Rick's GP310

[rickwess]

There are lots of build threads on this hull, so I'll be brief and really just documenting for posterity. This was my first wood boat build and I has to say it went together fairly easily. The directions are showing there age a little, but if you step back and think about what it will.

Sponson's built and a nice chunk of aluminum bonded to attach the turn fin to. I inlay'd CF on all outside surfaces while I was sealing it. It was a shame to cover it all up with foam.


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[rickwess]

Tub built and CF inlay added to all bottom surfaces while it was being sealed. Attached the sponsons to the tub with thickened epoxy. The thickened epoxy made it easy to get a nice smooth seam.

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[rickwess]

Everything skinned and fitted the canopy. Fitting the canopy is a more difficult with the gelcoat version than with the epoxy version. You can't see the tub opening so it's finicky work.

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[785boats]

Nice one Rick.
You'll love running this boat.
What power system are you planning for it?

[rickwess]

I'm looking forward to getting it wet when the lake melts.

I'll be using a TP3630 2100KV on 4s1p and most likely start with a m445 prop. The ESC is a SF120 Pro+..........overkill but fits nicely in the side cavity. Once you start data logging it's hard to imagine not having it.

I shipped my motor directly to HRC so Dave had a guinea pig to build a water jacket. I should be getting both this week so I can start laying out the inards. I'm going to build a battery tray out of 1/8 ply and top it with CF. I also want to do something to thicken the floor where the stuffing tube passes through as well as a dam for the GFlex bonding the motor mount. Again, probably 1/8 ply with CF on top. Still noodling on it though.

[jcald2000]

Lay all of your power components in the hull, rudder, strut, servo, turn fin and check for balance before glue anything. The foam in the sponsons has added weight in the bow.

[RayR]

Lay all of your power components in the hull, rudder, strut, servo, turn fin and check for balance before glue anything. The foam in the sponsons has added weight in the bow.

The added weight in the bow will help the balance point, but as Mr. Caldwell said, lay everything out before proceeding.

[rickwess]

The added weight in the bow will help the balance point, but as Mr. Caldwell said, lay everything out before proceeding.

For sure. The CoG should be 1" behind the sponson according to Mike.

I have everything but the VC turn fin which Dick is still working on. It should have little impact since it will be straddling he COG.

[rickwess]

The foam in the sponons didn't add enough weight in the bow for my liking.

I built a battery tray from 1/8 ply and put a layer of CF on it. This gives me a flat surface right to the bow.

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In order to get the CoG right, I first needed to order a pair of 2S batteries so that the batteries will fit right into the bow. The motor also needs to go further forward than I would have liked. The front is very crowded as a result. Nothing is epoxied in yet, but I don't see other options to how it's laid out now.

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[Shooter]

Nice job Rick. Looks like you made some nice fillets between the sponsons and tub, and the finish looks good as well.

[rickwess]

Nice job Rick. Looks like you made some nice fillets between the sponsons and tub, and the finish looks good as well.

What you're seeing are the remnants of me experimenting what would happen if I put a 2nd coat of epoxy on it. The 2nd coat I tinted white. It's mostly sanded off and then sealed one more time with straight epoxy then wiped off with a cotton shop rag. It'll still be a month before the garage will be warm enough attempt my first even spray.

[rickwess]

Got the motor mount installed last night. I really like working with GFlex for bonding.........thickened to get a proper bond to the hull and straight to form a nice finish. GFlex dyes nicely with epoxy tint.

The HRC mount works nice. I like the adjust-ability of the angle so I can precisely determine where the stuffing tube hole gets cut.


.......includes obligatory shots with OSE logo

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[ray schrauwen]

Nice job Rick, looks great!

I've heard others mention G-Flex. Can you fill me in on this adhesive? Actually, that was a bad selection of words... How about, looking for more information on GFlex.

[rickwess]

Thanks Ray.

G/flex is a West Systems product. I suppose it's initial application was the repair of aluminum boats, but in general it's great for bonding aluminum and dissimilar materials together. It also has some flex once it's cured. It's a bear to sand since it has that flex though.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/g-flex-epoxy/

It's a fairly thick epoxy, but much more viscous than JB. Heating it with a heat gun while stirring will thin it out but reduce the time before it kicks. Since it's a typical epoxy, you can add fillers to reduce sag as well as tint using epoxy dye. I will say that it blushes a lot (waxy film on top once cured). That's easy to take off with rubbing alcohol, but it does remove the shine.

[rickwess]

Moving slow as I know I'm about done until things warm up enough to be able to paint in the garage.

I'll install the stuffing tube after it's painted, but I thought I'd get everything ready while I have some free time. I've never seen it mentioned here, but I find it easier to get the bends perfect by lining up the flex without the collect installed on the motor shaft. The pics below are without the stuffing tube epoxied in. The only thing holding the stuffing tube in place in the first pic is the strut. Having the adjustable motor mount certainly helps as well.

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