You can find some on the PPB site too, bottom of the page. Just take my name off the flyer. I don't want the TSA looking for me. http://www.portpolarbear.com/reports/index.html
Finished the middle water channeling, lines are buried for the gas and side walls are now on the boat. Used west system epoxy and micro balloons to fill in the gaps between the side walls and around the gas ports. The two small channels are for main wiring and servo wires, these will get their own covers to match the completed channeling. The green paint is self-etching primer, this is great on fiberglass and aluminum. Still have to make small access ports so I can get to the bulkheads, but that might come after the brew. Now it's time to work on the wiring and getting the rotates setup in the bow.
Working on the new rudder setup, lets try a smaller picture and see if that uploads a little better. Old:
That is the bottom of the hull, appears to be "hogging". I can either cut it out and install a flat sheet of fiberglass (lot of labor), or is there a way to pull it down?
The issue is inside the boat you have a crown, so the water is not going to the middle of the water channeling. More work but I could cut out the middle and graft a new piece underneath, but this is more work and possible more weight. If I took screws and went through the middle, I can get the hull back into shape. But how do I keep it there, I cannot run formers across the channel (would impede water flow). If its a non issue, then I wont worry about it.
leave it. I have some of that in all the hulls I have. Unless it bothers you, it is overkill afterall!
Perhaps an option is to lay a flat sheet of thin fiberglass board across low spot, then flip the boat right side up and cut the high spot out of the water channel. Then seal the edge of the cut out part with fiberglass cloth. Or something to that effect. By the way, I like the rudder install. It looks compact.
Hulls sag cause they have to be pulled "green" from the mold. All my hulls have some sort of bowing in the center. I just cut out a spot under the pump and glue and screw a thin aluminum plate so that the pump is in a sump. the water chanel isn't flat but it seems to drain into the sump well enough.
Well, I cut out the bottom and used 1/8th fiberglass sheet.attached it to the hull with West System adhesive. Glued and in place. Once this dried I flipped the hull, sanded and used west system again this time with filler (balloons) to ease the sanding process.
From Mike: By the way, I like the rudder install. It looks compact. Thanks Mike, not enought time to get the tube to work correctly, so I am going with the waterproof servo and standard set of gears this year.
Bottom is sanded and primed, took some time but the results are worth it. Only 30 days to finish this boat...
Time to do the sheeting, in the past I have used model airplane colored dope. But the hobby stores are not stocking it anymore. What is the "best" alternative and won't make the hull "crunchy".
Order a can from here: http://www.brodak.com/shop.php?CategoryID=271 Or you can use laquer from Home Depot. Other types of lacquer (dope is a lacquer) paints seem to work. Like Rustolem lacquer. It’s an acrylic lacquer. Get black and white, mix to whatever shade of gray you want. Don’t mix lacquer types, bad things happen. Don has always used another paint for the color on his hull. I think it's an outdoor acrylic of some type. He gets the small sample cans. Ask him.
