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[red181]

just realised I have repeated myself, sorry!

I did use the cloth, but cant remember what weight, I am sure its pictured in the build log. I used zpoxy resin, was a bit cheaper, but not much, got to work pretty fast doing it, another pair of hands will be invaluable, you need to enlist some help as the cloth can drag easily when you are spreading the resin.

When done, and rubbed down, which is soooo boring, then put the spray rails on. I didn't do the inside like Jan did, I was thinking the wood needed to breathe,. just used ronseal satin varnish for appearance sake. I made the spray rails from plastic strip, gently heated so it was easier to shape.

Stay away from that damned platicote rattle can paint, I have had so many problems with it over various builds, its just as cheap to go to a specialist and get it mixed, then you have the same brand undercoat, primer, top coats and lacquer

[Steven.T]

Popped into the local supermarket today and picked the fairy power spray up.Best bit of advice I think I've ever been given! I left it a couple of hours whilst I went to my Grandparents for tea, came back and it practically peeled off! Needs another crack at it yet, I think the previous guy painted over the old paint where he hadn't repaired it, so there's a lot of layers!


I'll get the resin and cloth ordered this week, might even get it put on at the weekend if I get time!


Also, whilst I was at the engineering show at Harrogate yesterday, I picked up some 0.4mm brass strip. The intention is to put this down the front edge of the bow, as at the local lake the water is level with the concrete edge, so when the boat comes in, the bow catches the waters edge, and damages the wood. Idea is the brass will take the bulk of any damage and save the wood underneath.


More news when I get the rest of this paint off, hopefully it will be fairly intact underneath!
Cheers,
Steven

[Steven.T]

Well the vast majority of the paint is off, only a couple tiny fleks left on. I swear I've been taking the original paint off...



There was an awful lot of filler on the hull, I don't really know what for, but I've scraped most of it off, and there was no obvious reasons for it. There was a lot around the keel, I think he had tried to build it up and smooth it out, I've scraped most of that off now aswell...
Whilst scraping the paint off, I noticed the transom panel was looking a little loose aswell. Also, where I have been using the power spray, the red paint has seeped through inside the hull, confirming it was definitely leaking! I'm glad I made the decision to strip it all back! I'm going to dribble some wood glue in the gaps, just a bit of peace of mind more than anything!


I've taken the old propshaft out aswell, I suspect it was the original one from the old I.C engines, it wasn't exactly straight either!


Just ordered the glass cloth and epoxy, so I should start making a bit of progress again shortly. One question, do I need to put some epoxy onto the wood, then apply the cloth, then epoxy again over the top?
It was a bit boring at the lake today with just my slow little frigate to play with
 


Cheers,
Steven

[red181]

yeah put epoxy on with some sort of spatula (after dry run with cloth) then cloth over it, then epoxy over cloth. Don't use loads, and keep working it before it starts to cure, get the cloth smoothed out flat, no bubblers or lumps etc.. Don't worry about overhanging bits, when dry, its brittle, just file off, no need to cut it, this way it falls off real easy.

Some say First coat before cloth isn't necessary, as the epoxy soaks through the cloth anyway, so its up to you really. Have a practise run on some scrap wood, see how it goes  

[Steven.T]

Well, the cloth and epoxy is on and curing, went on quite well actually! Should be able to give it a light sanding later this week, and hopefully I can at least start using it again, and finish it off when I can!
Cheers,
Steven

[Steven.T]

Been slow at doing this again! The epoxy didn't go on as evenly as I thought it looked, so it's taking quite a bit of sanding to get rid of some of the little lumps and ridges!

Next question, whats best to stick the spray rails on with to the epoxy? Just more epoxy?


Cheers,
Steven

[chas]

Hi Steven, I've just been re reading your thread, very interesting it is too. To answer your question I would use epoxy as you suggest. Going back to the torque roll problem, you could try making a trim strip. This is just a triangle of wood or plastic about 25 mm long. You stick it about two thirds of the way down the hull on the lower side. This gives a bit of lift when running and levels the boat. Don't put it near the stern, it will muck up the handling. Experiment on the water by fastening one on with double sided tape until you get it right then glue and paint it properly. I'm guessing you will only need a mm or two at the trailing edge. Good luck
Charlie.

[red181]

I used plastic square strip for the spray rails, heated up a bit and it bends easier than wood. Small pins to hold in place, and superglue to locate them. Once secured, remove the pins, and a bit of superglue to fill the pin holes, then no need to do more rubbing down if you use epoxy. I suppose you could do wood the same way, but it will be harder to bend at the front. Don't lose the square profile if cleaning them up by rubbing down, the square profile helps with handling and stop the boats rolling on turns. This narrow shallow hull needs all the help it can get!

[Steven.T]

Cheers guys, great help as usual 


As I've been feeling a bit under the weather the past couple of days, rather than doing the spray rails or rubbing down the hull more I decided to make a start painting the little detail bits and making the mast, which was easier than I thought...





Cheers,
Steven

[Steven.T]

Well, with the epoxy all rubbed down, and the spray rails finally added, I decided before I do any more work on the boat I should put all the gear back in and take it to the lake.


It ran absolutely great, spray rails working overtime, the speed seemed a little faster (probably due to only having bare essentials on board).
Then all of a sudden it stopped. Typical. But anyway it drifted back in, I found the motor torque had dislodged the motor mount, lifted the motor and pulled the coupling apart. A quick tighten up of the mount screws and re-fix the coupler and off it went again.
The battery didn't seem to last long, but it was going full pelt most of the time.
The motor end of the prop tube is getting very warm, Whilst watching it and revving the motor it was obvious the tube was vibrating, as there is nothing securing it at the end, I think a bit of epoxy to hold it still should sort this, followed by a touch more grease in the shaft.
There does seem to be some water finding it's way in still, I think it's coming up around the rudder tube somehow, shouldn't be much of an issue to sort out!


Some quick photos to prove it got wet!








Cheers,
Steven 

[Steven.T]

Not had an awful lot of progress on this recently.
I noticed at the lake the other week there was a bit of water in the rear compartment. At first I thought it could just be spray coming in from over the sides, but whilst running the boat i noticed there wasn't really any spray...
So, With the hull being epoxied and sealed, I thought the only options could be the rudder tube or propshaft. Whilst holding the boat in the water and increasing the throttle, I could see water dripping out the top of the rudder post. A bit of silicone tube and some more grease seemed to stop this.
Until at the lake today, there seemed to be more water then ever. More than was coming up the rudder post before. Turns out I think it's leaking from along the keel line on the outside, where the epoxy has ran away before it dried and the cloth has eventually give way, letting water up to the wood again, letting the water in. Sealed it off with some more epoxy this afternoon so will see how it goes!
Should be painting it soon aswell, please I found this before hand though!
Cheers,
Steven

[Steven.T]

Well, it's been a while since an update! After a bit more leaking, I think I have it solved. Just applied some more epoxy to the join areas on the hull last weekend, gave it a bathtub trial and it stayed bone dry, off to the lake this weekend to make sure it is definitely sealed! I think when rubbing the epoxy down I have taken too much off in places. Lesson learnt for next time!

[ballastanksian]

Good luck Stephen! Having learnt from friends in the Model Engineering fraternity, I have often wondered wether to buy a 'project' to complete but am aware, as previously mentioned, that you often buy someone else's problems to solve. That said, your electronics have not been damaged by water, the basic hull has been built and you get the fun of personalising the model, so it isn't all gloom.

It is sad that some things on ebay that first look like gems end up being Dogs. The zoom app on the site is a god send to see some problems before bidding!

Your mast looks good by the way. I look forward to making bits like this in the coming months.

[Steven.T]

Cheers! To be honest this hasn't put me off buying fairly new second hand models as such, I think part of this ones problems is the age of it! Got a few coats of primer on now, soon be time for the top coats!
Steven

[ballastanksian]

Good show! Nearly there.