jdoug

Just thought I'd post a few pics of my Hydromite. I built it using the W.O.F. technique instead of having to cut out all the frames. On the plus side, the floatation is built in and it is strong and light.

I still need seal it and add a motor mount.

jdoug

I did use one frame across the width of the boat to have a little extra strength for the turn fin. I sandwiched a doubler in there as well. The only problem I had with building the WOF way was that there was no way to get the turn fin on. So, before I glued on the right sponson, I put in blind nuts on the inside so I could easily add my turn fin and also be able to remove it.

ryan_t888

Nice!

What's the hull length and power you plan to use.

Ryan

jdoug

The hull is 16" X 8". I plan on using an 8T 380 Feigao (Max A. = 46A)that I had originally bought for my Gecko. At 4300Kv, it got a little hot on a mini mono. So, I built a mini hydro for it. I'll probably start with 6 cells as I already have a couple of those packs that do well in the mono. I'm not quite sure what I'll need as far as an ESC goes. I have a 30A that I'll try. I got it for free because one of the FETs burnt up on it. I was able to source the part for $4 and replace it. I know the motor is capable of more, but I'll try the 30A esc with an X427 that I already have.

ryan_t888

Interesting, I didnt realize the hull was that small.

Ryan

jdoug

The plans, full size, put the hull at 16.25" long and 8" wide. It is a micro. I've seen vids on youtube of a couple different ones that have been scaled up to put nitros in. I had an extra 400 brushless that was begging me to build a rigger or hydro for. Since I'm not to keen on riggers I opted to build the hydro.

I'm going to make up a hatch this weekend for it. It will be a bubble hatch so it'll clear the motor. I'm going to make the bubble out of fiberglass and then epoxy that on top of the wood that can be taped down. I will be using the AL 0.098" flex hardware from Octura


More pics to come.

jdoug

Here is the fiberglass bubble hatch. I kind of tried to match the color of the woodstain by adding some dye to the epoxy before I layed on the glass. It's close. I only used 2 layers of very light cloth. It will flex but it'll hold up just fine to crashes when the boat flips.

I started by making a plug for the hatch out of blue foam. Then, I put mold release on the foam peice and layed 2 layers of glass cloth on. I waited a day to cure then trimmed it up to lay nice and flat. It will be epoxied to the wood and have the underside cut out for motor clearance.

ctonez

nice work!
Looking forward to the rest of the build.
-Corey

jdoug

Here's a few of the finished hull and hardware. I ended up making my own strut and using the Octura rudder. It will have the Octura .098 flex.

I used no paint on the hull. I used a wood dye added to alcohol to stain the wood before assembly and used the same dye mixed in with the epoxy to get canopy colored the same. The color ended up OK, but I kind of wanted it brighter. I'm going to add some pinstriping to give a little better appearance, but all in all, I think it looks pretty good.

More pics of the inside when I get the hull rigged. I still need a receiver.

ryan_t888

Wow, different approach And I think it looks great! Excellent build!

Ryan

SV27dayton

Did you reinforce your strut and rudder with a plate on the inside? Just curious.

jdoug

I did. The whole transom is doubled with ply. The other spot that it is doubled is where the turn fin mounts. It feels really strong. It'll hold up to the forces this boat will see no problem.

jdoug

Here's some final pics of the boat. I did a first test with it last night and this thing rocks. Very fun boat. Thanks Doug Forrester for the design and the free plans. With no tweeking at all yet and this being my first hydro, I was pleasantly surprised that it jumped right on plane and continued to rip through the turns at full throttle.

ryan_t888

Did you run it with the X427, 380 Feigao, and 6 cells? How quick was it, any video?

Ryan

jdoug

I bumped my packs up to 7 cells which makes my Gecko a little faster now too. I did use the X427 pushed by the 380 Feigao. It did well. It was only warm at the end of the run, which means I'll be able to prop up to maybe X430. I don't have a way to measure speed with this thing, but I would guess close to 30mph as it seems almost as fast as my Wild Thing .18. Although, sometimes these micros, being so small, are deceiving when it comes to true MPH. I'll try to get some vid of it this weekend.