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

[cybercrxt]

Great looking build Mike. Keep up the good work! Mike

[Todd Fleury]

Might be a good idea Terry

[Speed810]

Hey Mike...Thanks Its coming along slowly but surely. Just wish I had more time to be out in the shop during the week nights....LOL Been awful cold the past few days even with the heater going...hoping for better conditions tonight.

Mike

[Speed810]

Thanks for the information Doug!

Actually I’m now thinking about going with the Swordfish 240A. They are a little more available out there and it appears they have been working really well.
Any input on that?...:)

Also one thing I am not seeing on a lot of the 1/8 scales are radio antennas or antenna tubes sticking up thru the deck. Are the most guys just installing them inside the hull or canopies? Just wondering?

Mike

[Todd Fleury]

If you are using Futaba, I found that you do not need to have the antenna going through the hull. You can mount it higher up in the hull tub, and you will be fine.

[Speed810]

Thanks Todd.....I have been usually running JR. All my aircraft are JR so was looking at usuing my Spectrum surface gear (trucks). But it does seem that the Futaba surface radios for marine use have really been super dependable. Might be time for a change back to some Futaba gear...LOL

[785boats]

Hi Mike.
She's coming along well.
I don't run an antenna outside any of my boats & never have a problem.
I run the Swordfish 240A ESC with the 1527/1y in the U-95, & she's holding up well. Doesn't break a sweat.
But in the other two 1/8 hydros I'm running a Seaking HV 130A with no problems yet. But they are lower kv motors & should be pulling less amps. Thats all on 8s1p set ups.

Keep up the good work.
Paul.

[Speed810]

Hey Paul...Thanks

Yeah I'm thinking maybe I'll be better off staying with the 220A or 240A on the 10S1P setup. Just really hard to find those ETTI ESC's...almost as hard as finding a NEU 1527 1.5Y...LOL But it looks like Todd is going to part with his 1527 1.5Y, so I'm picking that up from him. Dave at HRC is building the mount and cooling can....so pretty close to being finished with the HIGH priced items except the ESC.

I'll be in the shop tonight!

Mike

[don ferrette]

Looking at Don Ferrette's 171 kit, I guess he started out to make the front conard adjustable, but then switched it out to a permanent system.

Nope, my front canard flaps are adjustable, I tape them in place from the underside.

[Speed810]

Oh ok....Thanks Don...

Thought you made them permanent.....my bad. Did you keep the brass tube for the hinge point?
Also what did you use to figure out the strut depth?

Thanks Mike

[don ferrette]

Oh ok....Thanks Don...

Thought you made them permanent.....my bad. Did you keep the brass tube for the hinge point?
Also what did you use to figure out the strut depth?

Thanks Mike

More pics emailed to you. Run your strut 1/8" deeper than your front sponson depth, keep it flat.

[Speed810]

Thanks Don....Got them.

So your just using the brass tubing as your hinge material and then using tape to keep it in place for the angle you want....?

Also I think I remember you said you used 1/8" ply on the sponson pad area...was that right? I know if you use the 1/16 ply it ends up with a step there between the front sheet and the pad. Using the 1/8" would make that an even surface from the front sheet right to the pad. At least your finished sponson picture you sent seems to show that.

Now if I am getting this right...I would want to set the boat up on a flat surface from under the center and make sure its level and sitting on the front sponson pads.........now measuring from the transom to the flat surface would give me my sponson depth and just add an 1/8". I'm up for any ideas that make it easier...LOL Just want to see if I'm looking at this right.

Thanks again

Mike

[don ferrette]

Thanks Don....Got them.

So your just using the brass tubing as your hinge material and then using tape to keep it in place for the angle you want....?

Also I think I remember you said you used 1/8" ply on the sponson pad area...was that right? I know if you use the 1/16 ply it ends up with a step there between the front sheet and the pad. Using the 1/8" would make that an even surface from the front sheet right to the pad. At least your finished sponson picture you sent seems to show that.

Now if I am getting this right...I would want to set the boat up on a flat surface from under the center and make sure its level and sitting on the front sponson pads.........now measuring from the transom to the flat surface would give me my sponson depth and just add an 1/8". I'm up for any ideas that make it easier...LOL Just want to see if I'm looking at this right.

Thanks again

Mike

If your kit is the same as mine your strut depth should be approx. 1 1/8". I'll try to get mine down this weekend and check that for you.

[Speed810]

Well finally completed the bottom sheeting on the Starboard sponson and everything sanded. Pretty pleased on the out come. Will need to fill slightly along the over laps and some corners. Will also have some carbon fiber sheeting or glass cloth sheeting epoxied on the inner hull for added strength.

Already traced the outlines for the sheeting from the heel to the tiplet and the outline for the hardwood shoes.

The port sponson is all framed out and all the glue strips are glued in. Will start the sheeting process later tonight.

Parts are starting to come in...should have the motor by next week (Thanks Todd)....the HRC mount is in process and should be shipped out next week. Steve at OSE did get the ETTI 220A ESC in stock, so that and some other hardware should be in next week, and Dick is in the process of getting a Virginia Craftsman turn fin and bracket completed. The carbon fiber sheeting and veil material came in today along with some West System 105/205 epoxy.

Found some 8000Mah 5S1P 30C packs, but not sure that they are going to fit yet. Need to wait for the canopy/cowling to see how that is going to fit first. May have to revert back to the 5000Mah.

One thing I have seen on other builds is that it appears that where the stuffing tube comes up thru the hull that some are using like an 11/32 brass tube section as maybe a strengthening section and then running the 5/16 stuffing tube thru that. But yet I see some that just run the 5/16 up through the hull. Can anybody shed some light on this or am I just seeing things in the photos....LOL

Any way....more to come tomorrow.......


Mike

[Speed810]

Port side Sponson framing and glue strips all completed....

[Todd Fleury]

You will need to go with 2 5s 5000mah packs. Order from mojo racing products. You can't race with over 12000mah total.

[Speed810]

You will need to go with 2 5s 5000mah packs. Order from mojo racing products. You can't race with over 12000mah total.

Hey Todd ...I read that...maybe I misinterpeted it. The total capacity would still be only 8,000Mah sense they are being hooked up in series. Now if I was looking at hooking them up in parelle then I would be in trouble.

Did I mis-read that...are they actually saying you can't have more than 12,000Mah on board no matter how they are hooked up?

Interesting???
Courious to the answer.....:)

Mike

[T.S.Davis]

Mike, I think Todd's been drinking. Haha

(2) 5s/8000 in series is 10s/8000. We'll below the 12k limit. 8000's are likely huge though. Consider 5s/6000 from mojo. That's what I run.

If those 8000's are max amps I would not recommend them.

[Todd Fleury]

Terry's right, my bad. I was paying more attention to my adult beverages.

[don ferrette]

One thing I have seen on other builds is that it appears that where the stuffing tube comes up thru the hull that some are using like an 11/32 brass tube section as maybe a strengthening section and then running the 5/16 stuffing tube thru that. But yet I see some that just run the 5/16 up through the hull. Can anybody shed some light on this or am I just seeing things in the photos....LOL Mike

Mike,
I always use a shaft log glassed and epoxied in to the hull, in this case an 11/32" for the 5/16" stuffing tube to slide thru. This allows both permanent alignment and easy replacement should the tube get damaged and that does happen (more pics on the way to you). In the attached pic the stuffing tube did get trimmed back slightly after final install.

[don ferrette]

Mike, I think Todd's been drinking. Haha

(2) 5s/8000 in series is 10s/8000. We'll below the 12k limit. 8000's are likely huge though. Consider 5s/6000 from mojo. That's what I run.

If those 8000's are max amps I would not recommend them.

Terry is spot on here, I recently did a minor "mod" to fit a pair of GP 6000 5S packs in mine, I would recommend you go the same route-
http://giantpowerlipos.myshopify.com...e-lipo-battery

[don ferrette]

Terry's right, my bad. I was paying more attention to my adult beverages.

Always post BEFORE the buzz sets in!

[Speed810]

HAHAHA!!!! Gosh I thought maybe somebody spiked my water I was drinking in the shop....LOL

All good information guys....Those 8,000Mah would be quite a tight squeeze and I was also concerned on the extra weight too...Terry. If I can get done with a good 6-7 laps and have about 30% left that will work for me.

Don....glad I checked on the stuffing tube log...that makes great sense. When I get this ESC in I'll have too get with ya on the cooling mod you guys are doing. I know Doug kind of summarized, but its not going to make total sense until I get to look at it and see what needs to be done.

Thanks again guys....Have a good night!

Mike

[Chilli]

As far as ESC's, I ran the Swordfish 240 w/cap bank last year on a 8S rigger with a 1527 1Y and it ran well all season. That being said, Jay has mentioned guys he runs with have had problems with the Swordfish,

Don recommended I try the Etti 220 HV for my scale. John Finch has been running one in his boat and it's been working great. Steve did get a couple in stock a few days ago. I just snagged one so only one is left in stock.

If you go with the Swordfish, get the LCD box for programming. The card is a turd IMHO and I don't mind programming manually.

[T.S.Davis]

Jay has mentioned guys he runs with have had problems with the Swordfish

Had 2 of these in my box. Where they stayed after I gave up on ever getting them to work. I tried to get hobbywing to build a 200 amp HV and they're not interested. I might try the Etti too.

There are guys that run them trouble free too so who knows.

[Speed810]

Morning guys...Glad I went with the ETTI 220 HV. Now it will be a matter of taking a look at the cooling setup. Don and Doug Smock both modifies the cooling system somehow to make sure it was cooling adequately. Doug kind of explained it, but need to see it first to make sense of it. I guess I wonder if they made any upgrades knowing the cooling system needed modified.???

Mike I also picked one up just a few days ago from Steve. Already been shipped....:)

Well back out to the shop and see what I can finish up today.

Mike

[don ferrette]

The "mod" to the ETTI is to address the only weak point we have seen, the cooling nipples are so close together and very fragile. Take all four nipples off, CAREFULLY drill out the aluminum cooling logs and fit 5/32" brass thru the now drilled out logs, you can use some thermal epoxy if you want to further secure the tubes. Also USE THE CAP BANK that comes with the ESC, can't stress this enough. Once you get through the somewhat tedious programming blips and bleeps (estimated time of completion is 2 Mojitos) you'll find that the Etti ESC is pretty rock solid.

[Doug Smock]

Once you get through the somewhat tedious programming blips and bleeps (estimated time of completion is 2 Mojitos)

I have found that .5mg of Xanax helps with the above process. If you don't have any on hand perhaps a good stiff margarita or a couple of shots of Fireball will assist you in not throwing the ESC or yourself out the window. "Be sure you're on the ground floor when attempting to program this control" should be in the instructions.

It's really not quite that bad, I was spoiled by the Castle Link.


Doug

[Speed810]

Hey guys.....yep heard that a pitcher of margaritas might be in the future when doing this.....LOL. Kind of surprising they haven't produced a programmer yet!! But there really doesn't appear to be that much to program...there a lot of Car/Truck stuff on there we don't use.

Don....Thanks for the information...You can possibly expect an email if I have a question but it appears that the Mod is not that difficult...just a bit time consuming. The project itself has been pretty time consuming, I'm pretty happy with the way things are turning out.

Going to start adding a bit of Bondo glazing filler to the sponson today or tomorrow. Just to fair and fill in the overlaps etc. Now my understanding is that you can put small corner fellets in but want to really keep everything as straight cornered as possible, especially around the ride pad.

Be laying the glass cloth up on the inside of the sponsons today.

Later guys

Back to work!!!!!


Mike

[Speed810]

Well got the starboard sponson sheeting completed, except for the top of course. The port sponson is coming along nicely. Wasn't able to get out there to do much today...was feeling a bit under the weather. Did get some sanding done on the bondo filling compound that I used on the strake line and up around the nose section to fair in some areas. I have used this compound before on my aircraft and it sands very nice. It indicates that it is totally water proof so shouldn't have a problem with the boat, plus it all will be coated with an epoxy finish.

Would be interesting to hear some of the other finishing methods that you guys use for the boats. (fillers, epoxy resins, primers and the finishing paints.)

Did get the Virginia Craftsman turn fin from Dick yesterday and it looks beautiful....Just had to line it up on the sponson heel to see what its going to look like.....

Have a good one!

Mike