Aeromarine Challenger

[JCAustralia]

Hi Guys

I am building an Aeromarine Challenger and thought I would post some pictures for those who are interested and also get you suggestions and opinions.

While the hull looks nice the gelcoat finish was a let down.....

Here are the pictures.

All holes drilled and stuffing tube installed.....

[JCAustralia]

Transom hardware installed.

Can you guys tell me how you balance a deep V hull for the centre of gravity?

I did balance the hull on several things (can of soup, sponge, hands....) but could not really find the CoG as the hull keeps tilting to the right and left or back and forward.

Cheers

[CornelP]

Two pieces of pvc pipe, glued with the same angle as the vee or just make some notches out of wood or other scraps on the boat stand horizontal pipes...

[tiqueman]

What Cornel said. I usually use wood notched out to fit the V of the hull. Going to watch this build as I had the 43 Challenger and was what I consider my 1st "real" gas boat in the mid 90's. Wish I never sold it....

Too bad about the Gel finish. Ive heard that from a few now that thier quality has not been as good as it used to.

[txboatpilot]

What is the size of the Hull??

[tiqueman]

Im going to say its this one, 31 inches

http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...ero-Challenger

[G Doggett]

Transom hardware installed.

Can you guys tell me how you balance a deep V hull for the centre of gravity?

I did balance the hull on several things (can of soup, sponge, hands....) but could not really find the CoG as the hull keeps tilting to the right and left or back and forward.

Cheers

Looking good Jerome
The simplest way to check the CoG is to lift the hull ( with the hatch removed) using a finger each side opposite each other under the deck lip. Move your fingers back and forth until the hull hangs level, where your fingers are is the Cog.
Move your batteries etc back and forth until that ballance point is approximately 30% of hull length from the transom.
It's not rocket science.
Graham.

[JCAustralia]

Thanks guys

I did try all methods and Graham method works best for me. Many thanks.

I did make the servo stand and an ESC tray today. Still deciding where they would go in the hull with regards to CoG

Yes its the 31inches hull. The reason I got is is because I have the same hull, just a tad bigger and using Gas. Love the semi scale look and the stability in choppy water. Kinda getting tired of flipping my SV27.....

This boat is just for bashing at the local lake and have fun with the whole family.....

Here are some pictures of my boats side by side.....

[tiqueman]

Ahh, a Man-O-War... I love that hull. Doesnt matter how rough it is, it takes it. That is a similar hull, being a Vee, but nothing at all like the 43" Challenger, or the 48". The Man-O-War runs much wetter and is an extremely stable boat. Please, by no means am I trying to criticize your post. Both are teriffic boats. They just arent the same hull, just one being bigger. Expect your Aeromarine to run much lighter than the Man-O-War. The Aeromarine, I think, is a much more fun hull. And dont worry, it will still go upside down. Just not near as often as the SV. But much more the the M-O-W. What power is in the M-O-W?

Keep the pics coming. It looks great! Cant wait to see her finished

Scott

[nova68]

I am building a 33 inch Delta Force and i want to put Carbon Fiber in side like you did what once cloth did you use I need help and what motor are you using need help there to THANKS.

[befu]

Watching

I am watching this also. I have a 30" Dumas Scarab hull that I want to make fun wave running and jumping.

Interested in what you put in it, how it runs and how long. I am more looking for jumping, stability and run time vs. top speed. Oh, and scale looks!

How much does the bare Challenger weigh in at if I may ask?

Brian

[JCAustralia]

Scott

The Man o War is powered by a 26 Zenoah. Love the sound of the engine running and the power.....

Thanks for your comparison between the two..... They are both for bashing around and family fun. The MoW needs really a large pond whereas the Challenger is more "practical".....

Nova

The boat came with the carbon layout. Maybe others who have layed carbon inlay may chime in about the cloth.

The motor is a chinese one sold by Head of the River on Ebay. For the price I am not very concerned if it burn or get wet......

Befu

Not sure how much the hull weigh but it's allright and des not feel too heavy. They might have the specifications on the Aeromarine website.

The gelcoat has some defects and I heard the same from two people recently...... I have also bought a hull from china recently for 1/3 the price and has a better quality gelcoat......

Anyway today I installed the servo mount and continued building the battery tray and ESC tray. Waiting for the glue to dry to do some positioning as regards to CoG. I'm also planning to modify a small electrical box to keep the receiver dry.....

Cheers

JC

[sailr]

Exactly! That's how I do it. It gets you real close to the 'ball park'. You'll have to run and tune the boat anyway to tweak the best COG.

Looking good Jerome
The simplest way to check the CoG is to lift the hull ( with the hatch removed) using a finger each side opposite each other under the deck lip. Move your fingers back and forth until the hull hangs level, where your fingers are is the Cog.
Move your batteries etc back and forth until that ballance point is approximately 30% of hull length from the transom.
It's not rocket science.
Graham.

[tiqueman]

JC, you can save a little time and weight, put the reciever in a balloon, zip tie the end nice and tight. Whalaahhh water proof rx. I also fill inside the rx w/ di-electric grease. Autozone, advanced auto etc has it, red/ white can, few bucks of extra insurance....

[JCAustralia]

Tiqueman

Thanks for the idea.

The boat is probably not going to see water so soon for family reasons..... Thus I have the time to work on some details for the boat.

I'm using a small electric box for the receiver box, with holes for the wires and a bit of silicone for sealing. Its a bit bigger than the receiver but should do the job and will be handy if I decide to get a bigger receiver in the future. I have installed the servo and ESC tray . Now I need to 'fabricate' some velcro straps for the batteries and ESC. Just waiting for the glue to dry.....

The batteries will go in the front of the motor for the CoG to be at 30% of the boat. I have made the battery tray a bit longer than the battery to allow me to play with the CoG once on the water.....

Next is to do the plumbing work......

There is an integrated water pick-up in the rudder. However I was thinking of adding a second water pickup, one would cool the ESC and one the motor? What do you guys think? Would that be an overkill?

Here are some pictures.

Cheers