Ok then I will join them. I will be reading up on it more as time allows. Im still a week or more from even getting the molds so I have time. I'll show you pictures,the hydro molds are sweet! I know how many hours the molds take to make not including the R&D thats done. I am very happy to be getting them. Its one more product I can make for very little cash. Also I've always wanted a 1/4 scale size boat anyways. Kicking myself for giving away my 30% nitro left over from a T maxx. Most likely I will be using a 2 stroke engine anyways. I will build them right,I don't cut corners. Every single person who bought a sub box from me was flat out impressed with the build quality. I don't make junk,usually I tend to go a little overboard with extras.

 

Forget about nitro, nitro is at $30 a gallon right now. I spend about $6 for a gallon of gas mixed with 8oz of honda Hp 2 oil and lasts me about 2 weekends of non stop running two boats. Not to mention tuning a gas motor is so much easier, and half the maintenance. You really only have two options with motors, the traditional zenoah or one of the new RCMK's. The RCMK makes a lot more power out of the box, and is a much beefier engine. It was designed from the ground up as a marine engine. The zenoahs are the airplane engines with the fins CNC'ed off for a water jacket. When modded they both make about the same power, but the RCMK is better built. It has a 4 bearing crank case versus two, much beefier crank, con rod, and cylinder. Everyone is saying if zenoah doesn't make a new motor, this RCMK is going to take over the market.
Both the hydro and mono will be a lot of fun for you. It will be pretty costly to get rigged up, but if you want to do the mono on a buget there is builders package that is on sale now for $300 and has everything you would need minus electronics and a few small things. It comes with the aircooled 23cc zenoah, which the only down side is weight. But if your not looking to race it's a damn good deal.

 

Well Im getting the mono as a complete boat with engine ready to go. The molds are seperate. He's keeping one boat for himself and getting rid of the rest to me. So I can see how the mono does before even making one. I have a friend with a cabin on a nearby lake and can try it out anytime. The only thing I dont like about the mono is that its purple,I mean barnie the dinosour purple. The advantage is it has the engine mounts and stringers installed so I can make the new ones the same way.

 

That's good the boat coming rigged so you can see how the bend should be in the flex shaft and how the running gear is set up. If it's longer than 50" I hope it's got a modded motor, if not it's going to be pretty slow. My 57" only runs 45mph with a mid mod engine, a stock zenoah would have it in the mid to low 30's. If you need any tips on getting it trimmed or tuning the carb feel free to shoot me a PM.

 

Thanks for offering the technical boat help. I found out these hulls were sold under the Scorpion name and I'm buying them from the original maker. He even has sales brochures ,they were made in 2001 and sold until approx 2003. The only reason they stopped making them was because the employee who designed and made the molds produced them at his home in his spare time. When he quit working for the company not all of the molds were recovered. I will be going to get these on Monday. I am getting a set of 3 molds which make a cat style boat and a V hull thats complete that I will have to make a mold from. I believe the V hull is 44 inches long. I cant remember the cat hull size ,I think its a little bit shorter but don't hold me to that. I know both were designed for a zenoah engine and both are good performers. I don't think these would be the fastest thing out there with todays technology. They are older but still very nice designs,he sent me several pictures. I plan on offering these as entry level for beginners and keeping them very affordable.

 

This is the V hull its called the Stinger Deep V and is 51 inches long with a 13.5 beam. I thought it was shorter.

 

The mono looks good, that is a nice size not too big but will still handle a good chop. It's definitely got a zenoah either G231 or a G260, most likely it's a g260. Might even be lightly modded since it's got an aftermarket water jacket. Set up right that hull should run about 40mph with a stock motor and a dry tuned pipe. One thing that concerns me is the length of the stinger(outdirve), that is way too long for a mono. You want it out far enough so it's in clean water, too far out and you can run into handling problems. Rudder bracket is too short for that stinger, you want the rudder to either be inline with the prop or further back, to far in like that and it won't handle as well in a turn.

Couple important things to know, if it has a champion plug toss it out. Get a NGK plug, the champions are known to fail and destroy your motor. Make sure the flex cable is good, any broken strands don't use it. Make sure the prop has been worked on, if the prop hasn't been balanced you can really mess up the drive line. Make sure the water lines are clear by blowing through them, doesn't take more than a minute to overheat the motor. Most importantly make sure you use a failsafe, and tie warp the connectors on the radio system. If something unplugs or you loose power to the radio, your going to loose control of it and it will crash. I use a failsafe and an EKG that kills the motor if there is power loss. There's really a bunch of other small things to check that I just can;t think of right now.

EDIT: Most important, run at least 8oz of synthetic oil to a gallon. A lot of people try to run less and these motors don't like that. Even stock the motor turns 12,000rpm under a load. At 8-10oz per gallon the needle bearings will last a lot longer, and the chance of catching a ring is less. Amsoil saber and honda Hp-2 are the best oils to use.

 

Here it is again. Unfortunately I don't have any decent pics of the cat style hull but its 45 inches long and has a 16.5 beam. The mold maker was Roger Garner and the boats were sold under the name Scorpion Marine Racing which was a division of Fab Four Fiberglass. They produced parts for full size boats. They recently closed due to our wonderful economy. The owner of the company is who I am buying the molds from. Very nice guy.

 

Cats are a blast to drive, I love just watching them. Sounds like your going to have a very nice lineup, most people enter the market with only one hull to offer. I think you've got potential to make a good amount of money out of those molds. It may take you a while to gain recognition, but once word starts going around it will be nice for you. I can give you a link to a thread of a full build log of one of these hulls. This guy also builds boat in his spare time, but the quality of his work is top notch. He is also very very knowledgeable, he's been around for ages he's the main moderator over at the RCU forums.

EDIT: CLICK HERE for the thread. It is pretty long and first starts with making a plug from an existing hull. I think there are a few good tips in there that are directly related to laying a boat up, might be helpful to you.

 

Now thats a nice how to article.I do know most of what he's doing but the lay up schedule and his daring test of the TR wax are helpful. I still am a avid PVA user. After you stick a mold you have a real hard time not using pva. Most people wont know what Im talking about but PVA is a spray on mold release thats like liquid saran wrap. You spray it on and it tints the mold green. It dries fast and can be peeled away easily like a big piece of plastic wrap. It makes release much easier and pretty much guarantees a release. Spending 100 + hours sweating,bleeding and pulling glass slivers out of your hands only to have a mold stick because you did not use PVA royally sucks! A lot of professionals won't admit to ever sticking a mold,but all of them have unless they are new to glassing. I think its a pride thing. I have another speaker plug almost done,this one is unique. Its a front panel thats contoured and holds 2 twelve inch subs. Its for the DIY'er you buy the panel and then build your own box for it. Its designed to slip over a MDF box and is held on with gorilla glue,screws are optional. That gorilla glue is tough stuff and once cured overnight you'll never have a air leak or be able to remove the front. Its also affordable. I will have the DIY panel popped off my plug before the weeks over and up for sale asap. Right now I still have 1 of the polished black gel coat boxes available. The other 2 I built sold instantly locally. Once people saw it and picked it up seeing the weight,build quality etc etc they sold themselves. Its hard to get a good angle to take a picture of this box. It also sounds good and hits hard with 1.4 cubic feet per side. The middle is sealed with a mdf panel and glass making each side a separate airtight box. The bottom is a full 3/4 thick piece of MDF with a recessed terminal cup. I gelcoated the bottom so its completely waterproof if you install marine subs. I figured that was a nice feature making it good for boat use,outside use,or jeeps. Its absolutely ridgid because of the curves and wood panels glassed in wont flex anywhere at all. The woofers screw into MDF rings thats glassed in while building the box. The woofer opening is 11 1/8 inch,perfect for kicker CVR or CVX subs. Most good 12 inch subs use 11 1/8" openings. I bought a circle cutter for my plunge router and can make perfect rings,I like things to fit nice. I also am a bit of a perfectionist. The pictures don't do this box justice at all,you could shave in your reflection. Getting black gelcoat that shiny is a TON of work. But the beauty of gelcoat is it dosnt chip easy like paint and has tons of UV resistance. It wont fade in the sun like paint,at least not for a very long time. I am getting the boat molds tomorrow and will post pics asap. It may take me a couple days as I have to get some of the DIY panels built asap.