Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[tbone]

I decided to try my hand at scratch building a boat.  So far I've got a hull that's getting close to finished.

What I don't know is what kind of boat this will be.  It could be a small speed boat or possibly a workboat?  I just saw a pic of a Robbe's Dolly boat and could make it something like that but haven't decided yet.
I also need some advice on motor, prop shaft size, prop and rudder size.
The hull is 30" long, 10" wide at the back and 12" wide at the front where the bow straightens out.
I was thinking a rudder of about 2"x2" and a prop between 1.5-2"
I was thinking of running it on 12v but can run 7.2 nimh if it would be better
I already have a speedboat so I'm not looking for another one, rather a slower boat with a longer run time to cruise around on the lake.
I also saw some small tugs about this size but am not really sure if this hull shape would work; tugs are quickly becoming my favorite

Anyhow, here are a few pics, let me know what you think.

PS-is this the best forum to post this in or should it be moved elsewhere?

Tbone

[tbone]

Here's a few more pics.

I'm also trying to decide how to finish the hull.  Some say you have to use epoxy resin while others say just paint it.  I was going to try epoxy resin but it isn't cheap.
I just read someone who just uses a few coats of varathane and then paints over it, others use fibreglass resin.

I plan to rough sand it but don't know what next.  I tried wood filler and it works alright but I'd like to give it a dusting of paint to see the high/low spots when sanding.  I also read people using autobody filler.  Or I could coat the hull in fibreglass resin, sand it, use autobody filler and paint it.  The fibreglass resin is most appealing as it will add strength and is far cheaper than epoxy resin. 
Should I not paint anything on the hull before the fibreglass so it can soak into the wood better?

[Prophet]

you can do one of two things... use a wood sealer to seal the wood before painting .. or you can epoxy & Matt tissue the hull there are loads of threads in the epoxy and resins section how to do this, given the boats shape you wont get a tug out of it its more like an inland cruiser its definitely designed to go fast due to its 'v' shaped hull, you could get away with turning it into a fishing boat of some description but i think it may look rather good as a police patrol boat( see photos of diffrent police boats, they all use a similar shaped hull to what you have!). you ill be wanting to use a med sized rudder 3-4" and a 4m sized prop shaft with round a 3.8 or 40mm prop

[tbone]

Thanks.  What do you mean by a wood sealer?  I'd probably go that route as it sounds cheaper than matting.
I'll try and find a prop/shaft assembly around 40mm.

The police boat is a good idea, or maybe a fishing boat.

[Prophet]

ronseal wood sealer is one of the best since its external use or any wood sealer, the matt tissue and expoy will give you a better finish but you can use gloss paints to achive the same if your careful stick with the police boat.. they cruise around flash there lights could use it as a semi rescue boat 

[tbone]

I was just reading and many people say that sanding sealer's not worth it, just use wood primer, sand it down and paint it.
Too many choices, don't want to have to redo it anytime soon.  Might have to make a test panel....