Lauterbach GP Special.

[785boats]

Well I couldn't help myself & had to buy one of these kits from Mike at ML Boatworks.

http://mlboatworksrc.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=39&products_id=41

Although it is technicaly a 1/6 scale GP hull I am building it as a 1/8 scale Unlimited hull. Mainly because there are no 1/6 classes where we run, but there are 1/8 scale boats coming out of the woodwork. Pun intended.

So here's where I'm at after a couple of evenings work.

I glued the stringers to the bottom of the main formers first, & then glued them to the bottom skin.

Then all the bulkheads were fitted into place with the stringers loosely sitting in place at the edges of the bottom skin. Once the bulkheads were tacked in place, the two stringers were then glued.

There is a small sliver of bottom skin that needs to be added as the 12" wide sheet that the bottom skin was cut from is obviously not quite wide enough for the correct scale. This piece of ply is supplied taped to the main skin, & fits perfectly in place.

All the other stringers & the nose pieces were added in the same fashion, & then the side skins were glued on too. The two nose pieces have been cut with a key way, & lock perfectly in place.

All the cutouts, slots & dotted lines matched up perfectly.

It was then just a matter of sanding all the stringers flush & to the correct angles ready for the skins to be attached.

Tonights effort will be the sponsons & the anti trip skins.

Here's a few pics. The first one is my motto because of my failing eyesight.

Cheers.
Paul.

[785boats]

And a couple more pics.
One of the underside & one of the side skins added.

[egneg]

Looking good so far. I am building one of his boats too.

[785boats]

Thanks pal.
Which one are you building up? This is my 4th kit. The GP400, GP310, the U-95 1/8 scale & now this one. All great fun to build.

Well, a little bit more done last night. The anti trip skins were added, and the sponsons built up on the main hull.
All straight forward really. Just follow the dotted lines & the numbers. The toy tabs locate everything in the correct position.

The undersides of the sponsons are completely different shapes so the correct bulkheads must be fitted to the correct sides.
If it was being built to run anticlockwise as some true 1/8th races are run, then the bulkheads would have to swap sides.
As it stands, the Port sponson has a step along the outside edge, while the Starboard sponson has a chamfer along the inside edge

With the heels of the sponsons, I Epoxied them into place instead of using CA glue like the rest of the assembly. Just for added strength & sealing the joints.
It also allowed me to set them up perfectly straight, level, parallel, etc, as these will dictate the final shape of the ride pads.
But once they were set the rest of the sponson bulkheads & chines were all dry assembled into place & the CA used on all the joints.

The only thing I added was a scrap of 1/4"X1/4" wood to strengthen the joint of the chine piece to the side skin of the hull, as this is a butt joint & just didn't seem all that strong. You can just see it in the second photo.

I also added the cross brace at bulkhead #7 and the centre spar from there to the bow. The spar is made up of two pieces of 1/4x1/4 wood.

Now is is time to shape & sand all those stringers to the right profiles for the skins to be attached.

Some more pics. You will see the difference in the sponsons with the last pic.

[HydroMike]

What kind motor and esc are you planning on running in this boat I'm very interested in this

[785boats]

Mike.
If it ends up reasonably light, I will run it on 8s with a 1530/1Y 1100kv motor.
If it ends up a bit heavy I'll use 10s with the popular 1527/1.5Y 850kv motor.
In either case the Swordfish 240A pro will be the ESC.
In my U-95, which is the same length, I'm running the 1527/1Y 1250kv motor on 8s but the revs are a bit high, hence the 1100kv choice for this hull

But if there are any other suggestions, I'm all ears.

Cheers.
Paul.

[cybercrxt]

My God Paul...Didnt the kit just arrive like a couple days ago??? Lol...have you even slept since it came!!! Hahaha. Looking very very good. I will be honest, an 8s setup with a 1521 or 1527 will be more than enough power. This kit ends up in the 13lb range, so anything bigger is just not needed. Great job so far! Thanks for taking the time to share. Mike

[785boats]

Thanks for the info Mike.
So maybe the 1521/1.5Y 1050kv would be enough on 8s?
Yes, it's just been a few evenings work. It went together quite easily. Other projects might slow things up a bit this week, but I hope to get the skins on & the insides sealed by the weekend.
I took it to the club on Saturday as a "Show & Tell". It stirred up a quite bit of interest. You will have a couple more customers.

Cheers.
Paul.

[HydroMike]

Is this legal in IMPBA for running in 1/8 scale thinking strongly of getting this kit. I have a blazer lauterbach and is fast and stable be nice to have this on the electric side lol thanks

[785boats]

Mike.
I believe it fits the Master Hull roster numbers. But Mike at ML Boatworks would have to clarify which ones.

[HydroMike]

Well I may just get it anyway be good funnnn boat anyway

[JimClark]

I love the looks of the Lauterbach hull's

[785boats]

I agree Jim. They have such a graceful style about them.

[cybercrxt]

Yup, it fits the master hull roster numbers! Mike

[cybercrxt]

...and, all ML Boatworks cowlings now come in White Gel coat...no extra cost! Here is the Lauterbach cowling, and some of the other offerings!