Modified J.D. WOF29

[29tunnel]

Has anyone tried to shorten this boat? This year I built 3 of these boats. They were all fun and easy to build and they all perform really well. I decided to experiment with one and I shortened the boat by 2 "My 29 WOF is now a 27 WOF. I simply sawed all material from the transom and cut out a new piece to put in. I still have to test the boat I'm running a stock K&B. Hey Jerry and Grim, you guys ever tried this? Can you offer any set-ups. Thanks Don

 

[user 115]

I would say that both have tried this as Jerry has a 27" WOF and Mike makes the Villian.

Charley

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

Hi Don,

I have one basic sponson former that I use for all my WOF 3.5s from 27" - 30". However, when I make a shorter boat I still try to keep the last 10" - 11" inches of the bottom of the sponson flat. I actually make a two piece bottom to insure the back running surface is flat.

I run stock motors on 27/28" hulls and mod motors on 29/30" hulls. I find the K&B 3.5 likes to run with the c/l of the prop at least 1/4" above the bottom of the sponsons. I would suspect it's going to take 3 - 4 ounces of lead to achieve a balance.

J.D.

 

[Grimracer]

29 tunnel and Charley

I have never had a WOF 29.. as a matter of fact i have the plans but have never looked them over.. :- I have a set of the 27" plans and should take the time to look at them also.. :'( not enought hours in a day..

Grim..

Hea, Jerry can you send some time with the plans from now on..i could use some extra.. ;D

 

[user 115]

Grim,

I believe the villian is 27"? If so, I was just suggesting that both you and Jerry have experimented with a 27" WOF.

Hoped that you guys would ring in with your experiences.

Charley

 

[Grimracer]

Charley and anybody else that might take the time to read this..darn i can get long winded.. Need to work on that.. its proven to be a bad thing.

As it is I do not like WOF boats built all WOF..Its not my thing "jerry knows this" as a matter of fact the next Villain Proto (or whatever it will be called) does not have any foam in it at all. (Jerry does not know this until now..nobody knows this until now 8) ) As you know the Villain S1 as it is now has a foam center with built up sponsons. The two work well together and that is why the kit is this way. Plus the proto was built this way so therefore i felt it best if the kit boat was this way. Same as the one that won the nats for those that thought/think this was/is important. Note: I like to buy a boat with a good racing history..make sense to me..becides this ranked high in customer requirements.

I did much tesing before i decided on the length of the boat. As much as it seems to be the BIG THING in tunnel design i do not lose to much sleep over it. 24 is to small, 34 is to big... i say OK whatever the guys want. One other note the Villain Proto was designed over 4 years ago and alot has changed in this time. More power for more people is the big one. I have had a Nova Rossi OB for 6 or 7 years or something like that and it has never been bolted on my villains..no point..

Do the boats need to be bigger to win more often? Dont know...maybe..

Maybe length has little to do with the handling of the boat..Dont know maybe..One thing is for sure length of a tunnel is the big buzz thing in tunnel boat racing now.. I feel that more length is more of a bandage then anything else.

Then again this is just my idea and im not pointing at anybody’s design..

Weather or not this sheds any light on the subject...most likely not..but after hours and hours and hours of testing..Im satisfied with 27" as being a good overall length for a tunnel boat today.

Grim

 

[Gene Gillman]

Grim's modesty is only excelled by his innovation, Keep thinking up the good designs my friend.

I have taken all the lengths to the max as far as speed goes and I might suggest the following:

24 to 26 inches, stock powerhead, heat racing in the mid forty's.

27 to 28 inches, stock or mild mods with pipe, heat racing in the low to mid fifties.

29 and up, Gonzo land 50's plus, full mods, Rossi powerheads and lawless lower.

Later Dudes,

Gene ;D

 

[Grimracer]

Gener

Good to hear from you. Hope you are well.. 8) good thought on length..

Thanks for your input.. It is the people that have an opinon that help people like me make dissions on boat design.. Cant address a idea, probem, or concern if lips are glued shut.

Keep it up guys,, its your fourm.. COOL ;D

I like this message board thing and it has proven very helpfull regarding design.

Rock-On guys

Grim

 

[TomMoorehouse]

posting for jerry..... ps jerry i got the same pic 2x

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

Thanks for the help Tom,

This is my new WOF 28 with a balsa wood cowling. I will be trimming the boat using Rinker Boats decals. Before painting the boat yellow, the boat was run with both an O.S. Max 21 and a K&B 3.5ss. FYI, it was faster with the K&B 3.5ss.

I am currently building a WOF 30 for my CMB Green Head 21.

JD

 

[Slideblues]

Hey Jerry,

Way Cool Man, I really liked the 1/4 scale version too, the bump on the cowling really makes it stand out from the crowd ;D

Slide 8)

 

[snowdog-2112]

Hey J.D.

Nice shine on that boat. Looks much more gooder than when it was just primer white. Do I understand that this is going to be your stock boat boat for next year or did you have other ideas for it?

Also, I see you're getting good with that new camera.

snowdog-2112

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

Snowdog,

I'm not sure how the boat will work into my 2003 racing program. It might end up being my son Paul's 3.5 stocker. I'm pretty certain I'll be running my Villain again in 3.5 stock.

JD

 

[GTR]

Hi JD

Does your new 3.5WOF hull have steps (it looks like it does) or is it just step like cuts in the spray rail? Your thoughts on what you have done are trying?

GT

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

GT,

There are two notches into the bottom of each of the sponsons. A step would be created by adding another layer of plywood over the bottom. The notches were creted by cutting into the bottom sheeting. With a WOF hull, you have material under the sheeting.

Many of the full size tunnel boats have notched bottoms and most of the big offshore cats and vee now featured notched sponsons or bottoms. The theory is to break up the running surface to create less drag.

I have no actual proof that this boat runs faster with notched sponsons than a similar boat with an uninterruped running surface. But, it does look kinda cool, doesn't it? When the boat is running, water does exit sideways out of the notches.

The Prather Lap Cat 21 also has notched sponsons. I didn't know that until I saw a LC 21 running at our Frost Bite Follies a couple of Sundays ago.

JD

 

[Grimracer]

Jerry and gang

I must look into the difference between steps and notches. I think at this time they are viewed as the same thing in our organizations. Humm..I will look into it.

As for steps in the sponsons (or notches). My view on them is this.

Yea they are there to do as Jerry said (allow the boat to go faster in a straight line) however and also if they are there you can end up with inconsistent turning bite. I have seen boats with them that have some bad turning habit. I also have no proof that they are faster with them then without.

Jerry’s right, they do look cool.. ;D

good job on the new boat jerry. I like the cowl and would like to do a cowl like this for the next version of the Villain.. What do you think?

Grim

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

Mike,

I was planning on doing a "How To" on making a custom cowling for a magazine article.

Maybe we can kill two birds with the same shot.

By the way, I haven't noticed any cornering problems with the notches.

JD

 

[TimD]

I have no actual proof that this boat runs faster with notched sponsons than a similar boat with an uninterruped running surface. But, it does look kinda cool, doesn't it? When the boat is running, water does exit sideways out of the notches.

JD

If water is exiting out sideways from the notches, wouldn't that mean the water being deflected would induce drag?

I think the notches could also create asmall amount of lift. (hovercraft theory?)