Scale Hydroplane
 

Has anyone here built a 1/8 scale hydryo from a wood kit?

Oh nice!

The one I am contemplating is 43” long RC model.

Which one? Are you going to build it for display or are you going to put a motor in it and run it as an RC boat?

This is an old Dumas 1/8th kit, part of me wants to run it but no interest in racing.

Always wanted to build one and it seems like a fun project. I have read the factory wood might not be of good quality and recutting the frame pieces out of aircraft ply is the way to go. Though that advice seems to be geared more towards racing.

I’m not familiar with that kit. Years ago I bought a 1/8 scale Arno Ferrari hydroplane kit with the intention of building it as a display model. I bought a resin kit for the engine and assorted upgrades and the more I looked at it, the less I liked it. I could build it, it would look fine and nobody would know the difference. However, the resin engine kit wasn’t very accurate and the structure of the boat wasn’t correct, either. I’ll probably end up using it as a guide for the dimensions and then scratch build the thing.

Does recut the frame pieces mean you are using the original as a pattern and enable you to keep the original undamaged? If that is the case, it seems to me that would sort of be have your cake and eat it too sort of a deal. Keep your old kit, have a boat that is probably made of superior materials. Would you be able to use the kit to make a new one, should the one you build become damaged?

Thats exactly right, use the original parts as a template. Then I assume using a scroll saw you would cut new frame parts.

I'm currently building the Dumas "Miss Unlimited" 1/8 scale kit. It was originally released in the 1960's as a glow powered, tethered set-up. I'm using brushless electric and lithium batteries. The running gear I'm using is essentially the stuff that comes with the Pro Boat U-19 30" long ready to run hydro from Horizon Hobbies.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/boats/pro-boat-brand/electric-boats/ul-19-30-inch-hydroplane-rtr-prb08028

I'm building for fun, not to race. I'm setting it up to run counter clockwise, like the real boats, where most model racing is clockwise as a function of the direction the motor turns. Besides, this kit is too heavy and is otherwise not a competitive design. The guys who are "seriously" racing their toy boats have much more advanced designs, and virtually every boat is fiberglass and carbon fiber.

There is a very active local club, known as Classic Thunder, who race on a number of lakes in the Puget Sound area. I went and watched a few of their races in Marysville last year. They run several classes, from "vintage" to right up to date.

Classic Thunder 1/10th Scale Electric Hydroplane Racing

These guys are probably far more serious than you want to get about all of this, but it still pays to go to their races and see what they do. They always have boats for sale, too, if you want to jump right in. Me, I wanted to build something.

The Dumas kit is everything you have heard it is. It sucks. Poor quality wood, imprecise die cutting of that wood, bad instructions, and on and on. It is a challenge, definitely, but only because it is such a bad kit. But, to be fair, it is a product of the '60's, and has not been updated. I've grown used to modern CAD designed kits with laser cut wood where everything fits. I'm spoiled. This is not that, not by a long shot. I suppose just using their parts as templates and cutting parts from better wood might help, but not much. There is still an awful lot of hand fitting and room for "interpretation" in making it all "fit", more or less.

Thank you for all of that info! I had not seen any of the newer kits. Found a place called ML Boatworks that certainly looks interesting. Better materials and laser cut.

https://mlboatworksrc.com/shop/ols/products/1-slash-8th-scale-newton-135-slash-mhr-8410-kit

I am definitely having that urge to build something. Car is done, maintenance on my daily is done and yard work is in a good spot. Hard to see my work bench empty!

I wish I had gone to a few Classic Thunder events, and had heard of ML Boatworks, before I got started on my old Dumas Miss Unlimited. The Classic Thunder guys all speak very highly of ML Boatworks. Their kits are specific to actual APBA U-numbered boats, with subtle (and legal) modifications to make them run better as model boats. I've almost reached the point of saying "screw it" with my Dumas on a number of occasions, and just ordering one of theirs. Even though my Dumas is complete minus the decks and cowl, I bet I could still finish an ML kit faster from here. The Dumas has proven to be a lot of work, and often not a lot of fun work. Very frustrating at times, with the all around poor fit and quality of everything.

Speaking of "scale" hydroplanes, there was an episode of Fantomworks where they built a full scale copy of the Ferrari hydro. Fortunately for them, they called in a professional boat builder who pointed out some potentially fatal flaws in the scale model they were going to copy. Now I'm waiting for someone to copy the Ferrari racing airplane!

Can't get those ML Boatworks boats out of my mind! In researching though it seems things like the hardware required to finish is pretty expensive. The other thing I wonder about is painting. I have a hard time believing the boats I am seeing are painted at home.

Have you looked into that aspect of the process?

Just after college we played with some 10ft hydroplanes with 35hp outboard motors. They were crazy fast. You had to crouch on your knees and if you slowed down too fast it would swamp the draft board and sink.

Yes, the hardware is terribly expensive. In retrospect, I think I should have just bought that Pro Boat U-19 and stripped it for its hardware. That's what I'm using anyway, but piece-mealing it made it vastly more expensive. There are links on that Classic Thunder website to some hardware suppliers that I wish I had seen before I started. Even then, though, it's all pretty damn confusing. I took a lot of notes when talking to those guys last year regarding their recommendations. I'll see if I can still find them. It's not like there is a complete hardware "kit" with all of the basics to get you going. There should be, but there isn't.

These guys are indeed painting these boats at home, mostly with just hobby grade air brushes. Some even use rattle cans. The details are all made up from decal kits, including all of the striping, lettering, numbering, etc. They just clear coat over all of that to seal it all down. Again, I believe there is a link on the Classic Thunder site for the decal guy they all like to use.

Whaddaya waiting for? Just order an ML Boatworks kit. You won't regret it, at least from what these guys told me. I believe it takes the guy a while to make a kit - he doesn't keep them in stock.

What do you think the reality of building one actually is? I have built quite a few RC cars back in the day and raced them. I built my 911 and have a nice collection of tools, though as far as woodworking tools I am fairly limited.

The ML site says to call if you are a beginner. Hard to tell if they were speaking to me on that or not. I like to think I have above average mechanical skills and determination. Coupled with a mental problem that won't let me have a project sit unfinished.

You'll be fine, Ayles. These are far less complicated than R/C cars. My son and I raced every variety of those you can name, at least on-road. 1/12th pan cars and 1/10th touring cars on carpet, 1/10th gas and 1/10th F1 electric outside on asphalt, spec Tamiya Mini Cooper, and finally 1/8th gas with the old SARCAR club in Renton. We built (and rebuilt) every car we raced from a kit. A quality hydro kit will be a piece of cake in comparison.

You will need a few things that you didn't need for the cars. First and foremost is a large, flat work surface that you don't have to disturb. In other words, once you start, you will want to leave the hull undisturbed until it nears completion. A trick I learned in building R/C airplanes was to use a hollow door, or part of a hollow door depending on the size of the kit. This allows you to put it on a work table, and take it off of that work table when you need it for something else. Oh, and plywood isn't flat enough for this...

The only model "wood working" tools you should need are x-acto knives and saws, plus a good straightedge and square. This is more like framing a house or building a deck or something - it's not "mechanical" assembly until the hardware goes in. Use a good medium CA glue, and maybe some ten minute epoxy where specified. Put wax paper over the plans if you are building over them. A box full of push pins and some tape will hold things in place for glueing when necessary.

Modern CAD designed and laser cut kits are what we called "determinate assembly" at my old job. In other words, the parts fit so well that they self-determine where they go, with no play or slop. You may have to establish a centerline and start by squaring up the beginnings of the basic structure, hence the straightedge and square. Once that's established, though, if a part fits at all that's just where it goes, with no trimming or adjustment required. Oh, and the old Dumas kit is absolutely not like that... Let's call it a "craftsman's kit", in an effort to remain polite...

So, yeah, you have nothing to be afraid of. Dive in. You'll have fun. And if you well and truly get stuck, I'll be more than happy to help.

Pictures please, I never finished my Atlas Van Lines kit back in the day. Making me think about digging up my hydro buttons.

That looks pretty good!!

Been a while! This idea has haunted me for a year and last week a partially built ML Boatworks kit came up for sale locally with a ton of hardware and electronics.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1623037587.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1623037587.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1623037587.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1623037587.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1623037587.jpg