Building Surface Tension

[younger]

Greg what are the measurements of the Mule pad. What shape, delta or strait front to back, does it have any rocker, and does it end at the transon? Remember that this is a surface drive app so I am wondering if the step at the transom will hinder. I'm looking to make the boat deep and get the resaults of an increased x. On your graph there is no info on wetted surface in the 80mph range? I guess I can awnser that with no hull wet, and six blades splashing.

[gcarter]

I'll admit I haven't read every post in this thread, but does ST have a step just in front of the transom?
I think Mr. Donnelly' 16 did, and it would follow good contemporary practice IMHO.

[Greg Guimond]

No transom notch on The Mule and none on Surface Tension George. Given I have wacker power I can adjust as high or low as needed so a notch on such a small hull, which cleans up the water flow is a little less valuable. If younger does a pad on his BH 16, a small notch would make sense.

[Greg Guimond]

Ok so the project has gotten a little out of wack. Somewhere I made the decision to change Surface Tension over to an all aluminum build. I thought it would accentuate the race motor "rat a tat tat". Hope I made the correct decision

[Greg Guimond]

12-24-2010, 10:50 AM 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, and the pad replaced the mouse!!}

Was hoping to have had Xmas red on the hull this week for a 2011 Christmas gift but no such luck........drats! These things tend to drag on to say the least. Oh well, Merry Christmas to all!!

[Buddyc]

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You said a mouthfull there. They do tend to drag longer then expected. Have a great Christmas!

[Greg Guimond]

Ok, we have a fresh gel job. Laid down the Valspar Red 5R-14 on the wet and dry storage locker and lids to see how it looks. Clint said they decided to use just a touch of clear in the mix as well. So far a little brighter then even we thought it would be but it has not been buffed down yet, this is just shot from the gun. Will the buff "mellow" the sheen a little bit and make it less brassy?

We decided to gel the custom locker red although the entire interior will be white. This will provide for a little kaboom in the interior when you look down through the port or starboard rumble hatch. The inside of the locker and underside of each of the lids will still be white so that when you lift those hinged items it will blend in with the white hull interior.

[gcarter]

........thus the fun begins.........



At this point, I kinda hate gel!

[gcarter]

Greg, that looks just like mine did just after it was sprayed.
After the wax is removed, it will be very dull, and, of course, has a lot of orange peel.
I started a thread called "Gel Problems", or something like that, and it worked through the pinhole problems, the air dryer, the new gun, etc. If you look through it, you'll see pictures just like these, and how the finishing process works.
Like I said, this is where the fun starts.

One of the ways to minimise the orange peel (and reduce sanding courses) is to slow down the spraying process and let the gel build up. Just short of the "sag" point is the magic moment. The gel will flatten remarkably and the orange peel will almost disappear. It takes a lot of patience in the spraying process to do it. But a little more time spent here will save a lot of time later.

[gcarter]

Greg, here's the link to the "Problem" thread:

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthre...lcoat-problems

[Greg Guimond]

Thanks George for all the info, it helps a lot. The deck, cockpit, and interior will be white thank goodness! This project may never end when I think of rigging etc. Man it puts in perspective how efficient some of the board members are with pushing the work through.

[Greg Guimond]

Front left and right map holders glassed in and gel'd red and the first sand down of the wet dry storage lid looks pretty good............

[Greg Guimond]

Front bow area, flat floor, and drink holder/mapholder/rigging tubes glassed in................

[jl1962]

Awesome.

Let's see, a little over five months to the Dust-Off. First drink is on me!

Keep going.

[Greg Guimond]

Thanks for the encouragement Jay. Things seem to be picking up a bit I am hoping to get a full arial shot of the hull interior fully sprayed and buffed before the deck goes back on in a week or so. We hope to make 2 bottle cuts and a map cut in the red bow boxes.