Dumas Drag n' Fly 40 build/finish thread (With lots of questions!)

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Mike Mulligan

Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2022
Messages
13
Hi all!

I'm new to the forum, and like a few others I have seen here, I'm returning to the hobby after many moons. I appreciate you having me, and I hope you don't mind lots of questions!

Back in the 80s I ran mostly hydros, riggers and sport, on nitro. And, like most nitro guys, I mostly chuckled at what they were starting to call "fast" electrics, which, at the time, with luck and going downstream with a tailwind, would go almost 35 mph...

My how things have changed!

When I got out years ago, I got rid of most of my stuff, but I kept a few unfinished projects figuring I would get to them one day. This one is the first off the shelf!

When I was a kid I would slobber over the Dumas hydro ad in the model airplane magazines. The 36" Atlas Van Lines and the Drag n' Fly were about the coolest thing I had seen, so it was somewhat inevitable that I would end up getting 'em at some point! I was recovering from an illness many years ago, needed a sanity project, and discovered that though they had been out of production for some time, Dumas still had both its in stock. The hulls were built, hardware fitted, and then were put on the shelf.

Time to get them done, starting with the Drag n' Fly.

The basic hull is finished and was built as per the plan. I have been sanding and doing a bit of filling in prep for sealing. It has the strut and rudder (Speedmaster) installed, but I want to mount the motor before cutting the hole for the stuffing tube. I'll also need to make a turn fin.

I want to finish it as an FE, since it will be friendlier to the neighbors than a screaming, piped two stroke, and happy neighbors mean more places to run! At this point I'm just planning to run it for fun since a Drag n' Fly would hardly be competitive anywhere, and the closest racing club to me is over two hours away. I have tons of questions about electric power, though my limited research has me thinking a 4092 on 6s would be a good place to start. More questions about all that later...

As I said above, the boat was built as per the plans and the design certainly shows its age. Though its heyday was almost ten years before my time, I know that it was often modified into a pickle fork, but I want to keep the spade bow on this one.

Are there other mods, to the sponson angle or ride pads for example, that you guys would recommend to help improve the basic handling? Though I'm not planning on racing this one, I still would like it to handle decently and go like a scalded ape!

Thanks for having a look, and thanks in advance for any reply!!

Mike

Here are a few pics...

1664753848471.png
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The dark area is an experiment with wood stain for the decks. I'm thinking a vintage "Thriftway Too" type paint scheme.

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This pic makes it look like there is a twist in the thing. There isn't, its dead flat...
1664754292634.png

Again, thanks for looking!
 
I suggest you glass the joint where the non-trip meets the deck. I have built all three sizes of Drag n Fli. The seam will crack if you did not glass it.

I would also beef up the transom with triangular stock and/or glass.
 

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