Here’s one I’ve messed around with off & on for awhile.
Photo 1:The real launch.
Photos 2 & 3:Starting the framework.
Quite a story behind the kit. One individual produced a well designed kit with all highly detailed parts included to complete the build. There was another individual advertising kits based on the plans he stole from the first fellow. His was poorly made with junk parts seemingly from his leftover parts bin. Many of them unusable as they had no relation to the 804 launch.
Well, I thought I had done the research to be sure I got the right kit. NOT! I ended up with the vastly inferior kit. It contained poorly fitting frames, a worthless motor, & had many parts either missing or completely out of scale or character for the launch.
So, the challenge began.
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Here’s one I’ve messed around with off & on for awhile.
Photo 1:The real launch.
Photos 2 & 3:Starting the framework.
Quite a story behind the kit. One individual produced a well designed kit with all highly detailed parts included to complete the build. There was another individual advertising kits based on the plans he stole from the first fellow. His was poorly made with junk parts seemingly from his leftover parts bin. Many of them unusable as they had no relation to the 804 launch.
Well, I thought I had done the research to be sure I got the right kit. NOT! I ended up with the vastly inferior kit. It contained poorly fitting frames, a worthless motor, & had many parts either missing or completely out of scale or character for the launch.
So, the challenge began.
After a lot of fabrication of missing parts and correction of those that didn’t fit.
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Knashing of teeth, bashing of kit.
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It floats, looks like a boat.
No leaks! Actually that’s not a surprise given two coats of flowable epoxy on the hull’s interior & 0.5 oz. Fiberglass cloth & epoxy on hull’s exterior.
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It floats, looks like a boat.
No leaks! Actually that’s not a surprise given two coats of flowable epoxy on the hull’s interior & 0.5 oz. Fiberglass cloth & epoxy on hull’s exterior.
A few updates.
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She’s getting there Bill! What motor are you running, or have you decided on that yet? I have a suggestion for you if you’re interested. Anyway, another neat subject that you’re doing a fine job on, keep at it!
Cash
The bulwarks were simply cut incorrectly so didn’t come close to fitting. Stern bulwark missing completely. GRRR! Back on the shelf for awhile.
After resuming work:
Photo 1 - Fabricated & installed proper
bulwarks.
Photo 2 - Original fit of push knee. This will be
easy to fix.
photo 3 - Foredeck under deck bracing for fwd
tow bit support. If a towing event
does pop up hope to tow light load.
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The bulwarks were simply cut incorrectly so didn’t come close to fitting. Stern bulwark missing completely. GRRR! Back on the shelf for awhile.
After resuming work:
Photo 1 - Fabricated & installed proper
bulwarks.
Photo 2 - Original fit of push knee. This will be
easy to fix.
photo 3 - Foredeck under deck bracing for fwd
tow bit support. If a towing event
does pop up hope to tow light load.
Comparison of actual window shape in house & the frames supplied. Adding insult to injury, even though wrong there weren’t enough frames included for all house windows.
They made up for it though by incorrectly cutting the panels for the house. 😝
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Comparison of actual window shape in house & the frames supplied. Adding insult to injury, even though wrong there weren’t enough frames included for all house windows.
They made up for it though by incorrectly cutting the panels for the house. 😝
Approaching it.
Photo 1: Aft & midship clearing ports 1/4” above
deck level. Too high to function so
closed in as shown in Photo 2.
Photo 3: Added needed push knee extension.
Photo 5: Fwd tow bit filled with steel reinforced
epoxy & screwed to blocking under fwd
deck.
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Photo 1: Aft & midship clearing ports 1/4” above
deck level. Too high to function so
closed in as shown in Photo 2.
Photo 3: Added needed push knee extension.
Photo 5: Fwd tow bit filled with steel reinforced
epoxy & screwed to blocking under fwd
deck.
Overcame the kit’s final challenges to give the skipper an office.
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Thank you Cash & Jump for your kind comments.
Jump, lobster boat on the horizon? I might be able to source a Midwest. I know of a few. A couple partially built another complete kit; not
the 31” version but the 24”. I’m told the 24”” version is easily RC convertible. A 280 size motor & a mini servo would likely provide good performance.l
Cash, I’m running a motor from my spares box, the original motor used in the 31” MW lobster boat. It’s a click slow but runs well in the hull.
Don’t know that motor’s specs, but something in the 4-6000 RPM range would be about right if I decide to change it. Your thoughts?
Jump, lobster boat on the horizon? I might be able to source a Midwest. I know of a few. A couple partially built another complete kit; not
the 31” version but the 24”. I’m told the 24”” version is easily RC convertible. A 280 size motor & a mini servo would likely provide good performance.l
Cash, I’m running a motor from my spares box, the original motor used in the 31” MW lobster boat. It’s a click slow but runs well in the hull.
Don’t know that motor’s specs, but something in the 4-6000 RPM range would be about right if I decide to change it. Your thoughts?
Chum! Thanks so much for the offer, but will hold off for now. I have five boats in the shop in various states of assembly with two waiting for their keels to be laid down. My shocking lack of discipline is so much fun !!!
😂😉
Bill, I’ve become quite enamored of the Zippkits 650 brushless outrunner. Now, I know you like brushed motors, and I do too, but the nice thing about an outrunner is that, except for extreme instances, they run very cool, due to the fact that they don’t have brushes, and the can rotates while under power so that helps too. This motor is wound for Zippkits by TFL for use in their Springer kit. Now, before I go on I try to set all of my working boats to use either a 2 cell lipo or 6 cell nimh. Only time I veer away from that is one or two boats I have that I run a 3 cell lipo, and the motors in those are different winds. So, I have this motor in my 15 pound Taucher Wulf all the way down to my Dumas ST tug and my Whitehall. It’s rated at 650kv, rpm per volt, and I’ve never had one come back hot. I’ve had the one in the Taucher come back pretty warm on a hot Texas summer day, but never burning hot. I use 18-30 amp speed controls that are generally used in 1/18th scale cars, and have never needed cooling of the esc or motor. And they sip juice. Only thing I’ve seen better as far as amp draw was the 385 5 pole motor with a 2.5 to 1 gearbox in my little Mystery tug.
Anyway, it’s a darn good motor. If I’m going to run a brushed motor in a working boat that’s direct drive, I try to use a “crawler” 550 motor of at least 35 turns or greater.
Anyway, that’s my take on it. I like to build, don’t mind doing maintenance, but I loathe having to replace a motor, hence my obsession with the Zippkits unit.
Cash
