1/8 Qatar ML Boatworks 172 Extreme Kit Build

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  • WhiteH2O
    Junior Member
    • Aug 2019
    • 28

    #1

    1/8 Qatar ML Boatworks 172 Extreme Kit Build

    I decided to make a thread for this build, more so I can document my progress than anything, but perhaps I can get some useful input as well to make things go more easily. I've read many many other threads trying to learn as much as I can, but I'm still nowhere close to where I want to be, knowledge wise, about these boats.

    Where I am now: My 172 Extreme kit it is on order from Mike. Quite possibly being cut as I type this. I was planning on building the 171 kit to make the Boeing boat (I fly planes as my day job, so it seemed fitting), but the lines on the 172 kit were just too much nicer to not build this one instead. Decided on making the 2012 U-1 Qatar boat. I've always liked that boat, and it just beat out an Oberto boat for my build (like Wayne and Garth, I don't bow down to any product sponsors).

    I don't plan on racing it. I'm more building it for the experience of building it more than running it, although I'm sure I'll love running it. That opens me up for building it however I want without having to worry about any rules and regulations. Current plan is to build it so that I can start it out running as an 8s, and then being able to run it as a 10s as I get more used to driving it. From what I read, that should be possible by getting a motor that has a middle of the road kv rating, and by using the correct props for each setup. It seems that I should be able to expect around 50mph on 8s and 70mph on 10s depending on RTR weight and setup and such. Current tentative plan would be for a TP 5670 running 850kv. That would give me unloaded RPMs of 25,160 on 8s and 31,450 on 10s. Seems like prop selection would be able to keep those numbers within reason for both setups. ESC TBD, but something in the 200amp plus range, from what I read, is the way to go.

    I am what I would call "new" to RC boats. I had a Gentry Eagle when I was a kid. Last year, I found a 63" offshore hull in my dad's garage that I built into a 32cc gas boat from scratch. That boat is too loud, I really wanted an electric boat when I built that one, but I didn't want to pull a second mortgage for batteries to run something that big. I do have a good amount of experience building with wood and fiberglass. I've built over a dozen kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddleboards in my day. Some whitewater racing kayaks out of carbon/kevlar/fiberglass, and some sea kayaks out of wood and fiberglass. So I'm not too worried about being able to get the kit together, more just getting the correct motor/esc/batteries/running gear picked out and installed correctly.

    Now for the hard part- wait for the kit to arrive. In the mean time, I'll continue to try to keep learning more about setting up, building, and running these boats.

    Just for fun, here is a picture and video of my scratch built 63" gas boat, my last two kayak builds a few weeks from completion, and an SUP I built last year.

    Discover the magic of the internet at Imgur, a community powered entertainment destination. Lift your spirits with funny jokes, trending memes, entertaining gifs, inspiring stories, viral videos, and so much more from users.

    Discover the magic of the internet at Imgur, a community powered entertainment destination. Lift your spirits with funny jokes, trending memes, entertaining gifs, inspiring stories, viral videos, and so much more from users like WhiteH2O.

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    Last edited by WhiteH2O; 12-13-2022, 03:10 PM.
  • 1coopgt
    Senior Member
    • Feb 2019
    • 414

    #2
    Sounds good . I'm slowly working on a 2008 U-1 Miss Elam. Building it using a RC Boat Company Fiberglass hull Kit. I also became a member over at https://www.intlwaters.com/ forum . A lot of knowledgeable people over there like here.

    I'm using a NEU 1527 1.5Y 850KVM motor with a Swordfish Pro+ II 240 amp ESC . I'll also be running on 8's and 10's for the batteries.

    Oh I also Recommend Scott's Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6S...kxUwSi0aLeOfUA . Lots of knowledge.

    Comment

    • NativePaul
      Greased Weasel
      • Feb 2008
      • 2760

      #3
      I also like the Qatar boat, if you are sure you don't want to race it, why not build the Qatar boat and put the Boeing livery on it, very few people will know the difference and it can be fun to have a one off.

      Only if you are absolutely sure you won't race it though as I belive it would preclude you from it in the states.

      Also I believe 70 is a very hard target for a 1:8th scale, as whatever the power system they
      like to fly before then.
      Paul Upton-Taylor, Greased Weasel Racing.

      Comment

      • WhiteH2O
        Junior Member
        • Aug 2019
        • 28

        #4
        1coopgt, I found your thread over at Intl Waters. Very nice build you have there, and lots of info I can take as well. I'd already found Scott's Youtube channel. It's a good one. I'll be watching your thread for sure.

        NativePaul, I did have that thought of building the Boeing boat on that hull, but I decided that if I make a non accurate boat, I'd try to do a hydro in my airplane's livery. I think it would be fun to make a fleet of boats in a lot of different airplane liveries, but the lack of available graphics is what would axe that idea. I'm not that good with an airbrush. And I'm not set on seeing 70mph. Just thinking out loud about what I've seen from other boats with similar setups. If that isn't accurate, what would be expected speeds for a setup like this on 8s and 10s?

        As I'm trying to find info on different motors, I've come up with some questions. What is the difference between two motors that are the same diameter, but one being longer? Longer one would have added weight, but would it have added torque as well? What about the smaller diameter motors? Like the TP 5670 like I'm planning vs the NEU 1527- they both have the same kv rating, so theoretically spin a prop at the same speed. The smaller diameter would be quite a bit lighter, but... less torque again? I understand the kv rating is the unloaded rpm, would the smaller motor run slower in a real world situation of spinning a prop in the water?

        Comment

        • Fluid
          Fast and Furious
          • Apr 2007
          • 8012

          #5
          If the OP intends to race his boat he will be forced to use a 40mm motor. Longer means more torque, the 1527 or 1530 sized are generally preferred. Otherwise the longer 56mm motors are a bit more powerful, but does he need that?

          The SAW record for an 1/8th scale hydro is 100 mph, but that is not practical for anything but the smoothest water, and only 2 to 3 passes. That hull was specially prepped for SAW competition, most 1/8th scales are designed for 50-55 mph tops. Close to 70 should be doable bit it will require a special setup and very good water. A flip at 70 mph is not a pretty thing to see with a scale boat....


          .
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          Comment

          • WhiteH2O
            Junior Member
            • Aug 2019
            • 28

            #6
            Fluid, I have no plans on racing this boat. I have property on a lake that is usually glass flat at certain times of the day, and I just want something fun to build and drive around. I'm 100% sure that I don't *need* the more powerful 56mm motor, but they seem less expensive than the NEU motors, and lets face it, I don't *need* this boat at all. It's all just for fun and challenge myself on the build and learning how to drive it. If anyone has input to a better motor, or anything, that I'm planning on using, by all means, I'm open to more information. That's why I'm posting stuff here. If I'm about to do something stupid, and someone is willing to stop me before I do, that's a good day!

            I don't have any speed goals for this boat, but I'd like to build a good example of an 1/8 scale hydro. I don't really know what to expect. All my knowledge has come off forums like this, and there is a lot of info to dig through. What should I expect as a speed difference between 8s and 10s? I assume the 50-55 mph numbers are from 10s? I ask more out of curiosity than anything else. If I was searching for top speeds, I'd probably be building an outrigger instead.

            Comment

            • 1coopgt
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2019
              • 414

              #7
              Originally posted by WhiteH2O
              1coopgt, I found your thread over at Intl Waters. Very nice build you have there, and lots of info I can take as well. I'd already found Scott's Youtube channel. It's a good one. I'll be watching your thread for sure.

              NativePaul, I did have that thought of building the Boeing boat on that hull, but I decided that if I make a non accurate boat, I'd try to do a hydro in my airplane's livery. I think it would be fun to make a fleet of boats in a lot of different airplane liveries, but the lack of available graphics is what would axe that idea. I'm not that good with an airbrush. And I'm not set on seeing 70mph. Just thinking out loud about what I've seen from other boats with similar setups. If that isn't accurate, what would be expected speeds for a setup like this on 8s and 10s?

              As I'm trying to find info on different motors, I've come up with some questions. What is the difference between two motors that are the same diameter, but one being longer? Longer one would have added weight, but would it have added torque as well? What about the smaller diameter motors? Like the TP 5670 like I'm planning vs the NEU 1527- they both have the same kv rating, so theoretically spin a prop at the same speed. The smaller diameter would be quite a bit lighter, but... less torque again? I understand the kv rating is the unloaded rpm, would the smaller motor run slower in a real world situation of spinning a prop in the water?
              You might be able to have graphics cut that could match your plane. You would still need to do some painting . No getting away from that .... You could with a wrap maybe. But you may want to take some pictures then contact the folks that do graphics for 1/8 scales and tell them what you want. They may do it.

              Comment

              • WhiteH2O
                Junior Member
                • Aug 2019
                • 28

                #8
                I guess the good news is that I have a while to decide how to paint it. It would be a lot more time painting like my plane than it would to paint it like the Qatar boat. It would be fun though. I decided to spend a few minutes on Photoshop to try ideas, here is the result:

                Comment

                • 1coopgt
                  Senior Member
                  • Feb 2019
                  • 414

                  #9
                  That would look really cool.

                  Comment

                  • WhiteH2O
                    Junior Member
                    • Aug 2019
                    • 28

                    #10
                    Really starting to lean towards making this an Alaska Air hydro. I've tried to get a hold of a few of the graphics guys that I see referenced on here a lot, and I can't get them to reply yet. I'll give them a little more time but I might have to get creative or just go with the initial Qatar idea.

                    Anyways, the kit showed up. I built a jig to build they hydro on because I'll be building this outside, under a covered area, but I'm afraid it is going to try to warp pretty badly with temperature and humidity changes. The kit is pretty easy and intuitive to get together. I had pretty much the entire kit put together (dry fit) in just a few minutes. Way easier and faster than I was expecting. I spent a bit of time working on the parts that didn't fit straight or needed a little trimming/sanding. Once things fit as they should, I started permanently sticking some wood together. I'm quickly realizing that my plan of spreading the cost of this build out over a few months might not be my best idea ever. I started to notice it would be helpful if I had the canopy to fit the curves in the front of the boat to, and the rear wing to fit the mounts for that. Time to order more parts, I guess. I've already made mistakes, too. All recoverable fairly easily, but would have been nice had I not. I'm really glad I built the jig. It makes building easy and really easy to use straight edges and squares to make sure things are going together correctly.

                    20200907_153331.jpg

                    Comment

                    • WhiteH2O
                      Junior Member
                      • Aug 2019
                      • 28

                      #11
                      I got Wesley's Custom Graphics to agree to make my Alaska Air graphics, so I guess I should have named the thread differently. Also got a canopy and rear wing on order, too. I'm going to have to slow down on building, because I think those are 2 weeks out.

                      I'm narrowing down rudder/turn fin/strut choices. What are the operational differences between a flat bottom strut and a round bottom strut? Does it matter? Also, it seems people seem to like to get a 1/4" drive with a step down to 3/16". Is that for prop choices? Seems like it would be easier to just run 1/4 all the way back. When you run a step down flex cable, do you get a strut for the bigger size and use those strut bushings to bring it down to size? These are most likely stupid questions, but like I said, I'm new to this. My only other boat runs 1/4" all the way back, so that's all I know.

                      I did make a little progress with gluing wood together today. It is hot and too smokey outside, so not as much as planned, but still progress. I'm realizing that assembling the kit (just the laser cut parts) is much less of the building process than I initially thought. I'm guessing I have about a brazillian hours left sanding wood to get the boat ready for sheeting.

                      More (probably) stupid questions: The kit pretty much has me set up for a smooth single piece of wood to make the bottom of the sponson ride area (ride pads?). Watching Scott on M5 Performance Hydro's Youtube channel, he has a much less simple method that seems to make sense as well, using multiple flat surfaces. I'm guessing since I'm not racing, the simple one-piece method may be the way to go for starters. Thoughts?

                      20200910_152713.jpg

                      Comment

                      • 1coopgt
                        Senior Member
                        • Feb 2019
                        • 414

                        #12
                        I've heard good things about Wesley Custom Graphics. The boats going to look very cool. I got alot of my scale parts from https://www.allrc1.com/product-page/scale-turbine-tube . If you have time talk to Bill Brant he's the owner and he has a wealth of information. I know when I started collecting parts for my Hydro I think I spent about 45 mins on the phone with him and he guided me as to what I would need and he has most of every thing. Think I got 60% from Rattlesnake RC ,30 % from OSE and the rest from Zipkit and a couple other shops.

                        Comment

                        • cybercrxt
                          Fast Electric Addict!
                          • Mar 2009
                          • 2909

                          #13
                          Here is all you may need..and it is painted as the Qatar too!

                          Welcome to the ML Boatworks (www.mlboatworksrc.com) SmugMug photo fileshare! Please feel free to browse my page, and use these images to help with your build, or expand ideas in your head for your own build! Visit www.mlboatworksrc.com if you are in need of an excellent sport, or race rc boat laser cut kit, or fiberglass hull! You can also call or text (252) 717-6282. Thanks, Mike
                          Laser cut, birch plywood rc race boat kits- WWW.MLBOATWORKSRC.COM WWW.DINOGYLIPOS.COM

                          Comment

                          • WhiteH2O
                            Junior Member
                            • Aug 2019
                            • 28

                            #14
                            Oh yes, for sure! I've had that album of build pictures open for reference since before I got the kit! Very helpful!

                            Comment

                            • WhiteH2O
                              Junior Member
                              • Aug 2019
                              • 28

                              #15
                              I'm making slow progress, but I'm trying to take my time and do it right. I'm glad I waited for the cowling instead of trusting the jig that came with the kit for the shape of the front of the boat under the cowling. Now I'm having to figure out how I'm going to make the radio area waterproof and how I'm going to attach the cowling onto the hull. Fun times; I think I'm narrowing down my plan.

                              So, the bottom of the sponsons... The ride pad area. Should I just follow the kit and make the ride pad one piece of curved wood? I've seen the videos of M5 Performance where he uses multiple flat fiberglass sheets to modify the water flow. Should I do something more like that? How big is the difference?

                              20200919_155901.jpg

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