My FighterCat Daytona 37 Build...

[Checkmateguy01]

I've started working on my Daytona hull and so far...not...so good. Now i know why i buy RTR's most of the time LOL. Anyways, i was working on installing the strut/rudder assembly, carefully (or so i thought) measured everthing out, marked the spots to drill holes, and i missed by about 1/16 of an inch with the whole assembly sitting too low. I knew it had to be pretty much flush with the top deck, thought i had it but the drill must have walked down on me. It wasn't even close at first, so i enlarged the holes, that helped but not enough, like a said it's about 1/16 low and the bottom of the bracket hangs below the tunnel bottom. It's not much, but enough to annoy me, and i'm affraid when i drill for the bottom 2 holes the screws may be to close to the bottom of the hull. It's dead on for straightness up and down, and dead on centered too, got that part right, just not the height, 2 outta 3 ain't bad i guess. Rookie mistake all the way. I can't enlarge the holes any more, they are pretty big now. Right now i'm takin' a break to figure out what i'm gonna do, just leave it alone and drill out for the bottom 2 and call it good, or try to figure out how to raise it. I guess i could enlarge the holes on the mount a little bit too, that might help a bit. O well, sorry for the rant, just a tad frustrated at the moment, i have some more "body work" to do to the hull (smothing out the seem), think i'll go work on that for a little while. Here's some pics so far...

IMG_0306.jpg IMG_0307.jpg IMG_0303.jpg

[tiqueman]

Put it away for the evening. go back to it tomorrow and enlarge the upper holes even more. Make it right. Install the bottom with the top tight so it wont shift on you. then remove it all and fill the upper holes w/ epoxy. Tape it from the outside and dab it in from the inside. Its easy to do and trust me, your not the first one whos had to fill holes. I had to do it on Gimps because of a hardware change. Its not a big deal. theres a lot worse that can go wrong. Builds looking good so far. take the extra step to make the hardware right. In the end you will be glad you did and no one will ever know it was once wrong.

[HYDROJERRY]

I agree with Scott(Tiqueman) on that one,, im sure we've all done that at one time or another,,

[Checkmateguy01]

Put it away for the evening. go back to it tomorrow and enlarge the upper holes even more. Make it right. Install the bottom with the top tight so it wont shift on you. then remove it all and fill the upper holes w/ epoxy. Tape it from the outside and dab it in from the inside. Its easy to do and trust me, your not the first one whos had to fill holes. I had to do it on Gimps because of a hardware change. Its not a big deal. theres a lot worse that can go wrong. Builds looking good so far. take the extra step to make the hardware right. In the end you will be glad you did and no one will ever know it was once wrong.

Thanks man! Yeah i know others have done it too, that's why i still have a little bit of a sense of humor about it! So you mean just go ahead and drill out the those 2 top holes even bigger, then tighten up and drill out the bottom ones, got it, will do, but what about the epoxy? I have good 2 part epoxy, normal stuff, but if i fill the holes can the epoxy be drilled thru and not break up? Never had to drill out epoxy before, probably take a few applications to get enough to fill the holes i'd imagion. Yup, i'm gonna fix it, sometime this week, for now i'm gonna play with some bondo and sand paper, i love doing body work which is why i wanted to build this hull from scratch instead of just buying a Genesis from HK already done...i may have to reconsider that next time LOL.

[tiqueman]

If you can, get a hold of some filler or micro balloons etc that you can add to the epoxy to thicken it up. If you cant find any from the LHS and would like some, let me know and I can send you a bit. You mix it in w/ the epoxy to thicken it up from moderatley runny to a thick paste... whatever your desire. the two part hobby epoxys will work wonderfully. Something like this http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXK302&P=7 can usually be found at your LHS w/ the LHS's name on it. Some 5 min and 30 min are always good to have on hand. I havent had much luck w/ the two part stuff you can get from hardware/ automotive stores, etc. It always stays rubbery.

[T.S.Davis]

Great lines on those Daytona boats.

[marko500]

Insead of making the holes larger I would use a small file or dremel and slot the holes. Will make it easier to fill them in later.

Mark

[tiqueman]

I assumed thats what he would be doing.. at least I hope thats whats been going on

[LarrysDrifter]

Or, ill sell you my hull already drilled for the hardware you have! Posting it tomorrow in the swap shop.

[marko500]

I don't know tiqueman. When I saw this "I can't enlarge the holes any more, they are pretty big now." I figured I should at least make the suggestion about slotting them.

Mark

[Checkmateguy01]

I assumed thats what he would be doing.. at least I hope thats whats been going on

That was kinda what i figured, i have to find a rat tail file small enough to fit first, i have a couple but they are to big. I have the same 30min epoxy as in the tower link, mine isn't great planes but it's in the same bottles, NHP brand, used the stuff for years when i raced nitro. I'll have to take a trip up to the our hooby shop (which isn't the best in the world) and see if they have any of that filler additive for the epoxy! Thanks for advice Tique, i'll be buggin' you alot more, don't worry...might wanna sign off for a while lol.

[tiqueman]

no worries at all. You can elongate it with a drill bit too. Just not quite as accurate. Pull it the direction you wanna go.. just dont let it walk on you.

[tiqueman]

I don't know tiqueman. When I saw this "I can't enlarge the holes any more, they are pretty big now." I figured I should at least make the suggestion about slotting them.

Mark

Very good point

[tiqueman]

Checkmate, did you see the transom I redid on the Super Daytona? Your a looong ways away from having a messed up transom

[marko500]

Yeah I've made a mess of some projects too. This is what a typical build looks like in my shop . lol

Mark