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Thread: Darin's UL1 Race Prep

  1. #31
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    Default Blueprinting the Ride-Pads

    OK Gang... I decided last night to make another modification to the hull...

    I started out by block sanding the ride-pads, but decided that I could get it flatter, and make the surface more durable, with less sanding and filling, by installing some new ride-pads from a harder material.

    Here's what I did:

    First, I block sanded both sponsons and wiped them down with Mineral Spirits on a clean shop towel.

    Next, I cut out two pieces of .031" G10 material, approximately 7.5" x 1.9".

    I trued the edges with my belt sander, then fitted them to the existing ride-pad surfaces. I left about .100" overhang at the aft end, and beveled the underside of the new pad slightly so it would fit right up against the anti-submarine pads in the front.

    The inside edges are perfectly flush with the inside of the sponson. The outsides overhang just slightly, which will be fine.
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    Last edited by Darin Jordan; 01-22-2009 at 04:36 PM.
    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  2. #32
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    Once they were fitted, I roughed them up a tad with some 320-grit sandpaper, wiped it all down, then put a thin coat of epoxy on both the existing pad surface and the bottom of the new pad.

    Taped it in place, clamped things down, wiped off the excess (come back a couple of times to do this as it will continue to squeeze out) and set the assembly up to dry...

    Please be VERY careful if you use clamps as I've shown in the picture... the deck will crack if you put much pressure on them. I only used them to help hold some force downward...

    Remove the tape and cleanup and you are done... Nice sharp edges, very hard, dense surface, and FLAT... Should optimize the performance of this already fast hull, as well as make the ride-pads much more durable. That's important when you are racing, because inevitably, you WILL flip, and every now and then, someone will run you over... and the sponsons are usually the first thing to get hit!
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    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  3. #33
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    Here's what it should look like when the pads are finished... I'll take a few more angles of it tonight when I get home from work...

    We'll have to see how this works. My main concern at this point would be the fact that I've basically reduced the step between the anti-submarine pads in the front and the ride-pad surface by .030"... Hopefully that won't cause any issues...
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    Last edited by Darin Jordan; 01-22-2009 at 04:37 PM.
    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  4. #34
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    Pretty slick looking. Where did you get the G10 sheet?

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by LuckyDuc View Post
    Pretty slick looking. Where did you get the G10 sheet?
    McMaster Carr... Can't recall what the part number was... There are lots to choose from there...
    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  6. #36
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    Darin we need pics of the closing to complete the turn fin repair, Great tutorial by the way

  7. #37
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    Here are a few more pictures of what I've done to this point.

    Once the epoxy on the ride-pads was dry, I block sand the surfaces with 320-grit paper, then with 400-grit. Move lengthwise down the pad. Lightly sand the edges. Clean up, and this portion should be completed.
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    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  8. #38
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    Default Turn Fin Bracket

    Here is a little modification I've done to make use of the extra mounting point in the turn fin mount.

    I carefully sanded off the black coating from the mounting surface on the turn fin bracket, then epoxied it to a piece of Carbon fiber, drilled up with the correct bolt pattern (standard Fuller's style strut bracket hole pattern works perfectly)...

    Once the epoxy sets, I shaped it to fit and I now have a 3-point bracket. When mounted, it spreads the load better. Additionally, should I need to align the fin better, I can use this material as a shim, carefully sanding it at the angle needed to get better turn-fin alignment if needed.
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    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  9. #39
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    Default Very nice thread Darin

    This is a very helpful thread....and I sorta wish my pond was hard so I could have done all these upgrades to my boat before I ran it...but the water is soft and I want to play so I will try some quick fixes first.

    I am thinking about drilling another drain plug hole on each side of the tub to allow me to squirt some epoxy into the (fractured and unfractured) channel (see oh...oh...post.) I'll have to think on it some more. I added a kick plate to my modified turn fin area. Am I allowed to link to another site on here...if so here it is rather than reposting everything. If not the mod can remove it.

    http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...2#post11415903

    Oh...I know the dedicated hard core racer doesn't use shear pins or break away rudders/fins, but I am not doing serious racing and have a minefield of Alligator Snapping Turtles in my pond. I think I already hit one cause my turn fin had a flattened knife edge and may be the cause of the cracked sponson under the turn fin.

    Any way...I don't want to hijack the thread so rock on dude!

    Oh...I've been meaning to add...the vertical fins don't fit real well or stay on, the way they come, without the outside (hatch) tape but after I sanded a little off the bottoms for a better fit and added some balsa inside for additional flotation, I find a doubled thickness of two sided tape works well enough that you don't need the outside pieces of tape, on top the hatch, to hold them in place.
    Last edited by Capt. Crash; 01-24-2009 at 08:46 AM. Reason: vertical fin tip

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kfoss1 View Post
    Darin we need pics of the closing to complete the turn fin repair, Great tutorial by the way
    I haven't gotten that far yet... I'm thinking of actually making it into a removable access panel that screws down, but we'll see...

    I'm about done with the upgrades to this point, and getting ready to do some painting. There is likely more that can be done, like maybe what Mike Martin suggested in filling it with expanding foam, but I think I'll pause for now and see how it works at this point.

    I'll post more as I get it complete. Hopefully this thread helped someone out there...
    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  11. #41
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    Darin, I like the 3 point bracket.
    Thanks

    Douggie

  12. #42
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    I was contemplating how to deal with the hole I intend to cut in the tub. I think I might use a piece of clear lexan and silicone adhesive to cover it up. If I do need access in the future I can just pry it off.

  13. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by LuckyDuc View Post
    I was contemplating how to deal with the hole I intend to cut in the tub. I think I might use a piece of clear lexan and silicone adhesive to cover it up. If I do need access in the future I can just pry it off.

    Yah... that would work... I'm half tempted to just leave it there and open... ALL of my other hydros are completely open in there... if it stays dry (all of mine do), then it's not an issue...

    .... until you accidently drop a screw or something in there and can't get it back out, and have to listen to it rattle around...

    ... I think I'll make a closeout panel for it!
    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  14. #44
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    Did a little more work. Almost ready to wrap it up for now.
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    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  15. #45
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    After sanding the areas for painting with 320-grit, then 400 grit, I wiped it all down with cleaner, primed, and I've just about wrapped up the painting. Waiting for some decals to arrive, then I'll clearcoat and be done.

    WARNING: I don't know what it is, but it took about 4-coats of primer, and several coats of the white paint, before the red stopped bleeding through... Kind of like on the ProBoat hull I did awhile back. Not sure what happens, but it just keeps coming through...

    Painted the center white because I usually use electrical tape to tape the hatch, and this will allow me to use white tape without having it show much... Not an exact white match here, but I was just using up some paint I already had.
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    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  16. #46
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    Looks good to me!

    I stuffed a piece of balsa in my fins....works good...as I found out last week!

  17. #47
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    Was the red bleeding through chemically? Or was it just not covering red? Red is known for being hard to paint over (or remove from skin, or from clothing) - something about the color.

    Andy
    Spektrum Development Team

  18. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by AndyKunz View Post
    Was the red bleeding through chemically? Or was it just not covering red? Red is known for being hard to paint over (or remove from skin, or from clothing) - something about the color.

    Andy

    Andy... The best way to describe it was that is would just cause the white to look pinkish-red... evenly across the whole surface... almost like the red was mixing with the white...

    I used a gray primer under the silver paint, and while it still did it, it was not nearly as bad or noticable...

    The ProBoat I converted previously did the same thing, but only where the decals had been...
    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  19. #49
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    Darin, I would presume a paint that is not compatible wirh the original paint. Did you apply a primer after wet sanding the original surface. Did that primer flash and bond well with no apparent bleed. Ditto for top coats? Have you tried to apply a tape and pull with no damage to the newly painted surface.

    Douggie

  20. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Scotsman View Post
    Darin, I would presume a paint that is not compatible wirh the original paint. Did you apply a primer after wet sanding the original surface. Did that primer flash and bond well with no apparent bleed. Ditto for top coats? Have you tried to apply a tape and pull with no damage to the newly painted surface.

    Douggie
    YES... YES and NO... YES and NO... Yes and it's fine...

    Maybe nextime I'll try an enamel instead of a lacquer-based paint...
    Last edited by Darin Jordan; 01-27-2009 at 12:36 PM.
    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  21. #51
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    HMMM. You had some bleed on the primer coat?

  22. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Scotsman View Post
    HMMM. You had some bleed on the primer coat?
    Doug... it could be best characterized as color "mixing"... The white primer actually turned pink... Coat after coat after coat... It NEVER stayed just white... Then the white paint coats did the same thing...

    Like I just edited in my previous post... maybe next time, I'll try some enamel based paint instead of lacquer...
    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  23. #53
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    Darin, I prefer grey as a primer but some top coats really show their true colours with white as a primer. As an aside I love Tamiya TS paints as they are compatible with many other paints and surfaces.

    Douggie

  24. #54
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    Another trick is to use Bulls Eye shellac before the primer. It very effectively seals the under paint.

    Andy
    Spektrum Development Team

  25. #55
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    I prefer standerd Krylon paint. What brand of primer and paint did you use? I am guessing Duplicolor.

  26. #56
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    This is why I ordered a white boat ... so I could paint it.
    IMPBA 20481S D-12

  27. #57
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    Krylon's White primer is semi tranparent so I bet it would not hide the Red verywell either. I bet light gray primer would work best at covering up the Red and preventing the pink color.
    Last edited by detox; 01-27-2009 at 09:28 PM.

  28. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by detox View Post
    Krylon's White primer is semi tranparent so I bet it would not hide the Red verywell either. I bet light gray primer would work best at covering up the Red and preventing the pink color.
    I used Krylon's light gray primer where I painted the silver portions and it only too two coats to get full coverage... so you may be right...
    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  29. #59
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    I'm just about there... Need to apply some clear, and I have one more change I'd like to make, which is to put some brass tubing in for the water inlet and outlet. I prefer that over just running the lines through the hull. Should be a simple update.

    By the way... does anyone know what is backing up the motor-mount to hull screws in the hull?? Is it aluminum or a piece of wood... or nothing? I'm thinking I'd like to replace those screws (which appear to be small sheet-metal or wood screws) with some threaded 4-40 inserts or something like that...
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    Darin E. Jordan - Renton, WA
    "Self-proclaimed skill-less leader in the hobby."

  30. #60
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    Grimracer did comment about this...I think it is wood. Search post by Grimracer

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