saleens7

remember my first airboat build ever? wayy back when i built that coro hull? well, after that was a faliure, i started a new build using 1/8" ply and 1/32" skin, im going to use the origional gear from the old boat

here how far ive gotten

saleens7

not much progress yet...i have finals to work on, but this weekend i think i might be able to get some time to work on this.

if this hull works out good, im coinsidering using a cheap BL setup from UH running on a 4s lipo....ill have to wait to get my triton charger for my other boat so i can use that for the charging the lipo also if i do choose to go BL...

martno1fan

i remember it well i think i was the one told you to use balsa and you thought it would be too heavy?.anyway looks like your on the right track look forward to seeign the progress.

saleens7

yeah, the fist ep airboat i made was pretty heavy...but the battery i used had a lot to do with it....it was a venom 3600mah that weighed a lot....the hull itself was pretty light actually......this time, im just going to test it with the old gear and if it works good, ill get a cheap BL system from UH...the reason im using ply and not foam or balsa is my hobby shop doesent carry balsa sheets big enough and the the closest place to buy foam is about an hours drive away....

when i cut out hte lenghtwise peices, they werent as long as the first peices i cut (they stop at about where the legs for the motor mount start) so i light have to try a different design with the back of the hull....something like this \______/ is what the back of the hull would look like if you looked at it from under the hull...

martno1fan

hi mate am i right saying your design has steps in the hull? if so just cut the bottom into 3 pieces and over lap the bottom pieces and epoxy them together.that should solve the bottom sheets ,for the sides you can cut it in two seperate pieces and use a small piece inside glued over the joint,job done!!.thats how id do it anyway hope this helps,any reason your going electric rather than nitro ?.

saleens7

your right, it does have steps....im going to overlap the peices but ill need to put something in to fill the gas becase the steps are 1/8" deep and the ply im using for the skin is 1/32"....the reason im going electric is i have all the stuff i need to run it and i dont need to buy anything besides wood....i also wanted to try and build a good working electric since the faliure of my first one...

i just thought of another way to fix the sides though....instead of using the furthest out lengthwise supports in the hull as sides, ill cut 45* angles into the sides and cover the sides in 1/32" ply....ill need to give it an extra coat of resin to be able to take hits better, but it will be worth it keeping the hull to a sinpler design....

martno1fan

sounds like you got it figured out ill look forward to seeing how you get on!!.

saleens7

i cut out most of the slots the let the peices of the hull overlap and lock in with eachother....i still need to cut a few more, but its hard on your fingers when trying to do it with a dull razor...i wish i could use a saw, but the sa blade is too wide and will let the peices have too much play....

Tommy gallagher

Buy yourself a decent scroll saw for all your wood working needs

saleens7

i would, but i need to save up my cash to buy stuff for another build...i have a band saw, but i cant use it, only my dad...its his saw....

and he doesent have the time to use it whenever i need to have something cut.....i went out today and bought a better razor so it will cut throught the wood better than that old dull one ive been using....i only need to cut out a few more slots and then the 1/32" skin (i would have to use a razor to cut that anyway) and all the cutting will be done....

saleens7

some more progress

martno1fan

looking good there mate,for cutting plywood id buy a cheap jigsaw and put a fine toothed blade in it,then score all lines that go across the grain and you wont get any splinters and cut a bit wide of the line so you can trim it back using a small block plane or just sand paper ,i use a combination of the two and i use an orbital sander for sanding saves elbow grease

saleens7

i have bandsaw i can use...ill just need to get a better blade....the one i have was bend in one area and when cutting with it, it put a little kink in the cut every time the blade did one rotation....it took forever to sand em all out...thats why i used a razor...i would want to invest in a cheap jigsaw, but im not in control of the funds...my dad is, and im trying to save up for the batts right now.

saleens7

some more progress...

im almost finished with the skin, but i ran out of enough wood to do the sides, so ill have to buy some more...besides that, its pretty good so far...i should have put 45* angles on the sides, but i was trying to copy someones design that had 90* on the sides...now that i look at it, it seems that it might catch the sides in the turns and cause it to flip...

saleens7