Baldwin Racing
As from the last article I said I would carry on from Step 4. Enjoy!
I mix some epoxy with cotton flox in it. Then I put a layer of epoxy which is like a paste due to the cotton flox on the entire ridge of the hull. I then paint the edge of the deck with epoxy and then put the two together. I use ordinary clothes pegs to keep the two parts together. This is left until it's dry. Once it is dry, I then take a strip of carbon kevlar composite and put a layer of this cloth all the way round the boat on the inside where the deck and the hull join. This ensures that you get a real strong bond between the hull and deck.
Once the deck is joined and dry, I then grind the ridge down a little. I do not remove the edge all together. Some boaters like to remove the ridge altogether but that is your personal preference. I then install the bulkheads by the radio hatch and the front engine compartment. When installing the bulkhead by the radio compartment I also install wires that go from the radio box to the engine compartment. The use of these wires will be explained later. I use the spheretex plates that I made in the beginning. The boat is now ready to get the tank fitted.
I first make a paper template to ensure the correct shape is made. Once I am happy with the shape I then cut out the templates from thin 0.5mm mild steel plate. I then bend this plate with a specially made metal bender and solder the tank together. I install baffle plates inside the tank to limit the fuel from moving around inside the tank. I make a fuel pickup area in the tank to ensure no air bubbles come in the fuel line (not really required) but does no harm. I also install pipes to allow for pressure feed from the exhaust to the tank. Brackets are soldered to the tank to secure it in the boat. I then install a filler cap to the tank. The tank is now ready to be installed in the boat.
Mounts are then made and epoxied in the boat to secure the tank. Once the tank is fitted in the boat I then measure and fit throttle linkages and fuel mixture control linkages into the boat. NOTE: I first install the radio tray and measure the position of the servos before I mark and drill the holes for the linkages. For the sake of the article I talk about the radio installation afterwards. What I do is solder brass tubing that goes through the tank and stops before the radio box bulkhead. I then epoxy brass tubes that are aligned with the tank into the bulkhead itself. Later when the tank is finally installed, silicon tubing is put over the tank tube and bulkhead tube to seal it from water ingress. I use solid wire as a link and thus go straight through the tank. Some boaters do not like that and go round the tank. You may sometimes have a problem with solid wire where it could cause radio interference if you do not insulate it. Flexible cable would be better. That again is personal preference. Many boaters also make plastic tanks but I prefer the metal tanks. The weight of the tank, once it is built, is almost the same. The metal tank I made, weighed 580 grams when completed and could take over 4 liters of fuel.
The servo trays are also made from the spheretex plates that were made earlier. I just add one layer of carbon cloth to make the tray more ridged. I put in two trays, one on each side of the rudder shaft. 5 servos are used. One for the throttle One for mixture control One for the rudder One for the trim tab One for the glow plug switch
The wires that were previously installed, when installing the bulk head, are used for the following: Two wires are thick cables that can handle 10 amp current. These wires are then connected to a micro switch through a servo and enables the glow plug to be switched on and off from your radio. The other two wires are braided communication wires, one for the Rev counter and one for the temperature measurement that is installed in the radio compartment. Detail will be shown in the next article PART 3.
The boat is now ready for preparing to paint.
The next article, PART 3 of Bulletin 2, will carry on from here:- Step 7 (Painting and putting together)
Compiled in October 1997 by Gary Baldwin
Last Updated on 29 December 1998
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