Anyone Into Unlimited Hydros?

[f4u ausie]

1 small step goina look awsome,,, cant wait to c it on the water

[Aros]

Thanks buddy! Me too! I am gonna need a raft in case it craps out in the middle of the lake!

[Clugh]

Im enjoying this build.



YT
Hubert

[Aros]

Thanks! Me too! Again I appreciate all your help and support along the way!

[Clugh]

Thanks! Me too! Again I appreciate all your help and support along the way!

Question.... I never asked, was this a MLBoatWorks laser cut kit?

[Aros]

Question.... I never asked, was this a MLBoatWorks laser cut kit?

Indeed, this was the kit 1/8th Scale Newton 135/ MHR 8025 purchased from MLBoatWorks.

Hull update today...The painter has been sanding and finding imperfections (of course, lol! I told him she's going to be a true museum piece once he's done with her!) and priming. Should be painted Monday. Getting down to it!

[Hugh Wiedman]

Still have my Octura White Heat hydro from the 70's. It's running on a Rossi 60 with tuned pipe and 40% nitro. Built the kit long ago when it was made up of thousands of pieces of wood!

[Clugh]

Still have my Octura White Heat hydro from the 70's. It's running on a Rossi 60 with tuned pipe and 40% nitro. Built the kit long ago when it was made up of thousands of pieces of wood!

Hugh "piles of wood" ? ha ha.....I think you know that's an extremely nice shovel nose. Thats how we built them all the time b4 laser cutting and 3dp became a thing. It still requires some building skill to finish out James's laser cut kits. I only own one laser cut kit the 2 wing circus and have not built the boat. The three wing will be built from newton plans and another that will be scratch built and uses CF sponsons from and cowl from Steve at rc hydros.




Your Truly
Hugh

[Clugh]

Hi Hugh,
Interesting photo . Almost looks like some type of Arneson drive on the hydro. Thats very unique. Is that an older octura drive? Got any more photos of that. Thats really cool and a beautiful well taken care of boat. Youve spent alot of time with her.

Regards
Hubert

[Clugh]

Indeed, this was the kit 1/8th Scale Newton 135/ MHR 8025 purchased from MLBoatWorks.

Hull update today...The painter has been sanding and finding imperfections (of course, lol! I told him she's going to be a true museum piece once he's done with her!) and priming. Should be painted Monday. Getting down to it!

I can not stress how good that is going to look. Thanks for the ride surface photos. Its always interesting to see different hulls takes on that area. Its almost like a dumas circus ride pad. The Finlay 1/8th is quite different on the bottom than either boat. The fact the painter is anal about imperfections is a really good thing, He actually cares coz its coming out of his shop even though its just a model and that's a sign of a good craftsmen. I like him!!! Let him do his things even though it may take a little more time.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Hi Hugh,
Interesting photo . Almost looks like some type of Arneson drive on the hydro. Thats very unique. Is that an older octura drive? Got any more photos of that. Thats really cool and a beautiful well taken care of boat. Youve spent alot of time with her.

Regards
Hubert

Thanks Hubert. It was originally the Octura White Heat 4-60, what he called a "4 point" hydro. Octura at the time primarily made hardware including virtually all of the props. I was a kid living outside Chicago near his office and loved to go over and see his stuff, until I finally "talked" my parents into giving me money for the kit, maybe about $35. I really wanted to fly RC planes but my parents rightly concluded that would be an expensive endeavor with me crashing every weekend so that was out of the question. The White Heat had won several speed championships and took me almost 6 months to build with my buddy. Took a while after that to talk my parents into money for the hardware, motor and radio. Many years later retro fitted it for the Rossi 60 with tuned pipe and that's when it began to fly, literally! Got it up to almost 70 mph (not blazing fast by this time as the sponson outriggers were well over that and turned on a dime) but any little ripple got it airborne.

Never took a lot of photos of it. The original had a large cowling over the engine and a body that ended in a large fin, but got rid of that with the Rossi. The drive unit is what he called a "strudder", a drive strut and rudder in one. None of these units left that I can find, so don't run it much. Also has a solid steel drive shaft, with universal balls that tend to wear down easily and a stainless steal fin on the outside of the center tunnel on the right side, requiring primarily right turns only.

The blue/red one in the photo below is not mine, but what it looked like with the cowling, body and fin.

[Clugh]

Wow. You are a true enthusiast. And it truly is 4 point! Heck id like a shovel with a ride plane like that. Thats really cool and should run flatter in the corners than some of that later 3 point designs actually. Damn ! I might need a mold plugged of that Hugh! Its as good as any hobby pickle fork hydro off the shelf today.....LOL!!! Thanks for sharing that cool history with the boat. She is still very very nice. The rossi is also nostalgic and very functional. Id be scared to break it though unless you can get or machine parts. If I ran it id probably run a new engine with parts available. You can design a stronger ball pin universal. I have a few plans laying around from my late friend for that. They are made from tool steel and reamer blanks. You can also adapt that boat to a flex drive but I like it like that and would put in in my mans cave before I take away its nostalgia putting a flex drive on it.. Id build a new boat instead.

I like that just the way it is....

Hubert

[Clugh]

Hugh,
The cutter for this is simple to make.

"One of the most important mechanical parts of any engine test stand is the type of universal used to transmit the engine's HP. Constant velocity, mechanically reliable universals will become necessary because it will be impossible to perfectly align the various rotating parts. I machine the precision ball & pin type universals seen in the photos. All the male ball ends & the slotted female ends are machined from heat treated AISI 0-1 tool steel. The drive pins are made of hardened M-2 steel reamer blanks.


A detailed explanation of how to make these pieces will follow. They have been tested on various engine test stands as well as on actual models at speeds above 32,000+ RPM & 7.5+ HP."



Jim Allen

[Aros]

Hugh Wiedman , she's a beaut!! You've been holding out on me!

[Aros]

I can not stress how good that is going to look. Thanks for the ride surface photos. Its always interesting to see different hulls takes on that area. Its almost like a dumas circus ride pad. The Finlay 1/8th is quite different on the bottom than either boat. The fact the painter is anal about imperfections is a really good thing, He actually cares coz its coming out of his shop even though its just a model and that's a sign of a good craftsmen. I like him!!! Let him do his things even though it may take a little more time.

Yes, indeed I've learned to be patient with him because he really does NOT like any imperfections! Works for me in the end for sure!

[Clugh]

Hugh,
You make the tool out of the same thing O-1. Take two blanks of O-1 put them in a vice on parallels and drill the 3/8ths ball size you want right down the middle of the seam on each end of the sandwiched blanks. You the set the pieces up on an upright sander after that and shape your reliefs angles. The hardest part in my view is pressing the reamer blanks in the undersized bored ball and also find the balls center to bore it . Now modern CNC can use IR camera and find it dead nuts on but I guess you could edge find it in x and y then dial to the center. I guess one could also outsource the job to a competent machine shop. Jim was a 50 year tool maker and had a masters in Mechanical Engineering but a good machinist can pull it off. Alot of the tether guys build theirs. They don't run flex shafts on the 15cc 130 mph boats.

[Hugh Wiedman]

Thanks guys, and yes the Rossi does not have any spare parts available, although I have a few things I snapped up long ago. While I have tons of Octura universals and ball bearing washers in spare, I may not run this much and keep it as a "reminder of days gone by". I'm really into flying electric RC today and a lot easier to throw them in the car and go. Back when I built this in 1970, all the kids spent time building their own stuff and making things themselves for fun instead of sitting on phones like today. Mostly kept us out of too much trouble. Then came the "toys" prefabbed in plastic where no one built anything. It was a much simpler time but I think mentally much better.

Did buy a couple Traxxas electric deep V's for the kids a while ago, but I ended up running them more than the kids. Damn things had a gps module showing current speed and telemetry showing RPM's/engine temp and easily hit well over 50mph. But definitely not as much fun to build!

[Clugh]

Thanks guys, and yes the Rossi does not have any spare parts available, although I have a few things I snapped up long ago. While I have tons of Octura universals and ball bearing washers in spare, I may not run this much and keep it as a "reminder of days gone by". I'm really into flying electric RC today and a lot easier to throw them in the car and go. Back when I built this in 1970, all the kids spent time building their own stuff and making things themselves for fun instead of sitting on phones like today. Mostly kept us out of too much trouble. Then came the "toys" prefabbed in plastic where no one built anything. It was a much simpler time but I think mentally much better.

Did buy a couple Traxxas electric deep V's for the kids a while ago, but I ended up running them more than the kids. Damn things had a gps module showing current speed and telemetry showing RPM's/engine temp and easily hit well over 50mph. But definitely not as much fun to build!

I totally agree with your assessment of the state of things here in America with innovation and know how. Not slamming RTR because at least that might spark initial interest into something more elaborate. Nevertheless James builds CNC kits that will assist you in the build but you still have to have good wood working and building skills to complete it. They dont come with build instructions so u still end up with box full of wood that has to be assembled. Its just precut is all.

ML Boatworks has some of the best running scale boats money can buy. They are revised running surface from the standard newton plans to run better.

The kids aren't into RC like we were growing up. Thats pretty obvious. And 1 xbox game cost less than RC and keeps them occupied for eternity so the parents rather that than rc in 2024. They dont care that lil Johnny is 19 now and cant change a tire on a car....



Regards
Hubert

[Aros]

Truth!

Alright, all the parts are shot with clear and ready for pickup tomorrow! I ran over on my lunch break and helped him out on the large hull decals...Of course with his method, they turned out perfect! Super stoked to put her all together and show her off...

[Ron1950]

ive had a few 1/10 scale electric boats great fun to drive and race but a bugger to set up right..