Delta Force 12, not just for electric.

[ron Olson]

Yes, I know that this is mostly an electric boat forum but I bought a slightly damaged Delta Force 12 from Steve. I've been looking for a while for a deeper Veed mono than what's normally on the market and this isn't my first attempt at converting an electric hull over for nitro use.
So far a lot of it has been trial and error work but it's getting close to hitting the water.
I installed a lite ply doubler in the transom to strengthen it a little more plus something for the blind nuts to bite into. Speedmaster hardware was then hung on it. I had some extruded carbon fiber stock that I used for the engine rails. An LRP .12 (made by Picco) was installed and for radio gear, a Hi-tec Aggressor FM that I also got from Steve. The hard part so far was fabicating a radio box to fit between the 3" rails then squeezing everything in there.
The boat is about 90% done right now with a lot of little things that need to be finished. It's sitting outside right now with a clear coat drying to give it a little more shine.
I can't wait to have this baby on the water and when I do, the video camera will go along to record the runs and of course be posted in RC Flix.
This looks like it will be a very good boat for playing around with or for racing and the price is really good on it. The finish work is excellent!

[hammertime]

looks good ........ good luck

[ron Olson]

Thanks, that was a quick reply!
BTW, I painted this one as it isn't the yellow gel coat so if you see any flaws (and there are some!), it's not because of the way that it came.

[Steven Vaccaro]

Looking good Ron! Cant wait to see the video!!

[ron Olson]

Thanks Steve. I can't wait either. I cpould have it water ready with a couple of more hours worth of work but I want to try to have it done right before hitting the pond.
While taking the pix yesterday I noticed a few things that I missed, one being a loose bolt that holds the enigine to the mount. I need to take them out and put some thread locker on them anyway.
When you see it with the hatch on, don't laugh too hard but I might just end up by repaiting it. There are some very subtle lines for a windshield but once you lay some paint on the all but disappear. You have to hold the hatch up to the light to see the lines.
Deck and hatch are a close fit so those getting one had better find a way to pull it off as there isn't much to grip to either. I've got a way around that I hope and you should see that in upcoming shots.
Note also that I had to cut the top 3 heat sink fins off the head to get the hatch on. I have just enough room to put it on now.

[Rex R]

Ron: a steady hand and a fine point sharpy(also a shadow box) comes in handy for 'defining' the windshield. a piece of hatch tape will work to pull the hatch loose(if you've taped it prior to the run then you've got plenty to use for pulling the hatch). I've got one, electric(lipo).

[Jeepers]

cool I cant wait to see it run!

[ron Olson]

As an update, the boat is in the dust collecting stage as I'm waiting for a custom-made muffler to show up. I'm certainly hoping that it shows up this week as I'm on vacation next week and the boat will hit the water one way or another! I need the muffler so that I can but the hatch without messing it up too badly.
Rex, I wished that I had your advice sooner or had used what's left of my brain when I painted the windshield as it didn't come out symmetrical but kind of close. It really showed up when I made the cut-out for the incoming air, you'll see that later in ucoming shots.

[Rex R]

heheh. well if you 'put' a frame around the windscreen it can cover up some irregularities :)

[ron Olson]

Did that Rex and I was stupid enough to clear-coat over the tape so that it wouldn't lift. I was half-tempted to strip it back down to bare gel-coat and start over again.

[Rex R]

when I look at mine I see all sorts of things that could have turned out better...then I think at 40+ yards and 30mph it looks great! methinks your boat prolly looks good too from a distance(and at speed) :)

[ron Olson]

The muffler showed up today from CD Machine and it's a work of art. Now the boat can quit collecting dust and next week put some water spots on it! I hope to hit the pond by the middle of the week. The wrenches will be flying and the Dremel spinning to get her done.
I'll let you all know when the video is up and more shots uploaded so stay tuned!

[ron Olson]

I got a chance to do some thrashing on it the past few days and this afternoon finally fired her up for the first time!
I modded an Aeromarine tuned pipe bracket to hold the pipe in place, cut out the hatch but kind of mismeasured so I'll use Rex's 40 yard rule or at least 8 feet from your computer monitor. The muffler was worth the wait as it is quiet! I'm still hoping ot get it on the water sometime Wednesday but have got other things to get done first.
Oops, I just about forgot to post the latest shots.

[ron Olson]

Just a quick update. The boat finally got wet yesterday but like most first runs, all did not go well. I made a drive about 76 miles north to run with 2 other guys and we all had problems of one kind or another. It was either the needle way off, the wrong prop or the muffler making the boat not want to get any more than idle speed. It stalled once and it started taking on water. It's a good thing that I loaded it up with foam or I would have had to go diving for it. What really got me mad was getting water in the radio box as I sealed it as best that I could even when building it. I waterproofed the servos but forgot to do the receiver. One of the guys had a spray with him but it didn't seem to do the job. This afternoon it worked OK but I'm going to hit it with some of my stuff before heading out again.
The muffler is off to see if that might be part of the problem.