miss elam U-4

[Sanja Cowan]

I recently aqquired a mint Kinetics 1/16 miss elam U-4 hydroplane.Luckily i also recieved the original manual with it.I was interested in finding more information about this hull ie: production #s,original retail cost,etc...I do know it is a mock-up of the 1/1 hydroplane.Does anyone here know any vital info or websites in regards to this hydroplane?.any info will be apreciated,Cheers!.

[Sheltered]

I have some photos of the actual boat:

http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/sheltered/hydrosite/1990o.htm

Jim

[froggy]

real boat launched straight up in the air like it was going to blow over then crashed back down transom first. Snapped the nose off right where the the cockpit is. Brutal acccident Broke both the drivers legs. We have a 1/10scale E Lam that apparently just hit the water for a first test here recently. cool boat later.

[Jay Turner]

The Kinetics Miss Elam was an interesting model. I first saw one at the 1995 APBA Nats where it didn't do too well in its first showing. However, the next year it did very well, placing 2nd in the highly-competitive 7-cell Scale Unhlimited hydroplane class with designer Jim Welch at the wheel. I have no idea how many of the kits were produced, but the maker "branched out" and offered the hull in both an airboat and a wheeled configuration. After a few years it dissappeared off the market. I called Kinetics two years ago asking about the model, and was told that the original owner had died and there were no plans to offer the model again.

The kit in Recreational or Racing trim included motor and drive line parts. The latter listed for $ 169.95. I purchased the former ( ca. $ 120 IIRC ) and installed a gear drive and 8 cells. The model performed reasonably well, but it had some design issues that I didn't really like. Still, it was a fun model to play with and taught me several things about canard models.

The model differed from the "real" full scale version by having a far different sponsons design and a longer "nose". The right sponson had "negative deadrise" with the outside edge deeper than the inner edge. The designer told me this was to let the model slide in the turns - he used a turn fin to hold the turn rather than the sponsons. While this negates one of the advantages of the canard design, it apparently worked for him.

[AndyKunz]

The story I heard was that the design was "stolen" from the designer on a technicality, and that's why they were selling it with wheels. I think they are cool looking but wouldn't try runnign one in competition without lots of test time.

Andy

[Sanja Cowan]

thanks guys!,a BIG thanks to jay!.I have set up the boat accordingly to the manual.At the moment i use a trinity 12 turn double,octura .098 cable,tekin 423M,mrp hard red plastic prop(431),on 7 cells direct. it cavitates 2 ft then bites pretty hard & runs quite fast & stable(it doesnt do anthing stupid).i dont run any water cooling(due to room) & the motor doesnt get hot & the cells are luke warm.Maybye i ended up with the good one???:cool: .cheers!