U-3 1/8 scale Hydroplane.

[785boats]

Just wondering if any of you guys have built a U-3 1/8 scale hydroplane in the pics below.
The drawing is MHR# 0203.

My main queery is can a couple of 4s packs (for 8s) & an ESC fit in the cowling.
If not how was the setup installed.

I did a bit of a search but couldn't find anything.

Cheers.
Paul.

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[785boats]

I couldn't help myself & ordered the ML Boatworks framing kit.
It arrived today.
Love it.

[Peter A]

Looking at the pics, the hull/canopy look very similar to the Miss Elam but without the turbine cowl. The guys who run 1/8 FE here have flat taped covers over the hatch openings and the cowls just clip on top similar to nitro versions. They run 10S setups so I am guessing you will be able to fit everything in there. I like the turbo'd V12 look!

[785boats]

Thanks for that Pete.
I've ordered the cowling from R/C Boat company, & according to the measurements given & the width of the tub on the kit, it will all easily fit.
I've also ordered this turbo Allison motor from Jim at scale3dparts. He does some beautiful work with a printer.

http://scale-3d.com/gallery

How could you not love this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ2XCwm9jsg

[785boats]

I wasn't going to start building this until I had finished the other three boats under construction. But after a phone conversation with fellow club member Trev in the afternoon, I was convinced to get started on it yesterday evening. Thanks Trev.

A couple more hours this morning & she's taking shape.
Speaking of shapes, I'm surprised how one sponson is so much bigger than the other & a completely different shape. I've only been used to symmetry so far in my boating life.

So, I'll do a build thread on it even though a lot of things will just be repetitious of things in the other hydro build threads I've done here.

It's just such a beautiful boat & can still beat the turbine powered boats now & then.

So, just to confirm the building method for any new members interested, but haven't seen one of these wooden hulls being built. We basically dry fit the frames into the main stringers & wick some Medium CA glue along all the joints. Later on when the ply bottoms & sides are all attached, the whole inside is given a coat of Epoxy fiberglass resin, which strengthens all the joints & seals the wood.

The first thing I like to do is glue the bulkheads to the main stringers. Then add the birch sticks along the bottoms of the main stringers.
Then each pair of main stingers & bulkheads are glued together.
The next step is to fit the transom & the main bulkhead which is the rear of the sponsons.

After that a piece of flat wood the width of the tunnel is fitted to the building board high enough to keep the bottom of the sponsons off the main building board.
A few weights to keep the hull flat & a square to keep the boat true.
Now the rest of the sticks can be fitted in all the notches, & glued.
The main chine pieces are then glued into position. With this kit they are made up of multiple laminated pieces which need to be glued together first.

When the CA is cured, the boat is turned over & then all the sponson bottom chine pieces can be fitted & glued into place.

That's where I'm at so far.

Here are the visuals. This is gonna be fun

Bulkheads in the main stringers.

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The basic assembly.

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Totally different shape & size of sponsons.

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The underside of the sponsons.

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[785boats]

When attempting to fit the afterplane sideskins I realised that I had the transom installed the wrong way around, because one side is narrower than the other, as are the tips of the transom.
There is also a drop section of the deck on one side of the transom.

So I went hunting for pics of the full size boat for some visuals.
Yes I had the drop section on the wrong side. It's on the left of the full size boat which turns left. The model turns right so it needs to be on the right.
So, out with the scalpel for some surgery/butchery.

I managed to break the tip off one side of the transom when cutting away the 3/16" stringers. So I had to add a packer & some strengtheners to line it up properly.

I added the side skins during the same procedure.

Transom removed. Man that CA glue is tuff stuff.

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Refitted correctly.

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Afterplans sideskins added.

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The packer & strengthener.

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The drop deck on the left side of the transom

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[srislash]

Thanks for that Pete.
I've ordered the cowling from R/C Boat company, & according to the measurements given & the width of the tub on the kit, it will all easily fit.
I've also ordered this turbo Allison motor from Jim at scale3dparts. He does some beautiful work with a printer.

http://scale-3d.com/gallery

How could you not love this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ2XCwm9jsg

Well I tell you based on that last race shot head on Paul, there won’t be any cowling to cover that Allison.

This should be a nice one. And hey I took a look close at your last pic and really dig the rudder bracketry.

[Luck as a Constant]

Looking good so far Paul

[785boats]

Thanks for that.

I came across this little gem which gives good views of the ride pads & the rear sponsons. Cool.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqnUq4uqJkQ

[Moonie]

One of last piston driven hydros to beat the new turbine engines.

[785boats]

Yep.
That's why she's called 'The Turbinator':smile:

[eric113]

This should be very cool build.

Watch the race video, so amazing that piston power left them turbines rooster tail length almost the whole time.

[785boats]

If only she could do it more often, Eric.

The floor pan & anti trip skins have been added.There is a bit of a dropped tub at the front so the floor pan was simply cut at each side of the tub. Then, where the side pieces needed to bend I scored the bend line on the inside of the hull with a knife, & gently creased the wood.

I've also added some balsa blocks to the nose pieces of the sponsons, & along the chine pieces. This is all just for extra surface area for the glue at the edges of the skins when they are fitted.
I will sand them all to shape as I sand & shape the stringers.

Anti trip skins & the floor pan.

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Wooden blocks on the nose & chines.

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[785boats]

A few more bits'n pieces done, in between sleeps.

Firstly, the angled pieces were fitted to the heels of the sponsons. It doesn't leave much area to fit the bracket for the turn fin. But the engineers, down in the 'Wet Track Racing' workshops, will make it work.

Next we tackled the dropped deck rear extension & the transom side pods.
I tried to make it look like the original, but I think the pods should have been longer. But that was how the kit was. I was going to extend them, but got lazy & left them short.

Then it was on to the sponson skins.
The anti trip skins have been fitted first. These will be trimmed & sanded to shape & then the ride pad & the side skin will be added.
All these pieces were cut out of 1/16" ply & pre bent to shape, using a 4" round steel pole in my garage, that is holding up the floor of my house. By gently bending the ply around the pole while moving the piece from side to side the bend just magically appears. No heat. No water. Just mind power & a delicate touch.
It makes it so easy to glue the pieces on, as there is no pressure to be fought against with tape , clamps or weights.
I simply hold it in place & sort of stitch glue it in place with drops of ca glue, working my way along from the rear of the skin to the nose.
When that is done I then wick a bead of ca along all the joints.

Here are the compulsory visuals.

The angled pieces behind the heels of the sponsons.

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The dropped deck extension & the sheeting on the side pods.
The actual rear sponsons will be framed up & sheeted later.

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The pre bent skins.

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The bent skins just sitting loosely in place.

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All glued on ready for final trimming & sanding.

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[JestDanny]

Awesome, those old H1 unlimited piston powered hydro's had a sound like no other. Nothing like the big sound of piston powered H1's on H2O. Its a sound you can not only hear but FEEL trough your whole body. Greatest sounds I've ever felt, when those old boats flew by at the old marine stadium down in Miami Fla. I miss that sound, its to bad we as model boaters cant capture that part of the piston powered H1's, the sounds were as great as the racing. AWESOME!

[eric113]

So why the angle pieces on the heels of sponsons? I thought you wanted that area to be flat and 90*? Or you building this be scale as possible to 1:1?

[pescador]

I think it’s only the rear edges of the ride surfaces you want to have sharp and straight. I don’t think the angled part comes down far enough to affect anything except making the turnfin mount a challenge. [emoji3]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[eric113]

Very true, you do want sponsons to be flat with sharp corners. I was meaning for turn fin, doesn’t make harder to setup the bracket so the turn fin is parallel?

[pescador]

It will take some creative thinking for sure, but the engineers make the big bucks lol.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[785boats]

So why the angle pieces on the heels of sponsons? I thought you wanted that area to be flat and 90*? Or you building this be scale as possible to 1:1?

Eric.
It will be racing in the 1/8 scale class at our club. So yes, it must be built as scale as possible. The angled pieces are in the kit so on they go.
As Pescador pointed out they won't affect the sharp edges of the sponson. I always let my ride plates overhang the rear of the sponsons on hydros by 3/16" or so, to allow the water to break free without riding up the heel.

Guys.
There is still 1-1/4" high flat area to mount a bracket.
The "Chief Design Engineer", down in the workshops, has advised that we will simply copy the philosophy of the full size boats. There will be a bracket on the heel of the sponson, & a brace across to the anti trip skin from the rear of the fin to help take the load. A mounting plate will be added to the inside of the skin for attachment of the brace.
I've just signed off on the preliminary worksheet.:biggrin:

JestDanny.
This is for you. Check out the water injection into the turbos.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yllSvTxsq1A

[Beaux]

Too cool , coming along nicely.

[JestDanny]

Thanks, double awesome give me a pack of Allison's duking it out with a flock of Rolls Merlin's any day.

[785boats]

JestDanny.
The only time they sound better is in their natural element. Probably a Merlin in this one, but you know what I mean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0MAv1CHDy8

The ride pads & side skins have been added to the sponsons. I left a slight overhang on the ride pads like we tend to do on the Sports Hydros.

The original boat has a spray rail along the bottom of the side skin where it meets the anti trip skin. At this point you will see that I have left the side skin proud for this. I don't know whether to keep it or not. If you watch the 'Flipping of the Turbinator' video closely, you will see that it is really quite pronounce.

Then the fiddly little rear pods were added.
Basically just two pieces of 1/16" ply shaped & bent to shape.
I'll add a piece of 0.04mm ply on the rear of them to cover that little angled join & finish it off nicely.

Ride pad & side skins added.

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Another view showing the bottom of the side skin protrusion for the spray rail.

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The rear pods.

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[785boats]

Woo!! Hoo!!

I just took delivery of the twin turbo Allison V12, From Jim at http://www.scale-3d.com/gallery
Man that was quick. I only ordered it 13 days ago. Ha had to make it, & then he got it shipped all the way to Australia in that time. Brilliant. Thanks Jim.
A bit of work for the mechanics now. :smile:
There are three pages of instructions with coloured pictures, so they shouldn't have a problem.

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[bob horowitz]

That motor kit looks awesome. Amazing detail. 3D printing is so cool. I can't imagine writing the program.

[eric113]

Motor looks sweet. You have alot detail painting to do, but will be totally worth it.

[785boats]

Yep.
Jim does a great job. Everything is a precision fit. Just a bit of sanding required to smooth out some of the banding lines, & then I can assemble some of the individual pieces & send it off the the paint shop. (That's the right hand front corner of the work bench).

I got home from night shift at 5:00AM this morning, & decided to cut & fit the aluminium backing plates for the turn fin bracket & side brace before going to sleep. Also the doubler on the transom.

Transom doubler epoxied on with a ply doubler on the floor of the tub for the internal strut bracket.

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Plates for the turn fin bracket & the side brace on the inside of the anti trip skin.

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[lambo]

Paul, thank you for posting the build pics. Did you use a jig for the initial framing or did you just square it up as your went?

[785boats]

lambo.
No. I don't bother with a special jig as such.
Just some straight lines drawn on a board where the main stringers run, & a couple of lines 90 degrees to them where the main bulkhead for the heels of the sponsons, & the transom sit. I place weights on the frame work to keep it all flat on the board. And I constantly check that all the framework is parallel the lines each time I glue something.
The board needs to be high enough to allow the sponsons to clear the workbench, & wide enough to fit between the two outside stringers/air traps.

One thing that I add, is a piece of 1/8" ply between the sponsons to keep them spaced correctly & square to the board, while gluing all the frame work & the sponson skins. It will stay there until the final sheeting of the decks. It stops the sponsons from twisting.

You will see the piece glued on in this pic.

[lambo]

Thanks
I was wondering about that.

[785boats]

Got a bit done in the last few days.
I made some paper templates for the sponson deck skins, transferred them to the ply & cut them out.
To make the paper shapes I lay a sheet of good old butchers paper over the area & run my fingers along the edges of the framework, creasing the paper.
Cut the paper about 1/8" bigger.

After trimming & sanding the inboard edge of the panel to match the main stringer, that runs from the tip of the sponson to the transom, they were given a coat of epoxy fiberglass resin on the underside.
The whole inside of the boat was also coated with the resin at this point.
Foam blocks were cut & fitted into all the spaces & sanded to shape.

Then on went the sponson deck skins.
I placed a bead of 1 hour epoxy on all the internal frame work, placed the skin in it's exact place & tacked it down at the transom & at the main bulkhead of the heels of the sponsons.

The left hand skin needed a cut on the underside of it to relieve the pressure where the framework sort of curves down & then levels out towards the chine, creating dip in the skin.
Then I stitch glued around the edges, keeping the skin pressed down & flat. Working forward from the transom. Some CA accelerator in the pump spray bottle is a great thing to have here, as everything is held in place by hand during this operation. The boat needs to be rotated upside down & sideways to get the CA to flow where you want it to go.
Then a bead of CA is run along the joins, a section at a time, allow the glue to wick into the joint then squeeze together & spray with accelerator.

Of course the other method of Epoxy on everything & an array of weights, tape & clamps also works.

Creasing the paper templates.

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The dip in the left side deck.

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The cut in the underside of the deck.

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All glued on ready for final trimming & shaping.

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The left side skin with the dip.

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[lambo]

Are you going to build the tiplets/hydroshoes, at aft end, like the full scale. If so please document with pics, Thanks.

[785boats]

Hi lambo.
I did give them a mention & a photo in post #23.
Here's a bit more detail.
I simply cut, bent & sanded to shape, the bottom ride pad. I chamfered the edge that glues to the anti trip skin to the same angle, & glued it on flush with the air traps. To keep it level I ran a straight edge across from the other side of the boat, & overhanging the ride pad while the ca glue set.
Then the side of the pod was cut & bent to shape & glued on. A little infill piece was added to the transom & then a piece of thin 0.04mm ply was glued on covering the whole transom of the pod to cover the join in the ply.
If I had been thinking properly earlier in the build I would have cut the rear skin on the hull to the correct shape so the last couple of steps wouldn't have been required. Maybe you will learn from my mistake & get it right.:olleyes::biggrin:
All the edges were sanded to shape.
I had no dimensions to work with, so I just winged it from the photos & videos on the internet.

Because the rear transom is a different shape on each side of the boat, the transoms of the pods are different too. See the pics below.
I hope that helps a bit.

Port side sponson.

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Starboard side.

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[785boats]

I couldn't help myself this morning & had to assemble a few of the bits for the engine. The intake & exhaust manifolds were joined together, as were the 4 turbo casings.
A lot of sanding was then involved in reducing all the banding lines on everything.
Then I coated everything with high build spray putty to fill in the all the lines that were left.
I'm back into the sanding again now,
Man it's hot today. I had to wash the dust down my throat with some Coopers Original Pale Ale.

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[Speed810]

Hey Paul......I'm smelling more of that birch ply sawdust clear over here....LOL

I just saw this thread.....great project and the boat is looking amazing! Wouldn't expect anything less! It will be interesting to see how the final turn fin is mounted on this. I'm trying to visualize it. I know on my Elam the sponson heels had that same angled piece coming down just above the ride pad. I ended up mounting the turn fin to the heel of the sponson to get the fin 90 degrees and then built a box shape around the turn fin bracket. Not quite to scale but it worked....LOL

I love that motor.....the things the 3D printing world can put out there is amazing. I actually ordered a Anet A6 ( Prusa i3 clone) printer last week...LOL. Have to build the darn thing first...HAHA. But I am looking at all the things that can be built.....rear wing sets, canards, canopies, drivers...etc. It's endless!

I'll be watching the build as it develops....Looking Great!

Mike

[785boats]

Hey Paul......I'm smelling more of that birch ply sawdust clear over here....LOL

I just saw this thread.....great project and the boat is looking amazing! Wouldn't expect anything less! It will be interesting to see how the final turn fin is mounted on this. I'm trying to visualize it. I know on my Elam the sponson heels had that same angled piece coming down just above the ride pad. I ended up mounting the turn fin to the heel of the sponson to get the fin 90 degrees and then built a box shape around the turn fin bracket. Not quite to scale but it worked....LOL

I love that motor.....the things the 3D printing world can put out there is amazing. I actually ordered a Anet A6 ( Prusa i3 clone) printer last week...LOL. Have to build the darn thing first...HAHA. But I am looking at all the things that can be built.....rear wing sets, canards, canopies, drivers...etc. It's endless!

I'll be watching the build as it develops....Looking Great!

Mike


Thanks for the kind words.
The turn fin bracket won't be a problem. I'll just copy the full size ones. Sort of.
Sounds like you've got some fun in store with that printer.
As for the motor?
Well the paint shop & the engineering shop at Wet Track Racing have been busy.
The motor is ready & awaiting transport to the dyno shop. :smile:

It all went together effortlessly. A great little kit from 3dparts.

A few bits painted.

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Start of the assembly.

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All done.

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Another view.

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[785boats]

I haven't had much of a chance to do much to this ol' girl lately.
But this afternoon I cut out some aluminium sheet for the vertical fin tabs & drilled some holes into them for the epoxy to get a better grip. A slight kink at the deck line gives them the outward angle as per the original boat.
They will be glued & screwed to the inside of the main stringers.

Then I cut out the fins .
Each one is made up of two pieces of 1/8" ply with a center section cut from 1/16" ply. This is the same thickness as the aluminium tabs.
A piece was cut out of the ply to match the tabs. The pieces will be epoxied together & then shaped to an airfoil section. When the time comes for final assembly they will be slipped over the tabs with copious amounts of epoxy in the slot.

All the bits.

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The tabs temporarily screwed in place.

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[pescador]

Nice job, looks pretty solid, are you thinking maybe nylon break away screws for the center wing? Maybe magnets for the motor? They always seem to be the parts that take a beating in a flip. Keep up the awesome work man.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[785boats]

Thanks for the kind words.

I haven't really given the break away screws much thought. But I guess it would be prudent as the wing has such a big surface area.
My 1/8th U-95 has had many flips in the 70mph region. The wing & fins are all solid ply & bolted together with steel bolts & aluminium brackets. They haven't broken yet. But to be fair there is a center fin too. The wing is bolted down onto that as well. Makes for a very strong assembly.

Now that you've brought up the subject, I think I will still have the adjustable angle brackets under the wing, but with nylon bolts through the fins to fasten them. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Magnets sound like a good idea for the dummy engine too. Thanks.

[785boats]

I'm glad to say that the egg pod, canard wing, & ramwings arrived yesterday. So now the front end of the boat can be worked on.
Unfortunately the pod is more narrow than the main stringers. So I can't bend them inwards & blend them into the pod as I had hoped.

So, after looking at some images of the underside of the boat I noticed that there is a raised belly pan down the middle of the hull.
I decided to fashion one similar from some 1/8" ply long enough to reach the front of the pod.

The bottom half of the pod was then cut to fit the rear sponson bulkhead & the belly pan was epoxied into the pod.
The pan needed a kink put into it first to follow the lines of the floor pan. This was done by scoring a V halfway through the ply & bending the kink to suit the angle. Some CA glue was wicked along the score line. When the CA sets, the kink maintains a high degree of strength.

Pod & wings.

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The bellypan on the original boat.

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The 1/8" ply pan with the kink & the pod base cut to suit.

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Epoxying the pod base to the ply.

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Sitting in place on the boat.

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[Luck as a Constant]

Build is coming along nicely, Sir.

[785boats]

Thanks for that.
Setting up the framework & skins around the pod is next on the list.

[Navherc130]

You sir, are a building animal. Wish I had the time and storage for more rigs. Always enjoyed reading your posts.

[785boats]

You are too kind.
But let me tell you this. I have nowhere to store this boat. :olleyes: It has to stay on the bench for now, & gently sit on top of other boats when I need the bench space.
Time to sell off some boats methinks.

[lambo]

On your fins, are you going to sheet the adjacent section or will that be part of the hatch? In other words, will your hatch span three bays or just one and you are going to sheet the rest?

[785boats]

Hi Lambo.
The two side sections will be sheeted. Only the center section will be the hatch. I'm working on the side sections as we speak actually.

[785boats]

I have a day off work today. But of course the body clock still has me awake at the normal work time of 3:00am.
Needless to say, it was down to the workshop with a a good strong cup of coffee in hand.

The first step was to cut the top of the pod to suit the rear sponson bulkhead, & epoxy it on to the base.
I needed to tack in a few braces first to make sure the pod kept its shape. The sides just wanted to bow inwards.

The whole assembly was then tacked into place with some CA, & the framework & bottom sheeting was assembled each side of the pod.
After that, the top decks were cut to fit.

The pod & base plate was removed & all the spaces in the hull were filled with foam blocks & trimmed to shape. All except the forward section on the starboard side. I might cut the side out of the main stringer & place the ESC in there.

A pine block was also glued in that section at the deck level for the Safety Loop connectors that will be added later on.

A quick coat of resin on the underside of the decks & in the front sections of the hull, & the decks were glued on.

After a bit of sanding & shaping, I refitted the pod assembly temporarily to check for fit. But this time I added a bit of 8mm dowel through the pod & into the sponsons. I'm still waiting for the carbon fiber rod to arrive, then I'll be able to epoxy everything in place permanently, & add the ram wings to finish it off.

Braces in the pod so it kept its shape.

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Top glued on & the assembly in place for the framework & sheeting.

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Framework & bottom sheeting completed.

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Foam blocks & decks cut, shaped & pre-bent

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Decks fitted.

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[785boats]

More pics.
Pod assembly refitted with temporary dowel in place.

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The top view.

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At the transom.

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[Beaux]

That's a nice boat.

[785boats]

That it is Beaux.
I feel the main beauty of this version of the hull is that the side view is so low without that huge turbine snorkel up on top of the deck. Just the beautiful twin turbo Allison V12.
It just looks tough.



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[785boats]

Another 'rostered day off' today, so I permenantly epoxied the whole pod & baseplate to the hull this morning.

For the main spar supporting the front of the pod (and the ram wings), I was going to use some 6mm tube epoxied into an 8mm tube. But it seemed a bit too small once I had it in by hands.
So I had some 5mm rod that I glued into the 6mm tube. And then I epoxied the whole thing into a piece of 10mm aluminium tube that had a 1mm wall thickness. Now it is a solid rod.

Then I started on the hatch cover. A piece of 1/16" ply with the center cut out for the dummy motor. I will build a dropped floor in it for the motor to sit in.

The rear part of the pod, that I had previously cut off, was then shaped & glued onto the hatch.
To strengthen both pieces I glued a strip of 0.5mm ply around the inside of them.
Then on the inside of the rear piece i glued on some locating pins made from some 3/16" sq wood.

I had to sit the engine in place for a bit of a look. As you do.

The pod epoxied into the hull.

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The ply strips & locating pegs on the inside of the cowl pieces.

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Hatch locked in place.

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Engine & hatch sitting in place.

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[785boats]

A successful morning , this morning.
I epoxied on the spar pieces. I always thought they were called the 'Ram Wings'. But apparently not.
The term 'Ram Wing'( so I just found out) refers to the whole body of the boat from the leading edges of the tub to the transom, between the sponsons & the air traps.
Anyhow, the spar covers were not long enough so I had to add a bit of wood to make them fit.

Then it was on to assembling the Canard wing.
A couple of timber blocks were shaped to fit inside the ends of the wing for the mounting bolts to have something solid to attach to.
Then a light piece of balsa was glued to the inside of one half of the wing, as were the wooden blocks. The balsa is for flotation should the wing get ripped off & broken.
The other half was then epoxied on to finish it off.

A couple of adjustable brackets were made up from some aluminium angle, & temporarily screwed to the wing. I will use nylon breakaway bolts in the final assembly.

Then the holes were drilled into the sponsons for mounting, & the wing was temporarily attached, just to make sure everything is straight, square & level.

I'm waiting on some threaded inserts to arrive to screw & glue into the sponsons to take the 4mm mounting bolts. A tip borrowed from Tom G on his Budweiser T-6 thread. Thanks Tom.

The spar covers added.
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The wing assembled & the adjustable brackets completed.
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Temporarily fitted to the hull.
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Full up adjustment.
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Full down adjustment.
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[Coug90]

This is one of my favorite unlimiteds. Love the piston power. I am actually building this boat in 1:10 scale right now and I'm about where you are in the build. I scratch built it from plans I drew and it's primarily wood over foam construction, without bulkheads and stringers. I've been building boats this way from the beginning and it's worked well for me. On this build I laid fiberglass decking down over the foam, but the whole center section is decked with 1/32" plywood, like the rest of the boat. My U3 will be the 2016-17 Griggs Presents Miss Ace Hardware. I'm very excited to get more work done on it. Super nice building job on your 1:8 scale project. It's looking great and I love your attention to scale detail. I hope I can do the boat justice too. Thanks for posting the thread. Happy Building Brother!!

[785boats]

Thanks Mitch.
Yes, a beautiful boat.
A 1/10 scale is cool. I take it that you are building it for 1/10 scale racing to mix it up with the turbine looking hulls.

Could you post a few pics here please, showing the foam construction. Sounds interesting.

I too am setting it up in the Ace Hardware livery.
Mike at Thunderboat Graphics is doing all the graphics for me. He would do them in 1/10. Or do you make your own, like all the other scale items you make?

PS. I'm never happier than when I'm building a boat.

[Coug90]

I only took a few pics during the build, but I'll try and post some of them soon. There is a build sequence of photos I posted years ago of my Mr. Pringles boat that shows the foam construction much better. I'll see if I can find a link for you if you haven't seen it. Mike is also doing the graphics for my boat. They're on their way. He does really good work and happened to be finishing up the set when I contacted him about this build. I've got the hull and wings all fitted and hoping to get the motor, driveline and rudder servo set up when I get back on Sunday. Then I can tear it all down, do some final prep work and shoot primer on the boat. The turbo Allison will be built and fitted soon too. Building is a lot of fun for me too. It may be the most fun part of this hobby, but I enjoy the competition and kinship in our club too.

[Coug90]

Oh, I remembered that the Pringles build photo gallery (http://www.rumrunnerracing.com/feforums/album.php?albumid=57) was posted on Rum Runner's forum. You may have to go there to view it.

[785boats]

Thanks for the info.
I'll look into the gallery.

Yes the mateship & racing at the club is a great part of the hobby too.
I'm just packing up the wagon for another day of racing now actually. 5 classes with 3 races in each class.
Our club also has an extra 'Shootout' race in a pre selected class at each meeting. Today's is the EB 6s mono class.
Top 5 point scorers through the day in that class are entered. It's usually a cracker of a race. There's a couple of different rules for it.
Instant disqualification for hitting or cutting a buoy.
Contestants choose their lane before the race starts. Highest point scorer from the day has first choice, next highest has second choice etc.
It all adds a bit more fun for the day.
Must go, or I'll be late.
Cheers.

[785boats]

Been back on night shift & overtime lately so not much energy for boat building.

I've only managed to put the false floor in the cowling & cut the base of the dummy motor to the desired angle.
I might have to cut a hole in the floor & allow the rear end of real motor to fit up inside the crank case of the dummy motor yet. But I'll fit the real motor first to see how much needs to be cut out. hopefully none, depending on the final angle required.

Then a couple of timber pieces were shaped & fitted to the sides of the section of dropped deck at the transom. One for the side of the center tub, & one for under the fin.

Nothing very exciting really but a few fiddly little jobs out of the way.

The floor of the hatch.
158104

Motor base cut & sitting in position.
158105

timber filler at the center tub.
158106

Timber filler under the starboard fin.
158107

[Tetefroid]

Hello. I got this similar kit from ML boatworks, and it came with 5 pieces of wood labeled "Jig". I have no idea how that goes together or what it is for. Any help would be great. Thanks.

[785boats]

Sorry mate. I can't help you there. Mine didn't have a jig with it, & I've never seen one.
Hopefully someone will sign on with an answer soon.

[bozo586]

Hello. I got this similar kit from ML boatworks, and it came with 5 pieces of wood labeled "Jig". I have no idea how that goes together or what it is for. Any help would be great. Thanks.

jig-----used to keep the boats frame square during assembly-----usually not a part of the boat,after it's built.

[Tetefroid]

jig-----used to keep the boats frame square during assembly-----usually not a part of the boat,after it's built. that is what I was thinking, but I am perplexed as to how these 5 pieces becomes a jig. I may have to call ML. lol.158763

[785boats]

I've built 8 or so of Mikes kits, but none of them had a framing jig. I've got no idea how that one in your pic would be assembled.

Which kit exactly are you building? Do a search for that kit both here, & on Offshore Electrics, & you may find some photos in someones build log.

Or just do a google search on it & hit the 'images' button at the top of the page. Something might turn up.

But for sure, Mike would help you out if you ask him.

[Tetefroid]

I've built 8 or so of Mikes kits, but none of them had a framing jig. I've got no idea how that one in your pic would be assembled.

Which kit exactly are you building? Do a search for that kit both here, & on Offshore Electrics, & you may find some photos in someones build log.

Or just do a google search on it & hit the 'images' button at the top of the page. Something might turn up.

But for sure, Mike would help you out if you ask him.

Some how I got it in my head that it would be a full frame Jig cradle thing. Got a hold of ML (great customer service) and they let me know it was for the cockpit frames to keep them in the correct shape for the cowl. The kit I have is
1/8th Scale Newton 172/ MHR 0203/ 9601 Extreme Kit, and once they described to me where it went, I could see it in a picture on ML Boatworks website. Sorry to spam up your page here 785Boats, your build looks great.158769

[785boats]

I too was thinking of a full frame jig, but now it is explained as just for the front cowling it all makes sense.


Sorry to spam up your page here 785Boats
No spam involved there mate. It's all about boats & sharing information. :cool:

[785boats]

Still working night shift but managed to find a bit of time & energy to get the driveline sorted. I think?

I say that because although I have used an S bend stuffing tube in a rigger, I'm not sure on how well it will work with a 1/4" shaft in a 1/8 scale Hydro.
If anyone has tried it, please let me know.

I had to lay the motor flat under the hatch as there was no room to allow the normal angle that most motors are fitted.
I did cut a hole in the hatch to allow the rear of the motor to sit up inside the crank case of the dummy Allison engine.
But it wouldn't fit, & it moved the motor too far back, which ruined the cog.

Anyway, I made up a motor mount from some 50mm x 50mm aluminium angle & epoxied it in place with some ply strengthening gussets on the tub walls to lock it in place. Same as I always do with hydros.
The strut was mounted through the floor. I had to shorten the strut for it to fit under the hatch cover.
Then the tube was bent to shape & epoxied into the hull with a supporting ply brace fitted across the tub near the motor.

The strut mounted on the belly pan.
158817

Under the hull.
158818

Motor mount, stuffing tube & brace.
158819

View from the front.
158820

[Coug90]

Thanks Mitch.
Yes, a beautiful boat.
A 1/10 scale is cool. I take it that you are building it for 1/10 scale racing to mix it up with the turbine looking hulls.

Could you post a few pics here please, showing the foam construction. Sounds interesting.

I too am setting it up in the Ace Hardware livery.
Mike at Thunderboat Graphics is doing all the graphics for me. He would do them in 1/10. Or do you make your own, like all the other scale items you make?

PS. I'm never happier than when I'm building a boat.

I finally got the boat on the water the week before the first club race. It was a little loose on the water, so I'm working on taming it down a bit. It's got good speed and nice handling otherwise. It needs some more time though. We managed a second place finish in spite of the rush job I did to get it done in time. I'm looking forward to making adjustments and trying a few new things to help dial in the performance. Here are a few pics in the shop. She's close to being done, but I'm certainly trying to learn what the boat likes in a setup, prop, weight distribution, etc. I need lots more wheel time with this one, but it's one of my favorite builds ever. Love how the boat looks on the water, but I have a couple more scale appearance things to add to the project. I also need to clear over the graphics before I race it again. I have to miss the next event on the club schedule, so that should allow time to get more done. It's been a fun project so far. Looking forward to seeing more of your build. Thanks for sharing it. Happy Building!!

158910 158911 158912 158913
158914

[785boats]

Absolutely beautiful.
I hope mine turns out as well as yours.
I've slowed up a fair bit on mine, but those photos have inspired me to have a bit more of a crack with it.

[Tetefroid]

How did your brace for the turn fin to the non-trip turn out?

[785boats]

Unfortunately, I haven't done much building in the last month or so due to work commitments. I haven't fitted the turn fin hardware yet.
I should get a bit done this weekend. We'll see then.

[Tetefroid]

:popcorn2:

[785boats]

I've finally shaken the building doldrums loose, & have had a bit of a crack at some of those tedious things over the last few evenings. Yay!
First, I tackled the rudder bracket, servo & rod. I decided to recess the servo into the side of the tub.

Then the fin braces were made up, starting with plate tapped onto the transom.
The braces were made from 3mm threaded rod with some clevises on the ends. Over the rod is a piece of 3/16" aluminium tubing.
A couple of T brackets were made from some 1/16 aluminium angle & recessed flush into the fins with the T part running through the fins. The clevis is bolted through that.
At the transom the other clevis required a small block of aluminium in it & a bolt was fitted through the assembly & tapped into the plate on the inside of the transom.

Then it was the turn fin & bracket.
I had an Accu-Tech fin in the spares box but no bracket. I fashioned one up out of a couple of pieces of 3mm angle fitted inside each other to make a 6mm thick bracket.
I cut them on an angle so that the straight fin would be canted when it was all bolted up.

I'm inspired enough to really get into this boat again.

Here are some visuals.

Servo & linkage
161177

The rudder bracket, servo & rod, and the fin braces.
161179

Fin brace attached at the fin.
161180

Turn fin & angled bracket.
161181

Temporarily fitted.
161182

[Tetefroid]

Where are you putting the batteries at?

[785boats]

Tetefroid.

If I ever get around to painting it & finishing it off, they will go in the nose canopy section. 10s fits nicely.

[Tetefroid]

Oh? Is that with a driver in the cockpit? Club rules for around here require a driver...

[785boats]

No. Two 4s packs, side by side, are lower than the bottom of the window. But I need a 2s pack on top of them which comes a third of the way up the window.
I was just going to run a darkened windscreen on mine. No rules here at our club for a visible driver.