HPR 010 Mono: Very Slow Build

[boredom.is.me]

I did some research on the Sikaflex. That stuff seems pretty runny. With such a deep vee, it would probably end up being a pain to work with. It's also VERY flexible.

I did some research after asking and found that West G-Flex is a very common recommendation, as well as marine JB Weld.


Aside from that, I completed the aluminum mounting bracket for the servo.

[boredom.is.me]

Servo Tray is mounted and motor mounts are tacked.

[boredom.is.me]

I don't really have anything new to report.

I still haven't ordered the ESCs. I was planning on going with SF220's, but the more I look at Swordfish products, the more I see how much trouble I might be getting in. With that said, it's back to the T180's.

I ordered the remaining bits for the battery sled.

[boredom.is.me]

Mostly everything is officially glued in. I ended up mixing a 12 gram batch of 105/207 West System epoxy and added maybe .25g of carbon dust to it. That little amount was all that was needed to turn it black. (It's not really black. It's still clear, but turns into a glimmering black as it gets deeper. It really is pretty, to me at least.) I let it sit for about 45 minutes, then pasted it on to the mount rails. The underside was already coated from before so it's not lacking any contact there. The packing peanut was just there to hold the stuffing tubes while the glue tacked a little more. I then inserted both flex cables with stingers mounted and lined up the motors.

Once it all cures, I'll add black heatshrink over the stuffing tubes. If needed or recommended, I'll add supports to the stuffing tubes.

The only thing left is to glue the control linkage tubes in place. For that, I went with 1/4" aluminum tubing cut to about 70mm. Otherwise, I pretty much threw out my previous idea for the steering assembly. I over thought as usual. I'm going to use Sullivan's .056" flexible pushrod instead of the 2mm (overkill) I had in mind. I had the smaller .032" version on hand and got to playing with that and liked it more.

The tiny hole under the rudder hole was my first pilot hole for the rudder. I underestimated how thick the layup is. It has been filled.

The motors can be rotated in increments of 45 degrees. They are straight up in this picture, but are clocked 45 to the outside in all of the others. I'm going to see if I can get the wires to pass under the mount. There is a fair amount of room under there so it's worth a shot to keep it clean.

[boredom.is.me]

I might as well throw this into the thought pile. And I'm bored...

Swordfish 220A 6s $110 164g 104x41x22 - is SF reliable? Reading the SF forum is scary.
Swordfish 200A 8s $130 164g 104x41x22 - see above
Turnigy 180A 6s $83 245g 72x48x37 - annoying form factor and heavy
Seaking 160A Pro $114 127g 109x52x15 - no real world info and lesser $ value
Raider 150A 6s $75 169g 76x56x25 - favorite form factor
Flycolor 150A 6s $40 169g 76x56x25 - raider rebrand

The final bits for the steering is on the way.
I made the lipo sled.
One of the couplers is off center. :/

And that's my ramble for at least another 12 hours.

[boredom.is.me]

The slide mechanics I designed weren't quite up to par, but I learned what mistakes I made and how to fix them. I already have replacement sets on the way.

I just picked up an 11pm to 7am job and still have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, but the bulk of the build is already completed. It WILL be completed sometime through November.

[boredom.is.me]

The revised sled accessories came today. They work perfect! They have an adjustable grip range to account for possible inconsistencies in the sheet thickness. I made them for 3mm, but they should easily work with a 1/8" base thickness as well. I just need to get a thumbscrew.

[boredom.is.me]

I also got the latches.

[iridebikes247]

I have experience with the sf220a they're pretty strong 6s escs, lot of power have used in 90+ mph twin cats around 36". Quite a few people have run the seaking 180, both new and old versions with good results. I think the swordfish 220 or seaking will work well with your setup. Nice work again.

[boredom.is.me]

Thanks for the input IRB. The SF rep here just mentioned that they will be doing some updates based on feedback (and major quality control issues) from here. I'm curious to see where they go and how long it will take.

I designed a cap bank last night. It fits the shape of the hull and can fit between the carbon stands for the motor mount. Those are 4mm bullets with standard 1000uf caps.

[boredom.is.me]

I cut 5mm thick carbon rings to fit around the 1/4" tube for the pushrod boots. I'll just cut shorter lengths of tubing and have everything external. Much simpler and easier to work on, while at the same time not impeding movement. I'm using the Aquacraft radio box boots. They are pretty much out of stock everywhere so I picked a few extra sets. They are very small and much more compressible/stretchable than normal boots.

[boredom.is.me]

I'm actually satisfied. :)

[boredom.is.me]

Fun Fact: The boat in my profile picture was based off of this hull.

I still have to trim, but have made the initial cutouts for the latches.

Any recommendations on what to use as a body filler over the gelcoat? I can get fiberglass/epoxy dust from work and possibly mix that in with some West 105. It's a very fine white pounder that's a byproduct of sanding down fiberglass tubes. I'm pretty sure the tubes are made with polyester resin. I have Bondo but I do not believe that would be a good filler for rc boats.

[785boats]

I use automotive bodyfiller on most of my boats, be they fiberglass or wood.

I have been reading along with this thread. Man you do some nice engineering on a lot of parts.
Beautiful to watch.

[boredom.is.me]

I'll look for some of the all purpose bondo then. I have body filler, but it's meant for bare metal.

Thanks! I try. Everything is trial, error, and application to the next project. If you need anything custom, let me know.