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Small boats have less access below the deck. I might use a flat battery pack instead of the quad shown here. The model tested well in the laundry tub under power. Much left to do yet, glad the electronics work. A mini rudder servo is being added.
I am afraid that I disagree with the comments about Doug. They do not reflect Doug's comments or intentions. We are here to offer assistance to those that request it and others that may learn from the comments etc. Doug offers some of the best most practical advice from his experience. A Fairmile D had 4 engines and props. If you want to recreate it as a true scale model then that is the the aim. You are entitled to have one prop, one engine and one SLA battery in your boat. It may plane for approx 10 minutes before it slows and drops off the plane. I had such an arrangement a few decades ago in an old MTB, but have learned from it and moved on. I would not advise this arrangement with all the newer motors, battery types and ESCs available. My Fairmile D has 2 x Speed 700 motors and NiMH batteries. It runs on plane for an hour or more. My newer Vosper MTB and La Combattante III boats have 2 x brushless motors each and the same NiMH battery packs - my choice. Other people use LiPo batteries. We respect all modellers and their quest to build 'their' own models. Nothing wrong with having the best advice available, so modellers can make up their own minds.
Jacko, Like your boat and your mention of attaching all gear to the underside of the round hatch, good idea. I did this once on a racing yacht and it was great, could just pull off and access all electronic, the battery pack was placed low in the hull for low CG. Not my design, but a Swede Johnson design and molds. I will have to keep this in mind for my future design builds. Regards, Joe
Ahoy Maties! It's been a long time since my last posting. Happy 2019! I just completed my new scratch-built boat "Electric Barbarella". I tried to recreate (with some liberties) one of my favorite boats of all time, the 30-footer Chris Craft Sportsman built during the 1970s. It measures 24 X 8.5 inches. It is powered with a 9.6 NiMH 4200 mAh battery "nunchuck" pack (like the one used for paintball guns), brushless motor attached to a 30A Mtroniks Hydra controller and a 30mm M4 3-bladed brass propeller. The hull (my own on-the-go design) was made out of Balsa wood which later I fiberglassed. For the superstructure I utilized 2mm ABS plastic sheet material. To my surprise the boat turned to be a very stable and forgiving platform. I really feel a very close connection to this vessel as it is my first own hull design.😁
[Score: 8/10] 18"/500g skytech H101 Capable of 0mph and a runtime of 15mins Single Propellor (3 Blade 20mm) Direct Drive to a 380 water cooled (3 Blade) Powered by LiPoly (7.4v) 1Amp/h Batteries - Comments: skytech racing boat with water cooled engine.lts capable of 18 knots ! it has a self righting function and came with a spare battery pack,prop,oil and spanner. hope to have some fun with my grandson.
Schnellboot Radio control setup 3 Mtroniks M400 marine Motors (running at 12V, at maximum efficiency it will run at around 20,000 Rpm and pull around 4 amps. Start-up current depending on prop size (30mm on 4mm prop shaft) would be around 10amps (6-12 volts) 3 Mtroniks Viper marine 15 ESCs connected using Mtroniks W-tail mixer with 10-amp fuses used between ESC and battery’s Batteries are 1 Carson 2100 MAH High performance NiMH battery pack 2 Vanquish 22oo MAH NiMH battery pack All Batteries are 7.2 V I have tested the set -up all the ESC are synchronised, and all seems well on the bench but when I try it in test tank all the fuses blow, and I check all connections and there are not short circuits on the connections or switches can anyone help
Because I am keen to conceal as much of the wiring as possible I have decided to place the battery at the bow and the operational equipment at the stern, the engine on the original boat was central and covered with a soundproof box and this is convenient as the motor can be positioned and concealed in the same way. This means that some of the wires will have to run the full length of the boat and the easiest way to conceal them is to run them beneath the ‘box’ around which the hull is formed, and this needs to be done before the bottom skins are fitted. Holes were bored through the bulkhead formers under the port side of the hull and battery cables were run to the stern where the ESC will be and three motor wires from the ESC run to the centre, emerging near the motor position. For good measure I put in a servo cable and a separate draw wire just in case I needed to put more cabling in for any additional features, perhaps working navigation lights? Satisfied that I had all the cabling in place I was able to fit the bottom skins starting with the starboard side first. Before doing so I put a very slight 'hollow' in former F1 which should help blend the shape of the the hull where the ply skins meet the balsa blocks that will to be carved and shaped to form the bow. This can be seen in the last picture. The process of forming and fixing the skins is the same as for the side skins but in addition to the pins holding the skins in place I used some brown polythene ‘packing tape’ to pull the skins tightly against the bulkhead formers and strakes. The packing tape has a very high tensile strength and is ideal for this, and of course cheap and easy to remove. Once the aliphatic glue had set thoroughly overnight I removed the excess from the skins with a small block plane and finished them with my sanding plate. Before I fit the skin at the stern I will have to arrange the water cooling for the ESC, with the pickup just behind the prop and the outlet on the stern. I’ll cover that aspect in the next update.
Here is the vaporiser I have managed to scrounge, its missing it's battery pack, but have tested with a borrowed battery pack. I am thinking of using a small cylinder pump like a bicycle tyre pump, running on a crank, with its own speed controller allowing for a gentle puff-puff at low speeds, and speed it up for getting a more constant stream of vapour. Another option is a 12v air pump from a fish tank setup, another item in my oddments box. All ideas will be considered before starting the build. I think it should work with most of my larger scale models as it works either vertical or horizontal. Give me your views, cheers Colin.
Hello all, since I keep the weekend for me I thought I'd try hooking up all the lecktrickery for my brushless motor. It's one of they outrunning tiddlers. I have a 3S LiPo which is firing on all cylinders at 3.79 volts per. I plug it in to the ESC, some Chinese one I got recently. I soldered wires to a T type plug that fits the Overlander battery pack. I'd already soldered the 2mm connectors to the other end of the ESC wires and protected them with heat shrink. Plugged tested (6.2 volts) Nimhs into Rx and it starts flashing, then plugged ESC into a channel and the motor, yes , the MOTOR starts beeping! How the hell can that happen? I plug the battery in and the motor beeps even quicker! What on earth is happening? Needless to say, no rotation, buzzing, whistling, just beeps from a motor, clear as you like! Please help. I am already teetering on the edge of getting rid of all my working stuff as it takes up space and is such a damned faff! But what I have, I would like to work. Just long enough to prove it all. Martin
Hi TJ, RE: RX battery. Any 4 or 5 cell (4.8 or 6V) NiMh of 1000mAh up will do. Use the biggest one you can without upsetting the boat's trim or reducing it's performance / planing etc. BUT: don't forget to disconnect the red wires between your ESCs and RX to disconnect the BECs in the mTroniks speed controllers!!! Also check that your RX and mixer module etc can handle 6V+! If not use the 4 cell pack. A fully charged NiMh will be significantly above 6V. Some modules; e.g. Action Electronics / Component Shop don't like that 😡 Alternatives are, esp if you need to save weight, 1 use ONE of the red BEC leads from ESC to RX, e.g. the centre one, and disconnect the other two, 2 Use a separate 5V UBEC module to syphon power off the drive battery for the RX, AND disconnect all three red BEC wires from the ESCs. Cheers, Doug 😎
Does anyone know if a Sanwa Rx will work with Futaba Xtals. Both 35 mhz (planes only)👍🤔 More modern battery packs can replace the old DEACS so no probs there Westie.👍 I too use Bang Good and also Gear Best Both excellent.👍
Actually British people tend to go for "adaptor" for electrical equipment and "adapter" for people, although I have never seen, to my knowledge, the latter used in a body of writing. What I needed and have ordered from Wales, is a Deans male to fit into the battery because I didn't want to change the battery connector for all your excellent reasons, going to a pair of 4mm bullet connectors. Bullets because I have a pack of 10 already and I believe I may have a few more in a box of bits. So I have ordered a Deans male one end of a 50mm length of 12 gauge wire to a male and a female bullet. All the other connectors will be bullets. The bullets on the motor are 2mm diameter and I will keep them as the wires are short and I don't want to fiddle with them, so I have some 2mm females coming, which will go on the ESC motor wires. 4MM bullets on the ESC to fit the new adaptor and we're there. The ESC already has a receiver plug fitted. Thanks for the link. They look like a good source for the future. Now Giant Cod has gone, where would be a good place for cheap brushlesses? Cheers, Martin
OK, I bought a LiPo tother day and some connectors. This is now what I have.....a motor with little (2mm?) connectors on its wires, a 60Amp ESC with no connectors at all and an Overlander battery with a square plug on the end (Deans, is it) I also have a packet of ten 4mm bullets and heat shrink. What now? Cut the Deans connector off the battery and replace with bullets, or buy a Deans connector for the ESC to battery? Cut off the little bullets on the motor and replace with the big ones which I should put on the ESC, too? I suppose I'll have to increase the size of the hole in the ally heat plate next to the motor to accommodate the bigger bullets. Cheers, Martin
Colin, I first entered the world of proportional RC with a set called a Mini-Hex, in 1971. I bought it from the model shop in the arcade in Exeter. It cost a bloody fortune! 2 Function, essentially a copy of the Kraft set, but made in Belvedere, Kent. I still have it and as far and I know it still works, except the old DEAC battery pack is defunct, of course. It even came with it's own metal cased charger. Green frequency only, can't be changed! Cheers, Martin
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