probably go back to being a daydream :sad: im working almost full time minimum wage, and trying to transfer out of community college.

Then again, I could just go for a vintage build. Classichydros has a phil thomas made 1/10 epoxy for far less money than what ive been looking at... probably much easier to drive too.

Did you look at the link there? Do you think that its worth buying if I dont really plan on racing anytime soon?

JimClark
03-07-2015, 12:07 PM
The classic hydro Phil Thomas hull is not 1/10th scale it is 1/12th as is 30 inches long. You are doing this at the very worst time of the year. Most racers have already sold boats from last year and are finishing up the boats they plan in running this year. There are a couple of vintage boats for sale on classic thunder. Shoot me a pm and I will send Craigs email to you and his phone number if I can find it

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

nichismo
03-07-2015, 04:03 PM
The classic hydro Phil Thomas hull is not 1/10th scale it is 1/12th as is 30 inches long. You are doing this at the very worst time of the year. Most racers have already sold boats from last year and are finishing up the boats they plan in running this year. There are a couple of vintage boats for sale on classic thunder. Shoot me a pm and I will send Craigs email to you and his phone number if I can find it

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

Thank you so much! do people do this often? or I guess a more appropriate question in that regard would be, does the majority of people do this every year? Honestly the building part of the process is something im pretty excited about and its important to me, to be honest this is my first build and I dont have any experience as such, but im confident in my ability in craftsmanship and mechanics/technical details. I enjoy this kind of thing in general.

and ya I noticed that after I had posted. But honestly I dont see myself doing any actual competition races for some time. The main reason im here in the scale forum was mainly just because I have a particular desire to capture the essence of an unlimited H1 hydroplanes at the highest level, like I want anyone to be able to look at the boat, and even if they aren't RC enthusiasts, to get an immediate sense of the type of vehicle it is.... and then having the speed to match those aesthetics. Just growing up on lake washington and my dad being an avid boater, ive just always been mesmerised by the H1 hydroplanes. I loved going to Kidd Valley in renton by the boat launch to stare at the hawaii kai and Miss Bardahl hanging inside. Now that im building an RC, it only made sense that I go for one now.

So now im either going to get the T-5 directly from Hydro & Marine, along with a saltwater scoop add on, or the 1/12 epoxy FE from ClassicHydros. The T-5 looks really darn good in my opinion in the pictures on HM website, but its going to cost me a heck of alot more to go that route.

leonard feeback
03-07-2015, 05:12 PM
Hi Nicholas, you say you are not going to race your boat. You never know and may change your mind. I would make sure that the boat you purchase/build is for sure a 1/10th hull. 1/12th hulls not many races for them in case you change your mind. It's a lot of fun running with other boats and great people with the same interest as you. " UNLIMITEDS" So make sure the hull you purchase fits the measurements for 1/10th scale. You'll have a blast with one of these boats.

rayzerdesigns
03-07-2015, 08:35 PM
He doesn't require any upfront payment

Ronbo
03-08-2015, 01:45 AM
Hi,
The H&M T5 you are looking at could work, but I don't see specs on it. From photos on the site, it looks like the left sponson is wider than the right, which is wrong given the direction 1/10th scale turns, left. Plus, it looks setup to turn right looking at the prop photo.

West Coast custom boats are very good designs, and he updates them as we give him info on making the boats better, but still scale. His waiting list is long now, and he is also a one person company. Plus I have him doing our race schedule for ERCU. He does not require money upfront, just a code of ethics he keeps per se.

If you haven't, please come to a race with either Classic Thunder or ERCU or our Triple crown series. We love to give people info on our sport. Since you live here in Seattle, you are in the best place to get anything hydro related. PM me if I can help more.
My signature below shows what I own and race.