U-31 MILLER HIGH LIFE 8th Scale build thread

[K.R.Joye]

Gents, I'm making a lot of progress on my winter project U-31 `Miller High Life' Unlimited Hydroplane. Based on the Lucero designed Circus Circus platform, the`Miller High Life' was campaigned briefly on the 1988 Unlimited circuit. The scaled down 43" hull will legally meet all overall dimensional info provided on the NAMBA MHR#8700.

I inherited this project from a good friend as a plywood framed skeleton from Newton #146 plans. Most of the wood frames were disguarded after being used for patterns in favor of stronger G10 Epoxy sheet composite. CF angle will also be used for structural support, plywood Transom & Sponson bulkheads are G10 skinned. West Systems #610 2-part epoxy is used for bonding and Z-Poxy for sealing a bonding any wood to wood component. The center section of the hull has been offset from Port to Starboard for FE clockwise racing. Epoxy Glass Canopy, Cockpit and rear Wing Set(on order) are RC Boat Company pieces.

Power will be provided by IMPBA legal 1527 1.5y or Plettenberg HP370 BM A1-S on 10s1p lipo. Offset 3/16" cable driveline and hardware will consist of a combination of Zipp Kit(turnfin) and Speed Master(rudder,strut) components. Same hardware and driveline setup is used on my U-1 Atlas Van Lines.

Here's some pics so far showing rear afterplane tub construction. Everything is swiss-cheesed to save weight. Working my way forward to start soon on front sponson & canard spar structure.

[K.R.Joye]

RC Boat Company canopy to be integrated into the hull.

[bob horowitz]

Ken,
Nice job. Makes me itch like crazy just thinking about cutting all that G-10. Great idea though.
Bob

[emspjay]

Great build! That is very cool! Can't wait to see it finished!

[srislash]

Very nice. The canopy will really set it off.

[K.R.Joye]

Worked on locking down the front sponson structure. The (2) CF angles are tied together with hardwood beams bonded to inside sponson walls to eliminate pickle fork twist. The forward CF angle will be part of the nose canard wing structure while the rearward CF angle will support the sponson transoms tying them in to the tub.

Sponson bulkheads and stringers next...

[revoltrunner]

I bought these decals back in the 80s
and never used them.
just realized these are for the Miller American
not the Miller High Life.

[K.R.Joye]

Bonding the Sponson transom & bulkheads along with stringers

[Doug Smock]

Looking good Ken!

[K.R.Joye]

Thanks for the nice comments guys. This nasty Mi. winter is providing me with lots of shop time.

Hopefully if all goes well i'll have some better competition for you Doug!:bowdown:

[785boats]

Coming along very nicely.
I've never seen a hdro built up out of G10 epoxy sheet before.
Very interesting.

[K.R.Joye]

Coming along very nicely.
I've never seen a hdro built up out of G10 epoxy sheet before.
Very interesting.

Thanks I've been following your U-3 build also your doing a great job! I've built plywood kits too, just to hard to repair when bad things happen.

[K.R.Joye]

Working on the sponson bottom structures today. The West Systems 610 2-part epoxy i use on the G-10 takes overnight to dry so I try to setup something up for bonding as frequently as possible.

[K.R.Joye]

CF angle air trap vents are in!

[K.R.Joye]

Bonding sponson bottom stringers, note right pic show CF flat plane ride pad forms

[K.R.Joye]

Bonding the after-plane non trip top form stringers

[Shooter]

Ken, This is awesome!! When you mentioned G10 the other day, I wasn't envisioning this much of it! Nice!

[K.R.Joye]

Thanks Pete lots more G10 to come

[longballlumber]

Hi Ken,

Looking good! Do you have a bare hull weight target your working towards?

[K.R.Joye]

I'd like to keep the hull under 5lbs, I know its going to be tough.

The deck, bottom and ride pads skins will be G10

Vertical sponson and after-plane non-trip surfaces will be Styrene sheet to keep weight down.

[K.R.Joye]

Bonding the engine cowling support opening structure.

Heavy swiss-cheesed hardwood Airfoil blocks are bonded in. These really strengthen the whole front canopy/sponson structure to the afterplane.

Canopy nose construction up next...

[K.R.Joye]

Laying out deck skin patterns

[Shooter]

She's lookin good!

[K.R.Joye]

Lower Canopy nose and sidewalls are bonded in! Future home for 10S1P 5000-6000 lipo.:banana:

[Tom G]

Lower Canopy nose and sidewalls are bonded in! Future home for 10S1P 5000-6000 lipo.:banana:

Do-in some nice wrk there

[K.R.Joye]

Added a CF bonding strip to the nose side wall before attaching the Canopy fuselage. There's a removable rear top canopy piece for battery compartment access.

[K.R.Joye]

RC Boat Company Wing Assembly and upright mounting. All 3 wing parts have packing foam sheet cores for floatation. Upright bases have G10 slide in sheaths bonded in. Blue masking tape is used throughout the build to keep exterior surfaces clear of excess glue

[K.R.Joye]

Wing attachment hardware and mounting. Wing position is set neutral parallel to the rear after-plane bottom surface. Also showing removable canopy battery access panel bonding.

[K.R.Joye]

Zipp Kit (large hydro) 7075 Turn Fin modified and mounted. Speedmaster 21 Rudder w/transom load transfer gussets installed. 6-32 SS Allen Bolts used throughout w/blind nuts sealed w/epoxy.

[K.R.Joye]

Hydro Strut `G10 Wet Box' fabricated with a hardwood base is bonded, fastened to the hull bottom and transom. This is a long strut setup on offset driveline, angle-depth adjustment bolt will offer ease of access at deck surface. Faux`Turbine Exhaust' tube will hide any strut hardware proud of the deck.

[Beaux]

That wet box looks like a good idea.

[Shooter]

I agree. Awesome idea, and it will be hidden!

[K.R.Joye]

Started skinning the sponsons and non-trip. Decided to go with .06 styrene sheet because its light, durable and bends easy.

[eric113]

Interesting, I haven’t seen someone use styrene for sheeting. But it easy to work with.

[Shooter]

My entire vacu-pickle is made of this stuff! :laugh: One of the most durable boats I own!

[K.R.Joye]

Styrene is tricky to bond,`Marine GOOP' works very well. Be advised use in a well ventilated area. Stinks real bad...
https://www.amazon.com/Amazing-GOOP-172012-Adhesive-Cartridge/dp/B000KKOON4/ref=pd_day0_60_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000KKOON4&pd_rd_r=3P3GGNEQ1WFN1FHC4HGQ&pd_rd_w=Iq1bA&pd_rd_wg=Jf44C&psc=1&refRID=3P3GGNEQ1WFN1FHC4HGQ

[K.R.Joye]

More sponson skin(styrene) and ride pad(G10) bonding

[RandyatBBY]

Great build Ken.

[K.R.Joye]

Great build Ken.
Thanks Buddy!

Last of the sponson skins bonding. Careful balance of aero, fluid dynamics and contact patch went into the right & left sponson designs. Overlaps still need to trimmed and fine sanded.

[Shooter]

Man, that looks great Ken!!!

[K.R.Joye]

THANKS!

More pics front canard wing structure, sponson floatation and through hull motor mount bases bonded in.

[K.R.Joye]

Finally G-10 top skins are bonded to sponsons. Used small wood screws to hold the edges down while overnight bonding. They will be removed, holes filled etc...

[Doug Smock]

Looks like you are fast approaching the down hill side of the build. Very nice work my friend!

[K.R.Joye]

The deck is put together in sections for ease of assembly (and repair). CF Ram Wing exterior skin bonding & deck joint are composite so you wont read joints if the boat gets really soaked.

[K.R.Joye]

Similar to sponson deck panels, these are glued and temporarily screwed.

[K.R.Joye]

Joints for rear center section

[K.R.Joye]

This completes the final exterior panel bondings. :banana:

[Tetefroid]

Wow! This is a very cool build thread.

[K.R.Joye]

Thankyou sir! Trimming edges and rough sanding comes next....

[Doug Smock]

Won't be long now!:thumbup1:

[bozo586]

nice work KEN!

[K.R.Joye]

I'm working on the cockpit windshield and driver area along with the turbine/canopy exhaust fitment. Yes i'll be using a lightweight aluminum water bottle!:tongue:

[Shooter]

Sweet! Any updates?? I'm hoping to be at the pond tomorrow.

[K.R.Joye]

U-31 Hull is ready for finish body work then paint. Just waiting for warmer weather to get started. I had to use 2 aluminum water bottles for the turbine exhaust, joint hidden under the rear support mount.

[K.R.Joye]

I wanted a quick way to attach/remove the canopy and cowling. Came up with idea of using wiring nuts for locating connections. Then 2 fasteners, one on each the side of the cowl holds the whole assembly down. BTW checkout the new motor! :wink:

[K.R.Joye]

After weeks of filling, spoting, blocking, priming repeat..... Basecoat White Gloss epoxy finish was applied last Friday. Were in the home stretch!

[Shooter]

Holy Crap!!! That thing is beautiful. Deserves the Plett motor for sure!!!!! :)

[Doug Smock]

Very nice Ken!:thumbup1:

[K.R.Joye]

Thanks guys hope to finish up paint this weekend

[785boats]

Excellent.
Certainly an interesting build from start to finish.

[K.R.Joye]

Managed to get some painting done between rainy days in Michigan. Just hardware store enamel `Miller High Life' vinyl transfers and lots of clear!

[K.R.Joye]

Finished up the color this weekend. Decals then finish clear coat come next. Took a couple hours to mask the boat for each color, well worth it!

[fweasel]

looking good

[meangenesracing]

Beautiful work Ken

[K.R.Joye]

Finally had a 20 minute window yesterday when sun decided to come out to do the clearcoat. Paint work is complete!

[emspjay]

That's beautiful!!

[Shooter]

Dang. I think you better just hang that up on the wall and keep it as a showpiece. Are you really planning on putting that in the water with us yahoos!?!??!

[K.R.Joye]

Its been 1 1/2 years since I started this project. A scratch built composite 8th Scale Hydroplane. OMG it feels so good to be done! Bench tested the Plett yesterday(goosebumps), testing starts this week.

[K.R.Joye]

Luv this one!

[Shooter]

I don't think the water in the pond is good enough for this boat.

[K.R.Joye]

Thanks buddy

[K.R.Joye]

Hey guys christened the `Miller' at my favorite test site today. The GM Tech Center 22 acre west pond(pic) with fellow engineers watching me.

Boat got right up on plane and ran 4 laps in 2" chop before the coupler loosened up. It went straight great and ran really smooth over the chop at approx. 3/4 throttle for the break in run. No heat on the equipment, propping up next time out.

Can already tell this boat is going to be a vast improvement over my past scales. :banana:

[Mike W]

AMAZING build! You inspired me to finally order my hull kit. What does the finished hull weigh?

[Doug Smock]

Sweet ride Ken! Congratulations!

[K.R.Joye]

Mike The boat weighs 18lbs RTR w/10S1P Giant Power 6000s. Congrats on your decision to order your scale!

Hey Doug thx for the support buddy!

[785boats]

Absolutely superb!!!

Congrats on the initial test run.

[Coug90]

That is one nice looking boat there!! Nice build and finish work. It's a beauty. Now the fun parts of getting to see it out on the water, running and adjusting stuff for peak performance. We never stop tinkering and trying new stuff. Love the boat, man. Love the hobby.

[K.R.Joye]

Update; I ran the Miller again a few days later after sorting my coupler issue. The tapped grub screw holes needed to be run through a couple times to seat better. Boat ran awesome with a X450/3 did 6 high speed laps and brought it in. Motor, battery & ESC temps were real good an no leaks I'm am really happy. I'll start checking for top speed with my old Geko in upcoming testing and report out.