Who is acutaboveboatworks?

[sjslhill]

acutaboveboatworks, any good?


thanks,
Steve

[Mike5334]

I have recent direct expirience (within past 30 days) with that company. I can honestly say that I do not recommend A Cut Above Boat Works. If you would like details, IM me.

[LarrysDrifter]

If you would, please post the details here. It sounds like you could possibly save many on here a headache.

[sjslhill]

Who is a cut above boat works?

[LarrysDrifter]

Looks like they make lazer cut wood kits of model boats.

[Mike5334]

I kinda dislike bashing a company in a public forum. It tends to lead to posts bashing each other. Heh. Still, since someone asked and I'm willing to stand by my remarks...

I made an order for the 1/10th scale 1969 U7 Notre Dame Hydroplane kit on Jan 24th via the web site and PayPal for $74.99 + shipping. The kit itself was based on and cut to the redrawn Roger Newton 1/10th scale plans freely available on the internet.

I knew going into the order that the kit was for the hull only which was ok with me … it would save hours of time cutting the hull pieces out from scratch. The cowling and such was something I could do.

The company doesn’t seem to communicate very well. The only notification that showing they got the order was the PayPal automated receipt. Any communication I received from them was in response to an email I sent them first. I never received any notification that the kit was actually shipped. All in all, don’t expect the company to take the initiative and contact you.

The kit actually arrived at my door on Feb 20th, nearly a month after it was ordered. After inspecting the kit and comparing it to the plans (not included in the kit), some glaring problems were evident. The kit was missing all the wood required to complete the hull such as the 3/16” x ½” stick stringers, 3/32 sheet balsa for tunnel floor doublers, 1/8” square stick for the bottom sponson reinforcement, and the pre-cut 1/64th main stringer doublers. The kit also had two “E” bulkheads where only one was required.
Note that the web site said hull kit, not partial hull kit.

The laser cutting itself was well done by National Balsa. Unfortunately, the CAD layout for the laser cutting is not well done. All slots were cut oversized for very sloppy fits up to 1/16” too wide. The cutout for the 1/8” square stick on the bottom inside sponson corners of the bulkheads was so oversized that I had to use ¼” x 1/8” wood sticks instead of the 1/8” square stock. Bulkhead “C” and one of the main stringers pieces were broken due to slots cut too deep (almost to the opposite edge of the wood). Lastly, the 1/64” ply doublers for the end of the sponsons did not match the sponson shape. One doubler was so far off that I simply tossed it and made a new one.
The web side said corrections were made to account for drawn plans. Frankly, I didn’t see that. Laser cut kits should have close fit tolerances. I’ve put together laser cut kits that fit so well that the kit could be assembled without glue. That has been the industry standard for over a decade.

Oh, I wasn’t too happy with the wood selection, but that isn’t the fault of A Cut Above Boatworks. The laser cutter used both hard and soft balsa for identical parts such as the sponson side pieces.

To sum up:
- Communication is nil unless customer prompted
- Wood to build the hull was not included, including two laser cut pieces
- CAD layout for the laser cutting is sloppy with overcut slots not corrected for best fit

If someone is willing to accept the problems with the kits at a lower price than other competitors, then order a kit from A Cut Above Boatworks. Otherwise, perhaps look at someone else such as ML Boatworks.

As a last word, I am building the kit. At the moment, the hull is mostly assembled with the top deck in place and hull sanded. Just waiting on the hardware to arrive before putting on the rear hull deck and moving on to the cowl, fin, and details.

[Doby]

Who is a cut above boat works?

The company you asked about in your 1st post.

[cybercrxt]

Please visit www.mlboatworksrc.com for all your scale needs. I work with David Newton, and top racers across the country to offer the best kits. My frames are perfect fit, from aircraft ply, NOT balsa like acutabove is offering, hense the price difference. You can also see examples of my kits on my website, and you can always call me to answer any questions you may have, and I probably have a picture of the kit you need on my computer, even if its not on the website! Thanks, Mike Luszcz, ML Boatworks, (252) 717-6282

[T.S.Davis]

I haven't finished one of Mike's boats yet but I will say this....the fit is perfect and the joints are numbered. At least mine were. Makes it really hard to screw it up.