Topic: Boredom causes airboats (Read 8904 times)

Antipodean · « **on:** July 07, 2019, 04:49:48 am »

While watching paint dry on 3 different hulls today I got bored so I decided to build a pair of airboats for when the kids and grandkids come to visit. Got a good start on them and I am enjoying the different shapes they have compared to my other boats.
I have spare drone parts for the motors and escs. I have some plane hinges and control horns and some s3003 servos so I should be good

Antipodean · « **Reply #1 on:** July 07, 2019, 02:26:02 pm »

A little more done last night

Capt Podge · « **Reply #2 on:** July 07, 2019, 04:11:24 pm »

Watching this one coming together. I might have to get one of those myself, our lake being weeded up again

Looking forward to seeing more.

Regards,
Ray.

Antipodean · « **Reply #3 on:** July 07, 2019, 04:51:51 pm »

If you want the plans Ray I can send them to you. I have them for the size I am building which is 12 inches by 28 inches or I can make them smaller for you.
Ian

Capt Podge · « **Reply #4 on:** July 07, 2019, 05:18:00 pm »

Wow! That would be great Ian and that size would be ideal - I'll pm my details to you and take it from there

Regards,
Ray.

Antipodean · « **Reply #5 on:** July 07, 2019, 08:04:41 pm »

They are a digital file so email would work well. I don't actually have a hard copy of them at all.

Capt Podge · « **Reply #6 on:** July 07, 2019, 08:08:48 pm »

Oke doke, no problem Ian, I'll pm you with my email address

Regards,
Ray.

Capt Podge · « **Reply #7 on:** July 07, 2019, 08:12:27 pm »

pm sent

Regards,
Ray.

Antipodean · « **Reply #8 on:** July 11, 2019, 01:48:56 am »

Got some more done.
I have tested the motors for them, skinned the frames and started shaping the nose.
Soon they will be ready for some filler and fiberglass.
I am having to wait for a couple of parts to arrive for them so my only hold up right now is shipping.

Capt Podge · « **Reply #9 on:** July 11, 2019, 12:01:41 pm »

They look like they will be quite lightweight - any idea how much they will weigh on completion?

Regards,
Ray.

Antipodean · « **Reply #10 on:** July 11, 2019, 02:02:22 pm »

I am not sure what the weight will be yet but I am planning ahead for adding any ballast they will need.

Antipodean · « **Reply #11 on:** July 16, 2019, 03:03:21 am »

Dry fit of the tail planes and rudders. Fit the motor mounts and then did cutting to make the mounts sit flat against the tail plane. I would share a pic with a prop on them but the only ones I have look ridiculous

At this rate they will be ready before any of my actual boats are done, SWMBO will not be pleased with that.

Antipodean · « **Reply #12 on:** July 24, 2019, 01:26:09 am »

A coat of glass on the hull and test float. All seems good so far. The shape of the rudder is still up in the air as I am not sure how large the surface area should be.

Capt Podge · « **Reply #13 on:** July 24, 2019, 12:44:18 pm »

I would go with the size and shape printed on the plan. You can always experiment with other sizes and shapes on your second one.

Regards,
Ray.

Tug Fanatic · « **Reply #14 on:** July 24, 2019, 12:54:16 pm »

I seem to remember reading that having the rudder in the water, even if only a little, help the turns considerably & I suspect that strakes help directional stability. Plenty to experiement with.

SailorGreg · « **Reply #15 on:** July 24, 2019, 01:22:23 pm »

Hi Ian, PM sent.

Greg

Antipodean · « **Reply #16 on:** July 24, 2019, 01:50:52 pm »

Quote from: Tug Fanatic on July 24, 2019, 12:54:16 pm

I seem to remember reading that having the rudder in the water, even if only a little, help the turns considerably & I suspect that strakes help directional stability. Plenty to experiement with.

The rudder under the water does help but I am wanting to keep the hull clean because on the rare occasions it still snows here they can be fun out there. I may put strakes towards the back half after testing without them. The Florida swamp boats tend to use drifting when they trun but this is a Spanish design so we will see.

Ian

Antipodean · « **Reply #17 on:** July 24, 2019, 01:52:13 pm »

Quote from: Capt Podge on July 24, 2019, 12:44:18 pm

I would go with the size and shape printed on the plan. You can always experiment with other sizes and shapes on your second one.

Regards,
Ray.

I have a made them about the size on the plan. Being balsa I can make them smaller as needed, just need to make new ones if I have to go larger.

Antipodean · « **Reply #18 on:** July 24, 2019, 01:52:35 pm »

Quote from: SailorGreg on July 24, 2019, 01:22:23 pm

Hi Ian, PM sent.

Greg

Pm returned and plans sent

SailorGreg · « **Reply #19 on:** July 24, 2019, 03:15:45 pm »

Quote from: Antipodean on July 24, 2019, 01:52:35 pm

Pm returned and plans sent

... and received. Many thanks.

Greg

Antipodean · « **Reply #20 on:** July 26, 2019, 02:19:37 am »

Got a bit more done today. Finished adding the servo trays. Fitted the hinges in the rudders, now I just have to work out how to make them removable from the tailplane. Tidied up the wiring with connectors and colour coded them with heatshrinks.
I fit the 10 inch props on too, just to make sure they looked right. They are looking a little large for the motors now.
All in all a fairly productive evening.

Antipodean · « **Reply #21 on:** August 06, 2019, 10:51:32 pm »

Busy day working on the fleet. Sanding the hull is tedious but worth it. They are looking much better.
The last picture is the boats I was working on today.

Antipodean · « **Reply #22 on:** August 18, 2019, 04:30:24 am »

Did a test fit of all of the parts today and learnt a valuable lesson. Never assume your motor is strong enough for larger props. Also learnt not to touch a brushless motor that has smoke pouring out of it.
Luckily the burnt fingertips weren't too bad, reminded me of when I was a chef. I was also lucky to have a spare motor and some smaller props.
Runs like a charm now and will be getting a test run tomorrow afternoon I hope. I will tape some plastic over the electronics bay and have a good try.

Antipodean · « **Reply #23 on:** August 18, 2019, 10:30:32 pm »

Did a test run at the lake today. Went well until I realised that I nearly set fire to the boat. The esc was undersized and overheated melting the solder off the leads.
It was running better than expected up until then and did not get to full throttle.
That was a 30 amp esc, the replacements for both boats will be 80 amp.
I am also looking at larger motors but it seemed to plane well on the 2208. Anything bigger is just for more speed

https://youtu.be/vagMX2OFzAw

JimG · « **Reply #24 on:** August 19, 2019, 12:33:05 pm »

Sounds like you could use a Wattmeter. This sits between the battery and the esc and will measure the current going to the motor. You will quickly see if the current is too high for the esc and it will show the effect of changing propellor size so you can check if the prop is too large for the motor.
Jim

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Author Topic: Boredom causes airboats (Read 8904 times)