.21 Firefighter rigger

[topfuel443]

Hey Tom, I know that the .12 is available in a kit but is the .21 available? The more I look at yours the more I want to build one!! Any plans available or a kit that I dont know about? ~ James

 

[TomMoorehouse]

It is still in testing. It should be available pretty soon.... say in a month or 2. The prototype went together very smoothly and is very light. I've only been able to run mine a few times cause The Nova Rossi Engine I have has been difficult to get running properly :- But I have the Orion/Picco .26 in it now and That sould really push it to the edge and show me what it can do. If it goes well I will start the kitting process.

I'm very excited about the design. The few times I got the Nova Rossi running the boat had a perfect ride attitude very low spray.... it just looked awesome.

The design concepts were kinda very conservative yet I still incorporated some of my best new ideas.

The upside down airfoil shape tub is designed for holding the boat on the water in the 65-75mph range, the sponsons are also designed to increase downforce while in normal heat race trim. The whole boat was optimized to give the biggest footprint (distance from trailing edge of front sponsons to the prop) with the smallest overall size to reduce weight.

I say the design is conservative because it has no untested/radical design ideas in it. It only uses proven design features so as to increase a racers chance of finishing a race. This is my 5th design cycle for the FireFighter .21. It combines the best of my ideas as well as the best ideas I have learned from some of the worlds top racers I have had the pleasure of racing against.

sorry for the shameless plug..... but you asked right?

No plans will be available for the .21 I just have too much in it to give it away that easily.... the kit will be very inexpensive though following along with the .12 kit. The .21 design is totally different than the .12. The .21 designed for a lot more power. Meaning the .12 design is optimized to make the boat fast with low power engines, where as the .21 was optimized to hanle high power .21's and still stay in good shape on the water for heat racing. Completely different design theories..... construction techniques are pretty much identical though.... designed to be light and easy to build.... I can't tell ya how many sponsons I made trying to get the perfect method that is easy to build, light, and strong.

ok.... i'm done.... as you can see i'm excited about the project..... I love it when a plan comes together!

 

[topfuel443]

Hey Tom thanks for the info. I want to be the first on the list when the kit comes out. I hear you about trial and error and building so many different ideas. I will have to take a picture of my " dead wood" wall to show you that I too have been through a long process of finding out what works and what doesnt. Its kinda fun to see the evolution from the first rigger I built to the current one I now race.

Keep us updated on the release of the kit!!

~ james

 

[topfuel443]

Also Tom, Not to rain on anyones "parade" but dont expect too much out of that .26........ :-

I have one also for my 1/8 buggy that I race. and its no where near as fast as the high end picco .21's I have an O-1 Comp engine that I use for racing and it will smoke all of the new .24-.27 Not to say that it wont work, because its a whole new world when you put it in a boat. Just my experience. ~ James

 

[TomMoorehouse]

Also Tom, Not to rain on anyones "parade" but dont expect too much out of that .26........ :-

I have one also for my 1/8 buggy that I race. and its no where near as fast as the high end picco .21's I have an O-1 Comp engine that I use for racing and it will smoke all of the new .24-.27 Not to say that it wont work, because its a whole new world when you put it in a boat. Just my experience. ~ James

oh man!.... why did you have to burst my bubble rats! i'm still giving it a try anyways

 

[user 115]

Hi Tom,

Congrats on the new boat.. Hope it turns out great for you..

Do you have any pictures of the boat?

If not, is it similar to any boats out there? Or a totally new design?

Would be interested in hearing more about the design characteristics of the boat and your inspirations for doing so...

As a fellow District 4, 20 hydro racer, keep me in mind when they are available..

Thanks, Charley

 

[Slideblues]

Here is one I saved:

 

[TomMoorehouse]

yep... gener... that would be it!

it is a totally new design.... what's it like... that's really tough..... nothing really is like it a whole lot.... the tub is roughly like a hawk and employs some tricks I learned from Gary Preusse. The sponsons are like..... well they are just simple... easy to build and functional. I place a lot of emphasis on being easy to build. I have scratch built a ton of riggers and have learned what is easy and what is not. The sponson tubes are the same type I believe are used in an Eagle SG but that would be the only similarity to an SG. I don't know what else to say.... it is not like much other riggers really.....

I'll keep ya in mind for sure .... i'm looking for a good driver to take one to the internats next year....