Another Pre-Christmas arrival - WoodStuff 3.5 Tunnel!

[Darin Jordan]

Hey Guys... Well... prior to making the deal for the LeeCraft tunnel I posted earlier, I had already made a deal for this one... It was advertised on International Waters without any pics or much of a discription, but I did some research and found out it was a good hull design, so I took a chance...

Well, it arrived today and BOY, did THIS one pan out!! It's in PERFECT condition... looks brand new... This is going to make an AWESOME FE tunnel! So here are the first pics... I'm basically just going to build a new radio box for it and it should be about ready to go pretty quickly...

[Darin Jordan]

Just one more view:

[SJFE]

Wow man another nice score!!Kind of looks like the Maus tunnel. I would love to find one of them.

[kal1b3r]

looks very nice, by the way, whats better to have, a wooden hull of a fiberglass hull. just wondering.

[Darin Jordan]

by the way, whats better to have, a wooden hull of a fiberglass hull. just wondering.

Which ever one is FASTER!

Seriously... I'm not sure there is a "better"... There are pros and cons to both...

[deestingray]

Dude, that is one hot looking tunnel. Well done on that score. I suppose you have to be prepared to be disappointed with some deals and as you say, some of them turn out to be absolute gems.

[Darin Jordan]

Progress...

I'm just about there...

I just finished mocking up the steering system in this 3.5 WoodStuff and it's turning out (pardon the punn...) pretty nicely... The goal on this, like with the TS-2 I did, was to make it a direct conversion, without having to cut out the hull at all, so that's why the radio box is still a drop-in... I figured it would make Nitro guys more likely to want to give it a try if they could just drop in a new radio box to convert it... The only other mod I decided to make on this one was to cut down the top of the transom to allow more room for the steeing... Seems the FE stuff has the steering arms down lower than on the Nitro boats... This part of the transom wasn't being used even for the nitro stuff, so not a huge mod... just about 20-seconds in my benchtop belt sander!!

I decided to try using a pull-pull cable system that I purchased from James Clegg at www.ovalexpressracing.com (http://ovalexpressracing.com/hardware.html )... Comes with most everything I needed...

In this hull... the batteries really needed to go all the way to the back to get the balance right, so in order to make room, I wanted to get the steering system OUT of the way... So, I'm ditched the solid rods, moved the steering servo WAY into the nose, then ran the cables out the side of the box... I still have to do the finishing touches, like add some guides to the rear of the box for the cables to ride in, but otherwise, the mock-up is about how it will be... I think it's going to work great...

The steering servo is mounted on a mounting plate made of ply, then it slides into the rails in the nose and is pinned in place...

I'll post more as I get closer to done... This one will be aimed for our P-OPC Spec class, using the SV27 power system on 4S1P...

More to come...

[Darin Jordan]

Here are a few more...

[SJFE]

That is such a beautifull tunnel. I really shouldent keep staring @ it. Nothing good will become of my bank accounts if I do...lol

[Flying Scotsman]

Nice work Darin. I presume the Oberto colour scheme?

[Darin Jordan]

Nice work Darin. I presume the Oberto colour scheme?

Thanks...

I'll fit some "Oberto-ish" scheme in there somewhere... but it'll just be in the form of some accents and maybe a decal or two... I really like the look of the wood... but then, I have to stick with tradition!

[txboatpilot]

Boat looks fantastic Darin!! Cant wait to see some of those still "in motion" pictures, that i have seen of your other Oberto crafts..... That hull is a real beauty!!

[crazzy maxx]

boat is comming along spectacular
this makes me want to turn my nirto tunnel into FE

[Darin Jordan]

Hey gang... I think I have the steering system finalized now... I've been concerned about crimping the wire with the ferrels included with the kit, as it makes installing the cable kind of a one-time shot, but I figure out a use for those steering rod end-links that come with the TS-2 kits! I opened up the hole just slightly so two cable-diameters would fit, then ground off the little pin and made these removable "ferruls"... They are very secure and should allow for cable adjustments, etc., should they be needed...

The nylon guides at the back of the radio box are just landing gear straps from Dubro, mounted upside down... I think they'll work fine for now...

Next step is to mount the radio gear and get the tubes installed in the back to run the motor leads through... Stay tuned!

[Darin Jordan]

Here are a couple more shots that show how I'm handling running the power leads out to the motor... and the water cooling for the ESC...

The SV27 ESC, with my own cooling plates, is sitting on top of a pair of 2S1P 4350mah PolyRC 20C Lipos... There is plenty of room there for a single larger 4S1P pack if I go that route... With all the cell weight back there, the balance point is around 8" from the back of the sponsons, which I think will close... 30% would be 8.4" and I still have the RX to put toward the front... so I should be able to get it close... If I need more weight in the back, I'll just have to add a touch of lead...

The wires will be sealed with heat shrink tubing...

I think I should have this one about ready to add some color to before the end of the week... Then I can get started on my new N2-Sport... or P-Mono... or N2-Mod Tunnel... or.....