New C5000 build from scratch

[dazzler]

Hello Everybody.

After a long absence I have finally found some time and courage to create a hull from the molds I build last year.

First step was off course making sure that the hull would not stick to my molds, so it's Wax on... Wax off... I've added a total of 5 wax layers.
The white wash visible is the unpolished wax.

After the wax was applied on all molds, I started with a layer of white epoxy gelcoat.

gelcoat01.jpgwax01.jpgwax02.jpggelcoat02.jpggelcoat03.jpg

[dazzler]

Here's the canopy with it's first layer of fiberglass applied:

rompje01.jpg

I don't have a vacuum pump at my disposal, but I figured adding some weight on top of the fiberglass would help in keeping the fibers pressed together and to to mold, so I poured some sand into the molds (I first added a layer of peel ply, so the sand would not stick to my fiberglass piece!)

rompje02.jpgrompje02b.jpg

Here the canopy and upper hull part freshly pulled from the molds:
rompje03.jpgrompje04.jpg

[dazzler]

Here's the upper hull half, first pictures the edge needs trimming, and the second picture the trimming has been done:
rompje05.jpgrompje06.jpg

First fitting of the canopy on the upper hull part:
rompje07.jpg

And the lower hull part, first pictures still inside the mold (after removal of the sand and peel ply) and second picture removed from the mold
rompje08.jpgrompje09.jpg

Creating this lower half was a real pain in the *ss, as it had lots of straight corners. The first layer of fiber would go on fine (it's only 160 gr/m² or 4.7 oz/square yard) but my additional layers which I use to build thickness are 300 gr/m² (8.8 oz/sq yard) and those already proved a bit to stiff to nicely follow every corner.... I should go for more layers with thinner fiberglass, or invest in vacuum infusion technology here

Ooh, and getting that bottom part out of the mold also proved very very very daunting, again all those corners makes this part very challenging!!

[dazzler]

Some close-up shots of the bottom part:
rompje11.jpgrompje10.jpg

First trail fitting of the upper and lower halves. There do align quiet nicely.
rompje12.jpg

Again, both halves are not joined together, but I added the canopy on top. This almost looks like a boat, doesn't it?
rompje13.jpg

And finally a view from the front.
rompje14.jpg

So, this is my first pull from my molds. Especially the bottom halve proved very tricky, a real big challenge! Now I'm thinking about the next steps of the build. Off course I should join both halves, and normally this would be best done while they are in the molds. However, both molds are closed, and I do not want to cut the canopy part of the upper mold out, since I'm seriously thinking about experimenting with vacuum in the future (and a hole in the mold would make the vacuum difficult/impossible)

I'm also thinking of adding a layer of carbon fiber for added stiffness. I was first thinking about going full fiberglass on my first hull, but since it turned out quiet nice, perhaps reinforcing it with carbon isn't such a bad idea. It will add lots of stiffness and strength as this hull could really be used for driving, it's not a "first pull gone totally wrong" piece of scrap...

[srislash]

Congratulations! It is looking great. How big is this one?

Shawn

[SpeedDevice]

Impressive project, and great work!
I'm no expert in the subject but have gained a few experiences from moulding epoxy/glass. A bit late but I noticed you used model clay/putty to seal the parting board to the plug. In my experience this can cause some issues with your surface finish and make parting the mould from the plug problematic. I've had several types of model putty attack the paint on my plug, and cause much agony of moulds "glued" to plugs around the parting flange edge.
In regards to laying your glass in the mould - I'ts hard to see in the pictures and maybe you already know, but the cloth weave should always (if possible) be 45° against the edge to better "stick". Often I'ts better to lay down several smaller pieces to be able to lay the weave in an angle against corners and edges.
I'm rambling, and you probably already know all this :D

[dazzler]

Congratulations! It is looking great. How big is this one?
Shawn

Mmm good point, looks like I did not yet mention that in this build thread.... the overall length of the hull is 110 cm (43,33 inches)

Impressive project, and great work!
I'm no expert in the subject but have gained a few experiences from moulding epoxy/glass. A bit late but I noticed you used model clay/putty to seal the parting board to the plug. In my experience this can cause some issues with your surface finish and make parting the mould from the plug problematic. I've had several types of model putty attack the paint on my plug, and cause much agony of moulds "glued" to plugs around the parting flange edge.
In regards to laying your glass in the mould - I'ts hard to see in the pictures and maybe you already know, but the cloth weave should always (if possible) be 45° against the edge to better "stick". Often I'ts better to lay down several smaller pieces to be able to lay the weave in an angle against corners and edges.
I'm rambling, and you probably already know all this :D

About the putty/clay: I didn't experience any problems with that at the time, however I must say I purchased mine at the same store where I bought all other materials (fiberglass/polyester resin/gelcoat etc) so they probably now which one works best

Good advice on that 45° angle, I wasn't really aware of that and was not paying special attention to that, but I do use twill weave cloth (instead of the regular square ones) and due to the twill weave, you kind of have a 45° rotated pattern anyway. Looking at my pictures it does look like most fibers are more on a 45° angle instead of a 90°...

[SpeedDevice]

Mmm good point, looks like I did not yet mention that in this build thread.... the overall length of the hull is 110 cm (43,33 inches)


About the putty/clay: I didn't experience any problems with that at the time, however I must say I purchased mine at the same store where I bought all other materials (fiberglass/polyester resin/gelcoat etc) so they probably now which one works best Then you probably got the right product I finally got some mould wax that worked very well

Good advice on that 45° angle, I wasn't really aware of that and was not paying special attention to that, but I do use twill weave cloth (instead of the regular square ones) and due to the twill weave, you kind of have a 45° rotated pattern anyway. Looking at my pictures it does look like most fibers are more on a 45° angle instead of a 90°...

I only got experience with twill cloth, but I wrongfully call it glass all the time. Another thing I experienced is that for our "small" layups I would never use anything heavier than 200g/m², and even those can be pesky to lay up if not in 45 degrees without vacuum

[dazzler]

I only got experience with twill cloth, but I wrongfully call it glass all the time. Another thing I experienced is that for our "small" layups I would never use anything heavier than 200g/m², and even those can be pesky to lay up if not in 45 degrees without vacuum

Well, I notice that some terms get mixed often actually twill cloth is glass cloth. There's 2 aspects: first is the basic material, which is usually glass, carbon and kevlar (aramid). Then there is the way they are woven: most common are either 'plain' or 'twill' but it can also be unidirectional or multiaxial. And even there you have variations. Most common twill is 2/2 (meaning two strands go under, 2 strands go over each other) but there are a lot of more exotic variations available!

I agree that for these kind of hulls 'plain' weave should never be considered as it simply is not flexibel enough to go around the complex curves of these hulls. Twill weave, which has much better drapability, is the way to go. And even then, the heavier ones don't even work out fine. 160 gr/m² was fine for the bottom part, and 300 gr/m² was even fine for the canopy and upper deck, but a 200gr/m² would have been easier probably. On a Dutch forum I was even given the advice to start with a 80 gr/m² on top of the gelcoat.

anyway, it's a first tryout and lessons learned. If budget allows I'm thinking about purchasing a small vacuum pump and try some resin infusion. I do like the idea that you have unlimited time to properly cut and lay all the fibers into the mold and not getting your hands (gloves) full of resin while pressing everything in the corners and edges while laminating. The idea of a lighter and stronger hull due to a much better fiber/resin ratio is offcourse also very nice :D

[larryrose11]

Nice work. I really prefer infusion. It also allows you to use a foam core material, and make the hull quite strong.

https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/#!/core-materials/closed-cell-foam-and-3dcore/3d-core-pet100-foam-core.html

also, check out MTI Hose. Works beautifully.

https://german-advanced-composites.com/product/vacuum-resin-infusion-suction-hose

[SpeedDevice]

There is loads of materials and iterations as you point out. I for one learnt something new just now, about twill and what it means. Thanks 🙂 I concur in regards to starting with a layer of 80g cloth. That's what I've been doing, and either a couple of layers of 200g. Maybe even some CF but never a pure CF layup.

I've messed about some with vacuum, but not much. Seems to be a lot better when you find the technique. By now I have had a lot of bad luck with plugs and moulds so lost some faith in myself.

Hope to see more of your build process

[dazzler]

Nice work. I really prefer infusion. It also allows you to use a foam core material, and make the hull quite strong.

https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/#!/core-materials/closed-cell-foam-and-3dcore/3d-core-pet100-foam-core.html

also, check out MTI Hose. Works beautifully.
https://german-advanced-composites.c...n-suction-hose

Hello Larry.
I've seen both products recently on one of the German online shops I visit in my research... it appears the 3D-Core is well suited for vacuum infusion, and the MTI hose should work nice according to the promo video I watched online.

There's currently only 3 things stopping me from trying that:
- Knowledge... It would be some kind of trail and error as I don't know anyone in person that has experience with it and could get me started....
- Budget... It requires some initial investment in additional materials....
- Time... Once summer is over, I'll start with renovations on our home and that will require every minute of my free time for the next year or see. It's also the main reason for the lack of budget at this time

[dazzler]

Hello All.

Back after a very long absence (due to our home renovation) but now very excited to get building again.

At the moment I'm puzzling a bit with the placement of the drives and water pickup. At the moment, I have the drives at the lowest possible part of the sponsons, meaning as close as possible to the tunnel walls. If I'm putting them any where 'higher' on the sponson (meaning, more away from the tunnel) the height difference between the sponson and back makes in impossible to align the drives parallel (flush?) with the sponson.

But - this makes it impossible to mount the water pickup at the lowest part of this sponson - there is simply no room between the wall of the tunnel and the shaft.

I have found one build thread of a Mystic 138 (https://forums.offshoreelectrics.com...-Boat-assembly) which has the water pickup placed on the other side of the shaft....

Please have a look at this picture:
waterpickup.jpg

So, most build I have seen, place a water pickup at position 1. The build I'm referring to has it in position 2. I have both the single and the dual water pickup in my toolbox, so I can go either way.

What would be my best option? Put a single or dual pickup at location 2? Or move the shaft to a higher position anyway (meaning they will always point down a bit! - no option to trim them parallel to the hull!) and try to squeeze a single pickup in position 1 anyway?
I know the water pickup would be more efficient as low as possible - on the other hand moving it to position 2 gives me the benefit of dual inlets. And just for the record, my build would be no means be any 'SAW' material.... I'm more thinking at twin Seaking 180A + Leopard 4082-1600kv on 6s or something in that line...

[Fluid]

The most important thing is having some stinger adjustability. At almost any reasonable speed, #2 position will get plenty of water. For your use, I vote #2.





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[dazzler]

I will also show how I positioned the drives, so that there position was exactly as I wanted it to be, and also being symmetrical on both sides.

For this, I measures the mounting plate and mounting holes of the drive shaft, and used a 3D CAD program to create a mould which I can 3D Print.
Uitlijn01.jpg

Below you can see the 3D printed mould part, and how it aligns exactly on the hull. Drilling the mounting holes was easy after this
Uitlijn02.jpg

And yes, everything fits well
Uitlijn03.jpg