Looking good! Perfect choice for the stain color.

Yes glass it, i was a wimp when i did mine, but got at it at my CC Commander. Now i tried it i am sure i will glass everything, i love when the glass "magically" disappear in the epoxy.

It is pretty magic when the cloth disappears and it makes you feel like your hull is now just short of bulletproof. Then the sanding begins yet again…

Well I chickened out on the glass and just followed the instructions in the kit. Only one coat of epoxy so far on the deck and the sides. It looks pretty rough but it has a hint of the shine that is to come.
Work on the hull will have to pause for a while as the next step requires the motor package from mack.

I have worked out how to make the water cooled manifolds for the scale engine so stay tuned for pics of that later.

While I wait for the motor and ESC to arrive from Mack (posted 7 days before Sandy so I hope it’s not at the bottom of the ocean- my prayers are going out to all of you over there.)
I have been working on modifying the 427 ford V8.
I dropped the sump off so that it fits under the hatch, cut the fan off and scratch built some water cooled manifolds. Have a look at the photo descriptions for more info on the build of the manifolds.

Looking great.You are definatley thinking outside the box on this build.

Looks like a manifold to me.

I love repurposed build items!

Absolutely beautiful job on the manifolds.

Those are sharp.

Originally Posted by Kcal

Those are sharp.

Well, they used to be but I didn't use those bits

Thanks guys, your praise is encouaging!

The motor and ESC arrived today so this Friday arvo I can start again on the hull, great timing I say!

Excellent work, My 427 remains manifoldless

Nick

Parts! Yay. I now have everything I need but for the batteries,

I know some you you have had trouble with the Mack power pack for this boat but I figured that she is going to be a shelf queen most of the time and this way I don't have to think too hard.

The Proboat gear certainly looks good with a nice anodized blue/ stainless finish for both the ESC and the motor. Macks motor mount is nice to, in a anodized red that should blend well with the colour I'm planing for the inside of the hul.

The Mack ball joint universal is well made, however the female part did not fit onto the spindle of the motor and had to be redrilled, (a bit of a headache and I woke up the kids). Edit: I'm an idiot and didn't read the instructions right- It's not supposed to fit on the motor but on the prop shaft.

Another gift from my family was the radio, it's a Planet T5 2.4GHz 5 channel, I can't find any poor reports online about it and it only cost $80.

So to work,
Following the instructions I installed the stuffing tubes for the rudder and the prop shaft. I taped up where they come out of the hull in order to fill the stuffing boxs with epoxy, locking the shafts in place, but the tape failed

Long story short, big mess but the first go left enough of a seal to be able to fill up the stuffing box with a new batch of epoxy the next day.

For anyone doing this kit, something to be aware of is that the frame/bulkhead to the rear of the engine bay cuts into the the stuffing box, this leaves a gap for the epoxy to flow out of. If you run a bead of glue around where the frame meets the keel before you poor the epoxy you will stop the flow.

[FONT="Arial"][SIZE="3"]I checked out your photos of the problem you said you had with the harden ball joint universal for the brushless motor set up on the cracker box. By the looks of the picture I would have to say you put the wrong side of the universal on to the motor shaft which is 5mm (male ball end). The propeller shaft side (female end) is a 3/16” bore.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attac...mentid=3141027

Frankg, you are right of course, I withdraw my comment, I was so excited about getting going again that I miss read the instructions .

So I gave myself a smack on the back of the head Agent Gibbs style.

I'll leave it like that I think as it will take quite a bit of persuasion to get the female end off the motor again. If it's all bad news I'll swap it.

We had a very big weekend so boat time was limited. Epoxyed the bottom and painted the underside of the hatches.

The Bote Coat Epoxy system is going on really nicely and it brings out the colours of the mahogany well. I'll be painting the bottom white but it does seem a pity to cover those colours.