New Miss Geico hull or is there a better option?

[Boomer]

Here a few more pictures of the repaired hull just prior to paint prep. This was my first try at a repair of this type, but all in all, I think it turned out pretty well.

Again, the discription of your crash sounds like it was a lot worse than this one. Let's take a look and see how bad it is. Maybe you can get lucky as I did.

Which ever direction you take, the MG is a great little FE. MM is too, but as Diesel said, should have more motor than the MG mill.

Good luck..............
Boomer

[dana]

Ouch... Sorry to here about that bud. unfortunately you found out never to turn the radio off before unplugging the boat. On the Spektrum dx series radio's you can actually program fail safes to prevent that from happening.

As for your question I think you should grab another MG hull. JMHO. I had a HOR twin I just sold and I liked it but I feel the MG is better plus you have everything already for it. The stock MG motor wouldn't be the greatest choice for the HOR either.

in addition to never turning you radio off, make sure you dont ever put your hand near the prop after you plug batteries in, and until you unplug them. i caught my thumb in a b/s 40/52/3 last summer. ouch!!!!

[Nor Cal Chris]

I guess I learned a hard lesson yesterday but I wont give up on Miss geico!! your repair looks good but I dont know if i want to attempt that with mine what do you think? I have done body work and paint on cars but I think I'am just going to get another and have all new spare parts and sell what is extra to get back some money.

[TheShaughnessy]

I guess I learned a hard lesson yesterday but I wont give up on Miss geico!! your repair looks good but I dont know if i want to attempt that with mine what do you think? I have done body work and paint on cars but I think I'am just going to get another and have all new spare parts and sell what is extra to get back some money.

Where at in cali and what do you want for the damaged hull?

[Boomer]

Chris
I have seen worse, but yours is right up there. I'd say, it can be repaired. Clearly the damage to the sponson is the main issue, the other areas I see are pretty straight forward repairs.
It would take a good fiberglass guy to get the sponson to match. If a mold could be made from a good sponson, it would wouldn't be very hard make a new partial sponson that could be bonded on to the hull.

I found working with the fiberglass was pretty forgiving, and if you don't mind sanding, you can get some darned good results. It would be fun to try to fix yours, but I think one was enough for me to tackle. The materials are the biggest expense. I know how disappointed you must be.

If you opt to buy a complete new MG, the motor and ESC are pretty easy to sell.
The rudder assembly can be sold as well. The flex shaft is a good thing to keep on hand. The Radio and receiver are popular as well. It just seem buying a replacement hull is a less expense way to go. All the hardware is very easy to remove and re-install, so if that is a concern, I'd wouldn't worry.

[Nor Cal Chris]

After I got over the crash I realized that I can buy a new one and sell all of the extra's pretty quickly and might not be too bad to have some of the extra stuff, I have invested in four sets of lipos a off set rudder, props and a hyperion charger so I cant just walk away from it, it's just too much fun to stop. I will figure out what I want to do with the crashed hull but I will most likely sell it. thanks for all of the tips and I will never ever ever turn off the radio until the boat is in my truck and I'am ready to drive away

[tunnelvision]

Nor Cal Chris,

I like to fix up damaged boats and get em running again. I would gladly take this off your hands. If you are interested just shoot me a PM with what you would want for it shipped to NJ.

Thanks!

[Brushless55]

MM are GREAT running hulls. May want some more power then a stock MG motor though. Not that it wouldn't work, but stick a Leopard 4074 in there and take advantage of the hull. The 29" skunk cats run great too. I love my Skunkcat , its my favorite hull to that I own.

D, to air this out some more..
between the MM, MG, and Skunkcat, what is it that makes the Shunkcat your favorite Cat??
I have the MM, and really like it, but it seams to need more power than other hulls..

[maxmekker]

That was pritty smashed up. How do you go about fixing that, any quick tutorial and what materials used Boomer ??Question, where to you get a MG bare hull. I want a MG , bu I have several esc, I have motors, lipos , charges etc. Maybe build one..

[lectriglide]

I would GLADLY do a canopy swap with you so you can have better "matching parts". Hey it's even on the same side!

[Boomer]

That was pritty smashed up. How do you go about fixing that, any quick tutorial and what materials used Boomer ??Question, where to you get a MG bare hull. I want a MG , bu I have several esc, I have motors, lipos , charges etc. Maybe build one..

Max
Proboat sells replacement Hull and Canopy: MG29 $197.99 PRB4101. They sell a lot of these and are often out of stock. But they get them every few months so the wait is not all that bad. You can do a google search for this part number and might get lucky in finding a local hobby shop that has one.

As far as tips on repairing these things, I had to make tool to permit me to get down inside the bow and sponson to reinforce the damaged areas. Before making the glass repairs the surface has to be prepared, sanded and cleaned so the resin and mat have good clean surface to stick to. I used paint mixing/stirring sticks I had in my garage to glue sand paper to so I could sand the surfaces inside the hull, and to insert pre-cut pieces of 1 oz. fiberglass mat into the bow and sponsons to the damaged and cracked areas.

Once I had prepared all the surfaces, I was ready to start. The inside was the only tricky part. I used a small brush that I attached an extended handle to, so I could apply resin (2 part) to the damaged areas inside, then used the paint stirring sticks to carefully lay in the matting into the cracks and crushed areas. I had pre applied resin to the matting to insure a good bond. I used another paint stick that I had rounded the end on it to work the mat to a nice flat patch.

I then clamped the damaged areas from the outside to compress the cracked areas. Let it cure. Now that the hull was repaired inside (is stronger than it was) I attacked the outside damages. Again, preparation is key.

I removed any damaged fragments and then sanded all the areas smooth. Some guys might have used bondo to fill in the crushed area and cracks, but I have never used those products and wanted stay with materials I was comfortable with.

I started to apply the resin to the external flaws, starting with one layer of 1 oz. mat over the damaged areas, more or less like a band-aid. Let it cure. Then sanded it smooth and applied one more layer. Then you guessed, sanded it. I primed it, so I could see any imperfections, and sanded some more.

This hull's damages looked worse than they really were. I don't think this boat was going as fast as Chris's boat when it hit the pipe. Plus it only hit a pipe and not a cement wall. The repair I had to address was more cracks than anything, so it was pretty simple to fix.

The only real problem was in trying to find tools to get down inside the hull. If you have ever worked with fiberglass making these kinds of repairs is not that bad.
To get the boat back to like new, takes some patients.

Oh, MGs come with a foam brick in their bows which I was able to get that out without damaging it, so I was able to put it back in once the repair work had been completed.

Chris's boat can be repaired, but I am not sure the cost of the repair materials and time would be worth the trouble. Not my call.

Good luck
Boomer

[Nor Cal Chris]

Good info, nice creativity with makeing the tools to complete the job.

[ron1950]

auction off the canopy to highest bidder...should get about 20 per cent of a new hull that way lol....