Corky's Build

[Corky]

And finally,I have a completed engine stand....And boy am I happy to be this far along !!! ... How's it look ????

[aerokirk]

Corky ... that REALY looks good! Nice work, your boat should run straight and true. I'll bet you can hardly wait to get started on your cage.

[Corky]

Thanks Ted ! I'm starting the cage tomorrow...I'm going to incorporate your cage quick-release design into my build...I thought that was a very good design and the most direct time saving feature for the front of the cage...And I have a few ideas in mind hopefully It'll work out the way I'm hoping...

[aerokirk]

Yeah, that's worked out very well for me, it really comes off quick when needed. Hopefully the conduit sizes will fit as nicely inside each other as my stainless did .... no rattling.

BTW: I finally just got tired of trying to find the right adjustment on the Circle-S tensioner so I removed the adjustment bolt and tyrapped the arm back out of contact with the belt. Seems to work good without it !

[Corky]

You know,my belt is very tight and was the hardest part of the assembly...I figured it might loosen up a bit after a few hours...We might need to make a modification for that idler if it's going to perform less than expected...

More progress today I assembled and pre-fit the razor X prop to get the cage measurements needed to get started on the rear hoop....I also got some measurements for the front hoop...
Then it was a stealth operation to find something round with the correct dimensions for the front hoop around the house...It ended up being a small table from the pool deck !!.. Not wanting to reveal what I was up to I just grabbed it and made off to the shop with it... Used it and put it back before it was missed out there...Funny enough it was exactly what I needed and it saved me from making a jig...

The rear hoop was way too big to have something in that diameter laying around so I ended up making the jig for that one {actually it'll be two eventually}.... The rear hoop was to cut using two pieces of EMT and joined together at the top,center of the radius...I marked the center line of the jig radius and simply lined the two up...It worked flawlessly and both sides are exactly the same length...

[Doozit20]

Looking real good there corky. How did you weld your two pieces of emt together? Like did you put something inside to pipe or just eld them as they are? Keep up the great work

[Corky]

I used a tubing cutter for the ends then butted them together...I've got the welder set up where I can run a nice,penetrating bead around the tubing and I'm confident it's stronger than the tubing itself...And here's some other reasons why I went this route...
A}I did'nt want to seam the hoop where it'll be readily seen{yeah,I'm strange about stuff like that}
B}The top,center cage tubing will be welded to the hoop on that weld
C}There's going to be an additional bracket welded on after the cage is completed for the transom light that will probably span the whole area...

So there will be plenty of reinforcement over that welded area...I was thinking about adding some reinforcement in the tubing but I did'nt want to run the risk of the tubing not bending in that area as it was formed I wanted a nice,concentric hoop...So ultimately I felt it just was'nt needed for this application...

[Papee]

I don't sleeve mine either and have never had one break. Even when I had the wreck and the prop splintered I had no breaks at the welds. I guess it all comes down to the confidence you have in your welding ability.

[krwsr]

Looks PRO Bro! Great Job! Your design work has turned out well!

[Corky]

Thanks Ken...

Here's some more progress pics...I bought some 5/8 bolts,nuts, and washers for the rear cage hoop...I cut the heads off the bolts and made them into tapered pins...Then I installed them into the 1/2 inch EMT...It's a tight fit and they needed a few taps with a hammer to get them in there...I then threaded the nut on the pin and left about 1/8 inch between the nut,pin, and the EMT for weld penetration...After welding them up I installed them on the hull...They're very rigid and a good base for the rear hoop..

[Corky]

Next was to install the front hoop...I welded 3/4 EMT upright stubs where the front hoop ends sit on the platform and installed the 1/2 inch EMT front hoop into the 3/4 stubs...

[Corky]

And here's a few pics of the cage main framing !!! Not quite completed but it gives a good idea of where the design is going...I went with the radiused cage look instead of the flat ladder type....The lowest radiused framing comes out close to the outer edge of the gunnel but is about an inch short of protruding over the gunnel railing...Pretty much exactly where I wanted to end up....

If you look closely at the front hoop you'll see two reinforcement uprights welded to the engine stand {behind the seat}..Those will get cut in half and two 5/8 locating pins will be installed for added cage strength but also retain the ability to unbolt the whole cage for maintenence if need be...

[Corky]

And now I have a question...I don't want to go the chicken wire route unless I'm going to wear a big chicken suit {which Im not} So....I'm going to get some 1/8th inch steel wire to weld on the cage...What's an acceptable spacing that won't end up being an obstruction for the incoming air ??? I was thinking 5 or 6 inch spacing {?} Is the secondary, smaller wire really needed most around here are'nt using it ???

[aerokirk]

Just for reference, I measured my 1/8" wire in a 4" pattern which worked out almost perfectly with the arc lengths of the main hoops. I then chose to use the two frame tubes which go from the main hoops to the front hoop at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions (when looking at the cage from the front) as ending points for the side wires which allowed them to remain at 4" squares up both sides. I then divided the remaining space from the 10 to 2 o'clock positions on the front hoop into equidistant values so that those wires would smoothly go from 4" on the main hoops to narrower on the front hoop. Everyone's strategy is different, that's just how I appoached it.

Lookin' good Corky!

Oh, almost forgot .... the prop doesn't care if you have secondary wire but you will if you loose your hat, jacket, etc while fast cruising ... don't think it won't happen ... it's happened several times to me already and my cage stopped it in time! Also tree branches

[Corky]

I took another look at your secondary wire pattern and you did a great job on it... In my case I have one less tube on each side and I'm hoping I did'nt mess myself up with that large of a span between them for the secondary wire...I've never had secondary wires on my old mini but it did'nt go fast enough to create any real moving air !! I'm just not comfortable without having it on this one...Added safety for me and the razor X prop...

[Papee]

I use the fence wire just because it is easier. The fence wire I use is 2x4", I agree that the prop does not care but there is a difference. As I said I put on the 2x4 wire and after towing it and noticing the drag. I decided to cut the 2" wires out making the openings 4x4" and noticed a significant difference when towing. I'm sure using the bigger wire causes more resistance but not sure how noticeable it would be. I just like the fence wire because it is easier to replace if damaged.

[Doozit20]

I too use the 2x4 wire and I just recently cut all the 2's out to make it 4x4 and you sure do feel the difference in your towing. Haveing said that I like the looks of a hand laid wire over the mesh. I think it just looks cleaner. If you want to get real math and techy with the air flow you can take a square foot of the 2x4 wire and measure the wire diameter and figure out how much air is being blocked and then do the same for the 1/8" wire in however your pattern will be in a square foot and see how much wind thats blocking. But to be honest I cant see it makeing a huge difference...surely it will make some difference but for the speeds these minis go idk if its really necessary. In truth id go with what you like. Just my 2 cents on the mater. Lol

[Corky]

I was looking over different air boat cages and alot are using the fence wiring...Some get crafty with how they angle it to try and look the best...I know it's going to be a pain but I'm probably going with welding the 1/8th inch wire on the cage...And I'm sure I'll be wondering why I went that route about half way through it...

Papee I remember reading something about you going welding the wire on a cage and did'nt like how flimsy it was...Was it the gauge or the length of the run that caused that ???

Here's some more pics I finished up all the main cage components and it's time to make some rudders and get the back of the cage fabbed up to support them... In the meantime I installed the operators seat...The seat is on tracks so I can slide it up if need be...I also machined the front seat quick release and the locking swivel so now they lock up nice and tight..

[Papee]

It was galvanized fence wire that I used. It was thick stuff but it was too flexible.

[kent]

Corky,
2" x 4" x 12 gauge galvanized fence wire on my guard. No issues with it flexing on the 13 "candycanes"...
kent