1955 Miss Thriftway - MBarbee

[mbarbee]

1955 U-60 Miss Thriftway.

"The first Miss Thriftway measured 28½ feet, had an 11½ foot beam, weighed 4,500 pounds, and was originally powered by an Allison engine and later changed to a Rolls. She came within 4.536 seconds of winning in her first competition, the 1955 Gold Cup Race. Owned by the Thriftway Stores of Washington State, represented by Willard Rhodes, president, Miss Thriftway was designed by Ted Jones and built by Les Staudacher. She won the 1956 and 1957 Gold Cup Races, the 1956 President's Cup Race and she set the world's record for a 15-mile heat with a speed of 112.312 mph in the Governor's Cup Race. Her colors were mahogany, with orange and cream stripes and she flew the burgee of the Seattle Yacht Club. She was demolished in the 1957 Governor's Cup race."
(Reprinted from This is Hydroplaning by Paul Lowney [1959]) ------ From Leslie Field website…

This is the second boat I've built from Gary Finlay plans. I love to build from scratch / plans and Gary's are the finest! If you build accurately to these drawings everything will fit perfectly and your boat will be beautiful! It's a real pleasure.

My approach this time will be a little different. I'm going to use the plans to build a hull mold. A fiberglass hull can be made from this. Add bulkheads and a ply/veneer deck to finish out the basic boat. I also plan to make a plug for the cowl / cockpit. Parts destroyed in racing can then be made again easily.

Below are some pictures of my first steps in this process..

[mbarbee]

In order to make the plug lie flat to my building board I modified the bulkheads to have a flat upper surface that lies in one plane. The plug will true and flat to the board during the mold layup process. The plug was made from medium/soft balsa, shaped, glassed with one layer of 1oz fabric, finished with auto putty and primer. The last layer was a primer sealer that was waxed twice and polished. Set securely to my FLAT building board, the plug was coated with a nice, thick gel coat of epoxy. Next all the corners, edges were puttied with thickened epoxy careful to eliminate all bubbles. Then four layers of glass were applied - two straight and two bias. Both 2.7 and 6 ounce weights were used with lots of epoxy. After 24 hours I added wood bracing to make things rigid and durable. This also allows the mold to sit level on a workbench. I let it cure for a couple of days before trimming and removing the plug. Now I have a nice, precise mold. Next step -- Build a hull!

[mbarbee]

After a good cure, I waxed the mold twice and polished it. Then a layer of two part epoxy primer was sprayed into it to form a gel coat. This gave it a nice finish to work off of later.
The hull is made from a lamination of fiberglass, unidirectional carbon, kevlar, and end-grain balsa. First the two largest bulkheads were made using 1/4 inch soft balsa, the rest medium/hard 3/32 balsa. For the transom I used 1/4 inch end-grain balsa. All were coated with a thin waterproofing layer of epoxy. The large bulkheads were vacuum bagged with 4 oz unidirectional carbon fiber. I wanted to accommodate the batteries in the sponsons for better stability so one bulkhead was modified to allow that. Carbon lamination stiffens them up a bunch. Note the picture of a battery and bulkhead. Vacuum bagging is easy. I have a setup I made years ago but you can be very successful with small parts using a small kit available from Aerospace Composites or other supplier or even a kitchen vacuum sealing system. Use a waxed, heavy mylar (from a plastics place) to sandwich your glass covered parts. After these were prepared it took about 6 hours working steadily to complete the hull lay-up. First I cut out all the materials to rough sizes. The schedule is as follows:

Full Boat--
(1) layer of 3.7oz S-glass in satin weave
(1) layer of 6 oz e-glass set on the bias
In the sponson area--
(1) layer of 4oz kevlar
(1) layer of 6 oz e-glass

Center of the boat full length--
(1) layer 4 oz unidirectional carbon fiber - laid on the flat bottom and rear non-trip
(1) layer 4oz unidirectional carbon in the bow about 4 inches long

Next I filled all the corners with thickened epoxy careful not to allow any bubbles. The fabrics were laid up using the minimum epoxy possible without dry spots. Bulkheads were glued in while the everything was wet. Now to wait for 48 hours - let it cure well…

[Jeff Wohlt]

Excellent "How-to" Keep the pics coming.

I am about to do a FG mold from the older Electro V hull after cutting it down some. I am using West Systems. I may try to lengthen it about 2 more inches as well and the top will not look like the EV.

[mbarbee]

Jeff - Cool.. I also use West systems. Good epoxy system. Try the 207 hardener. It wets well and has a good working time. I work slow! Thanks for the reply.

[mbarbee]

At this point the boat weighs 20oz. Next to add the 5/16" upper deck longerons. I made them out of a nice pine 2 x 4 with a clear, straight grain - strong and light. In the area of the sponson transom I put 1/4" balsa reinforcement. This is especially important since I have no longitudinal formers. A basswood plate with 8 - 32 studs is glued into the motor area floor to allow attachment of the motor mount. The boat will be covered with 1/32" paper-backed mahogany. It's lighter than ply or planks and you can cut it precisely with and exacto or scissors. The problem is that it is too thin by itself. It needs to be backed up by something. I chose 1/32" aircraft ply but 1/16" balsa might be lighter. The underlayment pieces are cutout using the plans templates. Silica thickened epoxy applied is applied to the frames and smeared thinly on the ply. It all needs to be covered for waterproofing. I'm careful not to use too much. This stuff gets heavy fast.

[mbarbee]

After curing I made sure that the deck surface was smooth and any low spots were filled. The veneer will follow the surface and telegraph any imperfections. Using thickened epoxy I applied the mahogany pieces according to the schedule used on the Vashon Unlimiteds replica 1955 Miss Thriftway. They have built this boat according to the original plans so it's a good source of information.

[hydronut]

Mark the Thriftway is looking great. The fiberglass bottom hull and wood decking looks to be a great idea for natural wood decked boats. Looking Great . Can't wait to see them on the water.:)

[mbarbee]

Rod - Thanks! We're gonna have some good one's this summer! Your boat looks like it's ready for some racing.. Beautiful as usual!

[eddieh]

C'mon mark a couple days more git er done....

[mbarbee]

Eddie, Hey thanks for the encouragement! Busy summer.. Not gonna make the deadline but the boat will be done! I'll keep posting here.

[eddieh]

Mark git er done, ya never know, might be able to squeeze something out for prizes for the stragglers ya never know... :wave:

but git her done....cause she is gonna be a beauty....

[eddieh]

After curing I made sure that the deck surface was smooth and any low spots were filled. The veneer will follow the surface and telegraph any imperfections. Using thickened epoxy I applied the mahogany pieces according to the schedule used on the Vashon Unlimiteds replica 1955 Miss Thriftway. They have built this boat according to the original plans so it's a good source of information.

there is also a TON of details to see there did they finish the tway too???

[mbarbee]

Eddie, Well not sure about a Thriftway Too project but they were very helpful in sending me some actual paint chips from the 1955 Thriftway replica. Nice folks. Beautiful boat.

[mbarbee]

Well… It's been a busy summer but as Eddie says... time to "git 'er done!" The cowl and engine are next in line so to create the cowl pan I cut a piece of 1/8" hard balsa to match the engine and cowl opening. A stop was glued at the forward bulkhead to support the plate at 1/2" below the deck surface. At the rear I cut the bulkheads in the same plane. Now the plate will sit level from fore to aft. 1/8" soft balsa strips were cut so the grain runs across the narrow dimension and boiled to make keep them from cracking when bent. These were glued into the 1/2" radius corners of the engine compartment with CA. Being soaked they will bend very tightly without cracking. Strips of horizontal grain balsa is glued around the rest of the perimeter to frame in the pan. Then I added some small bulkheads inside to support the decking. For under-decking instead of the 1/32" ply used before I chose some 1/32" fiberglass sheet but the ply would be fine. To this I glued the mahogany veneer. Careful not to glue the pan to the boat I epoxyed the glass sheet / veneer laminate to the rear pan bulkheads and edge frames. Using lots of tape to hold everything in place the rear deck became one smooth contour.

[mbarbee]

Applying 3/4oz fiberglass to the deck is my next step but before that I thought I'd take a page from Hydronut's pulitzer prize winning creation and put on some of that nice brass screw detail. First I laid blue tape around the areas to be done. With a divider set at .200" I marked each drill location. A #70 drill bit was set into a dremel tool and each location drilled. It's nice this boat has some paint on it! Lots fewer faux screws to do! After drilling I removed the tape and smeared some slow West Systems epoxy (pot life around 4 hours) into the holes. An old credit card or hotel room key works great to press the glue into the holes. At Hobby Lobby I found some short brass wires that measure about .027" they are a couple of inches long with a small loop at one end. One pack was easily enough. At each hole I put the wire in about 1/16" and snipped it flush (or close) to the deck with a pair of diagonals. Where I did not drill all the way through the wire would bottom out in the hole. In this case I just pressed the wire in hard and snipped it off. The whole process took about 6 hours. Nice idea Rod! It looks awesome on the "Wildroot Charlie" and is definitely worth the effort! Next to sand things smooth and apply the glass cloth.

[Ub Hauled]

WOW, looking great Barbee...

[hydronut]

That is looking great Mark!!!

[eddieh]

Mark, wow, man she is looking awesome...
keep at her brutha... we are eagerly awaiting the next installment to your thread...:wave:

[mbarbee]

Time to get going on the cowling. The aft portion will be first. I cut out a copy of the profile. This was modified slightly from the plans using some pictures I dug up. I used 3M spray adhesive to stick this to a flat, straight piece of 1/8" balsa. Next I did the same with the cowl profile at the cockpit aft bulkhead. Be careful to allow for the width of the 1/8" balsa - that is be sure to slice out a 1/8" strip vertically down the center of the bulkhead. I didn't do this and ended up 1/8" wide and had to compensate for this later by lots of sanding. I glued the bulkhead to the profile and then glued soft balsa blocks to both sides to make the Frankenstein version of the cowling. As you all well know to bring this thing to life requires LOTS of careful sanding and attention to detail to get it as perfect as you can. Well… after all that work some guys gonna drive over the top of you in a race and then what soo.. Guess what? Yup another mold. With that it's easy to make a new cowl if needed. Next I'm going to start on the engine. I have one of ClassicHydro's Allison kits. These are awesome!

[mbarbee]

The ClassicHydro's Allison kit is simple to put together. These are great. You have to do lots of detail sanding and finishing to get the balsa to look like metal so I have done a bit of kit bashing.. First it's nice to make an extra bulkhead for the engine block. Put it in the middle to add extra support to the thin exterior sheeting. I finished the block with an epoxy coat sanded and then filled with high build sandable primer. For the valve covers I decided to finish only one and use it to make a mold to cast them out of epoxy. This is actually less work to get two finished parts in the end. I used some cool stuff called Amazing Mold Putty. You can get it at art stores - it has a picture of a baby on it. Safe enough for babies I guess! It mixes 50/50 and cures in about 20 minutes. The putty seems to stick to nothing but itself and cures to be flexible and strong. I made one nicely finished balsa valve cover from the kit (epoxy / primer surface) and placed it on a flat, smooth board then I pressed the mixed putty over it careful to make sure the stuff got into all the depressions. After 20 minutes or so it was peeled off and I had a great mold! I poured unthickened epoxy into the mold. 24hrs and a bit of wet sanding later I had a ready-for-paint valve cover. It works great. So I got to looking at all those intake manifold parts... Same deal. I finished one of each of the long and short parts as my plugs. This time I totally covered them with the putty. After curing I cut the blob of putty in half and removed the plug. Now I had a full 3D mold. Using slightly thickened epoxy mixed with aluminum powder I filled the molds. After cure the mold is peeled off. About 20 minutes of filing / sanding and you have metal-cast looking induction manifolds! I used course sandpaper quickly and lightly over the surface to create the nice cast metal patina. If you use fine paper it comes out shinier. The molds can be used over and over. So make two wood plugs and then make all the rest of them in quick-to finish epoxy!

[hydronut]

Mark, the Thriftway is looking great. Super idea to make your moulds to cast parts when needed. I need to start making moulds of some of the engines I build for each boat. Sure would save a lot of work. I have one of Eddie Hansen's new "Merlin" castings I am saving for a build I have begun for next years racing!

[eddieh]

Mark she is coming along fine, that mold making stuff looks great, I usually use alumilite stuff, but that stuff looks great for one offs or just a few, very very nice job...


keep her going...

[mbarbee]

Thanks guys.. The parts are easy to cast and they are pretty quick to make. I like this method. Eddie, I haven't tried the alumilite stuff. I've seen it but need to get a kit and check it out. It seems to be more liquid and you have to build a box to contain it. Is that right? Is is probably more durable. This stuff makes a putty and it can be formed around the shape and hold it's position. I've got to be gone all this next week but hopefully by the weekend I'll have a finished motor. The cowl is in primer and going well. The hatch is finished out with that nice flange you talked about Rod.. I put some small bulkheads in there to add scale detail. Next is to seal all the wood with epoxy and sand it out. Then I'll glass the deck and hatch surfaces. Coming along steadily.

[Ub Hauled]

Mark, I think your method is Alumilite as well... just a different one...
is THIS (http://www.alumilite.com/ProdDetail.cfm?Category=Starter%20Kits&Name=Amazing%20Mold%20Putty%20Kit) your stuff?

[mbarbee]

Well.. The stuff I'm using is at www.amazingmoldputty.com I don't think it is alumilite. But I am using an aluminum filler (west systems 420) in my resin.

Anyway, after a good vacuuming and wipe-down with denatured alcohol I laid 1/2oz per yd fiberglass cloth over the deck. West Systems 105 resin with 206 hardener was applied to completely wet the glass with no shinny, wet areas. I like to use a hotel room key card to squeegee the resin. This glass is light so go easy when you do this. Once the resin was gelled up I used scissors to cut the excess off around the perimeter of the hull. I finished the hatch the same way. Once the tacky stage was reached I put on another coat of resin. If you wait too long the deck would have to be sanded before the next coat. This is bad because you can easily sand through the glass layer. It is best to put resin on within 24 hours as a chemical bond will occur. After all the resin has thoroughly cured the whole thing will be sanded smooth ( not through the glass! ). The paint and insignia can be applied over that and when the final coats of clear polyurethane are put on it will be crystal clear and perfectly smooth.

I installed the motor using an aluminum mount made from 1/8" angle. Even though the motor has no cooling fan I drilled the vent holes in the mount to allow some airflow through the front of the motor. In the past I have not done this with liquid cooling but I think it might help. Who knows.. might just let junk into the motor. Also the back of the motor sits high so I had to cut out the cowling in that area so it would clear.

[mbarbee]

The dummy Allison V12 is coming along well. I have added some screws and safety wire. I use some very small stainless steel machine screws ordered from SmallParts.com. They have a lot of cool stuff. The wire is available at Hobby Lobby in the beading section. I also got the plug wires there. Aluminum and brass tube are used to make the plug wire conduit, spark plugs, and fittings for cables, etc. I used some picture frame hanging wire for the shielded cables. The carb and supercharger parts are built from balsa scraps and used to make a mold. The parts are then molded from resin filled with aluminum powder. This sands well and if the paint gets scratched it just shows the metal underneath! The airbox is built per the plans with a bit of an extension and a piece of window screen in the inlet. It looks like a coarse screen that might keep the birds out! The exhaust manifolds are next. I have gotten some plastic tubes that nest into each other to make them. Small aluminum tubing stubs make the individual pipes bolted to the head. The plastic pipe is easy to bend with a little heat.

[hydronut]

:hammer: Mark She is looking great. Hope to see her on the water :wave: soon !

[mbarbee]

Thanks Rod! I'm working on it.. Getting closer.
For the forward end of the exhaust manifolds, since this end is common to both sides I made only one and then used mold putty to make a mold and cast the parts in the epoxy / aluminum mix. For the aft (exit ) end I used 7/16" plastic tubing I got at the hobby shop. This stuff bends pretty well with a heat gun. Be careful! Too much heat and you've got a mess. There is a narrow temperature range where this tubing is best workable. Next stubs of aluminum tubing are glued to this tube. If you use this process check the angle that these are glued to the tube because I screwed up and put them on at a radial position that caused the exit end of the exhaust pipe to be too low to clear the edges of the deck. The pipes need to stick up a lot. Soo. I guess I'll be cutting the pipe right behind the last header pipe and rotating the bent portion so it will clear the deck… BUT the good news is the dummy motor is finished!

[mbarbee]

Below are some pictures of the cowl. I made a plug from balsa finished with light glass, filled, primed, sanded, primed, sanded, primed, sanded…. You get the idea. LOTS of sanding. Like they say "It's not how much you put on, It's how much you sand off. I got a nice finish, waxed the plug and laid up the mold using the same process as the hull. I got in a hurry (always a bad idea!) and only put two coats of wax on the plug. I used no PVA release agent. I usually don't. Wax only has always worked for me in the past but I needed something more or add PVA release film also. The plug had to be carved out of the mold. It was a project. Anyway I got it out and it turned out well. I then put three coats of wax in the mold, polished it, and brushed a coat of PVA. Once that was dry I laid up the cowl. First I painted in a nice coat of plain epoxy. Next I filled all the corners and edges with thickened epoxy being careful not to trap bubbles. This is very important. I followed that by a first layer of 2 oz glass. All layers a put on the bias. This allows them to conform to the complex curves. Two more layers of 5 oz glass with some carbon rovings to reinforce the cockpit edge area finish the part. Now I have a way to easily make new cowls for future boats. It really is worth the extra work to make a mold.

[mbarbee]

Time to put some paint on this thing. I was fortunate to get in contact with Steve Compton at Vashon Unlimiteds. These guys created the replica Miss Thriftway. He was kind enough to send me paint samples from their boat! I wanted to match the colors in spray cans rather than having expensive custom mixes done at a paint store. Lots of looking around yielded the two colors shown in the pictures. One is a tractor color by Van Sickle paint called J.I. Case Power White. The orange color ( I am told that it is technically "persimmon" ) is a can by Valspar I found at Lowes. It is not a perfect match but is close and looks good. One thing I found - probably a basic paint rule - is always undercoat light colors (especially low solids consumer paints) with white. I use the Duplicolor white primer. Laying out the striping pattern was a bit time consuming. From pictures of the boat I was able to get the basic perimeter laid out. Once the white area was masked and painted it was a matter of measuring every three inches or so from fwd to aft and at each point dividing the section into 7 equal parts with pencil marks. Once they all were done I used 1/8" fine line vinyl masking tape and connected the dots with a nice curve. Only one set of stripes could be done at a time because the masking tapes would overlap each other. Each set had to dry solid before doing the next one.

[mbarbee]

Next a few odds and ends… First with some 1/8" mahogany I created some fake bulkheads for the engine compartment. These were terminated at the inboard edges with spruce rails. These run fore and aft along the engine case. Next I faux painted the area with a rag saturated with thinned satin black paint to give a sort of deep, dark hole look. Just spraying the area with flat black would have been fine too. I wanted to have the engine removable so I did not glue it to the hatch. It is held in place with screws. The motor clearance hole in the hatch was sealed with a fiberglass 'blister'. This keeps water out when it flows under the engine case. A scale-shaped turn fin was made out of .040 stainless sheet. I cut it out on my scroll saw. Took 4 blades! Next was the aft sponson bulkhead veneer. I painted a flat black area on the sponsons and made veneer pieces with holes in them to fit. Across each hole I put a spruce diagonal to simulate the crossbar on the original. Don't tell but they are going the wrong way! Whoops..

[mbarbee]

In the past I've had problems with wood fins eventually warping. Even when I have oriented the grain correctly and glassed the wood it seems to warp anyway. So this fin is made from .090 G10 fiberglass, veneered with mahogany, and glassed with 1/2 oz. It's a bit heavy but this will not warp. I masked the striped areas and painted white first then orange. To make the mask for the U-60 lettering I drew it out on my computer, printed it and taped it to a window. Over this I put some frisket paper (a masking film available at art stores). The outline can be seen through the frisket. The window works great for this. I used a NEW xacto blade to cut the letters out. I had to keep reminding myself that the letters are to be removed and the outline needs to be preserved. I.E. don't cut outside the lines! Once cut out the backing is removed and the frisket is applied to the boat. Before pulling the backing I put a piece of low-tack masking tape over everything to keep all the parts in correct orientation. Remove it after the frisket is on the deck. I then painted the lettering with the white paint.

[mbarbee]

Time for the drive gear. It's a Jeff Wohlt system using a .150 flex cable. Jeff is very helpful and gave a good discount for build participants. www.rcraceboat.com To locate the hull penetration I used a drill bit sized to fit my drive collet. This way you can make a nice, clean slot in the hull to accept the driveline. I glued a piece of aluminum tubing (or brass) to house the teflon tube through the hull. Make darn sure you have only enough gap between the tube and the motor shaft to get the drive collet on and off. Any unnecessary unsupported flex cable can wind up wobbling creating vibration, wear, and wasted energy. Way too much and it will tie itself in a knot! The experts in my neighborhood say it is important to put brass tube over the teflon outside the hull to support it. These boats can put out some power. Long, unsupported lengths can move too much. My motor is a Medusa Research MR-036-050-2200 V2-5 . It's a 36 x 50mm 2200Kv brushless motor, 5mm shaft. Around $100 www.medusaproducts.com This guy has some very cool electronics. I plan to use ( 2 ) 5000 mah 4S lipo packs from Maxamps with a Castle 120 marine speed control. As mentioned earlier I have provided space in the sponsons to mount the batteries. Outboard weight might make the boat a bit more stable.

[mbarbee]

Well, it's ready for some test drives… Still have lots to do but she's ready to run!

[mbarbee]

Ran the boat today! All in all, pretty successful. I ran an Octura x440. Nice speed, no motor or ESC heating. I did not measure current draw but it looks like I can prop it up a bit. Had a nice 5 lap race with 'ol Wildroot Charlie (hydronut). Man his boat is fast! I've got a bit of tweaking to do! I had temporarily installed the turn fin and it came off on the turn closest to the bank and guess where I ended up?! Anyway no real damage but one of the exhaust stacks came off.. It's on the bottom of the pond. So gotta make another. But a great day!

[hydronut]

Mark the boat looks and runs great, It was a blast. Can't wait till the full class hits hits the water next season. Keep us posted on her completion! GREAT JOB.:beer:

[mbarbee]

My first attempt to paint a coat of clear was a disaster.. I'm using PPG catalyzed polyurethane and as I sprayed it on I got some terrible fisheyes. After lots of head scratching I finally figured it out. I use syringes from the farm supply for gluing etc. Well I used one of these (new one) to measure out the paint and hardener. These syringes are lubricated with something totally unfriendly to paint! So I learned a lesson big time. I carefully sanded out as much of the surface as I dare careful to not sand through my color layers. There are still craters on the surface but the next coat will fill them. Too bad this happened but it will turn out fine. To organize the radio gear I built a box from 1/8" plywood. It contains the receiver, switch harness, and charge jack. I put the antenna into a tube that gets it as high as possible in the cowling. Reception is good. No radio problems.

[mbarbee]

The instrument panel is made from 1/16" aluminum plate. Lowes sells strap that is wide enough for this. I made the panel drawing on my computer and printed it out on plain paper. A copy was also made on glossy photo paper. Using 3m spray adhesive I put the plain paper panel on the aluminum. Next using a step drill I made the instrument holes. After drilling I beveled the edges of each hole with a countersink bit. A scroll saw works to cut the rest of the panel out. After drilling, some lacquer thinner will take the paper off easily. I next filed the edges and sanded the surface with 400 grit. On this panel I put a piece of brass tubing cut at an angle for the upper left gauge as on the original boat. This I glued to the panel. Satin black paint is put on next. After the paint dried I used the countersink to re-bevel (cuts the paint away) the instrument holes. This makes a nice shinny bezel. The photo paper copy is then glued to the back so the gauge faces show through the holes. The next step comes from Hydronut - his panels look great… I use some very clear surfacing epoxy mixed and put into a syringe (clean one this time!) The epoxy is very controllable this way. Put a few drops into each hole til there is just the smallest convexity to the instrument face. This simulates perfectly the curved glass surface.

[Ub Hauled]

I just wanna say...
you are awesome Mark!

Not only are you a great craftsman but also you are great with sharing all this build with us... thanks man.

One question about the PPG... can you get those in cans or only for airbrushes?

[mbarbee]

Uniform Bravo, Thanks - Well the stuff is catalysed so you have to use a sprayer. I have a cheap one from Harbor Freight and it has worked well for a long time. The clear is PPG shop line clear about $25 for a quart at auto paint stores - lasts forever on boats and small projects. I spray it without any reducing. I mix it, wait about 30 minutes and straight into the sprayer. Light coat, medium coat, and you're done. It usually requires nothing more for a great look but you can sand it and buff it to get a mirror finish. It cleans up with lacquer thinner.

[eddieh]

Mark excellent excellent build... everything looks great!!! there is an additive called fish eye preventer, I dunno, sometimes silicone gets on the surface, one thing I have done was prior to painting wipe the surface down with some thinner ( mineral spirits ) and after drying a tack cloth.. I generally always use lacquer, but it is getting harder and harder to find...


again awesome job!!

[mbarbee]

Eddie - Yup, some fisheye preventer might be a good idea. I haven't had problems before so I was confused.. Then I thought about that syringe and it's lubricant. That was definitely the deal. Ya just gotta stay clean, clean, clean! I'm back to the point to respray. I blew through some of my color layers sanding out the fisheyes so I had to do some repainting... Time consuming mistake all around. Anyway all thats back in shape an I just need a nice day and the time to respray. Next post I'm getting into the cockpit details. I've got one of your scale drivers! Nice detail. Good representation of the 50's drivers! I'm excited about it. Getting to do some art work.

[mbarbee]

Eddie Hansen makes some very nice drivers in various scales. I got mine from www.offshoreelectrics.com. The detail is great. Look them over carefully for little voids that may need filling. A little plastic surgery might be necessary. After a few trial fittings of the arms (used double stick mounting tape to temporarily locate them in position) I realized that the right arm is designed to be operating a throttle lever. Once I tried that position everything made sense. So I took some thin fiberglass plate and a 3/32" piece of aluminum and cut out a throttle quadrant, laminated the pieces together and painted it satin black. The pictures make it clear what I did. I cut the throttle arm from a strip of stainless and crimped a fishing weight to the end to make a knob. In putting the driver together it might be a good idea to paint his head first because it is hard to paint the neck once it is glued on. I did shorten his neck some. 5 minute epoxy is best to set the arms and head. You can do some adjusting this way if you work quickly. I put him in the cockpit and got everything just where I wanted them. A slurry of filled ( I used West Systems 410 filler - it carves and sands easily - but micro balloons are fine) epoxy was put all around the joints to fair them in and as the putty was getting to the pliable state in the cure, I used a wet toothpick to mold in some creases and smooth out the filler - make it all look natural. Next he gets a good coat of white primer. I sanded and filled all the little areas I thought needed it and put a final coat of the primer. The gloves get a leather color with some black highlights and I put some very light gray in the creases of the jacket, under the arms, and around the collar. For the face I used a skin color base mixed with some brown to give him a nice tan. A bit of charcoal dust adds some whiskers. I masked his helmet and painted it orange to match the boat and left a white stripe in the center. I'll make his scarf area orange also. I have some old pictures of the guys standing on the boat and from these you can tell some of the colors. I plan to bolt the driver and seat in place so they can be removed if necessary. The wheel I made from some thin fiberglass sheet cut out on the scroll saw and filed / sanded smooth. 4 inches of our 12 or 14ga silicone motor wire insulation makes a perfect grip. I made a slice length-wise along it and removed the wire. I plan to CA it over the rim of the wheel.

[eddieh]

Mark again excellent work, I have also found jb weld kwik an excellent filler, generally i leave the necks long so you can adjust the angle of the head, I rarely put the head straight on, I do like to tilt it some and turn it some, like he is looking at a mirror or the buoy coming up...

thanks for the kudos...:wave:

[eddieh]

Mark Look what Jim Clark posted LOL

http://www.rumrunnerracing.com/feforums/showthread.php?p=249258#post249258
http://jimclark.smugmug.com/photos/280999380_HJ5dt-L-1.jpg

[mbarbee]

Yup that's her! How'd he get a picture of my boat?? ;) . Just got the second clear coat on. No fish eyes this time. Working on putting in the cockpit. Got the panel in. Am in the process of setting up the wheel. Lots of fiddling to get everything where it needs to be. Interesting that you mention setting the driver's attitude as I did think of that and tried to make it look natural. Next post will have some pictures of it all together.

[eddieh]

mark don't get me wrong yours looks great!!!

I wonder if anybody would be interested in a how to to do gauges with needles etc? I have done a few sets for friends, I see there are other sick folks out there LOL... here is a pic of the dashboard of my scratchbuilt griffon bud, yes the gauges are lit too LOL...
http://www.rumrunnerracing.com/feforums/showthread.php?s=&postid=132447#post132447
http://www.rumrunnerracing.com/feforums/showthread.php?t=15443&highlight=bud+ready


http://home.comcast.net/~ejhansen/80_Bud_Ready_002.jpg

[mbarbee]

Eddie -
NICE!! That is an amazing cockpit.. I can't imagine that folks would not be interested. Tell us all your secrets! That is the beauty of forums like this. I think some people think this stuff is too hard to do or not possible. As you know it really isn't. I've learned lots just clicking around and from peoples input on my build. It's great.

Back to building...

The cockpit is finally finished! All the parts found their place and the driver seems focused on some racing! Not that I'm ready but that’s another forum.. The seat is two layers of 1/32 ply laminated together with epoxy over a form I made from a 2x4 scrap. The laminations bend easily to the shape and when cured hold the curve perfectly. Then I coated it with a thin layer of resin and sanded it. The driver is bolted onto the seat and the seat is bolted to the boat so everything is removable for repair. Now I'm working on the side graphics. Get those on and paint the bottom and this boat is finished!

[hydronut]

That is looking sweet Mark! can't wait for next season!:thumup:

[eddieh]

Mark Awesome man....... :hail::rockon:

glad your digging the forums.....we have some MAJOR surprises coming...:wave:

[mbarbee]

Thanks guys! We'll all be watching for whats coming up!
I've just finished drawing the decals. Lots of time in Illustrator.. I'm still learning it. Sophisticated program. Going to have the art cut in printed vinyl.

Eddie, funny icons but I'm not worthy.... reminds me of Waynes World :)

[eddieh]

Thanks guys! We'll all be watching for whats coming up!
I've just finished drawing the decals. Lots of time in Illustrator.. I'm still learning it. Sophisticated program. Going to have the art cut in printed vinyl.

Eddie, funny icons but I'm not worthy.... reminds me of Waynes World :)

Mark you could do it in one shot lettering enamel, you seem to have the talent, if you go vinyl fred ( fas) here on the forum, does nice work, you could also make water slides using the micromark paper and a LASER printer, after clearing it it will be virtually the thickness as the surrounding paint

[mbarbee]

Eddie - Yea I do like the idea of super thin. I got all the art done on the computer. I'm not really an artist but I'm pretty good with the computer. It would be cool to try decal paper and color laser printing. My brother has an alphagraphics so he can cut vinyl and do other printing for me. Kinda handy.
This project should be done very soon!

[Ub Hauled]

Are you actually run this "piece of art"?
8)

[mbarbee]

Sure! Hydronut and I had a race back in October. Wildroot Charlie vs. Miss Thriftway. 5 Laps.. Great fun!

[mbarbee]

Mark, that's the Thriftway! You did such a great job on it. Isn't it terrific to be able to talk with others who are really into the modeling and so knowledgeable. Thanks for giving me the link to rumrunnerracing. Are you going to put pics of the Century you built for Mike somewhere on-line? I continue to be in awe of your amazing skills Mark. Your Dad.

[mbarbee]

Well the boat is finished.. I put the side graphics on and covered them with a heavy coat of catalyzed polyurethane. I sanded that nearly to the surface of the vinyl. Then I put on another medium finish coat and the surface is smooth. No raised texture over the vinyl. I sanded the deck up to 1000 grit and then buffed it out. The fisheyes I had so much trouble with are all but gone. It looks much better now. The hull surface was nearly ready for paint out of the mold so I sanded it with 400 and did 2 prime coats. I use the Duplicolor Chrome paint for the final finish. This stuff really looks like metal. It is soft and changes patina with abrasions easily, but it looks great. I added an .030 aluminum surface to the transom. Also I have changed the hardware (rudder and strut) to Aeromarine laminate's #1301 and #1401. These are reasonably priced and are AWESOME… The pickup opening is at the bottom of the rudder so it processes water at all plane attitudes. 1/4" aluminum tubing fits the nosepiece perfectly, tight, ring fit. No water getting in here. I lined it with teflon for .150 flex. (.205 od). For the last 10 runs I have been using an .078 wire drive but it broke at the point just as it enters the drive collett. Lost the prop/shaft/wire to the pond gods.. As a result, I'm back to a .150 flex cable. No breaking that.. The boat performs really nicely on an Octura x640 - 46mph, 100 amps. Temps less than 100F. Some more experience with it and tweaking should show 50mph. The x637 and x440 are good props too.. Below is a final picture and a short video (1955 Thriftway.zip, not sure how to upload a video.. I've made the file small for easy download). Check it out!

This has been a very worthwhile project and although I did not finish before the official end of the build I feel like I gave it the time it was due. With other responsibilities in life, time has to be prioritized. As Kenneth Grahame wrote in "The Wind in the Willows" Quoting the wise Water Rat….
`Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING--absolute nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in (with) boats. Simply messing,' he went on dreamily: `messing--about--in--boats; messing----'

Thanks to you all who gave encouragement to myself and to all the builders along the way..

Happy boating!

[Ub Hauled]

WOW...
she looks like a Swimsuit Catalog Model... Mark, thanks for sharing this whole process with us, as far as I am concerned this is one of the best builds I have EVER seen, not to take merit away from the other guys, but this build is my personal favorite.
Eddie (or Moderators) is there a way to download the whole thread (like the PMs)?

[mbarbee]

Uniform Bravo -
Thanks for the nice comment. I agree it would be cool to be able to download the whole thread for each guys project. Kinda make a book of it all. I'd use it for a great reference, although it is available online. If you like I can email a PDF that has all my stuff.

[eddieh]

Mark I second UB's sentiment your tenacity in finishing this build is unbelievable and the finished boat speaks for itself...
she is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well done brutha!!

Playing with boats is something i personally have missed the last few months... :confused: but the light is at the end of the tunnel wether it is daylight or a train remains to be seen LOL..:yeah:

ub you could use print view, we will be looking at all the builds and posting these in a magazine or how to format, we will also be adding a builders blog !!!! where we will have guest builders etc, I have a project that is nearing completion unfortunately it isn't my boat but I think you'll like it !! chuck too since it is a shovel...:yeah:

[Ub Hauled]

Eddie, waiting to see your build as well, post pics please!

[chuckc]

I have a project that is nearing completion unfortunately it isn't my boat but I think you'll like it !! chuck too since it is a shovel...:yeah:


Shovel, SHOVel, DID I HEAR SHOVEL....
YAH, Shovels forever !! :thumup:

[mbarbee]

Eddie -
Thanks, I'm happy with it. It runs great too! You all are very supportive. I like the idea if a builders blog.. A place for people put up their projects in chronological format would be a real learning opportunity for everybody!

[hydronut]

Mark the Thriftway looked great on the water and ran just as well. GREAT JOB!:thumup: