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Pro Tunnel Race Boat Plans
Page Twelve
Cowling, Cowling Tips and Sponson Tips

Attach glue cleats along the upper edge of the coaming. You will need to build this cleat from thinner stock -- 1/4" to 3/8" stuff -- to a thickness at least 3/4". 3/4" stock will not make this bend without distorting the plywood.

The forward section of the front cowling is to be permanently installed. I attached a ridge beam right to the plywood -- you could attach the ridge beam to the boat instead, either way.

The rest of the front cowling is removable. The ridge beam in this section is also removable, just rests in slots and is held in place with the plywood covering. This piece could just as easily be glued in, but it's nice to get it out of the way when working on the steering or whatever.

The completed cowling. If you elect to screw down the removable part, use plenty of screws.

Also note the trim pieces added to the leading edge of the hull. I used oak for durability, but any lumber will do.

Here's an alternative to screwing down the removable part of the cowling. I used this on a recently-built Mini Vee. You will need to add some battens to the underside of the cover plywood to stiffen the edge so that it will fit down tight along the top edge of the coaming.

These are called "hood hold downs" and are available from J.C. Whitney and other places.

I formed the sponson and cowling tips with two-part flotation foam. A simple mold was made as shown. I also masked off areas of the hull where the foam may make contact.

A sponson tip with the foam poured.

Rough shape the foam with a handsaw, then continue with files and/or sandpaper, anything that works.

I originally shaped it to its final size, then I pared down some more to make room for the epoxy outer layer.

For the outer covering I used epoxy mixed with micro-baloons. Admittedly these will be a bit fragile. A more durable solution would involve a couple of layers of fiberglass.

OMG, she's a beauty!

Note the trim added to the top edge of the coaming from dash to transom. Mine is 3/4" x 1".

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