ML Boatworks 1/8th Scale 171 Extreme Build Miss Elam

[Speed810]

Good Morning Paul and Don.....

I certainly appreciate the information. I'm thinking the sheeting for this particular boat is the way you did it Don. I know Mike (ML Boats) was saying to just sheet it in 2 separate halfs which made sense for some hull integerity where the sponson's meet the center section. But Don, you have not seen any problem with that part of the boat.....so I'm thinking the epoxy bond that is made between the sponsons and the center section must be plenty for this boat. It certianly will be easier in that area of the center section where the sheeting meets up with the formed airfoil blocks up front.

Paul...I can see that sheeting process working out well on a Sport 20 or 40 boat. I have my eye on that new GSX380 that Mike is putting out....LOL

So Don, You don't see there being any problem with that ETTI ESC where I blew through the top of the heat sink do ya? Thought for sure I'd get something back on that goof up....LOL (Even a "Way to go" ....LOL) One other question Don, Did you make a hatch plate for the very front nose section to keep things water tight or did you just tape that section of the cockpit cowling between the cowling and the ply framework????

Put in my order for all the primer, paint and clearcoat material. Went through Coast Airbrush in CA. Seemed to be the best place to go for smaller quanties of HOK paints. They have been real helpful also on painting sequence , coverages and taping methods. There is one thing though....THIS STUFF IS NOT CHEAP!!!!.........LOL But it should look really great when its done. It will definilty be testing my painting skills.

Well thanks again guys....Back to work.

Mike

[cybercrxt]

I like the way Don did it. Didnt realize the center section was that far back. Sorry for the confusion! Eyeing up the GSX380 huh? Lol, its a bad, bad boat!!!

https://db.tt/76pmrLY1

[don ferrette]

One other question Don, Did you make a hatch plate for the very front nose section to keep things water tight or did you just tape that section of the cockpit cowling between the cowling and the ply framework????

Not sure what you mean? My "electronics box" is watertight without the cowl being on it.

[ron1950]

don how many 8th scales does this make?

[T.S.Davis]

1507 haha

Sorry Don, a giggle at your expense.

[Speed810]

Not sure what you mean? My "electronics box" is watertight without the cowl being on it.

Don, I was looking at the very front section (Cockpit area up by the canard) It appeared that small section did not have a hatch on it. I see the hatch that would be taped down for the main electronics and motor/batt compartment. And it appeared the rear hatch with the engine mounted on it must also be taped down to keep water out. Am I looking at those correctly?

Thanks

Mike

[don ferrette]

Don, I was looking at the very front section (Cockpit area up by the canard) It appeared that small section did not have a hatch on it. I see the hatch that would be taped down for the main electronics and motor/batt compartment. And it appeared the rear hatch with the engine mounted on it must also be taped down to keep water out. Am I looking at those correctly?

Thanks

Mike

That "small section" at the very front got filled with high density foam and the rear area doesn't matter as it's behind the sealed electronics compartment.

[Speed810]

Thanks Don,

That certainly clears that up.... See all this time I'm thinking that the whole boat would be sealed including the very back and very front compartment....LOL Was a lot of head scratching going on here...

Thanks again Don.

[Speed810]

More Progress........:)

Cooling out flow 2.JPGCooling out flow 1.JPGFlotation.JPGMotor 1.JPGMotor 2.JPGGot some work done Friday night and today....

Finished cutting all the foam floatation for the center section. Next for that area will be sheeting the center section and wrap the front airfoil blocks and get that all sanded. Also routed and installed the water outlet and lines.

Also received the motor mount and cooling can from Dave at HRC. He did a great job on both pieces and they all fit perfectly. Started laying out the motor position last night to get the proper angle and placement.

Later today finished mounting the motor....used 1/8 ply as the base and glued in mounting blocks to the ply. Used 6-32 brass inserts in the blocks and 6-32 cap screws to secure the mount at the bottom of the ply mount. Also completed mounting the stuffing tube strut. Will have pictures of that tomorrow.

Have some work to be done on the strut in order to get the right depth. Want to start out with 1" 1/8 depth to start with. [By the way.....Is that measurement always taken from the bottom of the strut?]

Looks like I'll have to cut down the inside of the strut mount slightly so I can fit the hatch properly. It sticks above the hull deck right now...LOL Thought I had got the short mount, but I guess not.

Anyway...more tomorrow...

Mike

[Speed810]

A little more accomplished

Got some more work done on the motor and drive system.

First pictures are the motor mount plate. Wanted to beef up the hull bottom a bit in that area so cut a piece of 1/8 ply for the base and then epoxied hardwood blocks to the ply. Inserted 6-32 brass inserts into the blocks and bolted with 6-32 cap screws. The whole assembly was then epoxied to the hull. Will be adding flat washers and lock washers after the full mount is epoxied with glass cloth.

Prepared the strut block and cut the slot for the strut in the bottom of the hull. Next was the part that I really had not ever done before so was taking some extra time on the drive line. Got the point where the stuffing tube would exit the hull drilled the starter hole and worked the hole out until the angle was correct with the motor collet. Used 11/32" brass as the log for the 5/16" brass stuffing tube.
Next was bending the stuffing tube. I inserted the flex shaft into the 5/16" brass and thought I would try out the tubing bender that I picked up. It bent the tubing alright, but left little bumps in the brass where I was moving the bender down the tube.

This morning I kept thinking about those little bumps / ripples and I just didn't like it. So I bent another piece of 5/16" brass tube, except this time just used my hands to shape the tube. Much easier and the tube came out perfect. I guess you sometimes just need to keep it simple....LOL

Had to cut the strut off at the back to be flush with the transom, then cut the stuffing tube to length at the strut. From there this is where I pulled another Oooppsss! I must have measured 7 or 8 times the length that the flex shaft needed to be. Every time it was the same measurement....
It was very easy to cut the shaft with a cut off wheel and then put it on the sanding disk to taper and round the end. Came out perfect.........except I was about 1/4" short. I know what your thinking....I forgot about the 1/4" between the drive dog and the strut, but I was including that too.....But maybe I thought I did and some how over looked it. Time to order another flex shaft....LOL

I did however get it all centered up and them mixed up some epoxy with micro fillers and glued the shaft log in place.

I would like to know if most of you are filing a flat spot on the motor drive shaft for securing the collet and doing the same on the drive shaft for securing the drive dog?

Started laying out the front cockpit area for an additional bulkhead and the battery tray. Looks like everything will fit great!

Well more to come later...

Mike




Drive1.JPGDrive 2.JPGDrive 3.JPGDrive 4.JPGDrive 5.JPG

[T.S.Davis]

Well that's encouraging Mike. You didn't leave our meeting and think.....awe the heck with it. Sweet!

I use a dremel to buzz a flat on the motor shaft for the coupler. It absolutely will not hold without it. Doesn't take much. Same thing on the drive dog. If you really want to go crazy you can put the drive dog in place with Loctite 603. Not required though. After you get the dog in place, be sure to file the grub screw down flush with the surface of the drive dog. It's a little thing but add up a bunch of littles........

[Todd Fleury]

Terry,
Five scales in the district. Time to find a bigger pond?

[T.S.Davis]

on that....

Don't want to muddy up Mike's build thread.

http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...529#post614529

[Speed810]

Evening Guys.....

Been a little bit since checking in, but I have been working on the boat project.

Had to break away and spend some time with my wife for her birthday...LOL

Well all the hardware for the tub sections was fitted and mounted then disassembled. The front and rear sections were reinforced with triangle stock and then epoxied with carbon fiber matt cloth and the electronics section was epoxied with fiberglass cloth. I also had added the front bulkhead and sealed the rear compartment. The front compartment was extended slightly to accommodate the 6000 Mah batteries.

Since I got into the batteries.....are you guys just using a separate 1200 Mah 4.8V or 6V pack to power the RX or do you use a BEC wired into the existing packs?
I have quite a few A123 2300 Mah batteries that I could use, but that might be overkill. Plus fitting it up front would be tight.

I'm thinking one more light coat of epoxy in those sections should finish it up. [Battery tray ideas??? I see trays with 2 large slotted holes on either side of the tray, are you then threading Velcro strapping material through those holes somehow? Was going to use the same type of tray, permanently epoxy the straps to the under side and thread them up through the slots then epoxy the tray into the hull.]

Last night I cut and installed the 2 center section top sheets. Sanded them down tonight and they turned out looking pretty good.....I also added some 3/8 Sq. stock that was cut and sanded to 1/4 round to fair in under the front airfoil and the bottom of the boat.

Next (Hopefully Tomorrow Night) will be to cut some carbon fiber veil and epoxy cover/seal the airfoil sections and the front canard system. From there I should be finally ready to epoxy both sponsons to the center hull section and finally have this looking like a Hydro....LOL

Then onto the fun part of cutting and fitting the center section hatch work.

Had a few other questions that I'm sure you guys will lend some input on. As far as floatation in the sponsons, do most of you use a spray in expandable foam for this? I see a lot of guys using it...looks like the same stuff you would use for sealing around rough window openings.

Also in regards to sealing the outside of the hull.....are you usually using a thinned epoxy for this? My thought was to slightly thin some West System epoxy with Lacquer thinner and use a small 1 1/2" foam type roller to apply it. Just wanting to make sure it all lays out smooth to cut down on sanding. Was planning on 2 coats of epoxy followed by 2 to 3 coats of primer and then on to the painting.

Well more to follow.....Can't wait for this nasty cold weather to subside....LOL

Mike

[tnt76]

Hi Mike, I'm fairly new here and have only been lurking. I have however, just yesterday read about thinning the West system epoxy. They recommend heating the mix slightly to thin it foremost, then if more thinning is required, to use Lacquer thinners. They do however stress the point of heating too much or adding too much thinners, leads to a reduction in the structural properties of the cured epoxy. All this info is available on their site at http://www.westsystem.com/ss/thinnin...-system-epoxy/ if you haven't seen already. Hope this helps