Update For Feb. 10th


Its been awhile since I posted. Dont worry, I have been working on the boat... well mainly my dad has. We now have the skid fin plate on the front of the sponson transom. That was a mess. I didnt cut the plate exactly to the correct size, so when I glued it on, I tightened the bracket down to get it lined up properly. But I tightend too hard and it ended up cracking the hull. You can see what I am talking about in this picture.

Next we cut out the bottom of the boat to make room to put in the radio box. I was told to put the fuel tanks in the front and put the radio in back, but I think this will even out the weight better. But I wont know til I actually run the boat. In this picture you can also see the spoiler my dad added.

My dad has also done alot of cosmetic work to make this hull into the Kai. He added the point to it, and had modified the cowling. I will update next week with some more pictures. I am alittle behind on updating, but so far we have also made the fuel tanks, put in reinforcement on the bottom of the hull and are starting to mount the motor, strut and stuffing box. My dad hopes to have the boat painted by the RCU show coming up in two weeks or so, but that is rushing the project too much for my liking. I dont want to rush things with this project. On a side note, the boat has gained weight. It is now up to alittle over 5 pounds. I still hope to have it weigh 12 pounds when finished.
I thought I would create this blog to show my progress on my new boat for 1/8th scale racing this year, the 1957 Hawaii Kai III. I am building this boat in memory of my mom, who recently passed away this last December. This was her favorite hydroplane of all time, and she raced this boat for many years in RCU. I added a picture of the actual Hawaii Kai III in the photo albumn for those not familar with this boat. For the model I ordered a hull from Mark Williamson of California and receved it on December 30, 2004. It only weighes 3 pounds and 11 ounces. She looks to be very light and fast. I will have to re-enforce the bottom of the hull and the transom, but that will not take too long. I will update soon with some pictures of the hull, and will continue to update throughout the building process.
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