Scratch building a mono (old school)

[mlbarnett]

laying on the skin

I am now in the process of gluing on the skin. Bottom first then sides. After each piece I sand edges down to their finished size and sand the joints that will be glued with a following piece. When the bottom and both sides were done I mixed a batch of diluted epoxy and coated all the inside bottom and sides. I also coated the inside of the two deck pieces, as when these are glued into place I'd be unable to reach all of the surface in the bow area.

The picture is of the treated inside of the hull with the first deck piece in place.

My original time estimate is all off. I predict that this boat will be in the water within two months.

[rodneypierce]

mlbarnett, you can get ply at nationalbalsa.com They ahve 12x48 sheets of 1/32 ply for near the same price that you paid for the 12x24.

Just for future needs.

[mlbarnett]

Hull nearly complete

As you can see the hull is completely decked, sanded and shaped ready for the first coat of thinned epoxy. During the building of the hatch I discovered that because of the shallow draft, the motor (a 3665) sat above the top of the hatch opening. Especially since I'm mounting the motor aft I have to tip the motor down toward the keel. This raised the back up into the air. So I incorporated an engine cowl which I thought was esthetically pleasing. To further break-up the large flat cover I also added back rest for this little lake runabout.

Underneath I added two strakes per side. Not the traditional style where the bottom of the strakes are flat with the surface of the water, but basically triangular strips with an acute angle facing the water. I'm hoping this will eliminate the need of turn fins, perhaps even trim tabs (though I doubt the later). I enjoy a little experimentation, and if it doesn't work, or proves to be a soure of problems I'll just sand them off and install standard strakes, if any at all.

I also removed the second bulkhead after the decking was complete to open up the main compartment and added a low windscreen (both done after images were taken).

I'd like some input. My motor is a 3060kv and I've run it on a 7.4v 4000mah pack in the recent past (the avatar of the yellow tunnel is using this setup). Pretty quick with decent run times. Is using a 3s pack going to far? 34,000 rpm (by the math) seems high....... thoughts? Don't forget, I'm not adverse to taking risks, but don't want to be a fool either.

[mlbarnett]

motor mount

After placing all key components into hull, and knowing the motor was near the back, I was able to determine that I could balance the boat properly with such a configuration. So I have now installed the motor mount and the stuffing tube. I have coated the hull with two thin layers of diluted epoxy (with a sanding between coats) and am doing the final sanding before primering the hull.

I have ordered some misc. hardware from HOR Racing and should have hull ready when it arrives.

[Southwest]

Now as i read the posting any advise isn't needed, sorry for posting.

[mlbarnett]

Had to revise my motor due to balancing issues. Now using a 3650 4000kv. Will run it on 7.4V which will sit side to side on the balance point so I can change up sizes without considering balance. I don't use tape (hate the stuff) but instead the hatch is designed to shed water away from hatchway and will have a gasket along the raised portion of the hatchway. What little water gets in is of no concern as everything is or will be waterproofed. I definitely going to try it first without trim tabs, but have a small pair I can install in case.