Darin's ProBoat Miss Elam Race Prep

[AndyKunz]

Shoot, Doug, not ME! I'm watching this thread so I can prep MY OWN Elam! I work on radios, not hulls.

Andy

[Jeff Wohlt]

Good thread, Darin. Those are very strong and well built motors but I fugure you may be putting something else in? Love to see how it runs on the UL1 Ammo motor.

[Darin Jordan]

Good thread, Darin. Those are very strong and well built motors but I fugure you may be putting something else in? Love to see how it runs on the UL1 Ammo motor.

I will be running the ProBoat motor and ESC... The extra KV of the UL1 comes at the expense of torque... I think either can be made to compete... I'll stick with ProBoat in this boat for now...

[Darin Jordan]

OK... progress....

Warning... some of this is NOT for the Faint of Heart... Proceed VERY carefully...

In preparation for a more adjustable strut setup, I am modifying the stock stuffing tube to allow for more range of movement, mostly in the UP direction.

I carefully cut away the wooden block that is epoxied between the stuffing tube and the hull. Take your time and be careful as you do this.

Spend some time carefully cleaning away the excess glue and wood.

[Darin Jordan]

Next, I decided to anneal the brass in the area where I wanted it to be a little more bendable...

Using a wet rag to protect the surrounding areas and after removing the teflon liner, I carefully heated the tube to glowing in the area where it would need to bend... As soon as it glowed red, I took away the flame. I heated it to within about 1/2" of the hull exit. This process also burned off the paint from the brass.

If you decide to do this, please use EXTREME care, or you'll warp the bottom of the hull or worse. I'm not sure this step is necessary, but I find it makes adjusting the strut much easier and less likely to kink or snap the brass tubing. Also puts less pressure on the hull where the brass exits.

When it's all finished, I used some 220 wet-dry to clean up the brass tubing then went over it with some scotch-brite... or steel wool to polish it up some...

[Darin Jordan]

I like the area that is supporting the motor and driveline to be RIGID... Flex here can cause binding and snapped flex-shafts.

Using some carbon flat-stock, I cut a few pieces and placed them across the afterplane area of the inner hull in such a way as to support the fiberglass around the stuffing tube.

Once cut, I glued them in place with some thick CA. Don't worry about getting them completely glued down all round the edges... the next step will take care of that...

[Darin Jordan]

To complete the stiffening of the afterplane, I am laying in a layer of 6oz Carbon Fiber cloth.

To do this, I cut a pattern to assure a clean fit.

One problem often associated with laying in fiberglass or carbon is that it's sometimes tough to get clean edges. One solution is to adhere a piece of lightweight glass cloth over the carbon. I used some 1 1/2oz lightweight glass weave (I think it's a hounds-tooth pattern...). Lightly fog the surface of the glass with Super 77 Spray Adhesive, then stick it down to the carbon.

Now, you can cut out your shape without worrying about the edges fraying.

Once you have your carbon cut, lightly fog the back of it (fiberglass side) with Super 77, then stick it down in place.

[Darin Jordan]

Once you have the carbon loosely in place, carefully press it down to make sure it completely conforms to the contours, etc.

Once it's tacked down, you can mix your epoxy and work it into the cloth. Start from the middle and work your way out, liberally applying epoxy and working it in using a cut down piece of a bondo spreader, or other appropriate tool... Acid brushes are useful here as well.

Be careful not to catch the carbon and fray it... Just take your time and make sure you get full saturation.

Then blot of the excess with a clean towel and set asside to completely dry. This would be a good time to make sure the afterplane is still flat... If there is any warp in it, block it up somehow so that when the epoxy dries, the warp is out...

[Darin Jordan]

Here are a few more of the epoxying process...

If you have any leftover epoxy, use it to laminate the wood inside...

Once it's all dry, I'll get to work making a new servo mount (or retrofitting the original... I'll have to look at it), and then I'll move onto trueing the ride-pads... or making the adjustable strut...

[Ub Hauled]

does the boat come with thrust bearings Darin?

[Jeff Wohlt]

Not sure about you all but this is turning me on!!

Got to give it to you, Darin. Do you have three arms so you can build and shoot pictures???

[Darin Jordan]

does the boat come with thrust bearings Darin?

No... On the stock boat, the thrust is taken at the strut... The coupler and thrust bearing you see in the pics is an Octura coupler and VXB thrust bearing that I added...

[rcboatfan]

lookin' pretty sweet darin

[longballlumber]

Darin,

Why not replace the stuffing tube all together. Seems like a lot of work when replacing would be easier and cleaner without the risk of heat warping the hull.

Ub Hauled, good question about the thrust bearing. I was going to ask the same thing!!!

[Darin Jordan]

Darin,

Why not replace the stuffing tube all together. Seems like a lot of work when replacing would be easier and cleaner without the risk of heat warping the hull.

It wasn't hard to do what I did at all... took all of about 10-minutes, with minimal cutting, grinding, and tearing up the hull... Nothing wrong with the existing tubing, just needed a little tweaking... Do it right, and the hull will be fine... And it turned out VERY clean... Nice shiney brass! (I don't actually have the final pictures posted... but you'll see...)

Just the way I roll... My intent is to be minimally invasive and to do a minimum amount of work to get the job done right...