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Thread: U-3 1/8 scale Hydroplane.

  1. #1
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    Default U-3 Coopers 1/8 scale Hydroplane Build Thread.

    Just wondering if any of you guys have built a U-3 1/8 scale hydroplane in the pics below.
    The drawing is MHR# 0203.

    My main queery is can a couple of 4s packs (for 8s) & an ESC fit in the cowling.
    If not how was the setup installed.

    I did a bit of a search but couldn't find anything.

    Cheers.
    Paul.

    2007_U-3_Hoss_Mortgage_Investors_Too_MH_0203_Tri-Cities_WA_5_.jpg

    2003_U-3_Miss_Foxhills_Chrysler-Jeep_MH_0203_Detroit_MI_RCBoatCompany.com.jpg

    2010_U-3_GO3RACING_MH_0203_Madison_IN_1_.jpg
    Last edited by 785boats; 01-27-2018 at 02:09 PM.

  2. #2
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    I couldn't help myself & ordered the ML Boatworks framing kit.
    It arrived today.
    Love it.

  3. #3
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    Looking at the pics, the hull/canopy look very similar to the Miss Elam but without the turbine cowl. The guys who run 1/8 FE here have flat taped covers over the hatch openings and the cowls just clip on top similar to nitro versions. They run 10S setups so I am guessing you will be able to fit everything in there. I like the turbo'd V12 look!
    NZMPBA 2013, 2016 Open Electric Champion. NZMPBA 2016 P Offshore Champion.
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  4. #4
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    Thanks for that Pete.
    I've ordered the cowling from R/C Boat company, & according to the measurements given & the width of the tub on the kit, it will all easily fit.
    I've also ordered this turbo Allison motor from Jim at scale3dparts. He does some beautiful work with a printer.

    http://scale-3d.com/gallery

    How could you not love this.
    Last edited by 785boats; 01-24-2018 at 08:43 PM.

  5. #5
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    I wasn't going to start building this until I had finished the other three boats under construction. But after a phone conversation with fellow club member Trev in the afternoon, I was convinced to get started on it yesterday evening. Thanks Trev.

    A couple more hours this morning & she's taking shape.
    Speaking of shapes, I'm surprised how one sponson is so much bigger than the other & a completely different shape. I've only been used to symmetry so far in my boating life.

    So, I'll do a build thread on it even though a lot of things will just be repetitious of things in the other hydro build threads I've done here.

    It's just such a beautiful boat & can still beat the turbine powered boats now & then.

    So, just to confirm the building method for any new members interested, but haven't seen one of these wooden hulls being built. We basically dry fit the frames into the main stringers & wick some Medium CA glue along all the joints. Later on when the ply bottoms & sides are all attached, the whole inside is given a coat of Epoxy fiberglass resin, which strengthens all the joints & seals the wood.

    The first thing I like to do is glue the bulkheads to the main stringers. Then add the birch sticks along the bottoms of the main stringers.
    Then each pair of main stingers & bulkheads are glued together.
    The next step is to fit the transom & the main bulkhead which is the rear of the sponsons.

    After that a piece of flat wood the width of the tunnel is fitted to the building board high enough to keep the bottom of the sponsons off the main building board.
    A few weights to keep the hull flat & a square to keep the boat true.
    Now the rest of the sticks can be fitted in all the notches, & glued.
    The main chine pieces are then glued into position. With this kit they are made up of multiple laminated pieces which need to be glued together first.

    When the CA is cured, the boat is turned over & then all the sponson bottom chine pieces can be fitted & glued into place.

    That's where I'm at so far.

    Here are the visuals. This is gonna be fun

    Bulkheads in the main stringers.

    001.jpg

    The basic assembly.

    003.jpg

    Totally different shape & size of sponsons.

    005.jpg

    The underside of the sponsons.

    006.jpg

  6. #6
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    When attempting to fit the afterplane sideskins I realised that I had the transom installed the wrong way around, because one side is narrower than the other, as are the tips of the transom.
    There is also a drop section of the deck on one side of the transom.

    So I went hunting for pics of the full size boat for some visuals.
    Yes I had the drop section on the wrong side. It's on the left of the full size boat which turns left. The model turns right so it needs to be on the right.
    So, out with the scalpel for some surgery/butchery.

    I managed to break the tip off one side of the transom when cutting away the 3/16" stringers. So I had to add a packer & some strengtheners to line it up properly.

    I added the side skins during the same procedure.

    Transom removed. Man that CA glue is tuff stuff.

    001.jpg

    Refitted correctly.

    004.jpg

    Afterplans sideskins added.

    006.jpg

    The packer & strengthener.

    007.jpg

    The drop deck on the left side of the transom

    21034552_1835458619817557_5545622702317809673_n.jpg

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by 785boats View Post
    Thanks for that Pete.
    I've ordered the cowling from R/C Boat company, & according to the measurements given & the width of the tub on the kit, it will all easily fit.
    I've also ordered this turbo Allison motor from Jim at scale3dparts. He does some beautiful work with a printer.

    http://scale-3d.com/gallery

    How could you not love this.
    Well I tell you based on that last race shot head on Paul, there won’t be any cowling to cover that Allison.

    This should be a nice one. And hey I took a look close at your last pic and really dig the rudder bracketry.

  8. #8
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    Looking good so far Paul
    There's a hole at the center of earth where the rest of the world sinks but i stand still...

  9. #9
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    Thanks for that.

    I came across this little gem which gives good views of the ride pads & the rear sponsons. Cool.


  10. #10
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    One of last piston driven hydros to beat the new turbine engines.

  11. #11
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    Yep.
    That's why she's called 'The Turbinator'

  12. #12
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    This should be very cool build.

    Watch the race video, so amazing that piston power left them turbines rooster tail length almost the whole time.

  13. #13
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    If only she could do it more often, Eric.

    The floor pan & anti trip skins have been added.There is a bit of a dropped tub at the front so the floor pan was simply cut at each side of the tub. Then, where the side pieces needed to bend I scored the bend line on the inside of the hull with a knife, & gently creased the wood.

    I've also added some balsa blocks to the nose pieces of the sponsons, & along the chine pieces. This is all just for extra surface area for the glue at the edges of the skins when they are fitted.
    I will sand them all to shape as I sand & shape the stringers.

    Anti trip skins & the floor pan.

    002.jpg

    Wooden blocks on the nose & chines.

    001.jpg

  14. #14
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    A few more bits'n pieces done, in between sleeps.

    Firstly, the angled pieces were fitted to the heels of the sponsons. It doesn't leave much area to fit the bracket for the turn fin. But the engineers, down in the 'Wet Track Racing' workshops, will make it work.

    Next we tackled the dropped deck rear extension & the transom side pods.
    I tried to make it look like the original, but I think the pods should have been longer. But that was how the kit was. I was going to extend them, but got lazy & left them short.

    Then it was on to the sponson skins.
    The anti trip skins have been fitted first. These will be trimmed & sanded to shape & then the ride pad & the side skin will be added.
    All these pieces were cut out of 1/16" ply & pre bent to shape, using a 4" round steel pole in my garage, that is holding up the floor of my house. By gently bending the ply around the pole while moving the piece from side to side the bend just magically appears. No heat. No water. Just mind power & a delicate touch.
    It makes it so easy to glue the pieces on, as there is no pressure to be fought against with tape , clamps or weights.
    I simply hold it in place & sort of stitch glue it in place with drops of ca glue, working my way along from the rear of the skin to the nose.
    When that is done I then wick a bead of ca along all the joints.

    Here are the compulsory visuals.

    The angled pieces behind the heels of the sponsons.

    001.jpg

    The dropped deck extension & the sheeting on the side pods.
    The actual rear sponsons will be framed up & sheeted later.

    004.jpg

    The pre bent skins.

    005.jpg

    The bent skins just sitting loosely in place.

    007.jpg

    All glued on ready for final trimming & sanding.

    009.jpg

  15. #15
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    Awesome, those old H1 unlimited piston powered hydro's had a sound like no other. Nothing like the big sound of piston powered H1's on H2O. Its a sound you can not only hear but FEEL trough your whole body. Greatest sounds I've ever felt, when those old boats flew by at the old marine stadium down in Miami Fla. I miss that sound, its to bad we as model boaters cant capture that part of the piston powered H1's, the sounds were as great as the racing. AWESOME!
    PROBOAT BlackJack 24", ShockWave 26"
    MRP U-31, 3 tunnels VS1, MRP Bud Light, Dumas HS Sprint

  16. #16
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    So why the angle pieces on the heels of sponsons? I thought you wanted that area to be flat and 90*? Or you building this be scale as possible to 1:1?

  17. #17
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    I think it’s only the rear edges of the ride surfaces you want to have sharp and straight. I don’t think the angled part comes down far enough to affect anything except making the turnfin mount a challenge.


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    Namba District 16
    1/8 Miss U.S., 1/8 59 Maverick, 1/8 Executone, 1/8 Smokin Joe, 1/8 Bud, MLGSX380, AC Pro40II Q Sport, AC Pro40II nitro,Twincraft mono 10s, Vision AOPC, VS1 FE, M34.

  18. #18
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    Very true, you do want sponsons to be flat with sharp corners. I was meaning for turn fin, doesn’t make harder to setup the bracket so the turn fin is parallel?

  19. #19
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    It will take some creative thinking for sure, but the engineers make the big bucks lol.


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    Namba District 16
    1/8 Miss U.S., 1/8 59 Maverick, 1/8 Executone, 1/8 Smokin Joe, 1/8 Bud, MLGSX380, AC Pro40II Q Sport, AC Pro40II nitro,Twincraft mono 10s, Vision AOPC, VS1 FE, M34.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by eric113 View Post
    So why the angle pieces on the heels of sponsons? I thought you wanted that area to be flat and 90*? Or you building this be scale as possible to 1:1?
    Eric.
    It will be racing in the 1/8 scale class at our club. So yes, it must be built as scale as possible. The angled pieces are in the kit so on they go.
    As Pescador pointed out they won't affect the sharp edges of the sponson. I always let my ride plates overhang the rear of the sponsons on hydros by 3/16" or so, to allow the water to break free without riding up the heel.

    Guys.
    There is still 1-1/4" high flat area to mount a bracket.
    The "Chief Design Engineer", down in the workshops, has advised that we will simply copy the philosophy of the full size boats. There will be a bracket on the heel of the sponson, & a brace across to the anti trip skin from the rear of the fin to help take the load. A mounting plate will be added to the inside of the skin for attachment of the brace.
    I've just signed off on the preliminary worksheet.

    JestDanny.
    This is for you. Check out the water injection into the turbos.


  21. #21
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    Too cool , coming along nicely.

  22. #22
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    Thanks, double awesome give me a pack of Allison's duking it out with a flock of Rolls Merlin's any day.
    PROBOAT BlackJack 24", ShockWave 26"
    MRP U-31, 3 tunnels VS1, MRP Bud Light, Dumas HS Sprint

  23. #23
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    JestDanny.
    The only time they sound better is in their natural element. Probably a Merlin in this one, but you know what I mean.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0MAv1CHDy8

    The ride pads & side skins have been added to the sponsons. I left a slight overhang on the ride pads like we tend to do on the Sports Hydros.

    The original boat has a spray rail along the bottom of the side skin where it meets the anti trip skin. At this point you will see that I have left the side skin proud for this. I don't know whether to keep it or not. If you watch the 'Flipping of the Turbinator' video closely, you will see that it is really quite pronounce.

    Then the fiddly little rear pods were added.
    Basically just two pieces of 1/16" ply shaped & bent to shape.
    I'll add a piece of 0.04mm ply on the rear of them to cover that little angled join & finish it off nicely.

    Ride pad & side skins added.

    005.jpg

    Another view showing the bottom of the side skin protrusion for the spray rail.

    006.jpg

    The rear pods.

    004.jpg
    Last edited by 785boats; 02-05-2018 at 11:35 PM.

  24. #24
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    Woo!! Hoo!!

    I just took delivery of the twin turbo Allison V12, From Jim at http://www.scale-3d.com/gallery
    Man that was quick. I only ordered it 13 days ago. Ha had to make it, & then he got it shipped all the way to Australia in that time. Brilliant. Thanks Jim.
    A bit of work for the mechanics now.
    There are three pages of instructions with coloured pictures, so they shouldn't have a problem.

    008.jpg

  25. #25
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    That motor kit looks awesome. Amazing detail. 3D printing is so cool. I can't imagine writing the program.

  26. #26
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    Motor looks sweet. You have alot detail painting to do, but will be totally worth it.

  27. #27
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    Yep.
    Jim does a great job. Everything is a precision fit. Just a bit of sanding required to smooth out some of the banding lines, & then I can assemble some of the individual pieces & send it off the the paint shop. (That's the right hand front corner of the work bench).

    I got home from night shift at 5:00AM this morning, & decided to cut & fit the aluminium backing plates for the turn fin bracket & side brace before going to sleep. Also the doubler on the transom.

    Transom doubler epoxied on with a ply doubler on the floor of the tub for the internal strut bracket.

    001.jpg

    Plates for the turn fin bracket & the side brace on the inside of the anti trip skin.

    002.jpg
    Last edited by 785boats; 02-08-2018 at 06:59 PM.

  28. #28
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    Paul, thank you for posting the build pics. Did you use a jig for the initial framing or did you just square it up as your went?

  29. #29
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    lambo.
    No. I don't bother with a special jig as such.
    Just some straight lines drawn on a board where the main stringers run, & a couple of lines 90 degrees to them where the main bulkhead for the heels of the sponsons, & the transom sit. I place weights on the frame work to keep it all flat on the board. And I constantly check that all the framework is parallel the lines each time I glue something.
    The board needs to be high enough to allow the sponsons to clear the workbench, & wide enough to fit between the two outside stringers/air traps.

    One thing that I add, is a piece of 1/8" ply between the sponsons to keep them spaced correctly & square to the board, while gluing all the frame work & the sponson skins. It will stay there until the final sheeting of the decks. It stops the sponsons from twisting.

    You will see the piece glued on in this pic.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  30. #30
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    Thanks
    I was wondering about that.

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