Darin's ProBoat Miss Elam Race Prep

[Darin Jordan]

I know it's not very pretty, but this is the bracket I came up with for attaching the adjustable strut. It started out picking up the existing holes, but they just aren't aligned properely in this hull to make the bracket square-up with the transom, so I made new holes and tapped them for 4-40 button head screws. This allows me to rotate the plate around to get the bracket aligned correctly.

I have another piece of angle stock, and if this works, I'll make a new one with fewer holes in it! This will work for now to prove the concept.

I thought about just screwing to the transom, but it doesn't have enough structure to hold the screws, so this was a simpler method that shouldn't have involved making any new holes.

Now I have a fully adjustable strut...

[Darin Jordan]

Just a quick update... no pics this time...

The addition of the carbon fiber cloth in the sponson to add some rigidity to the turn fin area worked PEFECTLY... that area doesn't flex at ALL now. Pain in the butt to do, but well worth it...

[Darin Jordan]

I just got word from another guy in our club concerning the Elams... He and his son both got them, and were out running/testing. One of them flipped, and sunk. Apparently there isn't enough floatation in them.

Interestingly enough, I had just ordered some of the 2-part foam this morning. Look for me to be adding this into the sponsons. The boat needs more forward weight anyhow, and also this will help to make it much more rigid up there...

I'm working on a method to modify the hatch to seal it but still maintain the cool looks. It's going to still need to be taped on the outside, but should be easy to do and look good still.

I'll try to post some pics by tomorrow if I make enough progress. It's almost there. This was going to be the last step, but it sounds like foaming things will be instead...

[Ub Hauled]

Oh man that sucks... I hope they get a replacement from Proboat.
At least they are saving boats in the future....

Darin, I was hoping for a few pics, I need my "fix" man!


I don't think I ever asked you but, did you run the Elam prior to the mods?

[Darin Jordan]

Darin, I was hoping for a few pics, I need my "fix" man!


I don't think I ever asked you but, did you run the Elam prior to the mods?

Pix will come shortly. I just needed time to make some progress...

I did NOT run this boat first, but I did run my previous one a bit. There are just some things on Hydros that you just KNOW need to be a certain way... And I'm not really changing anything in the general geometry of this boat, just "blueprinting" what was already designed into it.

With the interesting conversation about the sponson angles on the other buildup thread, it will be interesting to see how this works, because it has a very different set of angles... In theory, it should be able to handle some decent speeds with stability and low fly-off risk, but we'll see... The two cannards up front are the variable I haven't measured out yet... But if they give too much lift, the quick application of a "Gurney" flap or other lift-killing device wouldn't be hard to add...

[JimClark]

Darin I am going to fiberlay today to see if they have it and I knoe Tap Plastics has it for sure in quarts. don't buy too much it has a short shelf life

Jim

I just got word from another guy in our club concerning the Elams... He and his son both got them, and were out running/testing. One of them flipped, and sunk. Apparently there isn't enough floatation in them.

Interestingly enough, I had just ordered some of the 2-part foam this morning. Look for me to be adding this into the sponsons. The boat needs more forward weight anyhow, and also this will help to make it much more rigid up there...

I'm working on a method to modify the hatch to seal it but still maintain the cool looks. It's going to still need to be taped on the outside, but should be easy to do and look good still.

I'll try to post some pics by tomorrow if I make enough progress. It's almost there. This was going to be the last step, but it sounds like foaming things will be instead...

[Ub Hauled]

I am assuming you guys are using the NON expanding stuff... specially since there is no room for the excess to come out... right?!

[Doby]

I use the low expansion foam in all my boats. As long as you do small sections over a few days,,no problems!

[Darin Jordan]

I use the low expansion foam in all my boats. As long as you do small sections over a few days,,no problems!

I bought the 2lbs density stuff, and will pour it in SMALL amounts into the sponsons with the transom up in the air... Just do a little at a time and see where it goes... Should be fine if done with care.

[Ub Hauled]

why is it that people don't like the non expandable stuff?
do they soak? smell? not hard enough?

[Darin Jordan]

why is it that people don't like the non expandable stuff?
do they soak? smell? not hard enough?

I don't even know what it is... If it doesn't expand, I'm not sure I see the point... it has to be poured into the area, then the hope is that it will fill UP the area by expanding into the gaps, etc...

[Ub Hauled]

it is like a foamy liquid, it just does not expand... lemme see if I can find a link.

[Darin Jordan]

With the strut now mounted, I'm getting closer. It's time to turn the attention to keeping things DRY! That's a challenge on this hull, but I think I have a solution.

First, I made a new subhatch to cover the radio box area. This won't seal anything, but it gives an extra layer of protection none-the-less.

I used the factory hatch and some extra tape to make a pattern, then cut-out a G10 hatch cover.

[Darin Jordan]

To solve the problem of how to seal the hatch itself, I made some modifications that I think worked out great.

First, I sealed the factory antenna hole by taping over the outside of it with electrical tape, then glassing and epoxying it on the inside.

I sealed up the exhaust cone hole using a piece of fitted G10 sheet, glassed and epoxied into place from the inside.

[Darin Jordan]

The area under the stack has a pair of "gutters" to shed water away from the hatch area. These don't allow good taping, so I dammed them up and filled with Epoxy, then got them truely even with the deck using filler, with a thin layer of epoxy over the top to seal it...

While I was waiting for the epoxy to dry, I also installed an new 4-40 steering rod and rubber boot....