My Hydroplane was Lonely so

GaryC83 said:

Well... I'm on the tentative list for middle of June in MI. They'll notify me once official registration opens, but I've been going back and forth with the folks that run it, so it's just a matter of doing their online form once they have it set. 

 

Thanks again, for all the info and inspiration. Greatly appreciate it. 

Gary, 

I'm excited for you. As I mentioned in my other thread it's a totally unique driving experience so far as I can tell and they are just a pile of fun. 

Still hope to find some time to finish stripping this one this week, but time is hard to find. 

Not that you need another one.

In reply to hobiercr :

The problem with a capsul boat is no one around has one for me to race against. 
 

Another pound of paint removed from the deck. Time to pull the windshield and the hardware and start on the cowl. 

My dad and uncle both had these boats in the early 70's.  Hydroplane racing was really popular in the greater Detroit area through the late 80's.  I still take my boys down to watch them in the Detroit River every year.  

wawazat said:

My dad and uncle both had these boats in the early 70's.  Hydroplane racing was really popular in the greater Detroit area through the late 80's.  I still take my boys down to watch them in the Detroit River every year.  

That's about when it fizzled out here in Atlantic Canada as well, with inboard racing fading out in the late 90s and early 00's here.

I would like to say that stock outboard racing is making a comeback but the sport has some hurtles to overcome. That being said it's a lot more fun on the water then on the beach...and even on the beach it's a ton of fun. 

Didn't get anymore sanding done but I had a few minutes to spare at work today so I mixed some paint.

Anyone wanna guess the livery I'm ripping off? 

NY Nick said:

1SlowVW said:

Unsure who the builder if this boat is but I know two things. It's heavy and it was real cheap. 

When you say heavy are we talking a few lbs or 10's of lbs or more? I am curious, trying to visualize how much paint there can be? I don't have much reference for the overall weight of one of these boats.

Pick up a gallon of paint. •••• probably that heavy, maybe more.   Those concerned with weight would use Sitka Spruce.  Not so concerned? Pine. Really don't care? Oak. 
  Same with the plywood.   There is very light and wonderfully strong plywood available.  Or regular plywood which is at least 1/3 heavier. 
  Of course if you really want light I can take a mold off one and  do it in Carbon fiber.   ( or you could it's not complicated ).  Plus if you wanted cheap you could buy a chopper gun  and cut the time required to less than 1/4.  But you'd need a big compressor.  

In reply to frenchyd :

Frenchy, 

You're right paint can be heavy. Which is why I don't mind playing on this boat because it may become a good solid boat but not a word beater. Lots of old hydroplanes were built with Sitka spruce but now people use a variety of woods for the stringers. My nice boat is spruce frame and 3mm for decking and 6mm for the bottom of the hull. Very light and very strong. Some people do build carbon fibre boats but at this level I already have to add weight to my boat to be over the legal minimum in most classes so going to all the work and expenses of using cf only to have to put more lead in the boat it kind of an exercise in futility according to most racers.

In reply to 1SlowVW :

I dream  of making a 1/2 scale Unlimited and powering it with a Jaguar V12. 
       I mean 700 hp  in a light little 3 point hydro  would be fun.  Not competitive but fun. 
     

Not a ton of progress but all the stickers have been removed and all the hardware from the left side coaming. Baby steps. 

In reply to 1SlowVW :

Baby steps are still steps in the right direction.  Looking forward to more, as it happens.  I've got the bug. Bad. Thanks again, in all seriousness.  I'm totally looking forward to it. 

Those look like a lot of fun. I remember seeing one hanging from the rafters in a garage years ago. How fast do they go in your setup and have you ever wiped out in one?

What sort of paint do you use?  Is there special prep or primer to put up with pounding, flex or salt water?

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

I have not yet exited a boat spontaneously. This and my other boat will go low 60mph. So safety gear is a pretty real thing. A snell helmet, cut suit, and competition life jacket are the basics. 
 

914driver

Most boats get treated with west systems epoxy to keep rot away. This boat will be painted with automotive paint (nason urethane) primer sealer before that and I might not even clear coat this one. My other boat I used nason base for the coloured stripes and then automotive clear over the whole boat. 

In reply to 1SlowVW :

I'm pretty sure that I have wiped out at close to that speed on a slalom ski, no safety gear. Tuck and roll. Alcohol helped.

VolvoHeretic said:

In reply to 1SlowVW :

I'm pretty sure that I have wiped out at close to that speed on a slalom ski, no safety gear. Tuck and roll. Alcohol helped.

Never water skied under the influence but yeah I've had some doozies as well. The gear is mostly to protect you if hit by another boat. Or worse a prop. Or sometimes your own boat, because like a stock car these things go left when you let go of the wheel. 

Was beginning to think there wasn't any wood under the paint on the coaming but I finally found some. 

Full disclosure, I don’t know anything about wood working. I know even less about what makes a fast boat but the leading edge of the front deck was almost square so I took 20 minutes today and rounded it off to a smooth finish. Maybe that’s only a cosmetic modification but I’m happy about it.
Also got most of the right hand coaming sanded, almost ready to put the 80 grit away and work with something a little less aggressive. 

So close to primer time. Can't say I'm not a little tempted to just put stripes on it and clear coat it. 

Spraymax 2k epoxy primer on all areas where I burned through the existing epoxy finish. Should seal nicely. Next up regular primer then more sanding. 

Two things learned today, spray can filler primer sucks.

Secondly the plexiglass front cowl is not being re-installed. The boat is going under the knife. 

I can tell now seeing the stringers that it's not one of his boats that he built. All his stringers had 1/2 " relief cuts on the top corners. Surprising how much weight could be saved but with no lose of strength. I know when he tried a merc on one he was clocked at about 110 on Lake Washington. He was having some fun trying out different motors not legal in his class. I know about 75 in that boat was fun as hell. Not to sure about the 110 though. 

In reply to brad131a4 (Forum Supporter) :

This boat was not built to meet minimum weight. We may yet take a hole saw and router to the inside of the cockpit. Fibreglass cowl install may let us get some more weight off the front of the boat as well. Going with a nose off of the boat shown here. 

Got a crash course in fibreglass work today making a new cowl/nose for the boat.

Love it!  How did you form it?