Feel free to e-mail me
if you have any questions.MISS STRESS 2
(By Ian Phillips)
Feel free to e-mail me
if you have any questions.
Well, people keep asking me how I built my boat and when will
the plans be out! All I can say is that the plans won't be out because those who
know me will tell you that I don't use plans, it's all in my head but this time
I was helped by a few photos of a boat called 'JET' that I saw in 1995 at the
World Offshore Circuit Racing Championships. I took
some photos and promised myself that I would make a model of it one day. I have
now built three models, the first for 12 cell use powered by a Graupner 700BB
turbo motor. The second was a much smaller version powered by a Graupner Speed
400 6 volt motor on a 2:1 reduction gearbox and wasn't successful but after an
upgrade to a 480BB Race (straight drive) it sailed exactly like it's bigger
sisters, just a bit slower! When looking for a Mono 3 (20 cell) boat I was
persuaded to make another version of my original Miss Stress and this little
baby is powered by a Graupner Ultra 1600 motor and 20 cells. The following words and pictures
are the best I can come up with by way of an explanation as to how she was
built.
I already had the original 12 cell boat so I just scaled everything up by 33% and hoped for the best. The first job was to draw out the shape of the transom onto ply. This is a balsa 'sandwich' between 2 pieces of 1/32nd ply. Most of my boats are made from ply because it is relatively cheap and easy to use.
After that came the hull bottom which again was first drawn onto ply then cut out and glued to the transom. I tend to use both cyano and 5 minute epoxy to build with and often use masking tape to hold the parts together then run a 'fillet' of epoxy along the joint.
OK, transom glued to the hull so the next thing is to put the sides on and also some birch stringers for extra strength and also to give more gluing area later on in the build.
Now the theory of this design is to create surfaces to 'lift' the hull out of the water as much as possible and reduce drag so two panels were glued in next which form lifting surfaces and then become part of the two outriggers.
As you will see from this photo, the lift panels fit almost to
the bow and end up looking rather like the shape of a formula one car.
Next we need steps in the hull that help to create turbulence under the boat and reduce drag. This is where I differ from the original boat and use my own design. I created two 'arrowhead' steps by cutting across the hull then pressing the joint against itself so it goes 'in'. The rear step is longer and wider than the front step. The boat now has 3 ride points, one at the front of each step and one at the transom.
Now on to the running strakes (rails) which help to stop the boat from sliding out on corners. These are made from square birch stringers sanded to form a triangular shape. It is important to keep the perpendicular side to the outside of the boat so these rails will 'grab' the water on corners. Now the hull is really beginning to take shape.
Both out runners are fabricated piece by piece gradually building up each one. These are not ride points but act to steady the boat in rough conditions and in the turns. The boat does not use a turn fin.
Filler (plastic wood) is used to 'tune' the hull along the sides and also for the front step, then the hole for the air outlet which is designed to bring air under the hull and reduce drag.
Some supports are glued on before the air intake and decks are glued in place.
Close up of the air outlet under the hull with the filler built up to form the front step ride surface.
The deck was glued on with 5 minute epoxy and the air tubes also glued in place at the same time.
Close up inside the hull showing air tubes and flotation aid.
The driver's cab was made and fairing for the air intake then after a final sand down the hull was given three coats of resin sanded down well between each coat before painting. I also put strips of fibreglass cloth inside along the joints for added strength.
Those are the basic steps of how I built the hull and it was fast enough to win the Mono 3 UK Championship and Straight Line Speed Record for 20 cell brushed motors in 2003 and 2004 which was a real high for me and gave me a tremendous amount of satisfaction. Sadly as my speed run finished in 2004 and the record was broken once again, some bright spark switched on a transmitter on the same frequency as me and 'twiddled' sending Miss Stress hurtling into the landing stage at around 35mph. causing irreparable damage. She has now been consigned to the dustbin! At least I still have my other 2 boats.
The real boat!
