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Thread: Delta Force 45MKII - Ambitious first boat build

  1. #1
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    Default Delta Force 45MKII - Ambitious first boat build

    Hi everyone! Now that it's close to completion, I would like to share with you my DF45MKII build, which has been slowly progressing over the year.

    This is my first build, and so far has involved a pretty steep learning curve with a lot of mistakes made. I'm happy with how it turned out though, and lurking on these forums helps a lot

    Parts list:

    Hardware
    - Speedmaster 4" dual pickup rudder, .187 Mono round-bottom strut, and Large turn fins
    - OSE 2.25" medium dual trim tabs
    - Aeromarine large-bore water outlets and transom fittings
    - Kintec Racing antenna mount, cowl locks and transom boot mount
    - Dubro 4-40 steering hardware with ball links, and Kwik-switch

    Driveline
    - Aeromarine .187 welded flex cable
    - Kintec Racing drive dog and collet
    - ABC 2314 Prop

    Electronics
    - TP4070 1Y 1520kv motor
    - MGM TMM25035-3 X2-Series ESC
    - 4 x Gens Ace 2700mAh 6S 45C batteries in parallel
    - Futaba 3PV radio with R203GF receiver


    Here's the hull next to the IM31 for reference, and measures approximately 38.5" long:
    20160516_181012.jpg 20160516_181026.jpg 20160516_181037.jpg 20160516_181125.jpg
    Last edited by zedextreme8177; 11-15-2016 at 04:58 PM.

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    First, I started off with the inlay. This is standard 2x2 twill-weave CF in a single layer, as the hull is already pretty solid as it is. I used Epiglass HT9000 epoxy which cures slightly yellow. Afterwards, I made a mockup of the stringers, which were to be made of CF with 4" spacing,


    20160706_160352.jpg 20160711_175855.jpg 20160711_204028.jpg 20160711_204049.jpg 20160713_075131.jpg

  3. #3
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    Next, I mocked up the hardware using masking tape and 2-sided tape. Then the holes were drilled and the hardware test fitted.

    20160516_201315.jpg 20160718_182504.jpg 20160718_223625.jpg 20160718_223712.jpg

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    In the meantime, I made a simple boat stand from PVC and insulation

    20160727_223423.jpg 20160727_223428.jpg

    Painted to match the boat's planned scheme:

    20160731_195758.jpg 20160801_164631.jpg

  5. #5
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    At this point, I had a general idea of how I wanted to lay everything out within the hull stringers. I drew some 2D CAD parts and sent them to be cut. Nick at CNC Madness did a great job with these components!

    Here you can see the stringers, battery tray, servo/rx mount and flood tube caps
    image1.jpg

    Mocked up inside the hull, I will be using furniture brackets to attach the trays to the stringers
    20160806_163658.jpg 20160806_163727.jpg 20160812_002322.jpg

  6. #6
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    The stringers were drilled and the parts mounted together:
    20160815_232917.jpg 20160815_232952.jpg

    Afterwards, I installed the cowl locks and steering rod. Bent and lined up with the servo from the inside:
    20160815_002000.jpg20160815_024949.jpg 20160816_004325.jpg

  7. #7
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    Here's the motor, and next to the Leopard 4074 in the IM31
    20160821_110050.jpg 20160821_111900.jpg

    I put the motor in an HRC mount just for the pic, then removed the sticker and installed a 40 x 85mm water jacket
    20160821_122147.jpg 20160914_162931.jpg

  8. #8
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    After some more CAD drawings, I had some more custom parts made by CNC Madness.
    20160918_164744.jpg

    A few hours with thread taps gave me these, which makes the whole assembly process far easier!
    20160918_230327.jpg20160920_174321.jpg

    Did the same for the motor mount, while waiting on a 2.5mm tap for the ESC mount holes:
    20160925_152619.jpg 20160925_152625.jpg

  9. #9
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    Awesome build. I like your motor choice. That water jacket looks really nice too! i'd go with an mbp collet though, not a cheap chinese one that will most likely wobble. One thing I really don't like about this hull is those hatch corners at the back, not sure why they designed it in such a way, it's harder to tape over those. Are you going to fill yours before painting?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheShaddix View Post
    Awesome build. I like your motor choice. That water jacket looks really nice too! i'd go with an mbp collet though, not a cheap chinese one that will most likely wobble. One thing I really don't like about this hull is those hatch corners at the back, not sure why they designed it in such a way, it's harder to tape over those. Are you going to fill yours before painting?
    Thank you very much! The jacket is pretty big with good sized inlets, and should provide plenty of flow!

    The collet is from Kintec racing, which so far has vibration and wobble-free. However, I might try out an MBP collet as well

    As for the hatch, I've filled out the circular gap in the rear, still the corners are kinda tricky to tape over. In fact, I'm considering changing over to a tapeless hatch design with hatch bolts and a neoprene seal around the lip.

  11. #11
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    Great build. Great engineering. My concern would be the rudder pushrod. I don't think threaded rod is strong enough. And, it has too many bends to withstand the stress of this size and speed of boat.
    Ron - The Villages, FL

    https://castawaysboatworx.org/

  12. #12
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    The hatch corners were designed for nitro engine use where hatch fixings were used & taping the hull wasn't used obviously. They never got around to modifying the moulds for electric use.

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    Quote Originally Posted by zooma View Post
    Great build. Great engineering. My concern would be the rudder pushrod. I don't think threaded rod is strong enough. And, it has too many bends to withstand the stress of this size and speed of boat.
    Thank you very much! Yes, the linkage is something I will keep an eye on during the initial runs. If there are any handling issues, I will come up with a thicker and more solid linkage design.

    Quote Originally Posted by martin View Post
    The hatch corners were designed for nitro engine use where hatch fixings were used & taping the hull wasn't used obviously. They never got around to modifying the moulds for electric use.
    True! Apparently, only recently did they even start getting the molds for hatches without an exhaust cutout.

  14. #14
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    Here's the motor mounted in the hull.
    20160925_223919.jpg 20160925_225541.jpg

    Time to fix the stringers to the hull! Some masking tape to mark out the location of the stringers, then initially tacking them with 30-minute epoxy
    20160927_114128.jpg 20160929_141852.jpg

    Next, I laid in some carbon fiber along the sides. This didn't turn out too nice! However, the stringers are rock-solid now, and for the next build I will use carbon fiber tape to keep things cleaner.
    20161003_112946.jpg

  15. #15
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    Next, I cut and bent the 1/4" stuffing tube with an S-bend. (Possibly a bit too sharp of a bend?)
    20161003_113028.jpg

    Here I used a short piece of 9/32" tubing, this will allow me to remove the stuffing tube should I have to. The end-cap is made of two circles (18mm and 20mm diameter) glued together and drilled. This was then epoxied in place to one end of the flood tube.
    20161003_113124.jpg

    Next, I fixed the flood tube in place. The rear is fixed in place with 2-part epoxy, while the front is supported with a few layers of crushed CF fibers. This turned out much stronger than expected, and the entire boat can be lifted from the flood tube alone. From here, it's a straight shot to the motor collet.
    20161004_165323.jpg 20161004_165316.jpg

    Paint-job photos coming tomorrow

  16. #16
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    This is looking good, I like the battery tray. I have a similar sized hull upcoming. I see you have opted for the forward mounted motor.

    A bend certainly not too sharp. You should see the one in my rigger. Was an S bend even necessary?

    Shawn

  17. #17
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    Beautiful build! Wish mine came out this clean... Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see the finished product!

  18. #18
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    picture in post nr 6
    trimtabs :nut not in correct position on the bolt
    would have put the motor closer to the transom and lipo's in front of motor
    not a fan of a long flex : tends to wobble at high rpm's but you got a small s-bend in it so maybe it will be alright
    you got a lot of bends in that steering rod ! (don't like that either :-), but that's me )
    Last edited by iop65; 11-16-2016 at 06:01 AM.

  19. #19
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    Appreciate the responses guys!

    I chose to put the motor up front as this would give me the largest range of CG adjustment, since I will have to use different battery configs.

    The S-bend is more of an experiment to see if I can get reduced vibration and wobble compared to the IM31, but it also allows me to position the motor mounted low and level. This should help give more clearance for the ESC on top.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by zedextreme8177 View Post
    Appreciate the responses guys!

    I chose to put the motor up front as this would give me the largest range of CG adjustment, since I will have to use different battery configs.

    The S-bend is more of an experiment to see if I can get reduced vibration and wobble compared to the IM31, but it also allows me to position the motor mounted low and level. This should help give more clearance for the ESC on top.
    This is something I have considered in my DF 35". I also have forward mounted motor on that one. Strait'ish tube there

  21. #21
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    Paint time!

    I removed the hardware from the hull and washed the hull with dishwasher soap and water. Then it was lightly sanded with 400-grit.

    Around this time, the only hardware store in my city which had body filler was consumed by fire. Luckily no casualties, but the entire store was pretty much burnt down. The only substitute available was JB-quickweld, and this gave some cracks in the body fills (which were difficult to sand down, and showed up later when the hull was painted completely).
    20161006_094733.jpg

    All the removed hardware layed out! This also shows the steering linkage.
    20161005_203954.jpg

    Afterwards, the hull was primed and sanded for the first coat of paint.
    20161006_173806.jpg 20161007_152953.jpg

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by srislash View Post
    This is something I have considered in my DF 35". I also have forward mounted motor on that one. Strait'ish tube there
    I took a look through your DF 35 build. Love the way you made the center battery tray with the shaft running through it! Also like how neat and open the overall layout is.

    The silver base coat was then applied, and the pattern masked.
    20161007_173825.jpg 20161007_191902.jpg 20161008_082416.jpg 20161009_114326.jpg 20161009_144052.jpg

  23. #23
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    Next, the hull was sprayed in metallic red. I'm liking this red a lot, and will use it as the primary color on my next build
    20161009_164752.jpg 20161009_170712.jpg

    After some more masking, the final coat of metallic black was sprayed on.
    20161010_163936.jpg 20161010_163941.jpg

  24. #24
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    After removing all the masking, here is the end result!
    20161011_065310.jpg 20161014_222855.jpg 20161014_222909.jpg

    The imperfection in the JB-weld is obvious on the top of the hatch. This will be fixed as soon as I can get proper fillers. Afterwards, the lettering was sharpened up using puddles of spray paint and a fine-tipped brush.
    20161010_181944.jpg 20161014_222947.jpg

  25. #25
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    After a generous clear coat, I installed the hardware back on the hull.
    20161015_142544.jpg 20161015_142623.jpg

    For the cooling hoses, I used a black/red braided PET sleeve over the tube with some heat shrink on the ends to keep things neat.
    20161016_113843.jpg

    Afterwards, I took a file and made a flat on the shaft to attach the drive dog.
    20161017_133755.jpg 20161017_133848.jpg

  26. #26
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    Next, I got the prop balanced and sharpened.
    20161017_203216.jpg

    Right before cutting the flex, I decided to swap the strut for an extended one.
    20161019_140215.jpg 20161019_140210.jpg

    Just barely enough clearance from the prop. However, this is at full-left lock (limited by the steering arm on the rudder), and with the rudder kicked all the way aft. Under normal running circumstances, the prop should not strike the rudder.
    20161019_140239.jpg

    And lastly, I decided to swap the large turn fins for a pair of medium ones.
    20161026_134207.jpg

    (I hadn't got around to fixing the trim tab nuts at this point yet )

  27. #27
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    I like it. You are likely to never end up cranking that rudder over that far. I think I have my travel down at about 60% and the DF carves on a dime.

    She is an old hull now but still going good. Just showing her age(dings/flex cracks).

  28. #28
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    Really nice color scheme, that red just pops! What is the brand of that particular red? Also, I find that the best body filler is just simple epoxy mixed with thickening powder (graphite, silica, etc) and some color dye. I tried that on my old hull and it filled the voids very smoothly and is easy to sand.

  29. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by srislash View Post
    I like it. You are likely to never end up cranking that rudder over that far. I think I have my travel down at about 60% and the DF carves on a dime.

    She is an old hull now but still going good. Just showing her age(dings/flex cracks).
    Hoping my hull handles just as well with this setup!

    Quote Originally Posted by TheShaddix View Post
    Really nice color scheme, that red just pops! What is the brand of that particular red? Also, I find that the best body filler is just simple epoxy mixed with thickening powder (graphite, silica, etc) and some color dye. I tried that on my old hull and it filled the voids very smoothly and is easy to sand.
    Thank you! The red is Bosny No.67 Honda Red, and works with the No. 1580 metallic silver undertone. Appreciate the body filler tip as well

  30. #30
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    Some electronics arrived!
    20161022_112235.jpg 20161022_112256.jpg

    Servo and receiver installed in the mount:
    20161023_002251.jpg

    Due to the new shipping restrictions on Lipos, I had to purchase the batteries locally. Decided to go with these 6S 2700 packs in parallel:
    20161101_010650.jpg 20161101_012021.jpg

    The ESC and the last set of connectors have been shipped today and should arrive within the next two weeks!

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