el lobo build

[BoatDoc]

yee haa! it's time for me to start a build thread. no build is good without a story, so here's the background.....i ran a glass el lobo2 all last year that i got it from Peter @ climate models (welasercut.com). i had a lot of fun racing it, and i'm one of those folks who gets into brand loyalty and all of that stuff. climate has been taking pretty good care of me for about 3 years now. so, what was my problem? why did i need a new hull? well, the el lobo in it's current state is too small for the amount of power that can be applied. even with a fairly mild set up, my beloved el lobo was a white knuckle ride. i really like the design, and i wanted to run an el lobo on 2s lipo next season. a 22" mono just won't cut it! the solution was to make a bigger one. after a few phone conversations, i convinced Peter to do a custom cut hull for me at 15% larger than the kit he currently offers. the new hull is just under 25.5" in length. we didn't take the time to re-do the drawings and change all the cutouts, so that they'd be a perfect fit (that would be at least 40 hours of work, and not worth it for two kits). i'll have to work around the larger slots, but i'm not too concerned. pic's to follow.

[BoatDoc]

this first pic is just a mock up, nothing has been glued up yet, and the transom is sitting off to the side.

[BoatDoc]

here's another view of the hull.

[BoatDoc]

this is the last one for now. this shows the size difference between my current hull and the new wood version. the glass version is not getting retired quite yet, it'll be my new 19t/27t hull. i'm retiring my tired old oval master21 that used to hold that job. i'm hoping to set up a jig in the next few days that will ensure a nice, straight build. the last thing i want is a twisted hull, and since i have two kits, i'll be able to build them exactly the same way if i can jig them.

[Rex R]

well if nothing else you'll prolly have enough room between motor stringers for a water jacket :) unlike the stock version.

[BoatDoc]

i'm not sure if i'm going to cool the motor or not. the motor i'm using is a Lehner Basic 5000xl. lehners can handle some heat...and i don't know if there is a water jacket that will fit. i'll have to have a look at the lehner site to see if they have one. i'll probably cool the esc, though. i can run this boat with my BK9920 controller, and the motor will be operating near the capacity of the controller. i'm also looking into another controller, at the moment. i'm trying to decide between the BK150 amp, and the Castle 125. i'll probably go with the 125, as it is half the cost of the BK ($220 vs. $600).

[Doubledog]

Sweetness.:)
Eye's are glued on this thread.

[BoatDoc]

working on the jig. once i'm sure everything is all square, i'll start tacking it all together before it gets a permanent glue job.

[BoatDoc]

another one in the jig

[BoatDoc]

i'm also going to try and get an idea of how the motor fits in there. i think i may cut the slots a litte deeper and get the motor as low as possible in the hull. one reason is to get a nice low CG, and the other is in case i opt for a wire drive i'll have a smoother angle. if the angle is still to deep i'll go with a standard flex drive

[Tuslow1]

Looking Sweet BD
You know I'm bout to start with my 20 questions..... lol
whats the difference between a wire drive and a flex drive???

[Rex R]

heheh I've a bag or two of clamps that look just like that :) nice jig.

[BoatDoc]

whats the difference between a wire drive and a flex drive???

wire drive is just a piece of .062 music wire instead of a flex cable (the usual .130/.150). they are stiffer than a cable, so you can't have a lot of bend in the drive line. i might have an example of one i can snap a pic of if you want to see. they're not for every boat, sometimes a cable is better.

[Tuslow1]

Will they buckle or crimp under torque?

[BoatDoc]

if you have the set up right, a wire drive will run smooth and free. if you have too much bend or misalignment, it'll be a big hassle.

[Tuslow1]

BoatDoc, as you know it wrecks my brain to even think of putting a boat together let alone BUILD MY OWN HULL!!! (you are my Hero).. lol
What do you think she will weigh??? and are those weights comparable to the glass hulls?

[BoatDoc]

i'm not sure of the weight yet. lot's of gluing and sealing to be done. the nice thing is that the lipo cells will weigh about 9.5oz....vs about 15oz for nimh. i'll get more power from less weight, which in the end should make for a plenty fast boat. i have a fibreglass hull as well of comparable size that i will run against this one. my goal is to pick the better of the two and use the best to race with.

[BoatDoc]

the glueing has started! right now i'm just tacking the frame together with thick CA and some zip-kicker. i'm moving from front to back, doing each joint seperately with a square clamped into each corner. the larger gap sizes are a bit of a problem (but we knew that already) and they just require some additional attention to detail. i'm figuring that once it's all tacked together, i'll check the alignment of each joint before it gets epoxied.