ML Boatworks GP 265 Sport 12/N FE Hydro18 Kit

I sold a spare Sport 20 a few months ago and had some "discretionary funds" to apply towards an model boat project. Here in NAMBA District 8, we offer a Sport 18 Class. The class originally started out as a RTR class and then transitioned into Sport 18 to allow custom built hulls to race. I was looking to build a hull for the class and even went so far as to draw up plans based on my Sport 20 design that won Sport 20 at the NAMBA Nats in Salt Lake City a couple of years back. One of the model boat websites I often check out is Mike Luszcz's ML Boatworks website. I noticed Mike offered a 26 1/2" Sport Hydroplane that was intended for FE power, but could be modified for a nitro motor.

My "discretionary funds" account more than covered the cost of the kit, the fiberglass cowling, and shipping so I ordered the GP 265 kit. I'm not going to show lots of construction photos of the build. Anyone interested in seeing how one of Mike's GP Sport Hydro kits is assembled can PM me I'll send you the very complete construction guide in PDF format. Over the years, I written many construction articles for model boat magazines and I can really appreciate the time and effort Mike put into the construction guidelines.

I was very impressed with the quality of the laser cut plywood for this kit. For those of us that build wood kits of model boats back in the "die crush" days, separating the parts from the plywood sheeting is a joy. To allow the tuned exhaust pipe to fit inside the hull, I incorporated a "belly pan" into the bottom of the center section. This modification is not shown in the building instructions, but is not all that hard to do. Well, for someone who has built numerous sport hydroplanes with "belly pans" it wasn't all that hard to do. It was also necessary to fabricate motor mount stringers to hold the motor mount. I had an Octura 12/18 size mount that held my O.S. TZ 18. I'd like to thank Martin Truex, Jr for parting with two TZ 18s last year. I build a radio box that is positioned in back of the engine.

I'll attach more photos as I complete the build.

Happy New Year,

JD

Good job Dunny

Nice build Jerry, M/L does nice work. PS What's that engine run on, Sawdust!!

Looks great!

Does Sport .18 get a decent turn out at District races? I think Id be interested in that class.

Jarcaines said:

Looks great!

Does Sport .18 get a decent turn out at District races? I think Id be interested in that class.

Click to expand...

Three or four.

JD

Keep up the Great Work

Here's a few comments regarding the building of the GP 265:

1. I had a problem gluing one of the sponson bottom sheeting pieces to the framework. The curvature at the front of the sponson is pretty severe. The grain on the sponson sheeting runs the same direction as the keelson. Attempting to bend the sheeting to conform to the front curve is a challenge. I was able to "massage" curvature into the front of one of the pieces, but broke the other piece. Since I have plenty of 1/16" plywood around my shop, I made another piece with the grain the plywood running 90 degrees to the keelson. Having the grain run this way allows the sheeting to bend much easier.

2. There were a few areas where the sponson top sheeting was attached to 1/16" framework. I added a 1/8" piece of plywood as an addition gluing surface. This was done along the sponson framework for the dropped sponsons.

3. The directions call for the use of a strong tape to hold the top sponson sheeting in position when attaching the sheeting to the sponson framework. I ended up using Gorilla Tape to keep the sheeting tight on the framework.

4. The center section nose piece is made by laminating plywood strips and then rounding the nose piece. I cannot imagine rounding that part using a wood file. My belt sander easily shaped the part.

5. Building, modifying for a nitro engine, installing engine, running hardware, making a radio box, and finishing this kit is a time consuming activity. Since I greatly enjoy building model boats and the weather has been cold and wet, it was a great time to build a model boat. The first model boat kit I ever built, back in the mid 50s, was a "Miss Thriftway" and I powered it with a .049 engine. Here I am 60 years later still having a great time building model boats.

JD

Finished painting/detailing and even had an opportunity to get in a couple of test runs. The GP265/O.S. TZ 18 ran very well. It appears to be faster than my Miss Vegas with the same engine. Here's a few specifics:

1. The Speed Master hardware was salvaged from an old Sport 20.

2. The tune pipe is an AquaCraft 18 quiet pipe.

3. The turn fin is an AquaCraft Vegas fin.

4. It currently has a 4 oz. fuel tank, but I'm going to have a 6 oz. tank made.

5. The prop is an Octura X637.

6. I'm running Grim Racer 50% boat fuel.