Repairing The Dillon Sport C
Page Five

Two problems occured in 2012: a broken stringer from rough water; and a crash at the Nationals in Kankakee, IL. The second incident was recorded....

May 2013: The Dillon Sport C goes upside down for some surgery.

Spring came late this year, so I'm only now getting started on repairs from rough water and a crash.

In June 2012, the Sport C's first race came on a windy and rough day in Detroit Lakes, MN. It was later apparent that I had broken a stringer. I added lifting strakes to the sponson pads to shore up the weakened side.

Now I see the culprit. The stringer broke right at the first bulkhead forward of the transom.

I had stiffened the middle stringer with plywood, but did not attach the end of the plywood to the bulkhead. I can see now that this served to transfer all the strain to the part of the stringer that intersected with the bulkhead, and she snapped.

The patch removed, this is the result of the crash in Kankakee.

Plywood removed and trimmed clean. Ready to start putting things back together.

New bulkheads sistered to what's left of the originals.

An extension scarfed to the broken end of the shear clamp.

Close in the lower side with some new plywood.

Stringer repaired, a new section of sponson pad in place.

Upper side piece installed, and it's all done but for the trimming, filling, sanding and painting.

The patch is complete and ready for paint.

A new layer of plywood has been added to both sponsons. An 8-foot length seemed like enough, feathered into the original pad.

Also re-sanded and refinished the tunnel. Working on getting that very smooth bottom I just didn't quite get the first time around.

Four new coats of epoxy, sanded and wet sanded.

Right side up again and back the trailer.

The patched sponson needs a little trimming along the deck line, and then it's just about ready for paint.

Good as new. Ready to go racing.

Back on the water again at Detroit Lakes, MN, June 2013. All went well, except I still
need to find more speed. Setup experimentation to follow.

Trying a little addtional setback. First test drives were not promising, but the motor is clearly too deep. Will jack it up until optimal height is found.

UPDATE: After a few races, I'm convinced the additional setback was a good move. So much so that...

... I decided to go a little further. Now I'm a full six inches back from the original position.

Initial test was promising. Again, engine may be too deep (the farther back you go, the more you can jack it up). I had a small gain in top speed -- then a battery cable parted from its ring connector and I lost trim. Will get back to it soon.