Dillon Laker 14/16.5 Wooden Tunnel Hull Build/Mod Project

[gomopar440]

I thought of building one of Bob Dillon's smaller race boat designs at first. Mostly to make the build easier on myself, but decided against it in favor of the Laker which can be built as a two seater. I might be able to make mine a four seater with the extra length I'm adding to mine. That's probably the biggest reason I'm thinking of putting dual fuel tanks in it. If I put one tank in each sponson, that will leave more of the passenger area open and leave me with more options.

I don't know if I want to try putting in two pairs of forward facing seats, or go with back to back type like you have in Miss Morgan. I'm kinda leaning towards the back to back style. I think the CG of the boat will stay closer to the same place with either 2 or 4 people on board if I use back to back seats. I still have a lot more to get done before I'll need to make my mind up on that though.

For the fuel tanks I'm thinking about using a method for building long skinny tanks I've seen used in the wings on experimental aircraft. I still need to get a few more of the finer details about that particular method of tank building before I'm ready to commit to going that route. I'll post all the details here when I have a plan worked out.

 

[gm280]

gomopar440, If I did't know better, I would think you are building a boat. :lol:

Oh yes mistakes do happen. I remember telling my sons that mistake make you smarter because you learn from them. They replied then that I should be a genius. I think you are moving along very nicely. Especially considering the cold you're work in.

I do like those multi-tools. And you are right they are very loud. But they do things no other tools can. The blades can get pricey but I now buy most all of my blades off EBay. I can buy four times the number for the same price for one in the stores most of the time. And a sharp blade cuts so quickly that I go through them pretty fast. I have even resharpened them with a cutting disk on my Dremel tool.

Keep posting, I am watch with interest.

 

[kcassells]

Harbor freight has alot of variety you usually don't find and the price is well below others.

 

[gomopar440]

My multi tool is a newer style green Ryobi one I picked up a couple of years ago. I got it mostly because they were having a clearance sale on all the different attachable heads for it at the time. I think it was .99 cents each for your choice, so I got around six different Rigid branded heads for it. I think I'm all set on blades for it for a while since I also got the big Rigid variety multi-pack blade case at the same time.

Before I started working on this boat, I had used the multi tool a couple of times around the house to fix little stuff here and there. This boat project is really giving it a workout so far. I'll be impressed if it lasts all the way through to the end of the project.

 

[gm280]

Harbor freight has alot of variety you usually don't find and the price is well below others.

Thanks kcassells, I'll have to check HF out for those blades.

gomo, What type "different heads" are you talking about? Are you talking about the different type blades? :noidea:

My Dremel Multi-Tool is variable speed and has worked for years now. It does get pretty hot when you use it for a long time, but it still keeps running. When I use mine the first time, I was trimming some door openings. And even the 2 X 4 parts I cut through like butter. That impressed me. I did use it a lot on my boat project and it cuts into such small corners that no other tools could possible get to. So it is a keeper in my shop.

 

[gomopar440]

I could only find three of the extra heads for it. Maybe that's all I got, I can't remember as I bought them a couple years ago. Anyway here's what I have. They're all set up so you can rotate them four ways, each setting being 90* apart.

All the heads lock onto the body with two large rectangular buttons on opposite sides of the tool body that poke out of the matching windows in the heads. From the left to right across the bottom the heads are: the standard multi-tool head (accepts any brand of blades), a 3/8" socket drive, a piston type hammer head and lastly a sawzall head with a quick release chuck. The blade kit above has a pretty good variety of different types of blades in it, so I have one for almost any job I might need.


The sawsall head takes the standard quick release blades. The sawsall head also has a separate lock slider on it (not visible in the pic) that pins the head in place to keep the vibration from knocking the standard side lock buttons loose. The drive sockets on these heads are a female splined piece that mates up to the male splines in the tool body.

 

[Patfromny]

I agree on the dremel tool getting hot. It works well though. Just cut sheetrock up two inches from the floor in a basement. Must have been 140 ft or so. You have to be careful where you grab the tool it gets so hot. Worth the 99 bucks though.

 

[gomopar440]

Mine gets pretty hot after a short while as well. Sounds like it's probably a common trait of most of these multi tools I guess. I haven't heard of any that run cool with any extended use. I had to move my hand away from the vent holes in the body a few times while cutting all those notches in the bulkheads.

 

[Patfromny]

And that is right where you want to hold it to make precise cuts too. It's the one thing about the tool that bothers me.

 

[gomopar440]

Wearing gloves kinda disperses the effect of the pinpoint heat blast from the vent. And after using it for a while out in the cold tent it doubles as a hand warmer. :lol:

 

[gomopar440]

My wife has been sick for the last couple of days, so I've been tending to her and taking care of the chickens instead of working on the boat. If she's feeling a little better this afternoon I'll try to slip out to the tent and get a little work done.

BTW: I was looking at my notes in my build log and noticed something. I didn't count that first month's payday (July) when I was calculating my expenses vs my time spent so far. That $500 was spread over a total of five paydays, not four. So that makes my average expanses to date average out to about $100 per month. Some months I was able to spend a little more, others I couldn't spare much at all (like when I had to fix the Jeep trans). If the weather and temps keep me out of the tent I'll spend that time looking for boat parts and setting back what money I can to be able to pick those parts up as I'm able to afford them. I'm well aware of that acronym "BOAT" means Bust Out Another Thousand, but I'm trying to see if I can get this project done for right around 1K or so. That's not including the value of stuff I can trade for parts, just what I have to pay out in cash. If I added in the value of the trade stuff into that amount, then I already blew past that budget goal a few months ago when I picked up the motor. At this point I'm into the project far enough that I'm going to finish it even if I don't make my budget goal. It just may take a little longer to finish if I have to go too far over budget.

And another OBTW: The entire outer skin will be given a single layer of fiberglass, mostly to help seal the surface and give me a smoother surface to prep for paint. The FG will be faired out and then painted with single stage tractor paint using the Roll and Tip method that Woodonglass recommends. It seems like the most economical way and also looks to be within my abilities. The Youtube vids I've watched so far make it look like a really simple process with very nice results if done properly. Might have to forego the Tiger Shark idea though as I don't think they have any olive drab tractor paint. At least I haven't found any yet.

 

[gm280]

My wife has been sick for the last couple of days, so I've been tending to her and taking care of the chickens instead of working on the boat. If she's feeling a little better this afternoon I'll try to slip out to the tent and get a little work done.

BTW: I was looking at my notes in my build log and noticed something. I didn't count that first month's payday (July) when I was calculating my expenses vs my time spent so far. That $500 was spread over a total of five paydays, not four. So that makes my average expanses to date average out to about $100 per month. Some months I was able to spend a little more, others I couldn't spare much at all (like when I had to fix the Jeep trans). If the weather and temps keep me out of the tent I'll spend that time looking for boat parts and setting back what money I can to be able to pick those parts up as I'm able to afford them. I'm well aware of that acronym "BOAT" means Bust Out Another Thousand, but I'm trying to see if I can get this project done for right around 1K or so. That's not including the value of stuff I can trade for parts, just what I have to pay out in cash. If I added in the value of the trade stuff into that amount, then I already blew past that budget goal a few months ago when I picked up the motor. At this point I'm into the project far enough that I'm going to finish it even if I don't make my budget goal. It just may take a little longer to finish if I have to go too far over budget.

And another OBTW: The entire outer skin will be given a single layer of fiberglass, mostly to help seal the surface and give me a smoother surface to prep for paint. The FG will be faired out and then painted with single stage tractor paint using the Roll and Tip method that Woodonglass recommends. It seems like the most economical way and also looks to be within my abilities. The Youtube vids I've watched so far make it look like a really simple process with very nice results if done properly. Might have to forego the Tiger Shark idea though as I don't think they have any olive drab tractor paint. At least I haven't found any yet.

Don't give up looking for the OD paint. You could also look at the big box store's brands (HD, Lowes, etc) as well. Since we know they didn't make their own paints, they probably contract through one of the big companies for it. So check the labels for similarities and/or compliance with Rustoleum. You never know.

Talking about wife being sick. my wifey is sick as well. I have to take her to the doctors this morning and he prescribed a Z-Pac something or other. And he told her that he is leaving an opening for her for next Monday because she could need more meds. And he also said that he has been fighting the same crud for two weeks himself. Not as bad as her's but still the crud all the same. So I too am splitting my time between everything and taking care of her. I guess it is that time of the year. :noidea:

 

[Patfromny]

Hope the wives get back on their feet soon Gomopar and Gm. On the paint, you can mix your own by combining a couple of colors or more to achieve your Tiger Shark color. maybe some yellow in the dark green to start with. buy a few quart mixing cups and keep notes on how much of each you combined so you can duplicate in the future. I think you can add something to a John Deere color to get close no? Maybe some black and white to grey out the green a bit?

Is anyone else having trouble with capitalization on this site? My keyboard won't capitolize when starting a new sentence. I have gone through my tablet and everything seems to be in order here. The problem started last week or maybe the week before. I have been running through the tab. trying to fix the problem with no luck. Hoping it's the site and not pilot error

 

[gomopar440]

Well well well... Lookie what I just found. http://www.majicpaints.com/products/farm/camouflage/ I guess the Tiger Shark tractor paint may be possible after all. That's great news since I was getting fairly confused reading all the different opinions about how to go about mixing different colors to get olive drab. With the Majic paint having it available as a standard color means any touch ups needed down the road wouldn't look all miss matched. Now I just need to see if I can get some from the local Murdoch's Ranch Supply store (our local version of Tractor Supply). Any idea how much I'll need to use on a 16.5-17' tunnel hull like mine? I'll probably do below the waterline with gloss Light Ford Grey. P-40 Tiger Sharks/Warhawks looked similar, using a pale grey on the bellys and bottoms of the wings, but it was flat like the topside. I like the idea of having a gloss paint below the waterline better than the flat. Flat paint just seems like it would want to suck up the water way more than gloss. I don't know if there's any truth to that hunch or not though, it's just a WAG.

And the wife said she was feeling a little better before she went to bed, so I may be able to get out to work on the boat tomorrow. I didn't get out to the tent at all today either.

 

[gm280]

gomopar440, if you do buy the paint for flat colors, make sure you get matching batch numbers, or either take all of it and mix it together and then put some back for touch ups down the road. I can understand your questioning flat paint over gloss paint being easier to wick up water. But I honestly don't think flat does that. I do see flat colors on Army equipment and if it soaked up water and had issues, I am sure they wouldn't have used it. But I have zero facts to back that up, only a gut feeling I am going on. JMHO

 

[Patfromny]

I don't know if it will shoot flat if you add the hardener. I think the hardener adds gloss. Flats and mattes are super hard to lay down evenly anyway. Go with gloss and you will be happy. the gloss will look crisper anyway. JMHO.

 

[gomopar440]

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all my fellow iBoaters out there. I hope everyone had a great day with lots of good fooood (yummy Urrrp!) and good company (the most important part).

I'll post an update on this thread tomorrow.

 

[Patfromny]

Hope you enjoyed your day Gomopar. I hope you have off tomorrow for some boat building.

 

[gomopar440]

Patfromny I'm retired. EVERY day is an off day. LOL

BTW, Have you ever heard about anyone trying to restore or replicate a Vietnam era PBR craft (28' Jet boat) like used by the Riverine (sp?) Patrol Forces? My dad was stationed on one for two tours back then. I recently saw a documentary about the boats they used and the guys they had working them (a 100% volunteer force). Got an idea kicking around in my head right now as a result. Not that I'd be able to do anything about it anytime soon, but I'm trying to see if there's any possibility of rebuilding or recreating one, minus the functional weapons. All the PBR boats the USA had over there were turned over to the South Vietnam Military after training their crews how to handle, operate and maintain them. So I don't know how I would find a real one. They were based off of a commercial USA made 28' fiberglass pleasure hull boat that was modified and built in a week and then sold to the military for testing. The rest is history as they say. If it was built that fast, the parts must have been readily available back then. The parent hull could be found easy enough I would think, but the jet drives might be a different case. Engines were diesels I believe, but not sure of the brand or make yet. Maybe use a modern commercial Cummins as an alternative? I doubt I'll be able to make it 100% accurate, so I'm going for more of a "feels right" boat in my head at the moment. Who knows, this might just be a pipe dream with no substance, but maybe, just maybe... My dad won't talk about his time in the Riverene Forces back then, other than to just about turn white as a ghost and to say "It was bad back then.", whenever I asked him about it. I was hoping this project might someday, get him to open up a bit about it and get some of that off his chest. I don't want to give him a case of PTSD remembering all the "bad" stuff that went on, just give him a part of his history back without all the violence and bloodshed attached to it.

 

[archbuilder]

That would be a cool project Gomo. Im thining it might be harder than you think to find a hull but I maybe wrong. Any idea who made the hull?