Miller American re-build

Intlwaters

Help Support Intlwaters:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Dasboatman, I really like that radio box on the side. So you completely seal one chamber and mount hardware accordingly then just tape you lid? I like that.

Can anyone tell me what pipe this is. A friend of mine said he would hook me up with some K&B 67 part, this is what I got...

DSC04147.jpg
DSC04146.jpg
DSC04145.jpg
DSC04144.jpg


I should be able to get something running and have some back up parts... :)
 
Using 1/32 is a viable option, not one I personally would use or recommend on a Dumas hull due to the questionable mahogany ply framing. For that reason, as well as the posibility of being run over, I would stick with 1/16 birch ply.

Something I did not see at first look was the darkened area in the bottom of the right sponson between the transom and the next frame forward.. I would recommend a good hard look at that section of the bottom since it takes a serious pounding while the boat is running, not to mention it's part of the bracing for the skid fin bracket. If you have any question about that area, remove it up to the second frame forward of the transom and replace with new material. You can secure the front with a glue block epoxied to the back of the frame or by removing less of the sponson bottom and using a piece of ply as a brace between the two frames.
 
What had happened was water got in from the skid fin mounting hole. the wood there is still as solid as the other places but I do need to put new hardware there.
 
Sounds good then. Not having the hull in front of me has me asking these things rather than have them posibly get overlooked before the decks go back on. Hope you don't mind me being "nitpicky" about things like that ;)
 
Hydro, say there, you have a dumas circus circus waiting to be started....why dont you just send me that hull... :D
 
So Kevin, just curious. What method did you use to get the decks up? When you clean all of those top joints from glue, don't be afraid to use the heat torch with a sharp putty-knife to scrap it off. Test some DAD's stripper in the radio box area to get all that dark-colored Cr%p off of there- and it'll start to look brand new.. The insides didn't seem to to look that bad with water damage. ;) Just a quick note(Others chime in with your thoughts), what are you going to use to mount the wings? Here is my thought for strength, b4 putting the decks back on - mount a piece of metal mount with slots on the underside of the deck. Guys, bad idea? I was just thinking of if the thing ever flipped to relieve the stress.
 
"I really like that radio box on the side. So you completely seal one chamber and mount hardware accordingly then just tape you lid? I like that"

Hey Kevin,

The Oberto is one of my WOF hulls so the area to starboard of the engine was foam. I decided where I wanted the new radio box, cut out what would become the radio box hatch, and removed foam through that opening. One side of the radio box is the tub sides, the other is the sponson inside plate, added a forward and aft bulkhead,installed servo mount bases, sealed rith Epoxy and the job was finished. I actually made a "V" cut through the bottom of the hull to install the GOLD-N-ROD.

It will be a lot easier to do with your framed hull. Support the GOLD-N-ROD well on it's trip back to the rudder so it doesn't flex. Here's a pic of the last one I installed. I finally learned after ten years of doing these, to simply run the piece of after plane foam through the band saw to give me a removable cap to simply replace after the rod is installed. See??? You can teach an 'Olde Dawg' new tricks. CHEERS !!! Bob
 
The deck came up real easy. It required no heat, just a puddy knife and just lifting as I went. That right there showed me it would have fallen apart some time soon. The more I look at the side radio box the more difficult it would be. It seems the engine will sit too far forward to get the servo up there. I'm pretty sure Im going to keep the radio box in the middle but seal the piss out of it and cut the box to give it a lower profile. I am also thinking of going with an ajustable strut with a flex shaft. So with that being said, I think i will cut out the center of the boat so that will make clean up a lot easier. Thoughts/concerns/issues?
 
The deck came up real easy. It required no heat, just a puddy knife and just lifting as I went. That right there showed me it would have fallen apart some time soon. The more I look at the side radio box the more difficult it would be. It seems the engine will sit too far forward to get the servo up there. I'm pretty sure Im going to keep the radio box in the middle but seal the piss out of it and cut the box to give it a lower profile. I am also thinking of going with an ajustable strut with a flex shaft. So with that being said, I think i will cut out the center of the boat so that will make clean up a lot easier. Thoughts/concerns/issues?
I think i will cut out the center of the boat so that will make clean up a lot easier. Thoughts/concerns/issues? :huh: :unsure: :huh: Huh?
 
lol, should have explained a little better... The bulkheads that make up the radio box are seperated from the bottom skin so I was thinking of removing them rather than re-epoxy. Do what sanding I need to do then epoxy back in place. Now that I think of it, do those span the entire width of the boat?
 
If you go back and look at the pictures you posted in post 25, as I see it the picture shows that the aft bulkhead is solid and the front one is a filler piece on the aft side of the cross frame. If you feel you need to remove the front one and replace it, have at it. The aft one could be a problem if I'm seeing it correctly. If it is a solid part of the cross frame and it's separated from the bottom, you could have a serious repair on your hands as the bottom might be bowed or soaked. You really need to remove all that black so you can really see what you're dealing with. As for my Circus kit, it's staying in my garage until I build it.
 
I see what you're saying. I just need to get cleaning on it and go from there. When I get home I will double check but I am pretty sure its just the forward part of the radio box that has come apart.
 
Hello everybody .

Kevin K. , Some years ago , ~ 1996 a member in my club at the time built his last Scale boat - early 1960's Miss Madison in timber and West Systems. I have been told that he has since been working on a Old Style Full Size race boat out of timber and West Systems , and from the description of other members - it's a WORK OF ART . He is a real craftsman with wood and made a split radio box for the Scale boat that was built in under the deck , which is actually many strips of ply / timber and shows the grain of the timber . The servo wires for 1 side were connected through a small tube running across the boat between the 2 parts . The lids were screwed down and sloped in from the top for access into them . This is the same person who laminated 4 pieces of 1/16 " ply together to make 1/4 " ply which gave him the shape and strength that was needed in building part of this boat . There has been very few problems with this setup and the boat is still in competition now . Hopefully this helps with your enquiries .

Regards

Ian Baas

Tall Fella Racing

Australia :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Be prepared for sticker shock as West's isn't cheap. For marine use, you can't get any better either when you consider that Wests was formulated for use in full sized wood boats
 
I was looking at a boat shop and they had a product I might want to try. Have any of you used Evercoat resin epoxy?
 
Back
Top