K7 Bluebird

[785boats]

I've finally managed to make some progress on the Bluebird & thought I'd start a build log on it here. I'm sure I'm going to need some help along the way so any hints, tips & answers to questions will be accepted gratefully.

stats-
Type... Well it's basically a rigger.
scale...1/8 = 36"long.
ply, foam, balsa & Glass construction.
Motor...580 9l
Batteries... 6s.
ESC... HiModel Gx 200A.
Prop... Starting with M445. (suggestions on this would be good.

In the pics you'll see the bits all cut & ready & then assembled. Foam will be added between the frames, carved to shape & then skinned with 0.6mm ply. Then a light glass over that. The sponsons are also foam with a 0.6mm ply skin. Nose tail & top blocks of balsa will be added & then a light glass. This will be fun.

Cheers.
Paul.

[TDM Racing]

Nice Paul!. Should be a good build to watch.
Where in the world did you find the plans I see in the pics????

[785boats]

Thanks Tom.

Got the drawings on a disc from Fred Blois at the following site. Just scroll down the page until you see them.

http://www.rainbowcoloured.co.uk/shop.htm

Lots of detail, & from the original drawings by the Norris brothers. Ken Norris gave Fred permission to reproduce them. There's some great photos on the disk too. Here's a sample

[Ub Hauled]

I think this looks fantastic... are you going to propel it or just place it on the mantel?
If so, what powerplant?

[ozzie-crawl]

having see some of pauls boats i would say it will be a runner, his scratch built canard runs real sweet
were you going to run this one paul ? 6s

[Flying Scotsman]

This an interesting build with a lot of history attached to the hull and the Campbell family

http://www.sigmapress.co.uk/knowl7662.html

Douggie

[icelert]

Great subject! Looking forward to the completed restoration of the full scale Bluebird sometime soon.

Here are some photos of the Bluebird that a master craftsmen friend of mine built in the 1970's. It has a gas powered inducted fan for power. If I remember correctly he built this from measurements taken from a plastic scale model and scaled it up to 1/8.
Not trying to hijack your build but, just give some inspiring photos for you to enjoy!

Keep posting your progress on this wonderful piece of history.

Bryan

[NitroVal]

Was this the last boat to attempt the water speed record and ended up disintegrating, killing the driver?

[785boats]

Ub Hauled.
Yep. It's a runner. Fiegao 580 9l on 6s is the plan.

Ozzie.
Don't you waggle your finger at me pal. Seriously though, being limited to 4s at our club means I'll run it at North Lakes. It's a bigger piece of water & will allow it to run long & fast. Don't forget this baby wasn't designed to take corners.
Although a few test runs at Boondall will probably be required.

Douggie.
It was both the history & the restoration project that got me started on this.
Plus I wanted to build my first rigger, so why not make it hard for myself & incorporate my love of scratch building scale models too. Answer? The Bluebird.
Great Site you posted there. Thanks.

Icelert.
Thanks for the pics. Every little bit helps. I especially thank you for the second pic because there is a model of the U-95 in the background. I built a 4' model of that boat powered by a Profi .60 many years ago. Wish I still had it. Thanks for the memories.

NitroVal
There's been more than a few who have died chasing that record.

Cheers.
Paul.

[icelert]

That 1/8 scale U-95 is actually a gas powered prototype model built before the actual U-95 touched water. It is built with many amazing features for its time, almost impossible to believe it is a 30+ year old model! It was also built by the same person that built the Bluebird model next to it and is featured in the March 1976 issue of RCM magazine.

Another little tidbit of info I might add. Last weekend our club was racing at a park along the shores of Lake Washington when of all people, Ron Jones Sr. stopped by to look at the boats and discuss much of the history behind them. Needless to say many of the boats in attendance where designed by him and he signed the bottom of several of them. Anyways I talked with him about the Bluebird restoration project and his involvement in getting the Bluebird back on the water. He had redesigned the sponsons for the new Bluebird so that it could get up on plane easier and be able to do lower speed runs(100mph!) for special event displays.

[785boats]

Icelert.
I can't remember, but if the plans were printed in the 1976 RCM, then that's when I built it & they were the plans I used. Was it that long ago? Again I say "wish I still had it"
I think it's fair to say that Ron Jones knows boats, and anything he says would be well worth listening to. What a stroke of luck for you and your club members. I hope you invited him back. He'd have some stories to bend your ears all afternoon.
All the best.
Paul.

[Ub Hauled]

that's a good looking boat (U95)! I had not seen it before...

[icelert]

Paul,

Thanks. Yes that issue has the plans that my friend obtained from the U-95's owner Jim Clapp.

We enjoyed our visit with Mr. Jones and hopefully he will be honoring us in the offseason with one of his wonderful lectures. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed! Here's a photo of him with his favorite hull, the 73 Pak!

I don't wish to sidetrack your Bluebird build any longer, but I'll be anxious watch its progress.

Best Wishes

Bryan

[785boats]

No worries about sidetracks here mate. It's all interesting stuff to me.

I've glued on the foam blocks & roughly shaped them. A bit more shaping to do & then the skin goes on.
Cheers.
Paul.

[785boats]

Long days at work & too tired at night so progress has been slow.
I've concentrated on the sponsons & have got them to the final filling/sanding stage.
The outrigger booms were fashioned out of some 1/8" ply for the base & some T section aluminium. Once these are all epoxied together & the leading & trailing filler blocks glued in I think they will be pretty strong.
The motor arrived from OSE a couple of weeks ago thanks to Ray at our club.
Man, a 580 9L is a big motor compared to the 540 sizes that I'm used to.
1800 Watts of power. That's only about 80Amps on 6s if I prop it up to draw that amount.
Well here's a couple of pics of the workings.
Cheers.
Paul.