Matt Thor's Permit Kit Instructions on-line - I'll try to only post this once - LOL!

[tmsmalley]

I noticed on the Thor Design website, Matt has posted some very good instructions on assembling his 1]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Matt's Permit Instructions





Edited By TMSmalley on 1066668620

[robse]

I absolutely agree! The entire

I absolutely agree! The entire section should be read by everyone who's building a sub. There's SO many hints, and great explanations for everyone. Thanks, Matt!

I have even thought of printing the hole thing on paper, and making a small pamplet that way. Then I'll be sure to have a quick reference guide when the time comes for me to work on the hull.... Maybe Matt's doing a small book-like-thing with all of this information allready? I'd sure order one along with my hull.

[adriaticsea]

Hi Tim,

you're absolutely right about

Hi Tim,

you're absolutely right about Matt's Permit instructions. I'm just building a ThorDesign SSN-594 kit and it's coming along very well, thanks to the great online instructions.
The hi-res images and well written text helped me very much in figuring out how to build this beautiful boat!
See, I'm a complete beginner and made only a few mistakes on my kit so far(can't think how many mistakes I would have made without the online instructions and Matt Thor help!!]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_biggrin.gif[/img])
Anyway, the quality of Matt Thor's work(both fiberglass and cast resin parts) is amazing...The Permit kit is a MUST!!
BEST REGARDS MAURO

[tmsmalley]

The only item I can

The only item I can see that the site needs is information on the method to hold the hull halves together.

Here is how I do it in the bow - from a Matt Thor SubCommittee Report article from a number of years ago. The only change I made was that I now use a 4-40 cap screw and a correspondingly bigger brass tube instead of the teensy 0-80 screw.
PS - If anyone has a better / quicker way, I 'd love to see it.




Edited By TMSmalley on 1066676144

[casey thrower]

The only item I can

The only item I can see that the site needs is information on the method to hold the hull halves together.

I Z cut my Permit. It works and looks just like Dave Merriman's Skipjack, except I have a small piece of pexiglass, which I fiberglassed on the rear underside of the top hull. It slides under the upper stern piece so there is no screw. I just can't see building a nice scale boat and putting a screw on the hull. I'll send Tim some photo's and maybe he can put them up on his page or he can link them here.



Edited By Casey Thrower on 1066858330

[benben]

What is a Z cut?

Thanks
Ben

What is a Z cut?

Thanks
Ben

[thordesign]

Unless you are very experienced

Unless you are very experienced with cutting glass and doing serious repair work to the epoxy hull, I would warn you away from doing the "Z" cut. While Casey was successful doing this, most all end up turning a $400 hull into a piece of junk trying to do this. Most hulls are not designed to have the bow and stern piece cut away like this and it can seriously weaken the hull, which then requires the installation of additional bulkheads and supports to hold it all together. You may be able to get away with it on the very small hulls, but not the larger ones.

The screw shown in Tim's illustration above is completely hidden and is the only screw required to hold the boat together. A tongue is used in the back to hold the top down to the aft portion of the stern.

[Antoine]

I do not see the

I do not see the prob. I did Zcut my LA and Permit and it seems that they are still ok. I did install the WTC foundations and it strengthened the bottom hull very well.

What are the drawbacks of this technic ?

thank you for your help.

PS ]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[thordesign]

Most hulls are not designed

Most hulls are not designed to have the bow and stern piece cut away like this and it can seriously weaken the hull, which then requires the installation of additional bulkheads and supports to hold it all together.-Thats what the problem is. I have had a several customers completely ruin hulls by trying to do this and then totally botch the job by installing bulkheads that are too small or too large and they bow the hull in or out.

Most modelers have a difficult time cutting a perfectly straight line around a round section without some special tools.

I will say it again. Unless you really know what you are doing stay away from the "Z" cut. Most that attempt this end up with a hull that looks terrible with big, crooked gaps and all of the work that was done in the mold to make the hull fit well all goes down the toilet.

[benben]

I was thinking about cutting

I was thinking about cutting the bow on bottom hull on my Thor Alfa and glue it to the top hull because there is a gap in the bow where the top and bottom hull joints. Are there any good way to eliminate this gap besides glueing them together?

[tim morris]

i think its a good

i think its a good idea to stick to the plan, and use the post cure method of using some heat, but please refer to the proper method from matt thor to do this. i do not think it is hard to do at all, but mine was very flush. as a matter of fact all 3 kits were perfectly flush but its not unusual for a few to do this as i understand it.

i would certainly stick to the original plan for building since its such a valuable kit and to not build according to plan may jeopardize its value.

[thordesign]

Ben,

When I trim the boat

Ben,

When I trim the boat in the mold, I always leave a little excess indexing lip so that the modeler can sand it down a bit to get a perfect fit. All you need to do is to sand the inside of the upper hull half where the indexing lip hits or grind it with a dremel. Go slow and take your time. You should only have to grind a small amount to get the nose to drop down perfectly. These boats are all hand built, so each one is a bit different on the inside. Resin saturation, cloth weight, and various other variables effect the ultimate thickness of the laminate.

[benben]

I did cut the index

I did cut the index lip but maybe not enough. I will cut and sand more.

Thanks
Ben

[casey thrower]

I did cut the index

I did cut the index lip but maybe not enough. I will cut and sand more.

Thanks
Ben

I cut mine to 1/2 inch per the instructions. If you don't, it causes problems with the floatation foam when you try and close the hull halves. (not enough room).



Edited By Casey Thrower on 1067306377

[Antoine]

Hi folks

About Zcut again...
I must

Hi folks

About Zcut again...
I must say that I am not a good modeler and I managed to do a fairly good job with the Zcut. I know that spending $400 on a hull and ruin it trying this technic is not the best way to do... ....but I would like to say that I am ready to help anybody who would like to try this.
You can see my attempts in this post

Do not hesitate to contact me.

For sure the Zcut is the best way to hide the gap between the 2 halves near the bow but you must know what you are doing...