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[big_si]

Many years ago (about 20) my dad gave me a part built Fairey and i ended up 90% completing it and taking it for many a spin around Weymouth Bay I can't think what happened to that great boat but now the urge is stronger than ever so I am starting out again!

earlier this week I ordered a 40" plan of a Cigarette off-shore racer and I have already built it in my head... oops!!

I envisage 2 props, I am thinking surface piercing. I love the detail and looks of that kind of drive.

I can't decide whether to go for 1 motor or 2, as i understand you can get 1 to 2 gearboxes, though that could be a weight gain for little performance gain? I definitely want I/C though, Gotta love the noise and smell!!!

I may also alter the superstructure a little to bring it up to date. I love the look of Donzis'!

This will not be a quick build as I want this to be a peach, but i will be documenting it as I go and posting my (slow) progress!

i am starting from absolute scratch. After the plan, what should really be on the shopping list next?

Thanks heaps!
Simon

[gwa84]

looking fourword to it keep us posted 

[Martin (Admin)]

Hi Simon,

 And welcome to the Mayhem! ... cocktails served with Tiffin at 6 bells!

 What do you want from the boat, race / speed, looks, technology or a bit of everything?
 Race boats are usually built quite ruggedly where as for scale boats, you may have to build or adapt the running gear to your own aesthetics...

 Someone on here found a supplier on fleabay that made some very exotic outdrives / 'stingers' - VirtualVillage-UK-TOP1

   http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminium-Dual-Rudder-1-4-Shaft-RC-Boat-Adjustable-1-/310342227358?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item4841d6959e

[Norseman]

Buy Next hmmm?

Coffee and lots of it Simon

You wil have to spend quite some time looking at the plan and thinking about your modifiations too.
You mentioned weight - HS93 has a mini fireboat and in part he has used some very thin but strong
sheets of fiberglass. This bends well but only in one direction (so no compound curves) it is also so
excellent under/to paint. I just love it and intend to use it too. He did send me a link that I will have to
dig out .............. I am sooooooo disorganised.

Re IC - a lot of places don't alow IC so are you ok for a place that does? Look at RED181's Huntsman
thread to see what electrics can offer you - beast of a boat - I think he feeds it on raw meat.

Dave

[dodgy geezer]

.....i am starting from absolute scratch. After the plan, what should really be on the shopping list next?

Probably some materials, some tools, and a place to work....   

[ben hall]

i would say  some clamps , epoxy,WOOD or fiberglass and that should do you for doing the bottom of the boat or the hull unless you build the keelstick the prop shaft and rudder in and build up from around that if so you need to decide ic or electric and what power before you get your prop shaft     and if you go surface drive you need more power . and are you going to have your propshaft on a joint so it turns with a rudder or a strait drive with moving rudder    sorry if to many speling mistakes im posting via my 3ds

                        kk

[big_si]

Thanks for all the replies so far!

I've a lengthy garage so space isn't a problem, I may do some work on the dining room table but i'll keep that on the down low and away from swmbo!

I'm considering doing a mock up in cardboard, just to check the plan i guess or would that be a waste of time?

I think i'm ok for running it on most of the lakes in Milton Keynes, I am lucky enough to have a lake right outside my house that thankfully isn't stocked with fish!!

Would it be too greedy to want a bit of everything!?!  I am undecided about racing but do want a swift boat. I also want it to look a beauty. A lot of the race boats i have seen (and i may get flamed for this!!) i think put function over aesthetics.

[Norseman]

i think put function over aesthetics.

No reason at all why one should exclude the other.
If you build it, they will come.

Dave

[pettyofficernick]

Hi There, Cardboard mock up would be a good start, once you have it right, you could use it for templates for the main event.
Good luck with your enterprise, and all the best for the New Year.
Kind Regards,
Nick.

[big_si]

"The Main Event", a pretty good name for the bog one!

My father managed to copy the full sizr plans but only managed to get it copied on A1 so have become half scale. Not a bad thing really as i am getting a cheap chance to see how the structure fits and my plan reading skills.

Its coming on nicely. Albeit in cardboard...

My nephew, whom i am trying to get focused on something is really keen and excited. Should this be succesful, i'll probably do this small scale on in wood first and put a brushless motor in there for him to keep. This will be a greeat way for me to get used to working with wood, before "The Main Event"

I emailed my 9 y/o nephew a picture of the cardboard build so far, his reply "Dear Uncle Simon, RRRR wicked!" I think he's excited!

A 40" model, should i go for 2 small engines or one big one? What size!?!  The model plans say 2 x 3.5cc, to me that sounds a bit small as i think the smallest Zenoah is 24cc?

[pettyofficernick]

Can you post phots of progress?, including the cardboard mockups.You may be better with going along the electric route, a Graupner 800 should do the trick. Keep up the good work!

[pettyofficernick]

Engaged keyboard before brain was in gear! I was thinking Fairey not Cigarette. Not really up on racing type boats, but I guess if you stick to the suggested layout on the plans and you shouldn't go far wrong. or go electric as Norseman suggests.

[big_si]

I think the Graupner 800 GTX would suit the mini-Cigarette well!

After the cardboard mock up is compete, how do-able would it be to lay fibreglass over is to form a hull?

[pompebled]

After the cardboard mock up is compete, how doable would it be to lay fibreglass over is to form a hull?

Hi Simon,

Some pictures of your build would be helpful.

Depending on if you want to keep the cardboard inside the fiberglass or not decides how to go about it.

I've coated a cardboard hull with class cloth and resin some time ago; as I didn't want the cardboard to stick to the resin, I coated the outside with molten candle wax, which was smoothened with the help of a hair drier (a heater/paint stripper works too, but you have to take care not to set things on fire...)

Once I was satisfied with the appearance of the surface, I glassed it with glasscloth and polyester resin, epoxy would be my choice of resin nowadays, as I've developed an allergy to polyester.
Once the coat of glass and resin is sufficiently thick, let it set for a couple of weeks in a warm environment.

Once it's fully cured, heat up the hull until the wax gets soft and pull the cardboard out of the laminate.
My cardboard hull didn't survive, as I'd used hotmelt to assemble it and the joints came loose when I heated things up to remove the cardboard hull...

Here's a picture of the polyester hull:



As it was my first attempt working this way, I overdid it on the layer thickness (2 mm+) and the hull was very heavy for it's size (75 cm), so I never got past testruns to establish a suitable motor.
I later went on to build a larger version in ply: http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=34033.0

If you used cardboard with a hard shiny surface, I would not try to incorporate it into the hull, as the resin will not fully penetrate the cardboard.
The gray, open structured cardboard however, will absorb the resin like a sponge, the first layer of resin will completely disappear into the material, leaving you with a nice base to laminate the glasscloth onto.

Mind you, making cardboard soak up the resin will make for a rather heavy hull, most likely with the same result as my first attempt; too heavy to sail properly, as it'll sink in too deep.

Let me know if you need more information on how to go about it.

Regards, Jan.