Although I've only been involved in FE for about 6 months, I originally got involved in RC over 35 years ago. While I've built quite a few land-based vehicles (from crawlers, to race vehicles), I've never built a boat...but, that's about to change. So as to not "break the bank", I felt it might be best to start with something on the smaller side. That way, if I royally screw up, I won't be out several hundred (or more) dollars...so, I chose the 17" Drifter Micro cat, from H&M.
To give me a slight 'challenge', I've decided to build this as a twin (and, to be completely honest, I really don't know if building a twin vs a single will be more of a challenge, or easier).

Before I continue, let me first say, "Thank you", to those who've provided helpful information...especially Bill, aka Dr. Jet, who went "above and beyond", not only providing much-needed information, but also played the biggest part in helping me select the hull I would use, as well as knowing which struts might work best with this hull.

Since this is my first time building a boat, this thread will be quite different than the build threads I've previously done. On one hand, where land-based vehicles are concerned, I knew what I was doing...and, as such, those threads were more to show what I was doing, and to help others who might be interested in doing the same, or something similar. On the other hand, in regards to building a boat, I'll admit, I have little more than a clue. As such, I have a feeling I'll probably be asking more questions, than providing useful information. Or...to put it another way...I'll probably spend a decent amount of time posting queries, ideas, & thoughts, asking for suggestions, posting what I did, and then waiting for those with more knowledge than I have to confirm what I did was "right" and/or point out the mistakes I made (and, hopefully, provide solutions top said mistakes).

With that said...LET THE GAME BEGIN!!!
(and pray that I don't seriously screw this up)

First thing's first...in one of those above photos, you might have noticed something 'amiss' with the hull...namely, the hole in the canopy. Here's a couple more photos, showing the "problem" is greater detail:
I contacted H&M (almost two weeks ago), and explained what I discovered when I opened the box the hull arrived in. The hull wasn't just well-packed, and well-protected...it was extremely well-protected. Whomever packed the hull could teach Amazon a thing, or three, about how to properly pack boxes for shipping. Unfortunately, the damage was, obviously, caused before the hull was packed. At first, they assumed this had occurred after I opened the box as but I explained (and provided photos) that this was how it was when I received it. To make this long 'damaged canopy' story short, I'll end it by saying that they have made a replacement, and I received an email from them this morning, informing me that the replacement is finished, and should ship shortly.

Another "problem" I discovered upon opening the box is that the build manual is entirely in German (something that anyone who's ordered from H&M probably knows all too well). Unfortunately, my grandmother never taught me, so my German is limited to a few words, and one sentence ("Do you speak German?"). Thankfully, there's this wonderful thing called 'Google Translate'...so, I am in the process of translating the entire 17-page build manual to English (I started it over a week ago, and I'm more than halfway finished).


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place