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[tony1810]

Hi
I have been given a cabin cruiser as a restoration project it has some damage and some bits missing but not to bad condition i floated it and it didn't let in any water. It is 50" long and weights 6.5kg and has a single propshaft and rudder. what I needed help on is what size motor and speed controller should i get for it.
I don't know if the boat was originally a kit or scratch built.
Any help would be most appreciated.

Tony

[Edward Pinniger]

Not having much knowledge or experience of the technical side of R/C modelling, I can't give much advice - however, I have
a model very similar in size and hull shape (link). I fitted it with a standard 545 motor and Viper Marine 15 ESC, driving a 40mm prop. This is powered by a 12 volt SLA battery, which also provides most of the ballast for the model.
With this setup, the model runs at quite a sedate pace - but being a large motor yacht rather than a fast sports cruiser, this is realistic! Acceleration is also very realistic looking.

I suspect this is very far from the optimum setup for a boat of this size and type, but it runs well at a good "scale" speed, and is cheap (£4-5 for the motor, £20 for the ESC)! The motor (no cooling or heatsink installed) doesn't get hot except when running at full speed for some time.

Your model looks very interesting - a typical 1930s small motor yacht/river cruiser, reminiscent of "Bluebird of Chelsea" in style. It looks like it has a lot of potential with some added detail + fittings. The only odd thing is the bilge keels, which look very overscale, but you won't see these on the water anyway!
I'm fairly certain it's either scratchbuilt or built from a plan. Other forum members might be able to identify the plan (if any).

[derekwarner]

Hi Tony....one of the interesting things with model vessels is that the dry weight has little to do with the immersion mass

Your model vessel @ 50"...may only weigh 6.5 kg [dry weight] ......however may require an extra 6 kg ballast to bring her to an acceptable water level..

The single rudder appears to be grossly undersized....the propellor diameter questionable....& the bildge keels as previously noted by Edward as oversized

Best of luck....ask as many questions here & I am sure ..... you will get the appropriate answers 

[Edward Pinniger]

Whilst the rudder does look a bit small, it appears to be about the same size as on my model, which is actually very manoueverable for its size (see the YouTube video link on my build thread). I fitted the servo arm to give the maximum "throw" possible.

Can't see the propeller size clearly, but it also looks to be in the 40-45mm range, again the same as on my model - so this should be fine for running at scale speeds but no good if you want your boat to go fast! A larger prop would presumably need a larger motor.

[tony1810]

Thanks for the info.I'll post on here as i go. and no doubt ask many more questions.
thanks again
Tony