I plan on getting a "real engine" but must buy materials first. I can't build anything without gelcoat and resin so that must take priority unfortunately. I also just bought a new air compressor this week and that really hurt! But now I have all the C.F.M. I need to properly spray gel coat and use my sanders without stopping and waiting for my old compressor to catch up. Air tools are great but use a ton of air! My garage is getting so full its crazy,plugs and molds everywhere. I am so lucky my wife is flexible and lets me do this stuff. Since my weed eater engine is running so poorly and I am so busy I began working on the mono. I removed the engine and radio gear,no grease at all on the flex shaft! I plan on starting to make a building board for the mono and taking pictures while I copy the hull. I will do the same lay up schedule as the Nemesis project you sent me. That should keep me in the same weight and strength as other comparable hulls. Only difference is I hate boring white and will offer these in colors. Paint just sucks on a boat gelcoat is far superior in every way.

 

Seamless is always nice, especially since your going to build it right. Aeromarine hulls are seamless and very popular, but are known to need some extra reinforcement. I think the cat will be fine with a shoebox fit since it's not going to be a serious racer. At 60+ that lip can cause extra lift that can be enough to cause it to blow over, or a bit unpredictable in high winds. Even in a racer it's not the biggest deal but every little bit counts. It's also not so easy joining a cat seamlessly.

I think you should post your build thread on both the dock and RCU. The dock is a bit more serious with more experienced members, and RCU has all the "noobs" which make up a great deal of the sport market. Just show that you are experienced and know what your doing and I'm sure you will get a following. Try to be light on the selling aspect at first, there was a hull builder scamming people a couple months a go. Took 50 or so orders and never delivered more than a handful.

Oh and feel free to PM or email that guy with that nemesis build thread, he is a stand up guy and can help you with any questions you might have. He is a shop teacher but makes some great boats in his part time.

 

He did a nice job on the nemisis hull. I can't believe he hasnt tried a semi permanent mod release though. I need to school him politely on chemlease or zyvex mold releases. No more waxing,he spent a entire day applying wax!!!!
If you use the semi perm release you apply it once and pull 10 to 15 parts before doing it again! The mono will be easier to make seamless since I have a joined hull and can't separate it without causing damage. Im watching a lightly used zenoah on ebay believe its a 260pum,don't you dare ****** it away! I also have a customer who wants me to make dune buggy bodies so thats takes more time away from the boats. I may have to wait until october before I make any hulls. But paying jobs must take priority. The boats are fun but I have no idea how well they will actually sell. I will at least make a couple really nice boats for myself and test them with a zenoah,get them set up and trimmed right. Have some pics and video of them in use and at speed. My hulls will be as nice as the nemisis hulls I am a hardcore perfectionist. I need to order some small items and found 1/8" coremat which would be far superior to use in the transom than plywood. Just like a real boat the synthetic coremat absorbs resin making a super strong sandwich. The advantage is that the coremat can't absorb moisture and wont flex or change with humidity. This way once you trim out the drive system your setting stay accurate. I would think top of the line hulls would have coremat transoms. I would still use 1/4" top quality ply for the stringers. A single piece of 1/8" core with two layers of mat sealing it would be a super solid transom,and problem free. I know you don't like the metal flake gelcoat jobs but I have some really wild kemeleon flakes that would look amazing on the water! Imagine a red base with kameleon flakes in the clear that change from green to blue to purple at different angles. All done in gelcoat and reflecting on the water. You would need sunglasses to look at it. I need to find a place to buy the kameleon flakes by the pound as the dune buggy bodies will be finished in them. He hasnt given me a deposit yet so this is all still subject to change.

 

I bought a CY / Sikk marine engine off the dock today. It has a modified and lightened piston,lightened flywheel,modified walbro 257 mounts included as well as carb linkage for 160.00 shipped. He says it only has 1.5 gallons run through it. Looking forward to having a real marine engine. He says it will turn 17,500 RPM thats a whole lot better than 10K from my crappy weed eater engine. Still really need a tuned pipe though.

 

Man I wish I would have told you about the CY motors, I didn't even mention them because they have such a bad rep that I've almost forgot about them. They are a zenoah clone, but not built as well. Biggest problem is the jug is only 2 bolts instead of 4, when they hydro lock then tend to crack the jug, and the jug is known to fail without even ingesting water. It does make slightly more power than a stock zenoah, but only because it is cast with more aggressive timings. At least you got a good deal, but chances are you will be rebuilding the top end at one point or another. And with the stock timings it won't turn 17k RPMs, maybe on the bench but not under a load. I hope it's hasn't been modified or it really won't last. Those two bolt jugs can't take the stress of real aggressive timings.

I really like the idea of using coremat at the transom, don't think anyone has done anything like that. The 1/4 ply is plenty strong, just if it starts to rot it will be one hell of a chore replacing it. I sealed all the holes in my transom with finishing epoxy after drilling, so I should be fine.

 

Well seems all the other hulls use 1/4 ply for the stringers. I will brush mine with resin and glass them in. If the jug gives me trouble I will just replace the crankcase and jug with a zenoah unit. Still searching for a tuned pipe,see chinese ones on ebay at decent prices. Im looking at dry tuned pipes with a wrap to center header. Stainless header and pipe with a aluminum silencer and mounting flange for around 81.00 shipped. Also need a 1/4 scale steering servo and decent fuel tank. I dont want a IV bag...too difficult to fill. Im looking for a 16+ ounce hard tank with a real fill cap. A clunk type pickup would be great. How do you determine how far forward to mount the engine? Also how do you determine what angle to drill the transom for the stuffing tube to exit? I have a radial drill press and can drill any angle and repeat it on all hulls.

 

I would stay away from those one piece Chinese pipes, they will crack and it won't even take very long. Only one piece pipes that should be used are the ceramic coated steel hot pipes, I forget who makes them but they aren't cheap or all over ebay. Not the biggest deal, but I figure you should know, the wrap to center and "deep V" headers lose a bit of performance. ServoCity has the best prices on all servos, and some specialty items you can't find anywhere else. You want at least 180oz of torque, the more the better though. Metal gears are also a plus, but you want karbonite gears at least for the steering. Nylon gears are fine for a throttle servo, but karbonite is better since it takes much longer to wear down. Get a dubro tank off ebay for a couple bucks, just make sure you get a brown stopper cap, the black isn't made for gas. Or you can spend a few bucks more and get a much better tank, it has a regular cap you want and mounts right on the stringers. Check it out, this is the tank I have in my magnum 57. Although I and just about everyone else will recommend against using a funnel and pouring gas into your tank. I started out like that and had nothing but hassles. Get your self a Fuel Pump makes filling up a breeze, not to mention taking the fuel out. You can't leave fuel in the tanks over night, especially now gas has ethanol in it. And just mount the pump to your fuel can like THIS.

Ok where you mount your motor, tank, and radio box has to do with where you want the final center of gravity (CG). I would get that info from the guy you got the molds from. I know nothing about cats, but a good CG point for a mono is usually between 28%-33% from the transom. CG is VERY important and it will determine how the hull runs. The rule when experimenting is too start of with the CG far forward, it is easier to shorten everything, then to have to replace your flex cable, flex shaft, and carb control arm.

How high you want your strut also depends on the hull, but generally you want the flex cable to come out as low as possible on the transom at the keel. Making the hole a bit of an oval is a good idea too, so you can have a bit more room to adjust the strut up and down. As for the angle you want the flex shaft to exit 90* to the transom. This all of course is assuming you will be using a surface drive setup. You will have to glass in the flex shaft to the transom, or use one of THESE here is how it is INSTALLED. With the iso pad you have to use a steel shaft and teflon liner, I forget the size of the steel shaft though. If your going to use a regular 5/16th brass shaft you will have to either glass it in, or do what I did. I got some 7/32" vacuum line, drilled it out, and slipped it over the flex shaft and pressed it into the transom. I was desperate to get her in the water for a race, and it worked out so well I've left it. Other people have used other rubber grommets, but I was never able to find one that was suitable. (EDIT:) I just remembered my buddy had an ISO pad, with a steel shaft, but was using a 5/16th brass tube as the liner. Teflon liners add resistance, and when they finally go the can shred and melt and be a nightmare to get out. They are only used because people either forget to grease or re-grease their flex cables, or just don't use enough grease.

Oh and 1/4" stringers are fine, but I like 1/2" stringers. All of WHH's boats come with 1/2" stringers, and are laid up heavy. I do some serious wave bashing in my big boat, and the 1/2" stringers really help keep the hull from flexing. Boats as big as mine, jumping waves as big as I do usually crack the gel coat because the hull flexes too much when landing. My race boat has 1/8th stringers, and gel coat cracks. The ******* I bought it from used to throw her in the water way to hard, he even told me he did.

 

I can do 1/2 inch for anyone who wants them. I just think the majority of people would prefer 1/4 to keep weight to a minimum. Weight is the enemy right? I can also do a light lay up or heavy depending on what someone wants. I am almost done restoring this boat and can't wait to get out of the sun and start working on my speakers and hulls again. I am exhausted,the sun really takes its toll.

 

After you build a few I think you will find the perfect layup that is plenty string and not too heavy. In the cat I would do 1/4" stringers without a doubt, in the mono my preference would be 1/2", it's not a lot of weight but adds a lot of rigidity to the hull. Since these hulls are layed up pretty thin, then have a bit of flex to them. Man nothing hurts more than working out in the direct sun, especially down here in our 95* muggy heat.

 

Yep its been hot here too. I havnt had the energy after work to do anything with the boat hulls and its really bothering me. Luckily I installed a new bimini top on the boat Im fixing and have some shade now. I am now building in a custom sound system and adding L.E.D. navigation lights as well as LED dome and accent lights. I painted the fiberglass console and engine a black with a ghost blue pearl in it. I will add pictures before too long. I just ordered the remaining materials to build more glass parts. Lots of little stuff and it adds up fast! Spent 400.00!!! So when people say I could build that for 50.00 they have absolutely no idea what the materials cost!!! I still need a tuned pipe..hint hint. I will work out a sweet deal for you Toofat on that pipe. I could regelcoat your hull and add expanding foam into the nose to help keep future cracks to a minimum. I have a special additive for gelcoat made by duratec 98.00 a gallon but makes gelcoat shine like paint and helps it to flex and not crack. Just a thought,let me know.