noisy

hi everyone...some help please...here is my dumas swamp buggy..purchased from a garage sale for 15 bucks..old owner said was going to get going but never happened...the buggy is sound been covered in epoxy..i have given a quik rubdown with wet and dry because was covered in black over spray..i will re epoxy before i paint...balance..will i start at 1/3 from transome and work from there ..the boat will be powered by a .46 ....i will put a rudder on as we dont have snow or a swamp here...will i put the tank under or behind the eng...why the big hole up the front ??? will i cover and seal and put my radio gear in the cavity in front of the 3 blade prop i have .... i am realy looking foward to this i had an air boat before ( not dumas ) and loved it...before it was stolen....any help,tips,hints, or general advice would be much appreciated....thanks bob

boatnut

   NOISY,
          The compatment right in front of the engine, is for radio and servos.
   You will need a plywood cover and gasket for it.
    I can't tell for sure, but it looks like you have a lot of upthrust on
   the motor mount.   On my big swamp buggy, I use  straight ahead on the engine.
        A high upthrust will drive the bow down.
    I put the tank under the engine. It works with exhaust preasure. this worked well on my first engine
   A k&B 40, I wore it out and replaced i wit 61 . The new one came with a perrry pump.
The bigger one required tabs on the rudders to stop the porposing.
  I advise using the stock twin air rudders, on a tunnel hull  they are big enough to turn
   well, even real tight depending on throttle.You may not need tabs on the the rudders with the smaller
  engine. If you do install small ones on the outboard side only, this will also help from
  flipping in a tight turn,watch throttle on turns
    Good Luck on your build, happy rc boating.

noisy

boatnut...do you have any pics of the tabs and the back of ur buggy....bob

Nosedragger

The mount on the Big Swamp Buggy works just fine with the thrust angle.
Not sure what they intended for the huge opening, but I would sheet over it to keep debris out of it.

The tank goes under the engine on the"shelf" in the pylon. 10 oz sullivan slant tank fits perfectly.

DJLaPalme

Noisy, the engine angle will be determined by your boats balance point. If the front of the boat is heavy I would place washers under the rear of the engine(2 washers each side) and work from there to get the boat to run level. As Nosedragger said, cover that big opening. It will catch any water going across the deck and change your handling. Not to mention more area for leaks. Good luck and have fun. Dennis

Nosedragger

With an OS 40 or 46 the thrust angle is perfect if the boat was built to the instructions.I've had a couple of these in the past.
Naturally your boat may need adjustment, your mileage may vary, limited time offer...

noisy

thanks for the info guys..i will carry on with what you have given me and we will see how we go ... will keep everybody posted....bob

DJLaPalme

No two boats are the same. Close maybe but not exactly. That is why I tried to explain how to adjust the angle the hull runs. I too have had Big Swamp Buggies. The one thing that I remember is that they looked identical but were set up differently. I was trying to be helpful. Your sarcasm is unnecessary. Dennis

noisy

dennis...i have absolutly no idea of what you are talking about...sarcasim ...i did not say anything sarcastic..if you read that in my postings i am VERY sorry... i have taken notice of what i have been told...yesterday i covered the big hole in the front..and started to mount my servo,s if i have said something to upset you i am sorry but i can assure you it was NOT intentual..maybe my aussie accent..bob

DJLaPalme

I am sorry Noisy. The sarcasm I was talking about was not you but Nosedragger. He apparently took my advice to you on your engine angle as an insult, which I did not intend it to be. Dennis

noisy

hey dennis...phew what a releif...took ur advice and sealed up the hole in the front today..did some work on the eng tower...i still think i will mount a rudder on the back of the hull ...to go into the water...since no snow or swamp i only have water left...i understand about moving the eng back and forth for balance...i think i will get the boat fitted out completly..then mount my engine tower and then i will i start moving my engine back and forth for balance ....bob

noisy

well as advised.....sealed in the the front cavity..and made a cover for servo's and electronics..very happy with my results.next complete cover of epoxy resin..the back to the sandin...bob

DJLaPalme

Looking good Noisy. Dennis

2manytoyz

I'm with ya! I'm ready to shape the nose block, do a another sanding, then applying a fiberglass skin to the joints. Bit chilly in my garage at the moment. All else fails, I'll fire up my propane heater and get it done this weekend. Itching to get this one done.

noisy

tomanytoyz....its lookin good...just put a coat of epoxy on mine...but to hot in garage 38c here today...when you built ur boat...can you rember how thick the transome former was...was it 1/4 or 1/8..i intend to put a rudder on the transome...bob

rc-oldguy

hi i made the dumas big swamp buggy from a kit and mine was awsome i used monokote insted of the epoxy finish and used a car roof to cover the big hatch hole in the front i ran an LA 40 os motor with an air knife 11x9 2 blade synthetic prop also had the tank in the stock location with the stock rudders it worked great its very very fast and does alot of drifting in the turns so make sure u have a big pond you can get the dumas assembly instructions on line id reccomend you make it the way they say to do it they have been in the boat business almost 50 yrs and they know whats doin
remember this is not a flat bottom but more like a hydro boat it really screws and you need to be aware of winds it will lift up and litterally start to fly with a gusty head wind (trust me i flew mine 25 feet before it hit the water again and kept on goin) was about 4-5 feet up i couldent beleive my eyes

ok attached a few pics of my killer buggy i loved the thing ran great on the water and the snow beware starting this this is kinda scarey it has no prop shroud so dont cut your hand off moving it to the water after u start it hope i helped a bit

crap im sorry but the buggy pics are in .bmp format and wont load on this site ill see if i can convert then to jpg as soon as i can

2manytoyz

1/8"
12c in my garage this morning, Brrr!

Edit: added a picture to show the transom...

noisy

sorry to send you out in the cold...but that is a BIG help..i will have to add a 1/4 ply backing plate for my rudder... 35c here today....phew i think it time for a swim.....bob

noisy

well we aint been sitting on our hands...as the pics show...2 coats of epoxy resin..and a total sand down with 200 wet n dry...and a paint of under coat for the top...vey happy at this stage more work tomorrow

noisy

well some more work done today..number one son came over to do a little art work... early stages now...but i think i will look great when finished...bob

martno1fan

Very nice Bob,what tape did he use to mask off the design?.Heres my new design for a gas airboat,havent started the build yet though.
Mart

Dreamin Hemi

Mart, 3M makes a great quality vinyl tape. I use 1/4" for flame jobs and even thinner 1/8 if needed for tighter turns. Can be found at most reputable paint supply companies.

Don't get any of that stuff in paper variety, it sucks! Vinyl is the only way to keep a very sharp edge without bleed thru.

martno1fan

Cheers Scott i was thinking it was vinyl just wondered which is the best to use,3m make good products so ill have a look out for some cheers.
MART

noisy

hey mart...hows it goin buddy....my boat is a dumas...i had one before but it got pinched...i am trying to track down plans but no luck...there are plans on rc store.but but the time i buy them the postage costs more than the plans ..i have asked around with no luck..and they dont take pay pal...i need somebody in the stated to buy them for me and i would pay pal them..but they look a nice set of plans....bob

noisy

hi mart....the tape was called FINE LINE it was vinyl...we purchased from our motor spares shop..about 8 bucks..they had variouse sizes ..the tape we used is what my son had on hand...hope this helps...bob