Pete's Whiplash 20 LSH

[Shooter]

Went over to Mikes and he hooked me up with some different fillers from West Systems! Nice stuff!

I fitted a piece for the top deck and started cutting it for the UL-1 hatch. This little circular saw is AMAZING. They don't sell them in the USA (maybe for safety reasons??? hahaha....). Absolutely the best hand tool for making STRAIGHT detailed cuts in thin laminates. The bottom of the tool is flat and rests against the work while you cut. You plunge to start. I removed the safety shield for better view of the cut. It's scary.

[Shooter]

The top deck was by far the biggest time consuming portion of the project. A tedious task with a large amount of precision cuts and radii. Just absolutely daunting.

[bozo586]

looking good pete-nice work!

[ray schrauwen]

Went over to Mikes and he hooked me up with some different fillers from West Systems! Nice stuff!

I fitted a piece for the top deck and started cutting it for the UL-1 hatch. This little circular saw is AMAZING. They don't sell them in the USA (maybe for safety reasons??? hahaha....). Absolutely the best hand tool for making STRAIGHT detailed cuts in thin laminates. The bottom of the tool is flat and rests against the work while you cut. You plunge to start. I removed the safety shield for better view of the cut. It's scary.

I bought a Dremel attachment That does nice cuts but, it's safety fence has a very tight spring on it. I have gotten used to it and it makes nice cuts too. Waaay back Dremel used to sell just the circular saw blades to bolt onto their mandrel but after a lawsuit they went bye bye.

[detox]

Now... THAT... is what a hydroplane should look like. Taping will be very easy also.

I used a strait edge and razor knife to cut the plywood and plastic. And a simple scrowl saw to cut curves.

[Brushless55]

that is looking really cool....
great job man!

[Shooter]

Finally finished the hardware mount. Took forever. Machined completely by hand (no CNC). I made (3) of them....one for each boat. Standard speedmaster strut and rudder will mount directly with (4) bolts to the transom.

[Shooter]

OK, I only have 3 weeks or so until the first race, so I need to kick this into gear.

Built a rail motor mount and glassed it in. The long rod was used to ensure everthing was mounted on center. I notched out the sides so the perpendicular pcs would interlock. Seem to be fairly solid.

[Shooter]

Mounted the stuffing tube. This thing is so centered to the motor shaft that you can literally blow on the prop and it spins the collet on the motor shaft (when not tightened, obviously). However, there is some slop in the motor mount holes and the rail mount holes, so getting it centered properly after disassembly/re-assembly is going to be a must.

Added a plate to mount the servo.

[darryl whitman]

So, I got to this frame #9 and #13 ordeal. Looked like a good way for me to screw something up and add some unwanted twist into the frame. First I glued frame 9. Then, I cut a pc of scrap wood at the width of the sponson opening and clamped it into place to keep the opening the same width all the way up, then glued #13. Probably total over-kill.

what ever it takes to do the job, that's a good idea , it may help others on a build like that...

[Shooter]

Servo installed. Hardware mounted and fitted. I hate running angled pushrods, but the 3mm diameter is fairly stout. Should be fine. It 'pulls' (tension) during a right turn.

Access to a laser cutter has brought all new possibilities to the deck. Option A and B attached. I think I am going with option B with a single cover. Still going to run the UL-1 hatch.

[ray schrauwen]

Very nice! Do you make your own rudder push rods?

[Shooter]

Yes. Nothing special though. They are made from 3mm stainless steel. Threaded on both ends. I finished gluing the deck on last night. Gotta finish this thing this weekend and start throwing some paint on.

[ray schrauwen]

I bought some 3mm Stainless rods from HOR, threaded both ends, 30cm long each.

I'm about a month behind you on building.

[Shooter]

Make sure you get 'free machining' stainless. It has sulfur in it and makes it easy to thread. Otherwise, it will be a real pain. I use 303 SS w/sulfur.