What's Easier

[Rick Taylor]

I would like to attempt building a boat from Newton plans. So what's easier for a first build, a Thunderboat or a Hydro like the Bud boat?

 

[P THOMAS]

I would like to attempt building a boat from Newton plans. So what's easier for a first build, a Thunderboat or a Hydro like the Bud boat?

The roundnose boats have lot less parts, sometime the front deck is bit tricky to get laid down, The roundnose boats with the drop sponson are easier to skin. There are some of the pickle fork boats that are not bad, some with wings or without.

The Turbine Bud style boats have more angles and curves to get right and the front and rear wings.

Get some pictures of a boat you want and round up the cowlings to suit the plan you want to build.

 

[Rokieboater]

No such thing as easier, but quite rewarding. Easier would be buying a Phil Thomas hull.

Robert

 

[Roxyflash]

Easier would be buying a kit thats already cut.Im with Phil on the round nose they can be a PITA on the top sheeting.Its more rewarding to do the whole cut and build.

 

[P THOMAS]

No such thing as easier, but quite rewarding. Easier would be buying a Phil Thomas hull.

Robert

Easier would be buying a kit thats already cut.Im with Phil on the round nose they can be a PITA on the top sheeting.Its more rewarding to do the whole cut and build.

Cost of the plans and cost of the wood and glue probaly $200. When I started out about half that, only take about three boats to get one right, you learn from each one.

Robert Thanks, The epoxyglass boats I have do have all the goofs worked out,and the setup is race proven, still takes some effort to get one together.

 

[Hydro Junkie]

If you're really serious about building a boat, look at plan 108 first. It's a basic picklefork hull that makes somewhere between 35 and 40 different registrations covering three different hull configurations. I recommend that particular plan set due to it having options of wings or no, cabover or conventional configurations, three different transom designs and several types of cowling layouts. I'm sure you would be able to find one of the designs in the 108 set that you would like. Here is a glass hulled version of one of the possibilities

 

[P THOMAS]

If you're really serious about building a boat, look at plan 108 first. It's a basic picklefork hull that makes somewhere between 35 and 40 different registrations covering three different hull configurations. I recommend that particular plan set due to it having options of wings or no, cabover or conventional configurations, three different transom designs and several types of cowling layouts. I'm sure you would be able to find one of the designs in the 108 set that you would like. Here is a glass hulled version of one of the possibilities

Yes that is the one I first built, and there are cowls for it available.

 

[misshydro]

Easier would be buying a kit thats already cut.Im with Phil on the round nose they can be a PITA on the top sheeting.Its more rewarding to do the whole cut and build.

Zippkit or Blazer Lauderback..

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Easier would be buying a kit thats already cut.Im with Phil on the round nose they can be a PITA on the top sheeting.Its more rewarding to do the whole cut and build.

Zippkit or Blazer Lauderback..

So lets see you build a Lauderback MissHydro and that doesn't mean Joe doing the work

 

[Rick Taylor]

If you're really serious about building a boat, look at plan 108 first. It's a basic picklefork hull that makes somewhere between 35 and 40 different registrations covering three different hull configurations. I recommend that particular plan set due to it having options of wings or no, cabover or conventional configurations, three different transom designs and several types of cowling layouts. I'm sure you would be able to find one of the designs in the 108 set that you would like. Here is a glass hulled version of one of the possibilities

Yes that is the one I first built, and there are cowls for it available.

OK, so a 108 plan looks good. Where is the best place to get the cowls from?

 

[Hydro Junkie]

I can think of two right off the top of my head. One is Jerry Logan from the Seattle area. He does all hand laid up epoxy glass parts including cowls, tails and wings. I've personally seen his work and it's top quality stuff. I plan on ordering a cowl for my soon to be started latest project from Jerry. Heis contact info is available through the NAMBA website. The other is R/C Boat company. I know David Newton has some of their stuff and is happy with it, though I haven't personally seen it in a raw state myself. Their website is at http://www.rcboatcompany.com/

That covers pretty much all of the hulls in the 108 fleet except one, the 7325 hull. The 7325 is the 73-75,77 U-1/25 Pay'N Pak, 76 U-76 Atlas Van Lines, 78-88 U-6 Miss Madison and all of it's various sponsors. The cowl for these registrations, being all flat panels, you can build from wood, though after 1981, the nose cowl would need to be purchased as the original was lost during a race and the rounded replacement would be hard to make without doing the whole plug/mold/layup route.

One thing I would recommend is if you do a boat that takes a fiberglass cowl, have that cowl in hand before you get very far as you will need to fit the boat to the cowl and vise versa during your build.