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Thread: Deck Over Mini Build

  1. #1

    Deck Over Mini Build

    Hello here is my mini so far.
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  2. #2

    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    Here is the engine nearly ready.
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  3. #3
    Super Moderator Corky's Avatar
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    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    Very nice !!! Great job on the engine

    Aluminum .120 14' X 76" hull
    Teledyne 4a084-4 engine
    Circle S 1.69:1 reduction
    67" Whirlwind "Razor X" prop



  4. #4

    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    Thanks Corky! And thank you to the community here, most of the inspiration and information for this build came from you guys.

    Some details on the boat are, its a modified lakebuggy 4x8 hull design and is made from polystyrene foam insulation boards encapsulated completely in epoxy and fiberglass.
    So it should be unsinkable-ish,...Though kinda like the titanic a big enough iceburg or as some of you fellas call them czech hedgehog would probably take it out.
    But one of the reasons this will work out for me is the stretch of river I want to run with this is mostly sandy bottom or clay and fairly to extremely shallow.
    Some of the benefits to this surf board like construction have been that the hull turned out pretty darn light at 53 pounds.
    With the engine and rigging as pictured in the float test picture above total weight so far is 164 pounds. Still got to add a small battery and my 3 gallon fuel tank to that. As well as a small side console for start switch and tach, and maybe a few switches. I was thinking of using an old ammo can for the console may even be able to fit the battery in there. Also there is still the hub and propeller. The hub I just received from the nice people over at Arrowprop.
    And as for the propeller I decided to go with a 42x24 direct drive currently being made by Mr. Robin Blakenship from RnD Props. Both of those folks have been a real pleasure to deal with.
    Still work to do before she is up and running but it's been a lot of fun so far and the best is yet to come.
    Last edited by WillnSC; 11-28-2017 at 10:33 PM.

  5. #5
    Super Moderator Corky's Avatar
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    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    I used a harbor freight plastic ammo box for my side console on the small mini..It's got a watertight sealing ring for the lid...I drilled a hole in the bottom and ran the wiring through it...Then sealed it up with some silicone caulk...It worked well enough to keep the water out of the box when the boat flipped over after a bad storm here a few weeks ago........I've been through that drill before...Drain the engine oil,add fresh, then fire it up to dry it out...The ammo box was completely under water and didn't leak a drop !!!
    That's pretty amazing the hull only weighs 53lbs...Keep the battery as small as possible... I have a small dry cell battery for my generator and it spins the engine over nicely I bet you could easily use one of those it would fit right in the box just as you wish....
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    Last edited by Corky; 11-21-2017 at 12:03 AM.

    Aluminum .120 14' X 76" hull
    Teledyne 4a084-4 engine
    Circle S 1.69:1 reduction
    67" Whirlwind "Razor X" prop



  6. #6

    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    Thanks for the pic of your console, that's exactly the sort of thing i had in mind.
    And as for the hull, the weight really is amazing. I read about the foam board concept somewhere in this forum.
    It was kind of an idea someone just pitched out there and I actually couldn't find an example of a air boat hull made with the foam board, though there surely must be some out there.
    But I found a product called feather-raft where they use the same core foam materials although with a different top coating and there was a ton of information on there hull, lots of youtube videos and a website with load capacity and limited performance data(theirs can be powered via trolling motor).
    Here is a pic of one.
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    Last edited by WillnSC; 11-28-2017 at 10:38 PM.

  7. #7

    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    Here are a few earlier build photos.
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  8. #8
    Super Moderator Corky's Avatar
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    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    I made up a bigger sized hot-wire foam cutter for building my foam core rudders and even with the wire pulled tight I still got some deflection in the wide cuts...How did you shape the hull ??? If I were to attempt a project like that I might give my board sander a shot at the duty...

    Aluminum .120 14' X 76" hull
    Teledyne 4a084-4 engine
    Circle S 1.69:1 reduction
    67" Whirlwind "Razor X" prop



  9. #9

    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    I had the same experience on my rudder core and a 55" wire bow I built. Very hard to keep it from deflecting. It took about 3 tries before I had one I thought was good enough to keep and even then I accepted the fact that it would just be off. After the second failed attempt I over-sized my airfoil template by a 1/2 inch on all sides then sanded back to the original templates. One of the most fiddly parts of the build so far.
    As for cutting the foam my real go to tool was the trusty old hand saw. I would clamp some 1x2 pine top and bottom for guides and it goes through the foam with very little effort. Also the trim router and electric hand planner worked really well as did the board sander and air file. To a lesser extent the DA sander. The DA has a tendency to dig a little too fast and uneven things out a bit. I would recommend either staying away from it entirely or using above 200g sandpaper and move fast. This being my first ever experience building using foam and fiberglass I wanted to keep the hull lines simple. Now that I have worked with these materials I have found them to be quite forgiving next time I would probably try some more advanced shaping.
    Maybe something along these lines.
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  10. #10
    Super Moderator Corky's Avatar
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    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    Yeah, that's one nice step hull there...That's not the builders first rodeo...And would be much easier to duplicate using foam...

    Aluminum .120 14' X 76" hull
    Teledyne 4a084-4 engine
    Circle S 1.69:1 reduction
    67" Whirlwind "Razor X" prop



  11. #11

    Re: Deck Over Mini Build

    Got a little bit more done, and got to see her running with a prop for the first time.
    Here is a link to the video.
    https://youtu.be/C7s5pRcy2UU

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