New Scale Boat

[Mike McKnight]

Ok since everyone else is posting their new scale boats. Here are some shots of my 1989 Miss Circus Circus "Pink Lady". She's a little nekked still as she's all white but she goes to the artist to get the rest of her color this weekend.

https://www.intlwaters.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=792

The hull was probably one of the last ever done by Troy McIntire. I bought it as a 91 Winston with the Miller/Circus canopy and cowl. I removed the tiplets and outer shoes and replaced the aft section of non-trip with a carbon panel glassed in place with the small upturn at the transom on both sides. The cockpit of the Winston/SJ was narrower than the Circus so I cut off the existing cockpit and remolded a new cockpit to match the canopy. The cowl I extended an inch and a half forward from the original break so that the airscoop sits at the right distance back from the trailing edge of the windshield. The back of the cowl was not originally vented. I vented it and fabricated and glassed in the flat section of the vent. The cowl was also shortened two and a half inches from the original layup as it was intended to be a miller cowl which was longer. Rear shoes were added ot the inside of the airtrap at the transom as well as an articulated spray step just above where the prop is as on the real boat.

 

[t_hedlund]

looks good

 

[shann harrison]

Mike,I not trying to start anything but I'm thinking the rear of the airscoop looks a little short.I just mentioned this because I have an circus circus cowl and it looks short to me.

 

[Mike McKnight]

Actually it's probably the angle of the shot that is making it look shorter. If I got a better shot from the side and showed you the overhead poster shot I have of the real boat you'd see it's pretty close. They made a number of mods to the real boat between 88-89. Besides the radiused sponsons and the width change the cowl was changed considerably as well. It was much longer with no vent originally in 88...then when it became the Miller canopied boat it and the U-00 Circus had a smaller vent with a vane down the middle and it was still rounded over the turbine hot section. In 89 they extended the front of the cowl and shortend the back and gave it the flat section that runs into a lip on each side. The backup hull still had the longer backside and the same vent as in 88. The airscoop was also much closer to the back of the cockpit than it was on the primary hull.

 

[Don Ferrette]

Mike,I not trying to start anything but I'm thinking the rear of the airscoop looks a little short.I just mentioned this because I have an circus circus cowl and it looks short to me.

Not to change the subject but is that a cowl for a #108 hull in the background of your pic Shann? :blink:

 

[shann harrison]

Mike,I not trying to start anything but I'm thinking the rear of the airscoop looks a little short.I just mentioned this because I have an circus circus cowl and it looks short to me.

Not to change the subject but is that a cowl for a #108 hull in the background of your pic Shann? :blink:

Yes it is Don.I was going to put it on my Velasco hull.But it is on the back burner for now.shann

 

[shann harrison]

Mike,Yeah I see what your talking about I have few pics of the 88,89.Circus circus since I was thinking about building the 89 boat as well.It just looked short to me.I believe your right the picture doesnt help.But pinky is looking good post some pic when she gets her colors.For some reason I just like the circus boats.89-93 are my favorites.Shann

 

[mt. gay rum]

Looking good mike.. nice to hear from you yesterday,sounds like your felling better... what are the color codes for your circus,, i want to repaint mine.......

 

[Mike McKnight]

Will do Mike. I had worked with my neighbor who is a Sikkens regional rep and we had come up with the shades of pink but the dark pink was a little to dark and the medium pink wasn't quite right so we went back to the drawing board somewhat and came up with the right shade of dark pink. The guy that is painting it is the same guy that painted my U-00 Circus and he did some custom mixing for that boat and it came out pretty spot on. He's got a killer eye for that stuff. He has the dark and the light pink and he is custom mixing the medium shade. I can have the Sikkens guy match it. Their Autobase 1 paints have so many shades of pink that we'd be hard pressed NOT to get it right. By the way my painter is the same guy that painted the Elam that you now have.

 

[Mike McKnight]

She's back and she's got color

https://www.intlwaters.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=792

Still have a lot of detail work to do and clear it. I still have a few thiings that are top secret that I haven't done yet on the detail. All of the hardware and linkages are already done so she may be ready for water in a couple of weeks.

 

[Glenn 787]

Looking good Mike.

I think if I actually got a scale painted by Bob I'd be afraid to race it.

Might even be tempted to pull an Alfred and sell it

 

[Mike McKnight]

Finally got a coat of clear on......all but the cowl and airscoop. A small oops that wan't right that I sent back to be fixed. Just a couple of lines that went to long around the bend at the end near the turbine tube. Bob still has my light pink to do some touch up work on my U-00 Circus. First gun was giving me some weird spatter problems but I switched guns and man.....looks like the boat is wet it's so shiny. Usually I am terrible with clear but this is going on nice. Luckily the weather is cooperating with me for a while when I get home from the shop. Wet sand and another coat tomorrow night....in the mean time I'll work on the cockpit detail. The driver is already painted complete with air hose and supplied air bottle. The dash and mirrors are the next project. I'll post pics of it when I'm done

 

[Mike McKnight]

Finally got a little time away from the shop to do some testing. Initial test runs have been excellent. It handles like a sports car right from the first launch. After the motor wore in a little I started to lean on a little. A few radar gun passes have hit the low 60s but I have had to pull the tanks out and I'm in the process of re plumbing them as I have been having a pressure problem and cuts out switching from one saddle tank to the other. I think I have it worked out. I've been running the same 3 tank system in all my boats and once in a while I goof somewhere in the plumbing.

https://www.intlwaters.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=792