U-31 MILLER HIGH LIFE 8th Scale build thread

[K.R.Joye]

Gents, I'm making a lot of progress on my winter project U-31 `Miller High Life' Unlimited Hydroplane. Based on the Lucero designed Circus Circus platform, the`Miller High Life' was campaigned briefly on the 1988 Unlimited circuit. The scaled down 43" hull will legally meet all overall dimensional info provided on the NAMBA MHR#8700.

I inherited this project from a good friend as a plywood framed skeleton from Newton #146 plans. Most of the wood frames were disguarded after being used for patterns in favor of stronger G10 Epoxy sheet composite. CF angle will also be used for structural support, plywood Transom & Sponson bulkheads are G10 skinned. West Systems #610 2-part epoxy is used for bonding and Z-Poxy for sealing a bonding any wood to wood component. The center section of the hull has been offset from Port to Starboard for FE clockwise racing. Epoxy Glass Canopy, Cockpit and rear Wing Set(on order) are RC Boat Company pieces.

Power will be provided by IMPBA NAMBA legal 1527 1.5y on 10s1p lipo. Offset 3/16" cable driveline and hardware will consist of a combination of Zipp Kit(turnfin) and Speed Master(rudder,strut) components. Same hardware and driveline setup is used on my U-1 Atlas Van Lines.

Heres some pics so far showing rear afterplane tub construction. Everything is swiss-cheesed to save weight. Working my way forward to start soon on front sponson & canard spar structure.

[K.R.Joye]

RC Boat Company canopy to be integrated into the hull.

[bob horowitz]

Ken,
Nice job. Makes me itch like crazy just thinking about cutting all that G-10. Great idea though.
Bob

[emspjay]

Great build! That is very cool! Can't wait to see it finished!

[srislash]

Very nice. The canopy will really set it off.

[K.R.Joye]

Worked on locking down the front sponson structure. The (2) CF angles are tied together with hardwood beams bonded to inside sponson walls to eliminate pickle fork twist. The forward CF angle will be part of the nose canard wing structure while the rearward CF angle will support the sponson transoms tying them in to the tub.

Sponson bulkheads and stringers next...

[revoltrunner]

I bought these decals back in the 80s
and never used them.
just realized these are for the Miller American
not the Miller High Life.

[K.R.Joye]

Bonding the Sponson transom & bulkheads along with stringers

[Doug Smock]

Looking good Ken!

[K.R.Joye]

Thanks for the nice comments guys. This nasty Mi. winter is providing me with lots of shop time.

Hopefully if all goes well i'll have some better competition for you Doug!

[785boats]

Coming along very nicely.
I've never seen a hdro built up out of G10 epoxy sheet before.
Very interesting.

[K.R.Joye]

Coming along very nicely.
I've never seen a hdro built up out of G10 epoxy sheet before.
Very interesting.

Thanks I've been following your U-3 build also your doing a great job! I've built plywood kits too, just to hard to repair when bad things happen.

[K.R.Joye]

Working on the sponson bottom structures today. The West Systems 610 2-part epoxy i use on the G-10 takes overnight to dry so I try to setup something up for bonding as frequently as possible.

[K.R.Joye]

CF angle air trap vents are in!

[K.R.Joye]

Bonding sponson bottom stringers, note right pic show CF flat plane ride pad forms

[K.R.Joye]

Bonding the after-plane non trip top form stringers

[Shooter]

Ken, This is awesome!! When you mentioned G10 the other day, I wasn't envisioning this much of it! Nice!

[K.R.Joye]

Thanks Pete lots more G10 to come

[longballlumber]

Hi Ken,

Looking good! Do you have a bare hull weight target your working towards?

[K.R.Joye]

I'd like to keep the hull under 5lbs, I know its going to be tough.

The deck, bottom and ride pads skins will be G10

Vertical sponson and after-plane non-trip surfaces will be Styrene sheet to keep weight down.

[K.R.Joye]

Bonding the engine cowling support opening structure.

Heavy swiss-cheesed hardwood Airfoil blocks are bonded in. These really strengthen the whole front canopy/sponson structure to the afterplane.

Canopy nose construction up next...

[K.R.Joye]

Laying out deck skin patterns

[Shooter]

She's lookin good!

[K.R.Joye]

Lower Canopy nose and sidewalls are bonded in! Future home for 10S1P 5000-6000 lipo.

[Tom G]

Lower Canopy nose and sidewalls are bonded in! Future home for 10S1P 5000-6000 lipo.

Do-in some nice wrk there

[K.R.Joye]

Added a CF bonding strip to the nose side wall before attaching the Canopy fuselage. There's a removable rear top canopy piece for battery compartment access.

[K.R.Joye]

RC Boat Company Wing Assembly and upright mounting. All 3 wing parts have packing foam sheet cores for floatation. Upright bases have G10 slide in sheaths bonded in. Blue masking tape is used throughout the build to keep exterior surfaces clear of excess glue

[K.R.Joye]

Wing attachment hardware and mounting. Wing position is set neutral parallel to the rear after-plane bottom surface. Also showing removable canopy battery access panel bonding.

[K.R.Joye]

Zipp Kit (large hydro) 7075 Turn Fin modified and mounted. Speedmaster 21 Rudder w/transom load transfer gussets installed. 6-32 SS Allen Bolts used throughout w/blind nuts sealed w/epoxy.

[K.R.Joye]

Hydro Strut `G10 Wet Box' fabricated with a hardwood base is bonded, fastened to the hull bottom and transom. This is a long strut setup on offset driveline, angle-depth adjustment bolt will offer ease of access at deck surface. Faux`Turbine Exhaust' tube will hide any strut hardware proud of the deck.