Thad Allen's Apache + The Birth of the Cheetah Cat

[Steve 1]

Steve, as one of the founding members here, I would also like to thank you for taking the time to tell the story, post the pictures, and share your knowledge.
This type of info and history are one of the things we really wanted to capture from the early days when this site was merely a discussion and an idea.
There is also the goofball side of it, but we truly love this stuff.
Thanks for participating.

Sir It is my pleasure and Honor.

[Ratickle]

I will skip ahead. This is close.

That is gorgeous......

[cosmic12]

We know that Pantera got the molds, what happened to the rest of the tooling? The plugs and such.

Also, you say they have done the bottom themselves does that meen they got the straight bottom mold and now have an insert for the steps and that what you did with the strakes is no longer there? From what I remember you had the strakes running through(over) the steps.

[Steve 1]

NICE, good job Steve and Pantera.....one question i have though, what mat. is that used to CNC plugs ???????

The deck Plug was done with The bluefoam was Dow Styrofoam blocks that were piled on a Plywood faced Steel reinforced Pallet, you can then use urethane foam to for glue like a mortor between the lifts then after machining to say deck 1 it was coated with Epoxy a coupling agent and ATC Putty was sprayed on then machined to final dimension deck 2 or whatever.. The Hull Plug was Done differently

[Steve 1]

We know that Pantera got the molds, what happened to the rest of the tooling? The plugs and such.

Also, you say they have done the bottom themselves does that meen they got the straight bottom mold and now have an insert for the steps and that what you did with the strakes is no longer there? From what I remember you had the strakes running through(over) the steps.

That was the T-4 I will post more on that!

[Steve 1]

We know that Pantera got the molds, what happened to the rest of the tooling? The plugs and such.

Also, you say they have done the bottom themselves does that meen they got the straight bottom mold and now have an insert for the steps and that what you did with the strakes is no longer there? From what I remember you had the strakes running through(over) the steps.

The Plugs were destroyed ,What Pantera has is it ,they hold the cards.

[Steve 1]

Look just because something is CNCed does not make it fool proof,Here you see a batton wrapped around the deck ridge to "sweeten" up the edge and curve.and again a custom file small one made from a piece of 6061T-6 Aluminum.

[Buoy]

Look just because something is CNCed does not make it fool proof,Here you see a batton wrapped around the deck ridge to "sweeten" up the edge and curve.

Do I understand that pic correctly to mean that the "batton" (strip of wood) was used as a guide in the sanding and trueing of the deck ridge??

Is the deck ridge functional in anyway (strength)? Or just cosmetic?

[Steve 1]

Do I understand that pic correctly to mean that the "batton" (strip of wood) was used as a guide in the sanding and trueing of the deck ridge??

Is the deck ridge functional in anyway (strength)? Or just cosmetic?

In the old days a lot of Mr Aronows flat decks had three Bumps or ridges running down the fore deck unique to the Apache also, What Wilson did was not only keep them but add a 21 Century flare to to the profile. Structurally nothing measurable with the new materials.

[Dude! Sweet!]

Very nice. Thanks Steve!

[Ted]

Incredible insight on what is bound to be an incredible boat, thanks for spending the time Steve, we do truly love this sh%t

[Offshore Ginger]

Steve 1, great post over on Screamandfly. It seems like there was more to show and tell when that thread ended though.

I assume the molds Pantera ended up with are the "T-4" boat? What happened to the other plug? Were molds ever created of the that straight bottom design?

Sorry for all the questions, but as an engineer I find your posts and pictures to be very interesting...

Steve , i have been late to a few things lately, including your thread on scream & fly . Great read .

[Offshore Ginger]

Forgive me it takes a while to dig through these files. More CNC at the end of machining, now Spray filler Duratec.

Dam i love Duratec and Steve the funny thing is its probably been around longer then we have , but then again are we older then dirt yet .

[Offshore Ginger]

Even with the CNC there is a lot of cleanup like the undercutting along the ridges on the deck.

Steve , only a few of us really understand , how much time is involved in a plug , from the mack up to all the long hours of filling , then sanding with a long board and then repeating that whole process over and over till everything is just right Dammmmm i get tired just thinking about long boarding for 8 hours a day and week's on end .

[Buoy]

Steve , only a few of us really understand , how much time is involved in a plug , from the mack up to all the long hours of filling and then sanding with a long board . Dammmmm i get tired just thinking about long boarding for 8 hours a day and week's on end .

Yeah, and then there are goofballs like me that would love the opportunity to learn the craft.

[Steve 1]

Steve , i have been late to a few things lately, including your thread on scream & fly . Great read .

Artie how are you doing Sir? welcome to the Party.

[cosmic12]

Is that Duratec flexable? Would it work in the auto body world?

[Steve 1]

Dam i love Duratec and Steve the funny thing is its probably been around longer then we have , but then again are we older then dirt yet .

Yes it's "Smart" overs spray likes the most expensive things in the shop. well as the Bosses Porsche.

[Steve 1]

Is that Duratec flexable? Would it work in the auto body world?

They have had had some things like Feather fill and Sandy in the past.

[Steve 1]

Yeah, and then there are goofballs like me that would love the opportunity to learn the craft.

Artie see this! we call it a Gym and Charge them for the workout. Just Joking thank you for looking.