[eriemusic]

Hi all.
Thought I'd share my conversion of my vintage Atlas Van Lines hydroplane kit 1304. I got this for Christmas when I was about 15 (many moons ago...) and built it as per plans with an Enya .35 nitro motor. It ran fine & I enjoyed it but seems I let the hobby go. Years later I have decided to resurrect the AVL and change it over to electric power.

I am going with a Dr. Mad Thrust 4082 1400kv motor (3700 watts of power which I hope will get this old, heavy hull up on plane quickly), Seaking 180 esc powered by 2 Zippy 5000mah 3s in series.

I have spent alot of time sanding down the original paint I put on years ago and am sealing & sanding the many small holes that have appeared. I have opened up the engine/motor area to accomodate the new electric motor and am getting close to being ready to seal the entire hull.
I am planning to use Envirotex to get a nice watertight hull.
Then white paint and repro decals to replicate the 1974 Atlas Van Lines hydro as driven by the great Bill Muncie.

I'll keep you all posted as my build progresses. Be patient as time is limited for me, but I do want this ready to go as soon as I can.

Any & all input is appreciated as I'm still learning and researching after many years of being out of the hobby.

Thanks
Charlie

[eriemusic]

Here are photos of my Atlas Van Lines conversion:

[eriemusic]

Here's a few more photos of my AVL:

[Dreamer]

Cool! Say you got that paint right off for starter that's impressive. I appreciate you taking the time to post and it sure looks like a fun project, you got pretty far already, I don't think I saw how or if you plan to keep the lipos dry...that's my first thought on conversions..
Keep er going Charlie.

[Dennis Pedersen]

Looking great ,keep up the good work. I had the Dumas 1/2A Atlas Van lines kit many decades of moons ago!

[eriemusic]

Thanks for the input, guys!

Dreamer, I'm thinking of putting the lipos up front under the cowl and building a slide-in style of cover to go over the entire open area.

Been sealing the hull the last couple days using Envirotex. Bit of a learning curve! Put it on thick the first time -as per the instructions. Turns out I shouldn't have followed the instructions! This stuff runs alot so after vigerous sanding and sanding some more I realized it must go on in THIN coats. Getting the hang of it now...

I'll put up more photos as I go.

[bensidus197217]

Just love those hulls!!!

[eriemusic]

I agree bensidus, the older, vintage hulls look so cool.

An update:
Been making progress, slowly but surely. Hull is pretty much all sealed, new rudder is being repositioned compared to the original-I'm going with a little more offset.
Looking to build a new cowl since the entire engine bay area which was open originally will now be enclosed. Just need to get the materials.

Looking for some help on prop size. I really don't know what size to start with.
I'm going with the Dr. Mad Thrust 4082- 1400kv, 180 Seaking esc, in the 36" long hull.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Charlie

[bensidus197217]

Wish I could help but I'm only experienced on building the slow moving boats. Mind you I did build one fast one that lasted about four runs until it threw a pin from a "U" joint through the hull.

[bensidus197217]

Pictures of my last build.