Mr.Freeze

Thought I wood share this with you guys. I was contemplating the paint job on my .18 shovel-nose hydro, and I remembered an article in RCBM where they covered a fiberglass hull with veneer, so I figured what the heck lets give it a try. I went to a local cabinet shop and picked up a 1'x2' piece of mahogany veneer for $14 out the door, and off I went. I started by sanding the hull with 220 grit paper to give the glue a bite and then wiped it down with prep-sol (edit: I used wax and grease remover not the actual product prep-sol). Working with the veneer is very easy as it cuts well with a utility knife, so after checking the grain pattern I laid out my design. I adhered the veneer using gap-filling thick ca.






I wiped it down with a damp cloth to bring out the grain for the picture.

The work is far from over but this much was accomplished in about 2 hrs.

Square Nozzle

My Feedback: (1)

Looks like you've made silk purse from asows ear. I never liked fiberglass for boats anyway. Much less the plastic ready to run toys that they are pushing out of the Far East. Nice neat work with very attractive results.

Mr.Freeze

Thanks John, I have a long way to go with it yet,but I think it will be both a looker and a performer when she's done.
From what I have seen every classy thunder boat has to have a driver, so. Say hello to Miss Shannon Marie, named for my wife.
I'm still contemplating the rest of the paint and graphics layout. Any suggestions?

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

Looks good Freeze. Maybe a stab made out of the wood (laminated?) would add a little more to it. Mike (toyotatruckin) added one to his with vent slots under the stabilizer to help vent the hot air.

Maybe I should name all of my boats after my wife, it might help me get her off my case every time I buy another one!

toyotatruckin

no vents ron-I filled the stock vent holes <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"></input><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"/>

Mr.Freeze

Well I made a shark fin, I kinda like it.

Before:


After:



Trying to decide on a stain color as well
from left to right
Golden Pecan, Natural, Red Mahogany, Colonial Maple, Cherry

I'm leaning towards the Red Mahogany with the rest of the boat in a cadillac pearl white

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

The fin looks good and I like the red mahogany also.

Mr.Freeze

Nothing better to do on a rainy Sunday so Red Mahogany it is.

ArcticCatRider

My Feedback: (6)

Sweet! That thing looks great!

Hesco Racing

Now 10 layers of thinned varnish with fine sanding in between. And she'll look like a beautiful piece of anteque boat.

Mr.Freeze

Thanks guys, If the pager stays quiet this weekend I plan on stripping it down for paint. I have some wild ideas, now I'm torn between going old school classic or custom crazy with ghost flames laid over the wood grain.Guess I won't know till I get there, the paint kinda lays out organically as I go.

Mr.Freeze

As with most of my paint scemes, they hardly ever turn out as first intended. So here is what I came up with. What do you think?

Mr.Freeze

Here are a few more with my driver installed, she's having a bad hair day.

Square Nozzle

My Feedback: (1)

Truely you have made a very nice looking boat. Very few of the people on this forum can appreciate the work involved, the job you have done and the end result. Now it's time to consider getting out to one of the District races in the New England area. We just had a District 11 (New England area) race at Mansfield Hollow State Park in Connecticut. 72 boats competed on absolutely ideal water conditions. We surely have a class you can race in. It's not always about winning but about having a good time. I can guarantee that all that attended had a fabulous day. Even the guy that came from New Brunswick in Canada went home smiling. I'd really love to see your boat at one of our events.

Mr.Freeze

Thank you for the invite John and the high praise,I may be able to do that if I know when the races are. I have relatives in Middletown, where I grew up, so making the trip to CT in no biggie. I agree about it not always being about the winning, I have a friend that says " It's not always the end result but journey that makes it worth while."

avenge

That is soooo sweeeet Mr. Freeze!!!!!! Adding that driver is awsome... Do we get to see a vid of her running????????

toyotatruckin

couple things I would have done different  to the boat (guess people may (or may not) see mine later , but it looks good

Mr.Freeze

I'm all ears, what would you have done?

toyotatruckin

there is a key to that post I made, see mine later.

like i said though.....it looks great

Square Nozzle

My Feedback: (1)

Just in case you get some time to travel, the following are the dates for our NAMBADistrict 11 races:

June 27, North Rollinsford, New Hampshire
August 8, Sanford, Maine
September 19, Mansfield Hollow State Park, Connecticut
October 3, Sanford, Maine

Mr.Freeze

Thanks John!

Well I got her all back together, hopefully I'll get a chance to head to the lake this weekend.

Mr.Freeze

Got a chance to head to the lake on Sunday and ran the Shovel for a bit. Water was pretty rough, we had lots of boat traffic so it was tough picking and choosing my runs. Still need to do a lot of tuning with better conditions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT42cteojsg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLhkWTNdCPg