these are most of my boat collection which range from speed boats, warships,cargo ships, Hovercraft and air boats most are scratch built I only have 3 boats I didn't scratch build that last picture was the first large scale I built about 16 years ago and she still runs

Could you post close ups of the red hovercraft and the
boat with the black hull with H14 stencilled

Very nice 

Ever done an Aquarama Riva?

Lovely,

i love the pilot on the boat

ever done a sailboat?

 

Her are a couple close up the ship in the back ground is 9FT

No not yet but one of our club members is building one now I think it's is 3rd

It is a nice one In the near future I will be doing a kit for that exact boat I will keep you posted if you are interested

Yes I have done a couple but they aren't my perfered model to build

Her are some close ups it's one of my older boats about 10 years old and in need of some TLC
I had this set up on brushless 2600KV inrunner it went like a rocket way over scale speed
did it just for a laugh

Tell us something about your material selection and building techniques. Do you first design in AutoCAD then laser cut? What materials do you use? How do you select a power system? Where do you get the hardware? What are the special detailing and finishing tips and tricks to get such a wonderful finish and look? (I can go on...)

I could probably write a book on those questions alone
I have only had my laser cutter for just over a year so I have only built about 6 boats, hovercraft with it
The rest of my models are proper scratch built like the Cargo ship, corvette warship, pilot boat, patrol boat and container ship
I use a range of materials from Wood, plywood, balsa wood, fiberglass, resin and plastic
I have just been playing with vacuum forming plastics,
Power systems I use brushed motors for large scale models with acid batteries
power systems for fast electric and hovercraft I use brushless motors
How I work out what I am going to us I calculate the size weight and speed I want from a boat
small fast boats I use and highly recommend Triple S motors from  http://www.horracing.com/shopping_cart.php
I also buy http://www.horracing.com/product_info.php?products_id=335 this part for drive shaft as it's every thing you need for a surface drive set up
I also use Hobbyking but not as much any more as there gear is unreliable and they don't match stuff to well as HOR racing are easier to work with and the owner Johny is a good guy
In my small boats I use there 29/60 2880KV 4 poll motor with water jacket http://www.horracing.com/product_info.php?products_id=593 this is an awesome or boats upto 650mm long
I have one in my wooden speed boat which is 550 mm long and run on 3 cell 2200 amh battery with a 35 mm prop the motor doesn't even get hot not even warm and I get 10 minutes of flat out running
you can run these motor on 5cell but that would be insane in the boat I have on 3 cell it just hangs on with just the prop in the water great fun to drive and can drive in choppy water ESC i use 70 amp birdy from hobby king as they are nice and cheap
in my medium speed boats I use there  http://www.horracing.com/product_info.php?products_id=612 36/74 2075KV motor which can run on 8 cell lipo totally sick speeds I use 120amp hobbywing which are up to 12 cell lipo
for my big speed boats and my large scale jet boat I  use 56/92 800KV on 16 cell with a 280 amp 16 cell ESC

Finishing tips
First patients and lots of sanding and filler then undercoat sand and fill again you do this process until you achieve the finish you want

Now I design boats with corel draw I still build the old fashion way lay a keel the set bulk heads and the piece by piece build my boat but I draw the piece in coreldraw then use my laser cutter to cut the pieces out

I have also use outrunners in a patrol boat I have 2x 35/36 1450KV on 3 cell with 35 mm 3 blade props goes very well much faster than scale speed gets up on the plane really well

Here are some links to youtube for some of my boats and hovercraft

wow! those are amazing!!! can you post some pictures of the cracker box here? 

This is my cracker box 820 mm long I do a kit for these out of ply and very thin birch the kit is very easy to build

cost is $200AU I am looking at do this hull in plastic as it would be a lot cheaper about $70 au

That was an awesome and detailed description. For selection of the power unit for the boat (Engine power & rpm, prop size) do you use some software or just experience?

Experience I have been building boats for 20 years

Great! Now we can ask you for guidance 

May I start troubling you first? How will this motor be on a Baby Bootlegger (37" long)
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8594

Is the boat 37 cm or 37 inches
For that kind of money I would buy
http://www.horracing.com/product_info.php?products_id=593
This motor would kick the ass of the Hobbyking boat and uses less amps I have the hobby king motor in a small boat only 20 inches long
The Triple SSS motor is only $6 more and has a higher out put with a max rev of 60,000 compared to the hobby king at only 43,000
The Triple SSS motor has 1000 watts max and the hobby king only around 400 watts
I run a 29/60 in a wooden speed boat that is 550mm long and only on 3 cell and it's fast I can go another 2 cell but there is no need it is fun enough on 3 cell

Thanks mate.

The boat is about 37 inches. I already have the Hobby King Motor, and a 4 mm Shaft & Rudder set, and was looking for a suitable model. Any suggestions?

The HOR racing motor develops the 1000 W at 20 V. I want to use a 3 cell LIPO, 12 V. There would not be much power difference in that case; of course the speed of the HOR is more @ 20 V, but at 12 V the HOR is about 35000 revs, and the HK is about 45,000 revs.

Really not too much difference!

I just find the triple sss motor stays cooler than the hobby king motor at less amps and just because the the motor KV says it's spinning faster doesn't mean in the water it is as the sss motor has alot more torque
I run the triple ss with 3 cell and it is faster than the boat I have with the hobbyking motor at the same cell
here are the 2 boats
believe it or not but the wooden boat on the left is faster the the sleek one on the right
the left one triple sss the right Hobbyking both running same prop and same 3 cell

Numbers are all very well, but at the end of the day it's measured performance that counts!

Thanks Stuart. BTW, which prop are you using on these? And, do you have any pics showing the layout of the Electronics & Hardware?

I'm just using the hobbyking 35/1.4 brass prop suit 4mm shaft in the slim sleek boat I am using a http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Eurgle-Advance-RC-Boat-Ship-80A-Programmable-Brushless-BL-Motor-ESC-UBEC-/330741468083 I have found it to be a goo ESC with good linear control
In my wooden boat that runs the SSS motor i'm using a 70amp birdy from Hobbyking

The thing to think about is how fast do you want to go and if it's not fast enough can you just add another cell to increase speed as with the SSS motor you can go up to 5 cell

I would also consider maybe a bigger motor for a 37 inch hull as it's near a meter long maybe a 36/74 2075KV with a 40/43 prop and run on 6 cell just run 2 3cell batteries in series if they have a good enough c rating to handle the amp draw If you have the money consider buying a turnigy 180 ESC they are a very good esc I have one in my 1/4 scale jet boat and it pulls over 100amps