ML Boatworks- Sport 12, 20, 20L, and 40 Hydroplane Online Instruction manual

Please fully read the below paragraphs before moving forward to the instruction manual. Thanks!

Welcome to the ML Boatworks Sport Hydroplane series online build instruction manual. Thank you for your ML Boatworks purchase. You will find this quality kit will be extremely enjoyable to build, and if built properly, will give you years of enjoyment! This manual was made building the 31”- GP310, however the 26.5”- GP265, 33.5”- GP335 and 39.5”- GP400 hulls build in the same manor. While the 4 different hulls have obvious length differences, the center section width is adjusted independently in each kit as well. Even though this change is present, the placement of key parts and the structure of all 4 kits are pretty much the same, making this instruction manual cross over for all 4 kits with ease.

This manual will be completed over the next couple of days. I will ask that anyone that may have questions about purchasing a kit, please PM me, or find the ML Boatworks sport 20 thread in this section of OSE. I would like to keep this build manual as clean as possible to avoid confusion. I would like those who have questions, to please post your question here, as it may help another builder, but please, please do not use the quote option in this forum. Quoting posts with pictures will only lead to possible confusion. Please just refer to the post #, and ask the question you have, and I will respond as soon as I see it! Thanks so much, Mike Luszcz, www.mlboatworksrc.com

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OK, lets get started. First, we need to focus on the tools and materials needed to build this kit. Below are a list of needed items.

1) A good, flat building surface with a minimum area of around 12" wide and 24" in length
2) Clamps and weights. I find that Harbor Freight has about the cheapest prices on clamps, and weights you can use about anything
3) Medium Set CA instant adhesive
4) An overall epoxy system capable of allowing enough time to coat relatively large areas, IE: Mas, West Systems, etc.
5) Sanding block or long sanding bar, 120 and 180 grit sandpaper. If you have access, a power disc sander is a great tool to have for the large areas
6) E-glass or Carbon fiber cloth. Used on the inside of the sponson ride surface or the engine well opening for added strength
7) Patience. Take your time, Review the parts, review the instructions, ASK Questions if you do not know where to proceed. That is what ML Boatworks is here for. My phone number is on the website, feel free to call or email!


First, you will want to start on the sponson pair. The great thing about this kit, is you build the left sponson, right sponson, and center section independently. This allows you more working room and a much better opportunity to build a good, square, straight hull.

When you remove your kit from the packaging, you will see a lot of laser cut wood parts, basswood sticks in 3/16"x3/16" and 1/8"x 1/8" sizes, and a fiberglass cowling. Review the photo below, and find all the parts in the picture, and lay them out so you can see your left and right sponson parts:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3367.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3368.jpg

Once you have all the sponson frames, and sheeting laid out, find the left and right Sponson Keelson plates. You will notice these parts, along with some of the sponson frames small rectangles laser cut into them. These small pieces need to be cut out using a razor blade. They are held in by small break tabs. These holes will become the "toy tabs" that will help you fit all the frames together, and interlock the system. You will also notice there are lightening holes in lot of the frames- you can also go ahead and pop out those lightening hole parts and discard. Below is a pic of the "Sponson Keelson plates". They are the long sword shaped pieces.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3369.jpg

You can now find sponson frames number 3RB and 3RF. B is for Back, and F is for front. The 3RB will be towards the transom, 3RF will be in front of it. These two plates need to be bonded together before proceeding. Use a healthy amount of medium CA to do so, or epoxy can be used as well. Once you have done that, you can then start dry fitting (no glue yet) all the left and right sponson frame parts to check for proper fitment. Use your razor knife to clean up any of the "toy tab" holes in the sponson keelson so the crossmembers fit into the holes properly, and square.

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Now find your sponson shear. They are the parts that make up the outside edge of your sponson. Once located, carefully dry fit them into the slots in the crossmembers and sponson keelson. Nothing at this point should be glued yet!!!

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Now is a good time to use your clamps and flat board. You will want to make sure the sponson keelson left and right plates lay very flat on your board. Using a clamp at this time is a great idea and will ensure your sponson build is good and straight. The more clamps the better. In the photo, only one clamp was used. I ended up using 3 for each sponson (not shown) to ensure there was no warping, or twisting anywhere along the sponson keelson plates. Once your have your keelson plate clamped, and all the crossmembers and sheers are fitted properly, you can begin to use medium CA and accellerator to bond these parts together. I use a nice medium bead down the parts. Worry not, as the sponson is formed, we will then fully epoxy the interior of the sponson which will add the final proper strength. The CA is just a method of tacking everything together quickly. Also, DO NOT use CA on crossmembers market 1R, 1L, 2R and 2L yet. Those will be addressed later.

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Now you will find the sponson strakes. They are labeled LEFT and RIGHT and look like a long straighted out hook. They make up the ride pad support system. With your sponson keelson still clamped squarely, insert these parts. They look on the top side of your sponson sheer. You will see a dashed line. This dashed line denotes the area in which your sponson strake will attach to the underside. It basically helps you bond the strake to the sheer at the proper curvature.

This is the dashed line:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3376.jpg

Your sponson sheer should follow the dashed line on the bottom side of the sheer. Bond from the rear of the strake to the front. Bonding the front last is critical so the curvature of the above dashed line is followed.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3375.jpg

Now we will address crossmembers 1R, 1L, 2R, 2L. As you can see from the photo below, it is critical to find the piece of sheeting in the kit that makes up the lower pan below these crossmembers. With a good peice of angle aluminum, or a proper square, you will make sure all of these parts go together at a 90 degree angle to the flat board. If you do this without the angle at 90, it will disrupt other parts later in the build.

With your angle aluminum in place, use medium CA to bond the crossmembers and lower pan together.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3377.jpg

Now find the outer piece of sheeting for this area, which we call the "non trip". You will want to dry fit it, making sure its forward toy tab properly fits into the number 3 left and right crossmembers. Once you are satified, carefully bond with medium CA.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3380.jpg

Next it is time to find your 1/8"x 1/8" and 3/16"x 3/16" basswood sticks included with the kit as it is time to start putting these in their proper place on the sponsons. Below is a series of photos showing, in order from first to last how to install them.

1/8" sticks around the Air Relief area of the sponsons:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3378.jpg

The top middle 3/16" stick. You will need to feather the stick at the front of the sponson so it lays down on the sheer properly:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3379.jpg

The top, inside edge 3/16" stick. You will notice it extends just behind the number 3 crossmember then dead ends. This is the proper way to do it:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3381.jpg

Lastly, the inside, lower 3/16" stick. There are many ways to bend the stick to fit. I just cut, butt stick the sticks, then sand the outside edge till its properly rounded"

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Once you have added all your sticks, it is time to sand all the sticks so they are blended into their frames. The sticks on the top of the sponson will need a good amount of sanding so they lay flush with the crossmember tops. You will also notice the sponson sheer, and sponson strake overhang out of the back of the sponson around 1/8". These parts will also need to be sanded flush at this time. This is critical for the top deck to properly lay, so take your time before moving to the next steps!

Once you have your sponson framework sanded nice and smooth, included the outside edge of the sponson sheer so it is nice and sharp, you are ready to proceed to the next phase, which is the outside sheeting process.

You will first want to install the vertical sheeting parts in the air relief, followed by the horizontal air relief sheeting. Please notice, you will find in the first few kits I had cut, the vertical sheeting parts for the air relief were about 1/16" to short in length. please just install these with the end closest to the back of the sponson flush with the back of crossmember number 3. This will put the gap up near the front of the air relief. You can later use a small beed of gap filling epoxy to close that hole. This problem is being fixed, but is not detrimental to the build, nor worth stopping your build in its tracks. The picture below acutually uses one of the short parts, and its barely an issue, but I didn't want people scratching their heads over it! Once that vertical member is installed, you can then lay the horizontal member down. You will notice it is about 1/16" longer than the back of the sponson. it is suppose to overhang, so do not sand this off!

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...l/DSCF3383.jpg

Again, make sure you sanded off the overhang of the sponson sheer, and sponson strake so that they are flushed in to the back of crossmember frame number 3. If you already did this, then move on! Now it is time to move to the next step...Installing the sponson non trip sheeting. This is easier than it looks, but you will need to follow this procedure which I find is the easiest way to do the installation. First, did you already sand this area, making sure your sponson sheer is good and sharp where you non trip sheeting will lay??? if so, take your non trip sheeting plate, and lay it on the framework, getting a feel for how it bends, and making sure when you do the following steps you correctly place it so there is plenty of overhang on each side so it can be properly sanded. There will also need to be a 1/16" overhang off the back of the sponson. This overhang does not get sanded off. You are now ready to bond. With your medium CA, run a bead of CA all the way around the frames where the nontrip is to be glued. This includes a bead on the sponson sheer, sponson strake, and frame 3, 4, 5, and 6 in the area the sheeting is to be bonded. Now, quickly, spray some CA accelerator on the non trip sheeting on the side that will be attached to the framework. Starting towards the back, and only pressing the part in place when it is lined up straight going forward, put your back end down, and bond it from the rear, going forward. Hold in place for about 30 seconds, making sure the bond is properly holding. The front area, which has the most curve, will be the hardest part. Just be sure it has stayed down the way you want it to be! Another tip, keep your sponson framework clamped down to your build table so it stays nice and square while you are installing the non trip pad!

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After giving the non trip pads a couple minutes to fully dry, you can begin sanding the outside edges, blending them into the framework so that the top decks, and ride pad sheeting will lay nice and clean against the non trip sheeting.

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Ok, now that your left and right non trip pads are sanded in, and flush, it is time to address the ride pad sheeting.

First, you will need to really review the following pictures. The OUTSIDE edge of the RIGHT sponson ride pad is not going to be sanded flush to the non trip sheeting. you are going to leave it a blunt face. This is a perfomance adding proceedure only done on the RIGHT sponson. You will want to take the ride pad, and position it on the bottom of the sponson, checking to see how much it overhangs beyond the non trip. It should not really overhang, only sit bluntly at the edge of the non trip. You will need to sand this outside edge of the sponson ride pad until it is cleanly blunt to the non trip. Below are some photos of the finished sponson to give you an idea of what you are looking for. There is also a photo of the left and right ride pad on top of each other. You can see how much material had to be removed from the RIGHT ride pad before it was ready for bonding. If you feel this part is to difficult for your skill set, it is not a crime to just bond the pad on, and sand it flush. It really comes down to how confident you are in adding this feature.

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As you can see, there is a slight overhang. This will later get filled with some thick epoxy to create a strong, watertight fillet.
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Once you are comfortable with the fitment, you can proceed bonding with medium CA your sponson ride pad. I suggest really holding the pad against the sponson framework, and studying how to make sure the Air Relief area will have proper sheeting coverage, and how you are going to make the front area of the sponson bond. I suggest bonding your pad in the same manor you did your non trip. CA your framework first, then spray some CA accelerator to the pad, and start the joining process from the rear moving forward. Again, your ride pad should overhang the number 3 frame around 1/16". This will also create an overhang at the front of the air relief area. I will post some more photos tomorrow that will show in more detail the ride pad installation. The front of the pad is a very difficult area to bend and wrap. CA and accelerator make that area possible. Just take your time reviewing your plan of action before bonding this part.

Once you have the RIGHT ride pad bonded, you will want to repeat those steps for the left side sponson. The only difference is your will sand the outside edge flush to the non trip, so precutting the ride pad edge is not critical on this sponson. Just bond per above instructions, and sand clean. Here are some photos of the left and right sponson pad differences. I will get some more photos of the air relief area tomorrow.

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You have now reached a stopping point with the sponson build. The only things left with the sponsons, are fully epoxing the insides, adding E-glass or Carbon fiber to the inside of the ride pad and non trip area to strengthen the ride surface, bonding in a piece of aluminum to the inside of frame number 3 on the RIGHT side so a turn fin can be added later in the build and bonding the top decks.

We will next examine the center section parts, and begin building the center section....Starting tommorow! Good night, Mike

Ok, Now its time to start the center section. Below are some pics of the parts you need to do the center section. Please remember first and foremost, you DO NOT bond the sponsons to the center section until you have all the interior epoxy and E-glass in place in the sponsons, and the top decks are bonded. If you bond the top decks after bonding the sponsons to the center section, you will find your difficulty of installing the sponson top decks goes threw the roof! Here are the starting pics:

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You will see the laser etching on the front to aft frames. Pay close attention to the labeling "Left Outside, Left Inside, etc.". You want to make sure you put the right piece in the right place. The "Outside" marked frames actually have NO laser etching showing on the outside of the hull. All the laser etching should show up when looking inside the hull. So the "Left Outside and Right Outside" frames actually show their laser etching towards the center of the hull. Later pics will explain this more:

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Crossmembers. As you can see Frame "D" has a doubler. This doubler mounts to the FRONT side of the full length Frame "D".
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Here you see the Servo doublers that will get bonded to the "Left Inside" front to rear frame. This allows you to mount your steering servo directly to the engine well frame, thus eliminating a need for a metal servo mount! You will also see a bunch of bars. Those make up the center sections front nose. It is very important that you pay close attention to the labeling. We will discuss this soon.
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First things first, Find your bottom pan, and the front to rear frames labeled Left Outside and Right Outside. There are some toy tab pieces that need to be removed from the frame and cleaned up so your kit can be tied all together down the road. Once you have removed those tiny rectangular toy tab pices, your frames will look like this:

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Now you can find your Left Inside frame and will notice the laser etching will face towards the left side of the boat with one spot saying "ST SERVO". You will find those other two pieces, and bond them with CA in layers to that frame like below:

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http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3408.jpg

Now find the transom crossmember, and crossmember "A". Those will then need to be bonded with CA, or Epoxy. Please make sure that the laser etched line in the rectangular transom plate is facing the outside of the hull towards the rear, with the line touching towards the bottom of the boat. This laser line will help you later when you go to mount your strut to the transom. It serves are you "center of hull" marker"!

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Make sure those toy tabs extend down below the bottom of the rectangular transom plate. They will later notch themselves into the floor pan!
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Next is the most complex part of the hull. Please take special care when reviewing these pictures. Putting these peices below together wrong can be a pain. This is the center section nose block. As shown earlier, and posted directly below, there are 8 pieces of layered ply that have to be bonded together, then shaped to fit the front to rear plates of the hull. As you see, there is one plate with toy tabs at each end. These tab into the "Left Outside" and "Right Outside" plates. This piece says "Tab for Nose- 3 above- 4 below" What this means, is below that plate, you will bond 4 of the notched plates lettered "E". Above that Tabbed plate, you will mount the other 2 notched plates lettered "E" and then above those 2, you will bond the plate marked "Top. The reason for this plate named "Top" is so when you sand these to shape, and bond them to the center section, those notches for the "Left Inside" and "Right Inside" will not show on the top side of your boat. Its just to be pretty!

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Once stacked, they should look like so:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3418.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3413.jpg

You may also end up with the notches looking a little squiggly. This is just the nature of the laser machine. If they look like this:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3414.jpg

Then take a razor blade, and clean them up enough so the 1/16" ply from the "Left Inside" and "Right Inside" can fit inside:
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Next, fit this Nosing to the "Left Outside" and "Right Outside" Plates. You will see the overhang. At this point, get a magic marker and mark the curvature as best as possible. This will guide you as you start disc sanding or hand shaping your nosing block:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3417.jpg

Notice the magic marker in black, helping you figure out the curvature:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3418.jpg

At this point, it is up to you, to take your time, and start sanding away at this block. A disc sander is recommended, but if you do not have one, 80 grit and a long of hand power can get the job done. If going that route, I would try to use a dremel to take away the bulk of the material before you start hand sanding. When you are done, you will end up with a nosing that looks like this:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3419.jpg

More to come today, stay tuned! Mike

Alright, So, now that your center nosing is shaped, we will start on some construction of the center. First thing is to bond the "D" doublers together. The short doubler is to be toward the FRONT of the hull, the full length goes towards the rear. The center pan has dashed lines on it, and it shows the placement as well, so take a look at it as well.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3420.jpg

In this picture, you can see that doubler more clearly:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3422.jpg

Now you will want to start dry fitting your crossmembers into the center bottom pan. There are toy tab holes in the pan that the crossmembers fit into. Remember, this is a dry fitment stage, do not glue anything yet! Here is your starting point:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3421.jpg

With the above dry fitted, you will then take an 1/8"x1/8" batten stick included with the kit, and start to slide it down the crossmember like so. Same left to right side of the hull:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3422.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3423.jpg

Next, slide another 1/8"x 1/8" stick threw the hole in frame "C" and back to the transom, just like the above stick in the inside edge. Finger marks the spot!

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3428.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3429.jpg

Make sure the stick is flush with the dashed line. This will allow the outer plate to sit in its proper place:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3430.jpg

At this time you can DRY fit the batten sticks that go in the top next to the engine well. There will be 1/8" and 3/16" size sticks that go in this area. Again, you should have glued in the lower sticks, but these upper should stay loose for the time being:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3425.jpg

A shot of the upper, and lower engine well sticks:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3424.jpg

As you can see, we want the sticks at the front to be loose, that way once the nose blocking is installed, we can then fit the upper sticks into their location:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3426.jpg

You should now, start adding weight to the top frames as we will begin gluing the lower sticks, and frames to the center bottom pan. This will ensure you framework is good and square. Leaving the top front area of the sticks looks, start gluing your framework and sticks into place. Take your time, make sure the sticks are sitting flush, that your transom plate is locked into the front to rear members properly before you start the CA gluing process:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3427.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3428.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3429.jpg

Now, we will move to the outside panels that run from front to back. They should push into place, and be flush with the lower pan. They sit ON TOP of the lower pan. If they do not go in place and sit properly, then your batten stick at the bottom is probably not in its proper place. If it does, feel free to glue it to the crossmembers:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3431.jpg

Now lay your front nosing into place:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3432.jpg

Once you have the nosing in place (dry fitted), you then will want to take a 3/16"x 3/16" piece of batten stick, and make it the correct length to lay in the slot just behind the nosing. You will then want to shape it like the below piece so your top deck skin will lay in flush behind the nosing. Like so:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3434.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/DSCF3435.jpg