Your Grandfather’s Smack is a bit farther along than one I started many years ago. I got the large kit from Laughing Whale, who later sold it and the smaller version to Midwest. At some point I found that the plans had been lost, but I was able to get a new set from Laughing Whale.

My partially built hull has seen four moves, and now the kit and radio parts are in storage. I need to get my shop set up before bringing it home. But your Grandfather’s model raised some good memories. Looking forward to seeing you complete it. 😋

She is pretty…just dusted her a bit. 😉

Now to get to the real intent of this thread. As mentioned I built this boat ten years ago when I first began constructing RC models. When I began the motor replacement I discovered major mistakes I had made during construction due to my limited knowledge at the time.
The photo shows the component foundations I neglected to securely attach to the hull. All of them were merely CA’d to the hull rather than being firmly attached to the hull with epoxy.
Other discrepancies included (no photos):
- no flats filed on motor, drive, & rudder shafts
- extreme misalignment between motor output shaft & drive shaft hoping coupling cured it
- not using pins to reinforce details like outrigger mounts to house
So my message to those new to RC boats is ask questions in this forum & others about quality components & construction techniques. There are many, many experienced builders who will gladly assist you. Know what you don’t know! Correct past miscues when you discover them. Most importantly, your skill set will improve as you gain experience so never become discouraged.
The end.

Okay, so on to changing the drive.Upon getting started I discovered from my signature plate in the hull that I had built WHOPPER STOPPER ten years ago! Man how time flys!
The first photo is the original driveline. It was a mystery motor with what I think was a three to one gearbox that was in my parts box. I had never used gear reducer before so it seemed at the time like a good idea to experiment & use it. Not! Totally wrong application as I know now.
The second photo is the direct drive replacement motor. There’s absolutely no reason to have a gear reducer in sportfishing boat where you don’t need the torque like in a tug. I have not put it in the water yet to check out the speed from the new motor, which I’m sure is going to require backing off on the throttle endpoint settings & increasing the expo.

Now, moving on to the “finished” aspect. The last two in-water photos in the previous post were taken at a fun float in Scarborough, Maine this past June. They represent a scale speed about right when trolling for fish. The two here are at WOT but do not approach a scale cruising speed of what should be around 17 kts. I moved control of the boat from a 3ch FlySky tx to my Taranis QX7 which allowed the throttle end point setting to be increased about 25%. That only increased the speed moderately as shown. So, a change of motors required.

Chum!!! She’s simply…

The “finished” boat. More on “finished” in a bit.

A few more.

Some additional construction photos.

Bluejacket still market's this one...but, a bit pricey at $450. Yikes! But, I like where you're going with you pilot house better Chum! 😊

Whoa! Love those lobster boat hulls! I found my Dad’s old large scale Muscongas Bay Smack kit in my grand father’s garage and am going to restore it someday. I can’t remember if it was a discontinued Midwest or a Bluejacket kit. Here's a pix from a while back, I've since cleaned it up a bit.
Your sport fisherman conversion is super cool! Keep those pix coming Chum!!! 👍