My Phil Thomas Super Sport 21

[alphadog]

Hi Detox, I'm putting together a SS21, there is a V angle on the floor of the hull where the motor goes, I'm assuming your motor bracket will have a space underneath because of the shallow V angle. How tight can you get the screws for the mount without bending the hull? Did you use rubber washers for the screws to avoid any potential leaks? Or else did you modify the bottom of the floor to make it flat? I'll be using a 1515 1Y with a water jacket and a Castle 240 ESC along with 2 G3 3300 mpa 4S packs (4S2P). Let me know please.
Alphadog

[Raydee]

I can't answer for Detox but on all Phil's hulls he actually lays the top half of the hull into the bottom half so there is room between the two hulls to mount and epoxy wood or even aluminum that you can tap for a motor mount. Here is a pic of what I mean.

[alphadog]

SS21 Motor Mount

Thanks Raydee,
Indeed my hull came with two aluminum strips side by side as to mount a motor. Personally, I like the idea of a bolt in motor bracket. I may just fill in the V angle on the floor with epoxy so there is no space between the bracket, the inner tub liner and the bottom of the hull, so it is one solid area. I'm afraid without doing this the pressure of the screws as you tighten them could start bending the hull from the bottom. My other idea is to just glue in a different type of motor mount, the kind that hold the bracket with rails.

On another note, wish me luck in retrieving my SS45 which went under at the pond during a race heat last Sunday. It will be like finding a needle in a haystack, but I need to try I just post a picture of it on my albums. I finally had it race ready and it wasn't a not enough flotation issue.

[Raydee]

MAN I hate to hear that. After almost losing a boat last week I am always going to be nervous.

[alphadog]

We need like an airbag flotation device that can inflate with a CO2 cartridge on impact or remotely. These boats weight about 7 lbs more than a nitro/gas counterpart by the time you add the largest capacity packs you can fit in. Mine sported a 2215 1y with a Schulze 40Xl 160 ESC, and G3 5500 6S packs, so I got a lot of time and money sitting in the bottom of the pond right now.

[Raydee]

Yeah that is crazy, you had as much pool noodle in it as possible and it still went down?

[alphadog]

Along the two sponsons all the way to the length of the transom. I guess I could have always found space for more, but it is not easy with these pre-assembled hulls. There is a formula J Turner told me about to figure out the amount of flotation given a total weight to achieve neutral buoyancy, but there is not enough space in the hull to pack enough flotation to even accomplish neutral buoyancy. This is crazy and makes me wonder if I need to settle for smaller capacity packs and a 1527 motor instead of 2215 just to decrease weight. I could still run this boat pretty competitively with a lighter set up, just like you do with yours.

[Raydee]

I don't know mine is still very heavy. I actually sold my power setup and will be trying something different this season. Did your hatch come off the boat for it to sink or did you pop a hole in the hull somewhere?

[alphadog]

Me and another racer cross each other at the start, so we weren't at full speed yet. I think my hatch might have gotten untaped at impact near the front quickly allowing water to get in as I sped across the start, then I started loosing reception and stop right around turn 1. As the heat ended the boat was gone. It could be half way sunk, but don't know. Either the tape came off or a busted sponson.

[Raydee]

Yeah either way that really stinks. I am going to stop by the local scuba place this weekend and have a talk with the guys there JUST IN CASE this ever happens to me. It will be nice to have a guy I can call to dive for my hull if it ever goes under.

[alphadog]

I thought about the same, but the water has 0 visibility as it is and remains that way all year. The pond is about 7-8 ft deep. The club has a magnetic sweep rake to catch missing stuff in the bottom. We are going out there today to see what happens. Another member has a drag net, so we'll see. Again, wish me luck and a blessing!

[Raydee]

Yeah man I hope you find it for sure, that would probably keep me up at night. Then again its only a hobby and you will always make more money

Good Luck!

[alphadog]

Thanks Raydee, hope to meet you in person some day.
Best wishes!

[Fluid]

Gilbert, did you have any luck finding the SS45 today? I still have nightmares about that, take your eyes off a dead boat for a few seconds, look back and its gone....



.

[alphadog]

Hi Jay, no, it was too windy today. Maybe tomorrow Rich and I will get out and see what happens. I started setting up my new SS21 today. I really want to get that SS45 back out of the pond. Be well.