Ok, thanks all. Agree center of gravity is a great idea but already moved everything that can be moved to the back. My thinking is the G propellers doesn't look very sexy and are designed for a wide range of applications. My buddy run a very heavy boat with lower top speed with the exact same propeller design but different pitch and gearing obviously. The DPR drive has a much more appealing prop design from the beginning. But hear what you are saying and will ask them to be less aggressive in terms of reducing blade area. Peter, on the gear teeth wear. Are you saying you adjust the size of the front and rear propeller according to the wear of the gear inside the gear housing?

Sounds pretty advanced to me! You should open up a special Volvo Penta customization shop!!

of course you did that is the only way to do it, we wouldn't have expected anything less from you. I have to say I am extremely jealous of your selection of fantastic shop equipment and more importantly your skill set to use them all! How does one go about machining elbows and barbed and threaded fittings???

Hi Gustav,
Having so many hours on the drives has enabled me to monitor gear teeth condition and load patterns. On dpr drives i have found that the front propeller was taking much more load than the rear, as the engines were sitting on their rev limiters with the largest propellers that volvo make i knew i needed more pitch so gradually over a period of time i reduced the blade area of the front prop and increased the pitch on both props, i also run much more cupping than standard and i now have equal load on the gear teeth but i will probably have to make more adjustments on the new setup.

Regards
Peter

Hi All,
Virtually all the rigging is now complete in the engine bay the only wires left to run are for the steering transducers which won't be installed until after the drives go on as i don't want any joins outside of the boat. Have now started wiring the dashboard end all the canbus is in just the fuse board to finish of, takes me a little longer as i am not an electrician. Also finished shaping the carbon fibre nose cone and hatch cover these are now ready for lacquering , engine air intakes have been weathering outside for nine months and have now been lacquered.


Peter

A few more

Peter - Nice work (as always).

I have a question about the permanent magnet motors on the trim pumps. Looking at the OilDyne literature, these seem to have a lower flow rate than the traditional series-wound pumps for the same pump size. Did you go to a larger pump rotor?

Hi Chuck,
The pumps in the volvo engine boat are standard volvo issue which are oildyne 108 series the ones we supply for Ilmor indy drives and merc number 6's are oildyne 165 series with a larger pumping element. The permanent magnet motors seem to maintain better flow as the pressure rises so they must have a fair bit more torque.

Peter

Hi All,
Made lots more progress with the wiring very time consuming but i am actually beginning to enjoy it. Trial fitted the trim tab mounting plates these are now back at Carbon Weasel for lacquering, i also made all the hardwear to mount the steering transducers to the drives, there is a left hand and a right hand set, transducers are submersible to 2 metres.
This will be our last post for a while as we leave for Key West tomorrow.

Peter

Nice maloo ute! What made you import that one?

Thanks Kurt,
This is my 3rd maloo in England they are classed as a commercial vehicle and as i use it in my business as a daily driver the tax is only about £1000.00 per year with unlimited fuel and you can claim back the vat tax which is 20% the one in the picture has lots of modifications it runs bilstein suspension with poly bushes and the motor is supercharged with a cam and large injectors it runs 630hp at 6200rpm and a very flat torque curve peaking at 550 ft lbs at 4000rpm so you get supercar performance for not a lot of money and it's a real fun drive.

Peter

Returned from our vacation in Florida a few weeks ago to a cold and wet England and have made a little bit more progress, i have used hydraulic check valves with adjustable spring tension for the raw water pipe and strainer protection, all parts are made of 316 stainless which i have machined externally to reduce their weight. also got the dashboard assembly in place and trial fitted the carbon finished air intakes. Being at the mercy of the weather is limiting the progress outside, so then i am in the shop making the new steering parts for the Outerlimits ready for our return in February.:D


Peter

nice work as always Peter you need to start making boat parts for sale, I'm sure i'm not the only one drooling over here. What is the size of the pressure valves?

Thanks pstorti,
Virtually everything i make is for sale.... although i don't push for sales on the forum as i am not a commercial member, there are quite a few boats in the UK with my hydraulics and water systems. The by pass valves are 1/2" bsp but we can make adaptors to any thread male or female.

Peter

when you think it will b on the water?

Hi rickg 1984,
The outerlimits is taking up most of my time at the minute, but i have managed to finish the fabrication for the front wing mounting so hopefully back in the water for early summer.

Peter

Hi All,
Weather is getting a little better so i have been able to finish of the front wing mounting, the welds were dressed with a dye grinder then anodised followed by sevral coats of 2-pack ready for mounting.

Peter

Hi All,
The good weather continues which has enabled me to bond on the air intakes these are now permanent fixtures and part of the structure, also permanently fitted the trim tab mounting plates, next task is to make some special hinges for the lightweight engine hatch.

Peter

Hi All,
Fitted the raw water pressure relief valves, these are connected with hydraulic quick release couplings which have been machined to reduce their weight, they can also be used for flushing the engines. Permanently fitted the carbon fairlead cover to the nose and also the removable hatch, checked the fitment of the aluminum wing mounting.

Peter

looking good mate bet you cant wait to get it in the water

Such a cool boat/project. Incredible craftsmanship!

Thanks rickg 1984 & knot 4 me
The nice weather has enabled me to make lots more progress, finished of all the custom Volvo looms and garmin systems and we were able to switch it on and give it a try, everything configured beautifully so next weekend i should be able to flash the motors up. Also mocked up the cylinders for the carbon fibre trim tabs so we can now mould the re-inforecment all coming together nicely:hugegrin::hugegrin:

Peter

A few more pictures

Hi All,
Got the drives installed today, tomorrow i will start the pipe work for the dry sump system.

Peter

Hi All,
Fitted carbon fibre air intake for additional ventilation, also filled the drives with oil installed the props and mocked up the transducer brackets.

Peter

Peter,
Didn't look for a while, hat off!! Got a lump in my throat watching these drives :eekdrop:

best regards
Paul

Thanks Paul,
Today i made all the dry sump hoses between the drives and transom and also did the final fit on the steering transducers these are submersible to 2 meters but should only get splash most of the time.

Peter

The end is in sight
 

High Tech! Great.
Will you throw the champagne bottle this summer?

cheers
Paul

Any concern with the weight of the lines for the dry sump hanging off the fittings? Generally, boats seem to have the internal lines, wires, hoses, etc secured every 6-8 inches, and external lines are are fairly short. Frickin' awesome project though. What's the calendar look like for June?

Thanks Paul,
We are about 3 weeks away until her first splash subject to weather

Peter

Thanks MAIDEN AMERICA,
My day job is designing and building small hydraulic drill rigs and i very often use unsupported hose on these and finds it works really well.On the boat i have used 3 hoses which are cable tied together and they have to accommodate all the steering movement and trim, they are way over specked for their purpose and as such they are mechanically very very strong, they have a working pressure of 5000 psi with a three times safety factor two are being used with a small vacum the other four are a little over atmospheric.

Peter

Hi All,
Spent Thursday and Friday trimming the carbon screen also had to cut a 2ft long rebate in the deck as the screen is much longer than the standard one, then yesterday i enlisted the help of my first mate….. to assist with positioning the screen on a generous bead of tiger-seal, a pretty messy job then a massive clean up….

Peter

am I supposed to focus on the wind screen or the ,,forgot what the shirt says.:party-smiley-004:looks good both of them.:evilb:

Hi All,
Cheetah purrs into life:D both motors started on the button::cool-smiley-027:

Peter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNldI5GadCk

Hi All,
Cheetah gets her carbon front trim wing permanently installed:huge grin:

Peter

Peter your work is flawless as always but I have to say that wing really looks out of place up there. I hope it makes a huge difference in the performance of the boat!

Peter

Looks high tech.respect!
Am not familiar with wings at the bow, is it active, since I notice wires going to it?

keep it coming

Paul

Hi Paul,
At the moment the wing is moved by linear actuators, the calculated lift at 75mph is 250lbs and the aim is to be able to trim the boat with the wing so the drives can remain parallel to the water, if it works successfully i will remove the linear actuators and install high speed hydraulic cylinders powered of engine driven pumps to make the wing fully active.

Peter

Cheetah gets her new graphics..

Peter

Peter
Is your carbon exhaust tubing treated with special heat resistant resin or is the regular vinylester tube good enough? (Since I sea not much water coming out of the exhaust )

Cheers
Paul

Hello Peter,
Thanks, you're definately not afraid to explore new paths.
If it is succesfull you could patent it as the " UNWING" :eureka:

Are you familiar with Navatek's aft lifting body system? Despite 100% the opposite, it could give you ideas.

http://www.navatekltd.com/aftlbsover.html

Aye aye
Paul