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

[archbuilder]

Gomopar, you probally said, but I can't remember, are you using epoxy or polyester resin? Sorry about the fusing, My mom has hers fused from her hip up to her shoulders, really sucks.

 

[gomopar440]

Arch:
I checked which type of epoxy it is but haven't been able to find an answer yet. It was the only option available to me though my local Ace since they stopped carrying the 1 pint, two bottle kits of 5 minute Devcon. I can't find the same container size for the PC-11 epoxy I got on Ace's website, but I found a link to it elsewhere. I'm still not finding any mention of what type it is there, whether it's epoxy or poly. On the PC Epoxy website it does say that it spreads easier at 80*F. Here's the manufacturers info page on the PC-11 stuff.
http://www.pcepoxy.com/our-products/...xies/pc-11.php
One thing I just read there that I didn't know before is that this stuff is formulated to be able to be applied under water, on completely submersed parts. That alone could make it worth keeping some in the stowed emergency tool kit on board the boat for one of those unexpected "Oh-$#!t" moments while underway. :brick:

FWIW, my back is now completely fused from S1 to L2. Before my last surgery the doc told me to expect to need to have another back surgery about every 10 years or so. I kind of expected that since I have a degenerative condition. That's one of the main reasons for wanting to do this build now. It's been on my bucket list for a LONG time and it won't get any easier if I put it off. It might take me a while, but I know if I keep at it I'll get it finished and be able to use and enjoy something I built from the ground up with my own hands.

kcassels:
As far as making my own PB, the only materials I have right now is the Devcon 5-min and PC-11 epoxies. I don't have any of the other required materials to make it yet. The PC-11 is just as thick as peanut butter, so it's almost like PB already. Since this is a wood boat build I won't be needing near as much of those materials as a FG boat would. As a result, I'm waiting until I get to the point where I actually need it before I order any. I don't want to buy that kind of stuff too early and then have it sitting around past it's shelf life before I even get a chance to break it out.

gm280:
I've built quite a few RC airplanes and cars, as well as a few heilos and boats. It's an expensive hobby, but aren't they all. I gave up on those a while back and decided to stick with the full scale stuff instead. That way I can actually get out and enjoy the fruits of my labors first hand, rather than feeling like just a spectator with a controller in my hands. It's more fun this way IMHO.

Well guys, I'm off to the barn to see how the scarf joints turned out. If they're good to go, I'll go ahead and start laying out the sponson inner side wall profile on them and try to get them both cut out today.

 

[gm280]

If you are using equal parts of Part A and Part B to mix up the sticky stuff you're using, it is Epoxy. Polyester resin takes a mere few drops to kick it off. And if you are using epoxy now, I think you will have to stick with it for the entire build too. I don't think you can mix and mach them. I could be wrong. but it would be the first time in the last few minutes for me. JMHO :laugh:

 

[gomopar440]

I had a long reply typed out but when I tried to get the pic links from Photobucket, PB locked up my browser (again...) and I lost all of what I had wrote. I had to CTRL-ALT-DEL and use Task Manager to force it to shut Chrome down so I could reopen it and get back in here. Of course everything I wrote was now gone. If anyone knows of an alternative pic hosting site to PB, that doesn't screw with your browser on a regular basis, I'm all ears. For now I'm just going to go back to opening just PB only in IE, and doing everything else in Chrome. That way when (not if) PB locks up again, I won't loose whatever I'm typing in any other tabs.

GM:
Yes, both the Devcon and the PC-11 are both 1 to 1 A/B type adhesives, so they are both most likely epoxy. The only other adhesive I've used so far is Titebond III.

The scarf joints both looked fine. I even put one of the long pieces through an accidental drop test, which it passed with flying colors. I laid them out on the sawhorses in my tent and gathered the tools I would need. First I had to convert most of the dimensions using the scaling multiplication factor (orig. x 1.14 = new) to get the sizes bumped up for the longer length hull I'm making. Speaking of length, I thought I was only going to have about 1/2" to spare with the two pieces of ply. However, I forgot to account for the 3" I lost due to the scarf joints. Oops. I just cut the forward edge back to about 1' in front of bulkhead #1 and put a butt block joint to get the length that I needed. I don't have enough 1/4" AC ply scraps left that are big enough to do the other side yet, so it will have to wait until I can get another piece.

With the ply laid out and the dimensions calculated I started lofting the inner sponson side profile. I used the tallest measurements from above and below the reference line to figure out where to lay the reference line on the ply. Then I located and drew each of the bulkhead station lines. Next I marked all of the points on those station lines, above and below the reference line. From there I used a long thin scrap piece leftover from making the battens to lay out the curves. Rather than making a bunch of temporary mini cleats to hold the thin batten, I spotted something in my barn that looked like it would work just as well, if not better. I had found a container full of 3/4" plastic NM Staples. They're the kind with a small brad nail in each end to hold them down. I put one inside the edge of each of the points for the curves and some on the outside where needed. Here's a pic of the things I'm talking about (I hope). The pic also shows how they were used. I didn't hammer the nails all the way in, just far enough to hold the clamp fast while I bent the batten around them. That way they are much easier to remove when I'm done.

And here's a pic of the lofted sponson side.

In the second pic you can also see my little shop helper, "Little Kitty". My wife named him, and he answers to it, so I just run with it. He follows me around like a dog and doesn't like to let me out of his sight. He was a tiny little stray kitten who let himself in our cat door during late winter 2013, and he hid out in my room for a while before I ever realized he was there. When I first spotted him hiding under my bed from my wife's cat (Big Kitty), I called to him and he just ran to me and jumped into my arms. I guess I've been his human ever since.

 

[gm280]

gomaopar440, those "MN Staples" are actually wire clamps to hold electrical wire when wiring different circuits in a house. But whatever it takes is what you use. JMHO

 

[gomopar440]

Yea, that's what I originally got them for. I just had a bunch left over so I decided to put them to good use. I didn't hammer the nails all the way in on them, so I can easily pull them after I'm done and toss 'em right back in the container.

 

[gm280]

Yea, that's what I originally got them for. I just had a bunch left over so I decided to put them to good use. I didn't hammer the nails all the way in on them, so I can easily pull them after I'm done and toss 'em right back in the container.

I actually HAD a lot of them laying in one of my part divider drawers. But when I went to use them, most of them broke becaue the plastic was old. So I just got rid of them. I honestly didn't know they would get brittle with age. I didn't think that would be a good thing to use in the walls if they get brittle with age. JMHO

 

[archbuilder]

Looks like that worked out pretty good for your lofting!

 

[gomopar440]

My back is killing me today after staying hunkered over that ply for about four hours straight yesterday. I'm going to surf the iBoats forum for a little longer to try to find those OB stand plans here that I keep hearing about.

EDIT: Found it. http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...ing-an-o-b-motor-stand-instructional?t=266570

 

[Patfromny]

You will love that thing. One piece of advice, buy four swivel castors. I only bought 2 to save like 3 bucks and it is a pain to maneuver.

 

[gomopar440]

I'm going to make it without wheels for now. I don't have any blacktop or concrete around any of my work areas so wheels usually don't do me any good here. Unless they have a HUGE diameter so they can roll on dirt without sinking. I'll most likely build it to use the bottom boards as skids. Rounding off the bottom ends upwards and adding eye bolts will let me pull it around with the four wheeler. We build most of our small chicken coops like that so we can move them around. It actually works better than the coops we tried putting wheels on. The way we rig up the tow straps prevents the coops from tipping over when being towed. I'll mod this stand (longer and wider) so it will be stable while towing it with the OB on it. Another reason for wanting to make it wider is so I can fit a shortened 55gal drum between the sides. That way I can use it as a test stand without needing to use muffs.

 

[gomopar440]

I just measured a standard steel 55 gal drum I have. The diameter is 24" and the height is 34". I'll want to measure from the bottom of the skeg to the top of the water intake on my motor to see what minimum height the barrel needs to be. I'll be sure to add at least 6" or more so the prop wash doesn't pull the water away from the intake when it's running in gear. I also have a solid barrel lid I can trim to a close fit around the leg of the motor . That should help keep the water inside the barrel as well. I think I have enough scrap 2x4's around to put one of these together fairly quickly.

 

[gm280]

Sounds interesting. Make sure you post your design and build. Remember the heavy part is the engine head. So it can get top heavy trying to move it. I built mine with wheels as well and it allows me to easily move it around in the shop. JMHO

 

[Patfromny]

Sounds like a plan. I would probably leave the engine and stand in a building somewhere out of the way. That way you could also work on it, if need be, while it is too cold outside. I believe you said you have some wood stoves in your barns that heat them. No reason to leave the engine in that small tent with the boat. You will probably need all the space you can get to build the boat. My engine was pushed into a corner of my garage out of the way and only pulled out when I needed to work on it. That worked out very well for me except for the castor screw up. Because it was pushed into this small area out of the way, it was tough putting it back there and took several attempts to do so. I have purchased a newer, heavier engine this year so I will be buying two more swivels to make life easier. Lesson learned.

 

[kcassells]

My area was an unleval back yard. So I built a deck with the base made out of pallets. Works great. Added trailer jacks also.

 

[gomopar440]

Thanks for the loads of good ideas here guys. I'll be sure to review them all again before I start putting the saw to the wood.

My back is still killing me right now so I decided to work on building the DVA today instead of the OB stand. Unfortunately I didn't pay close enough attention and hooked it up backwards when I went to test it out. It let all the magic smoke out of the capacitor after just a couple of seconds hooked up to a 115v wall outlet. Oops.

I'm going to modify it a bit this next time so I won't be able to hook it up backwards ever again. The only problem is I now need another capacitor before I can make another DVA. I had ordered a 400v cap by mistake last time, so I'll get at least a 500v or higher one when I replace it. The diode is probably still fine, but they're cheap, so I'll pick up another one anyway.

 

[gm280]

Thanks for the loads of good ideas here guys. I'll be sure to review them all again before I start putting the saw to the wood.

My back is still killing me right now so I decided to work on building the DVA today instead of the OB stand. Unfortunately I didn't pay close enough attention and hooked it up backwards when I went to test it out. It let all the magic smoke out of the capacitor after just a couple of seconds hooked up to a 115v wall outlet. Oops.

I'm going to modify it a bit this next time so I won't be able to hook it up backwards ever again. The only problem is I now need another capacitor before I can make another DVA. I had ordered a 400v cap by mistake last time, so I'll get at least a 500v or higher one when I replace it. The diode is probably still fine, but they're cheap, so I'll pick up another one anyway.

Lesson learned here, Always buy two or more electronic parts when buying them, 'cause you never know when that magic smoke will escape out of one of them. I buy every part in large lots. Yes I have a very extensive electronic parts supply. But I can easily get to any of them when building a test circuit or design circuit. And there is no waiting for parts to come in. JMHO!

 

[gomopar440]

I thought about spares while I was ordering, but before I paid for the order. Whatever change I made to the order, even just changing the quantity, about doubled the shipping costs, which were already higher than they stated on any of the parts pages. I had to go back and read the fine print to see how they were calculating shipping. Needless to say I'm going to order from somewhere else next time.

OBTW: Mother nature started cursing at me last night. You know that four letter dirty word that starts with "S". Snow. We got about 2" last night and it still looks like there's more to come yet. Good day to find something to do inside. I'll try to get out to the tent and see if I can finish getting that first sponson side finished in a little while.

 

[gm280]

I thought about spares while I was ordering, but before I paid for the order. Whatever change I made to the order, even just changing the quantity, about doubled the shipping costs, which were already higher than they stated on any of the parts pages. I had to go back and read the fine print to see how they were calculating shipping. Needless to say I'm going to order from somewhere else next time.

OBTW: Mother nature started cursing at me last night. You know that four letter dirty word that starts with "S". Snow. We got about 2" last night and it still looks like there's more to come yet. Good day to find something to do inside. I'll try to get out to the tent and see if I can finish getting that first sponson side finished in a little while.

gomaopar440, I don't know where you ordered from, but I like places like Jameco, Part Express, Goldmine Electronics, All Electronics, Futurlec, and if I am ordering a lot of parts, Digikey, Mouser, or Allied Electronic. I even or parts on EBay lots of time. But I have so many electronic parts now, that I rarely need to order anything anymore. Unless I need some specific part, I have most everything here.

As for "Snow". I see you like in Montana. I was wondering because again today we are in the mid 80's. So work safely when you go outside and make sure you heat with quality heaters. :thumb:

I bet the hunting is magnificent there where you live though.

 

[gomopar440]

I believe I got the components from Amazon, but the box they arrived in said Digikey on it. Maybe I'll see if I can get a better deal on shipping going direct through Digikey. If not, I'll keep looking for a better deal.

I actually like the snow during Winter. However, this is still Autumn. This snow just came a bit earlier than expected and I don't have any of the boats covered yet. I was hoping to have them all hauled off to the dump before the snow hit. We only got 1-2" and most of it has already melted away so there wasn't any real big problem with it. I just had to shift some stuff around on the priority list is all. The four wheeler battery just died so I had to run to town to get a new one. Once that's charged up and installed I need to put the snow plow on the front of the four wheeler. After all that is taken care of, then I'll be able to get back to work on the boat stuff.