Boat from scratch

[saleens7]

its probably a vry low rpm motor....my neighbor has a similar scooter that runs on 36v and i cant tell by the gearing and how fast the scooter goes that the motor doesent spin more than a few thousand rpms...(maybe not even a thousand)....uless you use a rediculously large prop it probably wont work...and besides, youll need to run it on the same voltage (probably 36volts) to turn the same rpms it does in the scooter....those scooters batts arent exactly what i would call light....youd be much better off with an 800.....

[RC Mechanic]

this scooter is 12 volt actually. So if i ran 16.8 volts it would be moving fast. IDK, ill look more into it later. I can always use the 800.

I was talking to a friend about this earlier and they mentioned something about using foam since its cheap and light. ANd coating the foam with fiberglass. IDK if it would be strong enough still. What do you guys think?

Also I guess I should go on and buy some wood to start the skeleton. Home depot has a 2 foot by 4 foot sheet of wood that isn't too expensive. Not sure exactly what kind. It has 3 layers though. Any chance that would work for the Ribs?

[Quicksilver]

Just finished reading this thread. Good to see a scratch builder once and a while. Have you decided what type of boat you're making. I think it would be easier for you to find a boat you like and try to copy or at least use the design for inspiration.

For a first boat I'd go simple. Maybe a nice shallow vee, with a constant dead rise(angle of hull). Or you said originally you were thinking about a scale boat, well you could make a PT boat. Doesnt have to be completely scale and theyre fairly easy to make, especially since the real boats were designed to build cheap and easily. Could still use a single motor, I agree with others on just getting a 800, you could post a pic of that scooter motor, maybe it's usable.

Also, the bulkhead material. three ply is fine, as long as it's thin enough, you dont want to use some 1/4" ply or something. Make sure it's 1/8" approx. For the keel piece, I'd go double thick.

Do you have any hobby stores around you, they usually have the perfect woods to use. Home depot is tough to find the correct materials, though sometimes you're lucky.

Fiberglass covered foam will work, but I'm not sure it's any easier, in fact imo I think it would be tougher, just because you're not using framing, and it's just tough to keep things symmetrical. Maybe it's just me.... Foam is great for small boats, but I think you should stick with wood. Also keep in mind, a wood boat hull, need not be very thick if you fiberglass the hull after it's built. So keep it light as possible.

Sorry for the long rambling reply, very late night post as usual.

[RC Mechanic]

Thanx for the input quicksilver. Ive got a hobbytownUSA up the street ill see what kind of wood they have after I stop by Home depot and see what they have. I'll also pick up some epoxy and a building board ar whatever you call it to build the skeleton and the skin of the lower hull.

As far as a boat, I thikn im going with an older style of speedboat. SOmething in the ballpark of the link below (gona have a windshelid, the one in the link doesn't) Its not going to look exactly like that but somewhere in the ballpark of that. Also instead of the flat bottom its going to be a shallow vee

[Stealth Assassin]

Rc M what state do you live In?

1/8" birch for bulkheads and 1/8" balsa for skins and you will be set...

Also remember to build on the most flat surface you can find.

[RC Mechanic]

I'm in kentucky.

I went to home depot and they had a a 1/4 sheet of birch for $5 and I went on and picked that up for the ribs. Is that what you mean by the bulkheads?

I can use the 1/8 balsa for the skin. does 1/8 balsa bend prety easily? I mean as far as the bow? can i bend balse without doing anything to it or......

Also as far as building the skeleton, will this 1/4 birch work, its pretty light and i figured since its a bit thicker that it will make the boat stronger. Also I might extend the length to 40 inches now. Just an extra 4 inches to the 36. '

When I build this thing I build on a flat board right? Ih sen some pics of people doing that. DO I glue the ribs down to the buildig board with hot glue or some just temporarily?

[Stealth Assassin]

40" Is big for what power you want to use. You should be building In the range of 24" to 30 max IMHO... Especially with 1/4". 1/8" Is more Ideal but, It does cost alot more.

The balsa Is perfect for bending and super light weight.

[RC Mechanic]

Well I was planning on 36inch originally. My villian EX is 31 inch and I wanted to build something bigger. The 800 motor that he has here on offshore says 30-40inch hulls. Also I was kind thinking of maybe instead of using balsa for the skin that I could use a foam, since thats bendable and cheap and it would help in floatation of the boat, also its cheap. what do you think?

[Stealth Assassin]

Haha... Dude you change your mind by the second! Most peeps cover the foam with balsa If they take that route. The villian hull Is made out of a lighter material than wood...

You can build that thing 100" out of 3/4" birch If you want to, It's your turd!:D Hahahaha... J/K Bro!

[RC Mechanic]

Yep thats me, when im thinking of a project I DO change my mind A LOT. LOL. So what do you think would be the best route to take? 40inch with 1/4 birch and foam skin so it would float and be lighter or.....

would the 800 motor power that one good? ALso can you fiberglass foam? Or epoxy coat it?

[mike a.]

I would just use balsa for the skin, it is super easy to bend. i just dip the wood in water and use a steam iron and it just bends right around to the shape desired. I would also try somthing smaller than 40 in because most of the balsa sheets that i have seen are only 36 in long.

i think that since this is your first build then you may want to get some plans to follow, like maybe some Garry Finlay boat plans (there free). That way you'll really know how to build a boat that is also very fast and very easy to build, then go on and design your own boat and build it and that way you'll have some experience with building your own boat and setting it up.

[RC Mechanic]

WHere can I get these gary finlay plans?

Also as far as bending wood, you said you soak it in water and them steam the balsa with a steam iron. What is that? Something special or....? I have a cleaner steamer that shoots out steam if that would somhow work but Ive never seen a steam iron or how its done.

I looked around for free plans but couldn't find any. If you could give me a link or something to a bunch of free plans that would be great. Thanx

[mike a.]

http://www.rc-hydros.com/

https://www.rc-hydros.com

I just use my moms clothes iron, it just uses steam to flatten the clothes. I had the same situation as you and i wanted to design and build my own boat. So i found these hydroplane plans and it was the easiest boat to build. The boat i built is the 1/16th Sport round nose. Just put the plans on a jumpdrive or somthing like that and bring it in to like a kinkos and have them print it out.

[mike a.]

I forgot to tell you though that a hydroplane wont be able to handle much chop or winds. If running in some waves then build a mono.

[RC Mechanic]

Yeah Im definitly building a mono, no question about it, unless I found a good catamaran but that might be later down the road.

SO you can just use a cloths iron with the steamer thing on it? Kooll, ive got one of those. I'm about to take a look at the plans. Thanx.