Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

Well since everyones complaining that the forum is dead, I figured I'd begin posting on my current (1st) build project. I saw a post here about a year ago about a balsa cat and couldn't forget about it. "Shockerman" designed the original one based on picture of a full sized Callan Marine boat. There's a great build thread on RRR. Ive increased the size from 26 to 29 inches, full scale and then added about another inch to the width of the tunnel. The boat will be about 29" without the running hardware. Right now I plan on skinning it like he did with 1/32 balsa under 1/64 ply and then coating it with urathane. Power will come from a 9XL through a hydra 120 to a standard flex drive and either fullers or SM hardware. I'll start testing on 12 cells with likely a 637. I'm thinking of making some changes and puttin the rudder on a pylon further back and directly behind the prop. Any advice or feedback is welcome.

Word of warning I have a lot of other things on my plate so this one will require some patience for all of us.

Dayton

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

Great Start

Let's bring this back to the top as I would love to see more.

Ryan

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

Thanks Ryan. Hopefully I'll start skinning it this weekend. I need to keep my momentum.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

Hi I'm interested in seeing how you build your boat from balsa. I'm thinking of building a hull from scratch but I've never done that. My prior boat was a RTR model that I modified.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

Same here, how hard can it be?[&:]. I'll tell you what I did but I won't garuntee that it's the best way. I think it's all a matter of stregnth vs. weight, but I have a feeling that this boat will be strong and light by comparison any way I do it. The question is to I want to copromise weight for stregnth or stregnth for weight? I think I'll go farily conservative and keep it pretty stout. I still need to do some research before I apply the second layer of wood.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

I know what you mean. I'm in the beginning and middle of three builds and find it hard to keep building.

If you believe you may use LiPo or even a more powerful motor in the future I would recommend building strong vs keeping it light. It's much easier to over power a boat in the future vs swim for the pieces after a blow over.

Ryan

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

I've seen the only working prototype of this boat blow over going fast and it came back to shore under it's own power. The builder claims the hull is very rigid. It'll be full of foam too. I'm going home to work on it.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

Looks good.
But Shockerman did not design this hull.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

OK then who did? He said he caded it from photos of a full size Callan. Do you credit the cad guy, the original designer of the full size or the photographer?;)

Do you know something I dont?

PM

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

i recall him saying that it was not him. it was a german fellow. I have his email as well. Just forget which it is.
I remember when i wanted the plans a while back he said sure but didnt want to give alot out because they were not his

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

Not accurate.

shockerman80 said:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_58...tm.htm#5891948

He was a little hesitant to send out the design until he got it running good. He sent them to me but not the autocad, just an adobe file. I don't recall any germans involved. He sent the plans to a ton of people but I haven't seen a build yet.

another quote from shockerman80 the RR forum:

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

i'm telling you what I was told.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

I hear you.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

i did design this hull. there was another hull that i built that i did not design. the 26" balsa cat was completely my own design It took me almost 2 months to design it.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

Thanks for setting that strait. Hopefully mine will run 1/2 as good as yours.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

shockerman, i saw your vid and that thing sreams, lol. Nice. SV27dayton, hope yours turns out well too

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

off to a goood start...
lets hope it dont leak;)

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

any updates? Loving this build, it keeps me coming back to the forums.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

ours look the same :)
mine has been like this for a while. to lazy to finish it, don't know what to do with it

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...picture827.jpg

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

They do look the same. Yours was cut with a laser and mine with a scalpel. That would have been faster. I'd have tried to cut it on our abrasive waterjet but as you know I only have the prints. Did you get that from Shock? Did you widen the tunnel on yours? I bought some additional supplies this weekend, but no progress as of yet. I'd say I think about it for at least 1/2 hr a day but no action right now.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

no i did it my self. its not hard when you are good at cad.
i did widen the tunnel and did a bit of changes to the sponons

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

you are good at everything.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

No he's not, too much food for his ego. :)

What's your next planned step for this build?

Ryan

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

Ryan,
Watch me for a while. I'm very sarcastic. If wasn't large I'd likely be dead.

Next "step" no pun intended is to put a 1/32 skin of balsa over the all the bottom surfaces. I plan to start with the tunnel and then the bottoms of the sponsons followed by the sides. Then I'll urathane the interior, add foam and then do the top. Then repeat with 1/64 ply, and urathane the outside. Im not sure how I'm going to bond the ply to the balsa but I'm going to try to cross the grain as much as possible to increase the stregnth.

RE: Scratch Build - 29" Balsa Stepped Cat
 

I knwo what you could do with it, Sell it or give it too me!!!!! LMK, that would be great. If you dont, im building one soon so it should be sweet