A woodworker and cabinet maker by trade, Bob entered the racing world about 10 years ago. He races under NAMBA, the North American Model Boat Association. NAMBA is a non-profit organization that governs the rules and regulations of model boat racing. It consists of many districts all throughout North America with races happening almost every weekend. They also hold their national championship each summer for the best of the best.

Eager to jump into the fray, Bob took a schematic of an actual boat, reduced it to 30%, and started his design there. Using skills from his trade, the first boats were carved out of wood. In fact, there were 20 wood boats in all, with each revision bringing about small changes and honing the overall design.

While this method proved highly successful and ushered in many victories, the time table for such construction was a large factor. Each boat required a 50 hour time investment, not to mention that it needed to be built from scratch each time. After a final design was reached, Bob decided to move over to fiberglass. This would allow use of the same mold each time, cutting down building time considerably, and creating a legitimate opportunity for large-scale production.

Bob had never worked with fiberglass before, but as a hand-on guy he was anxious to get started. Once the design was finalized, he constructed the plug using a wood core covered in foam for easing carving and shaping. The plug was then finished with a high-gloss surface and prepped for molding.

Because of the complex shape of the boat, a two part mold needed to be built. A parting line was created along the side and a flange was put in place. At that point, Bob created a polyester mold using lightweight fiberglass. He repeated the process on the other half and the mold was born.

With the two mold halves ready, it was time for lay-up of the final part. Because the boat is small and lightweight, Bob opted to go with 2, 4, and 6 oz. fiberglass and epoxy resin for the build. In places where the motor or other objects were to be attached, wood strips were laid into the fabric to allow for easy drilling and securing of nuts and bolts. The two halves were laid up by hand, and once cured, needed to be joined.

To join the parts, Bob took each of the mold halves and coated the inside with and mixture of epoxy, milled glass, and silica. Once this mixture was spread evenly, the two parts were set back into the mold. Bob then assembled the mold halves together and clamped them tightly shut. Once allowed to cure, the mold halves were removed once again and the pieces successfully joined.

Bob then attached the motor mounts and inserted the engine and other mechanics into place. Once deemed satisfactory, the boat received its final paint job and was ready to be dropped in the water. The final design is 30” long, weighs 3.5 lbs with no hardware, and about 6 to 7 pounds ready to run. While an equivalent wood boat required 50 hours, the comparable fiberglass boat took to the water in a mere 10. “I have put a great deal of time and effort into this boat. Five years of work, testing and improving my design has culminated in this epoxy model using your products,” said Tuttle.

This particular boat competes in the Sport 21 class with a 3.5 cc engine running on 40% Nitro Methane. This little engine produces 2.5 hp at 32,000 rpm and reaches speeds of 50 mph. On its first outing, it brought home victory. In fact, Bob has finished on top of the overall points leader board 3 times in the past 5 years. The other 2 years, it was a boat of Bob’s design that took home the victory. He races about 10 times a year, usually every other weekend from February to October. Living in California gives him the benefit of a long season.

With production times way down, Bob has given himself the opportunity to build and sell his boats to fellow racers. Using his current mold, 5 boats have already been constructed. But Bob is not stopping his R&D now. He is in the process of experimenting with different cowlings and different looks, hoping to improve upon his successes. As Bob says, “I love this stuff.”

For more information on NAMBA and model boat racing, visit them on the web at www.namba.com
Boat in action photo courtesy of NAMBA District 9

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