zen40

I have both sponson sides fitted now. I'm not going to sheet anything now until I veneer the rest of the sheeting.
i ordered a full sheet of Quarter cut English Tawa today and intend to laminate it to the entire top sheeting, sponson tops, transom, sponson transoms, rear mid sides above the non trip and sponson sides.
i thought mahogany was too dark in what I could find from the supplier so decided on the Tawa as a good colour for the scale look.

madanna67

My Feedback: (9)

It's coming along very well! Now would be a good time to put some flotation in it before you put the top sheeting on. Pool noodle or pipe insulation cut to size works great. Keep up the good work.

zen40

Thanks for that, so will any light weight closed cell foam be ok? I think I have some pool noodles around.
its going to be a while before I sheet the topside as I'm waiting for my veneer to arrive so I can laminate it to the sheeting before I install it.
thanks for keeping up with the build and advise.
i also want to seal the entire inside before I go much further.

zen40

I put some infill in the nose this evening so as to allow better gluing and a slight increase in the nose thickness as I want to run a small alloy moulding around the nose and sponson top edges. I also maked the frames for the cowls which have come up very well, I shimmed the frames off the hull with .5mm card so the sheeting will have a very small gap.
driver dude turned up today, my good lady is going to do a bit of work on his fire suit and life jacket to tone it down a bit. I really want to make a nice smoked visor for the helmet.

zen40

Top hatch framing with temporary supports sanded in ready for sheeting. Engine mount turned up today, really nice piece, came with coil relocation mount as well, these are a tad more expensive but you can undo 4 cap screws from the top and remove the engine.

zen40

I have pretty much all the hardware but still need the turn fin, just wondering if anyone knows where I can get a Blazer turn fin as they are closed for business at the present time. Does anyone else sell them?
thanks for any info or help.

mistycreekboats

My Feedback: (1)

You should talk to Randy Rapedius some of the best around - Titanium . [email protected]

madanna67

My Feedback: (9)

I agree with Mistycreek Randy Has a nice looking fin. I do not own one (yet) but I have read very good things about them on another forum. Strong lightweight Titanium and a Good Performer by all reports that I have read.

mistycreekboats

My Feedback: (1)

I actually do own one of Randy's fin's (and a few others) - I wanted the best for my Fusion T Boat and to me this Ti Fin is 'the best' I have seen or heard of - hoping to splash my Fusion in a couple months.

zen40

Thanks, will give him a mail and take it from there, it does look very good.

zen40

I was thinking of making one of my own out of stainless, will probably buy one but can anyone post the measurements, length, width and approx radius of curve, I have heard they are made of 10 gauge stainless the (blazer ones). Will give Randy a call all the same.
cheers

zen40

Thanks.

zen40

Yah, the power plant arrived, just had a bit of a bit of a test fit and by the looks of it the carb adjustment needles look like they won't clear the hatch sheeting by quite a bit, any ideas?

madanna67

My Feedback: (9)

You will have to cut the needles down in order for them to clear. Here is a pic of a cut down needle next to a stock one. I use a dremel and cut off the smaller diameter top part then slot the top of the larger diameter just above the spring.

Just 4 Fun

Zen 40,
As I don't know what sort of workshop that you have at your desposal. Yes you could cut the needles down or if you have acess to a Mill why not build a new mount for it an rotate the carby around so the needles sit lower. Keeping the port and centre line of the carb bore the same.
Phil Fowler

zen40

cheers for for that, that is what I planed first up second was to do what just 4 fun below has suggested..

zen40

Thanks, that was a plan as well, I have a pretty well set up work shop, no mill but lathe, drill press, etc.
do you know what material would be best? Alloy would be too heat conductive I think, perhaps some type of heat resistant nylon or industrial Formica ?
cheers

madanna67

My Feedback: (9)

Keep in mind that if you rotate the carburetor you will change the way the carb linkage will need to be set up. Just something to think about so you don't run into problems down the road.

zen40

Cheers, cutting the needles down will be just fine.
as far as a kill switch goes, do the optical ones work on mag ignition? I'm sure they only work on electronic ign.
what set up do you have for engine kill?
Cheers

madanna67

My Feedback: (9)

My Futaba Radio has a built in failsafe. In case of loss of signal I have it set to close the carb and kill the motor. Now That is not a 100% guarantee against a runaway boat. If you have a receiver battery or On/off switch problem The failsafe will not do you a whole lot of good as it will not have the juice to supply the throttle servo to close the carburetor. If you want a switch that will kill the engine no matter what, you will want to get a killer bee kill switch. There may be other kill switches available as well but I have read good things about the killer bee.

zen40

I have ordered the killer bee super kill switch.
Spent time today laminating the English Tawa onto the birch ply, I have most of the sheeting pressing over night between silicon baking paper between 18mm mdf on a flat surface with about 135kg of weight on it.
My aim after all sheeting is done is to carefully trim the excess back to the edge of the ply, waterproof the undersides and start to install.
Before I do any topside sheeting ill seal the entire inside of the hull, add floatation and set up the engine, exhaust and drive train.
long way to go butt enjoying it.

corky051

Zen, Great job on the build so far!! Sent you a PM.

zen40

cheers

zen40

Got the first few sheeting pieces trimmed after laminating on the Tawa, so far I'm very happy with the result.
it has stiffened the ply a bit but still manageable, I'll likely introduce the trimmed sheeting into a pretty humid environment prior to installing, I'm not talking damp or wet, just enough to allow easy flex, warm clammy towels, I do it when building planes when needed.
I have to say that when the Tawa is sanded, moisturised and sealed it will look pretty smart.
I also sanded in the chine this evening and it has shaped up real nice. And the veneer on the transom has come up well.
when I have trimmed in a sheet I run a cotton bud soaked in thin CA around the edge to harden it, I'll do this to the whole hull when it's fully sheeted, got to be careful so you don't let it run or dribble.

zen40

Well got all the topside sheeting laminated and trimmed in to the ply. The next step for me is to finish sheeting in the bottom of the sponsons. I will set the engine and drive train up then seal inside, add flotation then start sheeting the decking. I doesn't feel like I've done much in the last week but really getting it all ready has been a big job that I wanted to do well.
I've layer up a test laminate to trial all my finishes on to ensure it all finishes are comparable with all my glues, oils and top coats.