please help. twisted hull
 

hello everyone,am new to this forum but have been a long time airboat fan. I have a problem with the dumas swamp boat I built years ago. Upon retrieving it from the attic after some years I was devistated to find the hull has warped. it has about a 1/2 inch twist along its beam. Can any of you experts possibly recommend a remedy. any suggestions woulg be greatly appreciated. Thanks much.

What goes up.....
 

Hi Plagg.

I assume it's a planked over frames hull?

If so, the glue used will give (a little) when heated.

Here's what you can do:
Fixate the hull on a solid underground, gently clamp down the warped section while heating the entire section with a heater (an electric paintstripper works fine), the paint may suffer a bit, tighten the clamp(s) a little at the time untill the hull is straight.
Allow to cool down before removing the clamps.
You may want to overdo the "unwarping" a little, because the wood will flex back a bit.

Re-glue any cracks that may have opened, and see how the hull looks.

Good luck!

Regards, Jan.

RE: What goes up.....
 

Jan, thanks for your input. I'll try it as soon as i can rig up some clamping device and will let you know the outcome thanks again, plagg6.

RE: What goes up.....
 

I believe you'll never get it straight. The Dumas is a wood boat, you may get it some what straight but I believe it will have a tendency to want to go back to the warped state with a little run time.

In my opinion.....I wouldn't waste time on trying to get it straight. If both the sponsons aren't symetrical it could cause the boat to run undesireable. I could be wrong, just my opinion.

RE: What goes up.....
 

If it's the Big Swamp Buggy I don't believe you'll have any luck getting it straight - the way these are made it is tough for them to warp at all. However, if it is a regular Swamp Buggy you may be able to try the suggestions above. On the other hand, it may run okay with the warp, so if you cannot straighten it out, try it first before giving up.

RE: What goes up.....
 

thanks for all your suggestions

RE: please help. twisted hull
 

Being that the structure in an enclosed structure, If it developed a warp that severe over a very extended period of time, you won't get it out.

Try running it the way it is and see what it does.

If it stinks....you can build a better hull for about $20 bucks of foam and epoxy with a bit of ply thrown in :D