1/8th Scale U-95 Hydro.

[jcald2000]

Yep, that lever arm really make a difference.

[785boats]

Yep. I understand about moment arms & lever arms etc & I have to keep that in mind when building the fins & wing. Hopefully the two ply skirts that run down the length of the hull almost to the transom (see photos) will keep more air packed under the hull to help lift the rear end. I'm sure that's the reason for them on the original boat. A bit of positive angle on the wing might help too.
Cheers.
Paul.

[785boats]

I got a bit of time to glue the top skins on over the last couple of days. I used 24hr Araldite around all the edges, frames & stringers, with Shoo Goo on all the foam sections. This gave me plenty of time to get each section lined up & taped down. Then the weights were stragegicallly placed to keep the edges sealed. I should have used 1mm ply instead of 1.5 as there was a lot of resistance to the bending. Unfortunately I didn't tape the rear corner of the second skin down well enough & it lifted. You can see it in the pic. It won't push down with all that epoxy set there. Not sure whether to get a blade in there & cut the glue away & then re glue it , or just fill it & move on. The gap is about 3/32" on the corner. The other corner on the first skin lifted a smidge too, but not that much.
Before I glued the skins on, I epoxied in an extra bit of ply in the rear sections at a slight angle to give some support to the tongues of the fins when they are glued in. I also added some more thickness to the rear of the right sponson to take the turnfin bracket.
Total weight at this point is 2.7kg or 5.7 lbs in American speak. I don't know if that's heavy or light for a bare 42" hydro hull.
Here's some visuals. The decks still need to be trimmed & shaped yet. I'll do that today.
Cheers.
Paul.

[785boats]

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything on this build. That's because, unfortunately, I hadn't done anything on it until a couple of weeks ago.
But in the interim I've built up a 33" rigger, a 26" hydro, an Osprey & a 25" boogieman(for a fellow club member).

Over the last couple of weeks I've fitted & shaped the leading edge of the main hull. Also shaped the fins & wing from some 4mm aircraft ply & fibre glass.
Then I had to trim out the deck of the centre section of the hull with some 1/4" basswood, to take the sub hatch.
Also the cowlings were cut to the shape of the deck. This meant that I had to add some extra decking at the front & rear of the centre section so that the sub hatch didn't extend out past the cowling where it tapered.
The slots at the rear of the hull were cut through the deck to accept the fins & the centre fin has been glued into the cowling. More bracing blocks will be added under the cowling to strengthen it later.

The shaft & tube has just arrived as has the strut. Once I get the motor mount, I'll set all that up.
Should get a bit more done next week during the Christmas holidays.

Here's a few more pics.
Cheers.
Paul.

[Scott T]

Very nice Paul, looks great with the cowl in place.

[785boats]

Thanks Scott.
Still a bit more trimming & fitting to do on the cowls yet. But they are close to being finished.

[cybercrxt]

Looking really good!!! Mike

[785boats]

Thanks Mike.
Feeling too sick to go to work today, so I should get a bit done on the driveline this afternoon.

Paul.

[785boats]

Got a bit done on the drive line set up today

The motor mount that I ordered was too big to fit in the hull so i had to make one from some Aluminium angle. I bent the angle to to what was required & then drilled some 1/4" holes in it the base to give the epoxy a bit more to grab onto. Then I epoxied it into place & added some 1/8th ply braces at the sides. Solid.
The whole drive line & motor is offset to the right 7mm to counteract the prop steer. These boats will still be running the clockwise oval course at our club.
The strut was fitted temporarily to allow the stuffing tube to be bent & cut to shape.
I'm using a 1/4" flex & Speedmaster strut.
I won't glue the tube into place yet as there is still plenty do do on the preparation of the hull & I don't really want the tube in the way.

Here's a couple of pics.
Cheers.
Paul.

[cybercrxt]

Dang, that TP 56 series motor is huge! haha. I have never owned one, so I didn't realize how big in diameter they are! Mike

[785boats]

It was bigger than I thought it would be too Mike. Perhaps I should have stayed with the 40mm size motors.
Just as a matter of interest, & for the guys in our club that haven't decided on a power setup yet, what is a good motor/prop setup to get these 1/8 scale hydros up to competitive speeds?
Come to think of it. What is considered to be a 'competitive' speed?
Cheers.
Paul.

[785boats]

Had a tedious but productive morning.
I finished trimming & fitting the cowls. Then added a 1/4" bulkhead into the rear cowl for strength & for the front cowl to glue to. After that was set I cut away the front of the air intakes creating a recess back to the bulkhead. The spray shields were then cut & epoxied into place. As these will have the hold down locks in them I made them as strong as I could by using the old tongue & slot system, both into the bulkhead & the side of the cowl, to firmly fit them into place.

Now a bit of filling & sanding over the whole boat & she will be ready for paint.

Here's some pics of this mornings fun.

[Richie the shipwright]

In my professional opinion the stepdown at front is obviously so you can hold a bigger esky....... Great work so far man. Love these big girls. I have a triwing u-99 exide 1/8 in carbon/vinylester hanging in the shed unfinished....peer group pressure may force me to drag her out next year and finish her off. So is this boat number 786 for you then mate??

[785boats]

Thanks Richie.
"A bigger esky always results in the best professional opinions". I think that quote deserves to be on a T shirt.
I sincerely hope you do dust off the U-99 & finish it off.
I'm glad to say that I don't have that many boats. Yet!
The '785boats' refers to the old Johnson 785 brushed motor that I use in most of my scale boats, like cabin cruisers, PT boats, destroyers, etc.
Merry Christmas to all.
Paul.

[Scott T]

Coming along nicely Paul, if I ever get a 1/8, I'll send it to your place!

Have a great Christmas mate.