ML Boatworks New Sport 20 Hydroplane for FE or nitro, pics and build thread

[Mike Luszcz]

Scott, I do not do any vacuum bagging as I do not have the equipment to do so.

Thanks for the kind words Ron. I really hope you enjoy your Gas tunnel. Its my way of saying Thank you for building my website..not sure I can repay you for that!

Now to the good stuff!!!!!

Well guys, just got back from a maiden run in 20mph headwind, 5-6" rolling short chop, no skid fin, and a center of gravity 1.5" behind the sponson heel due to a 4s pack being 1.5" from the nose, instead of 2- 2s packs pushed all the way forward, and all I have to say is this:

I have owned other sport 20 size hulls, and I would have just turned around and gone home after seeing the waves. I turn around and go home when I have a tunnel to run and the weather is like that. The boat ran AWESOME. It showed absolutely no signs of blowing off heading straight into the wind, it did NOT submarine, or even act like it wanted to, you could dead stop in the middle of the rollers, let the hull come to a dead stop, punch it, and it pops right back up on plane...in 5" chop! If this first run was an indication of how its going to be with the final center of gravity and a skid fin installed, this is going to be a dangerous hull!!! Teach over on OSE was nice enough to get me a Tyndall fin and bracket in the mail today to speed up the process, so once that arrives, and I purchase some 2s 5000 batteries so the boat can be set up like its suppose to be, videos will follow. I have not even been this excited with any of the tunnels I have tested. I'm really happy guys. Talk soon! Mike...OUT!

 

[Mike Luszcz]

current build list on last page

 

[Mike Luszcz]

I got home from out of town last night, and the skid fin had arrived! Got it installed this morning, and went out and ran the boat. It performs SO awesome! No more chopping in the turns, boat did not show any signs of blowing off as the fin really locked it in. I was able to remove the 2 degrees negative trim in the strut I had and put it around zero, boat handled wakes and wind and rough water really, really well. I plan now to get a cowling plug out to the vacuum former, and get the final drawings for the kit finished up. At that point, I will order about six kits and by the time I have those built, I should have the cowlings from my guy! I hope to get some really good videos this weekend as my local friend will have off and he can go out and record it running. It made such nice turns and you can point it any way you want, if you have to force a left turn, it does not try to lift the left sponson, it just holds! Really excited! videos real soon. Thanks, Mike

 

[Doug Smock]

That's great Mike!!

Looking forward to the videos. B)

 

[FloridaScaleBoater]

Here are some videos with the UL-1 motor, UL-1 controller, 4s1p.

Please NOTE: The boat does NOT have a skid fin yet, just awaiting one to arrive, and as you can see, the flat bottom strut is causing some choppiness in the turns. One the skid fin arrives I can actually do some tuning. These tests were just to see how the boat did in rough water and straight lines. I ran it the day before in 5-6" chop and it handled that and the 20mph wind amazingly well. The back of the boat is staying off the water very very well. Again, these are just tests because I was to impatient to wait! The boat shows a LOT of promise. One of the videos show what a beating the boat will take as well. Without a skid fin, I could not get it to make a right turn in time, and BANG into the rocks. This was the impact testing. I try to do this to all the new boats to see how it handles impact...lol. All it did was chip the ply on one of the sponson tips, and bend the rudder. All is back to normal now. Mike

http://www.youtube.c...bed/xD2WvaZouF8

http://www.youtube.c...bed/3aPefNhbSKM

http://www.youtube.c...bed/svtKSskwxsk

Sport 20

1) HOTWATER

2) ron1950

3) Diegoboy

4) Midnightsabatoge

5) sailr

6) MarylandFE

7) Bigwaveohs

8) Rightturnonly

9) voepel

10)ww29

11)Battlefury-Felix OSE

12) Mike Buck

Sport 40

1)Jaike5

Sport 20 kit

1)Larry Conrad

2) Teach

3) Howard Welch

4) Doug Smock

5) Dick Loeb

Sport 40 kit

1) Bert Dygert

Is this a list of folks on a waitng list for boats/kits?

If so, depending on kit price, I would like to be added to the sport-20 kit

Rick

 

[Mike Luszcz]

Rick, Yep, that is a kit list waiting list. I have to do some final mark ups on the kit, then get some cut. I also need to get the cowling plug finished, and out to my vacuum guy. I want to offer these as complete kits. If the guys on that list feel comfortable without full on instructions, I can get the kits out sooner. I do have a ton of build pics that I can post to help out until the instruction manual is done. Most of the guys on that list are seasoned builders, including yourself, and this is an easy one to build! I will add you to the list, and yes, the price will be competitive with the other wood kits available in this form! Thanks, Mike

 

[FloridaScaleBoater]

Sounds good Mike,

Thanks, look forward to updates.

 

[Mike Luszcz]

Here is a couple videos from today. I am a bit under the weather, but had to get out there and get something up!Boat ran so good. Ran 2 more packs threw it, no blowing off, no odd behavior. Wind was about 5-10mph, water about 2-3".

 

[Mike Luszcz]

Below is the current list.

I have come up with a tenative cost for the Sport 20 kit, which includes all wood needed, cowling, and instructions for $165 plus shipping.

The build Sport 20 will be $300 plus shipping. The built hull includes total interior covered in West Systems epoxy, 8oz cloth covering inside of sponsons and down the engine well. It also includes one coat of exterior west systems epoxy, and all seems filled with West System 406 Colodial Silica. If carbon fiber is needed, please add $$25 to build cost. I will talk to all the people on the list about their exact needs before proceeding with their builds to far. Since this is the first time I have discussed prices, please let me know if you are no longer interested so I can adjust the build list. Thanks guys.

Oh, and the Sport 40 hull design has been started and I hope to finish that, and get in the first kit in the next couple weeks. The cowling plug for the Sport 20 is also a priority right now for me so I can get that process going.

Sport 20 build list

1) HOTWATER

2) ron1950

3) Diegoboy

4) Midnightsabatoge

5) sailr

6) MarylandFE

7) Bigwaveohs

8) Rightturnonly

9) voepel

10)ww29

11)Battlefury

12)Mike Buck

Sport 20 kit

1)Larry Conrad

2) Teach

3) Howard Welch (760) 552-2975

4) Doug Smock

5) Dick Loeb

6) Rick Belinger

7) tamalito

Sport 40 build list (soon to come)

1)Jaike5

Sport 40 kit

1) Bert Dygert

 

[Mike Luszcz]

Got a pretty good video today. I removed 3 ounces of lead up from after this video and the boat was calmer in the turns. I think the tiny choppying in the turns is just a matter of loading the prop a little better with center of gravity changes at this point. Such a fun boat to drive! The dead stop at the end of the second video was what happens when a motor wire chafs against a carbon fiber motor mount...Luckly no damage to the motor or esc happened. Mike

http://youtu.be/YY2tUrAY9_w

 

[Mike Luszcz]

Well, I am finally getting the hang of making molds, thanks to some excellent product choices a good friend suggested. I got the first of two molds I am making for the sport 20 and 40 hulls. I decided to make the cowls for builds and kits glass instead of abs so my price point matches competitors offerings better. Here is the first mold as I am waxing it up now. I also pulled down my whip20/ 40 mold as I had some guys that needed one of them as well. I plan on getting the first batch of kits ordered this week, and I want to get an instruction manual worked up online for people to download very soon. None the less, things are moving forward! Thanks, Mike

 

[Kris Flynn]

Hope it still runs well past 75MPH on 4S

 

[Mike Luszcz]

Oh thats gonna happen here stateside really soon.... h34r:

 

[Mike Luszcz]

Well, made some good progress yesterday. Got the first part pulled from mold number 1. Turned out really nice! You can see how enough cowling was made to help it fit the soon to come Sport 20L (33.5" version) and Sport 40 size hull as well. I had a PM from a gentleman that would like to see a one piece cowling that went all the way to the back. He felt it would be more benefitial to the nitro guys. Any nitro racers have an opinion on that? Would it help if I have a version like that for you guys? Let me know! Thanks, Mike

 

[RodneyPierce]

It would be nice for the nitro people, but they could also just attach it to a piece of ply and make it full length that way.

 

[FloridaScaleBoater]

It would be nice for the nitro people, but they could also just attach it to a piece of ply and make it full length that way.

Agree with Rodney,,

Either way works.. I just want one to start building!!!

Way ta go Mike,, I'm excited about this.

 

[Mike Luszcz]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am going to probably order 10 kits or so tomorrow so I can start putting some orders together. I dred this instruction manual! Its not my thing, lol. Talk soon, mike

 

[TERMINATOR]

Mike, that is a very nice looking design. I like the nice roomy interior, something that is lacking in many Sport 20 boats. You electric guys should be able to stuff enough batteries in that hull to light up a small community. Nitro lovers like myself should have no problem routing a 180 degree exhaust under the cowl, with room enough to run a front or rear radio box.

i have to ask.. how legal will it be with that bottom not being on a continious plane..that was a big deal with my hull a couple years ago..it made the boat very loose and very ,very fast ..we hit 69 mph with a near stock nova in it .. but they wou not approve it ..and your boat looks like mine on the bottom .. nice boat but until it is approved dont get yer panties all twisted up..unless your one of the boys that can get anything approved because your friends with them.
tk

 

[Darin Jordan]

i have to ask.. how legal will it be with that bottom not being on a continuous plane.. .. but they wou not approve it ..

I just printed out the NAMBA Nitro/Gas Sport Hydro rules... I don't see anywhere in them where it specifies that the bottom has to be a "continuous plane"... Can you tell me where you are seeing this?? I know that Mike really does his homework when it comes to the rules... so I'm pretty sure he's looked at all the angles...

I will say, as I'm sure has been said before... the Sport Hydro rules really don't make a lot of sense... There are contradictory sections, etc... For example, it mentions in 20.B.3 that "all riding surfaces (drive train and prop not included) in front 50% of hull length", but then in 20.B.12, it mentions "the rear sponson width will not be included in the (transom width) minimum measurement"...

Very confusing, from a developer's standpoint...

 

[RodneyPierce]

I believe Terry is referencing the IMPBA rules. It is legal to the current rule standards.