My Micro Hydro

[Sneasle]

Just got my 1.5oz fiberglass in today. My epoxy should be in later in the week or early next week. Hopefully we can get some progress going :).

[Sneasle]

cool. Progress is progress. Let me know if there is anything I can do to speed up the process for you.

[JimClark]

Nothing except I have a plan on how to get really good shapes for templates made just havent gotten to trying it.

Jim

[Sneasle]

Any updates Jim?

[Sneasle]

I'm just worried about the 'deck' warping during the gluing process if the top edge of the hull isn't straight.

With this shovel, I have to put a LOT of pressure on the back of the deck to keep the two halves together. I'm going to end up having to wrap it in several turns of masking tape as it easily pulls a single turn loose.

[RandyatBBY]

I got that, but how do you trim the hull flat so the deck glues on flat?

I use Gap filling CA that fills any gaps, what I am more conserned about is the bottom of the hull and how it sits on the table. The top is a shoe box and fits over the bottom. The rest is just visual. What matters is that the bottom edges are stright and square.

[Sneasle]

Nope, let me clarify.

I am calling hull the bottom half of the boat. I am calling the deck the top portion of the boat that Randy supplies.

The upper edge of my 'hull is not cut straight around the perimeter, and so, when I put the 'deck' on, it does not line up straight. I can see the trim line in the 'deck', but I see no trim line in the 'hull'. So How do I go about trimming the top edge of the 'hull' straight so the deck, when glued, will be straight?

[Dr. Jet]

Oh, I think I know where you are going......

The top of the hull (the deck) is curved both lengthwise and crosswise, so for a proper fit, the top edge of the hull is not straight. I believe you can actually see a faint trim line on the parts.

I use a long sanding block and a lot of trial fitting to get a good joint. I also take a fine line Sharpie pen and go over the trim line so I can see it better. Randy does a pretty good job of suppling the hull trimmed fairly close. I imagine many people have just glued them together as supplied by Randy.

Cats and V-hulls can be formed with a flat top on the hull, scale hydros aren't that easy most of the time.

[Sneasle]

I got that, but how do you trim the hull flat so the deck glues on flat?

[RandyatBBY]

Sounds good. You still want my templates?


Question for Randy/Doc.

I notice that neither the hull edge or the deck edge is cut straight. What should I do to the hull to ensure that I get a good, even, twist free hull when I go to glue them together?

If I had a really big belt sander I would smooth the hull on that, but I don't.

I set up my hulls on a building board. Then I set up the framers or carbon fiber chassis. If they are stright on the install, the transom will be flat to the table. Pic below.

[Sneasle]

Cool. Keep me updated.

[JimClark]

I hope to work mine over this weekend. Likewise anything I come up with I will pass to others also.
Jim

[Sneasle]

np, anything I can do to help.

[JimClark]

Thanks that will be a good starting point

[Sneasle]

Jim, here is the outline for the formers. Let me know if you have any issues. There is a scale drawn to help you, you will probably have to rescale it to print it correctly.