Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Seaport Tugs => Topic started by: KWAKNZ on December 03, 2008, 12:11:02 am
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Hey everyone!
Great to see a huge following of this awesome boat!
I received mine yesterday, its the Hen Long made in china version. I was hoping some of your guys would be able to give me some information on sorting out the mechanics of the boat.
I have been reading alot on here and got a little confused! (not hard!)
I would like to make it full proportional rudder and motor.
To do this I need to change the rudder servo and change the motor servo correct?
I want to do this on a budget but also do it properly, if you state what version and brand I can search locally for the items.
Does it have to be a ESC for the motor? or can it be mechanical?
Also I would like to keep the original motor, but want longer running times, can I use the 6V 6AH AGM SLA BATTERY with this motor? and change everything else to work with this battery?
See I'm confused, but did get to take the boat out this morning for its first run. I'm pretty lucky here as I have dozens of r/c boat lakes/ponds to use with jetty's and wharfs made for them.
Hope you guys can help, cheers KWAKNZ
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Dear Mr. KWAKNZ,
We are thrilled to have you aboard! Let me try to shed some light on your questions as a newbie can.
I would like to make it full proportional rudder and motor.
To do this I need to change the rudder servo and change the motor servo correct?
Yes, change the rudder servo like this (http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?)
To control motor, a) an on/off/reverse switch controlled by a servo is fine and you can pull out microswitches for this from any old computer or vcr
b)alternatively you can use pretty much any esc rated for 5Amps or more
Also I would like to keep the original motor, but want longer running times, can I use the 6V 6AH AGM SLA BATTERY with this motor? and change everything else to work with this battery?
Absolutely, you can use the 6v battery, but the boat will be a little slower than stock speed.
See I'm confused, but did get to take the boat out this morning for its first run.
Prior to your maiden voyage, check for leaks in the bathtub, don't without a rescue stick/fishing pole/whatever you can think off - the radio is likely to cut out and leave you stranded in the open water.
Most importantly of all, have fun! :P
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Thanks for the reply, I did try it in the bath before hand it was dry, so took it to the local r/c lake, went like a dream, just annoying with the throttle being ON/OFF.
Just want to clear some things up.. I see the rudder servo for the steering, what kind of servo do i get? (brand/model)
plus..
To control motor, a) an on/off/reverse switch controlled by a servo is fine and you can pull out microswitches for this from any old computer or vcr
b)alternatively you can use pretty much any esc rated for 5Amps or more
So as long as it is rated 5Amps or more I can run it? with 6v battery as mentioned before.
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As weeds says, an electronic speed controller will give you full sped control both forward & backwards.
An Mtroniks Viper 10 or 15 is the type of thing you need:
http://www.mtroniks.net/details1.asp/ProductID/185/sid/2/MicroViper-marine10.htm
http://www.mtroniks.net/details1.asp/ProductID/591/sid/2/Viper-Marine15-Plug-and-Play.htm
(Easy to get in Britain, if not, what country are you in KWAKNZ?)
The rudder servo is a "standard" size servo eg.
Futaba S3003:
http://www.servoshop.co.uk/index.php?pid=FUTS3003&area=Servo
Hitec HS-311
http://www.servoshop.co.uk/index.php?pid=HITHS311&area=Servo
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(Easy to get in Britain, if not, what country are you in KWAKNZ?)
Would the heading give you a clue Martin " Re: SEAPORT TUG SAYS "HI" FROM NEW ZEALAND! " ?
I have a 6V 4aH SLA battery in mine and it gives plenty of speed and lasts for ages.
Make sure you Tx and Rx are the same make.
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=8411.0
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Would the heading give you a clue Martin " Re: SEAPORT TUG SAYS "HI" FROM NEW ZEALAND! " ?
:embarrassed: .... never let facts or details get the way of a good story! :embarrassed:
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cheers Martin, DickyD, Weeds. Have sourced the servo locally already, just need to get the esc sorted and have also found the batteries. So can't wait to start the project.
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Hi KwakNZ,
I hope you have plenty of pleasure out of this little boat, converting and running her. There are plenty of us who enjoy these "toys" once they have been altered to suit our individual tastes, and with decent radio to control them. Mine will be out this Saturday evening at a Xmas night sail, correctly illuminated with navigation lights, towing a barge which is suitably decorated and lit for the festive season!
You may find your 6v 6ah battery a little large for the boat; most of us have gone for the 4ah version, slightly smaller and lighter that the 6ah one.
Best of luck with your conversion, let's see some Kiwi photos when she's done! Whilst in the RN I was lucky enough to spend some time in Wellington, I loved the place!
Danny
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you can get a bundle - radio, receiver, esc, servo - on ebay for under $50! here's a link for easy searching or type in "(transmitter, tx, rx, "am radio", servo*, esc, "speed controller", "speed control") -rtr" in the ebay search box! :)
http://desc.shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=transmitter+tx+rx+%22am+radio%22+servo*+esc+%22speed+controller%22+%22speed+control%22&_in_kw=2&_ex_kw=rtr&_sacat=220&_okw=transmitter+tx+rx+%22am+radio%22+servo*+esc+%22speed+controller%22+%22speed+control%22&_oexkw=rtr&LH_TitleDesc=1&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=&_udhi=50&LH_Auction=1&_sabdlo=&_sabdhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_ftrt=901&_ftrv=1&_sadis=200&_fpos=&_fsct=&LH_SALE_CURRENCY=0&_sop=1&_dmd=1&_ipg=200 (http://desc.shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=transmitter+tx+rx+%22am+radio%22+servo*+esc+%22speed+controller%22+%22speed+control%22&_in_kw=2&_ex_kw=rtr&_sacat=220&_okw=transmitter+tx+rx+%22am+radio%22+servo*+esc+%22speed+controller%22+%22speed+control%22&_oexkw=rtr&LH_TitleDesc=1&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=&_udhi=50&LH_Auction=1&_sabdlo=&_sabdhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_ftrt=901&_ftrv=1&_sadis=200&_fpos=&_fsct=&LH_SALE_CURRENCY=0&_sop=1&_dmd=1&_ipg=200)
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That like a good deal "Weeds", will watch it.
tolnedra: yeah Wellington is a awesome city, really like the vibe and feel of that city. Yip will be cracking into changing it next week after pay day! :-))
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Well... I have completely stripped the boat done, checked it in the bath for leaks (CLEARED). Now deciding on what paint job to do on it, to paint the hull etc, does it need to be sanded?
I have removed the water "SPURT" is it is written on the box (squirter), not my cup of tea you might say.
Now I'm also going to be sourcing the mech's this week too and got confused again..........
I wanted to change the rudder servo and change the motor servo too, but keep the original motor. Where I got confused was, do I need to change the radio gear? or can the ESC and rudder servo be attached to the original radio set?
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Also, if I HAD to change the radio gear would http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=190988090 (http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=190988090) do the job? kyosho perfex
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http://www.trademe.co.nz/Toys-models/Radio-control/Parts-accessories/Transmitters/auction-192079839.htm
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ok, I fixed my confusion, I purchased the Traxxas Radio gear. I was trying to be cheap! lol, but decided if I'm going to do this, I will do it the right way and do it all at the same time. Thanks guys. Will post updates as they happen.
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hi there kwaknz. trade me is a good source for rc gear but be careful because as you probably know a lot of dealers sell there and some of the gear is no cheaper and in some cases more expensive that your local model shop.
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cheers hopeitfloats, yeah your right, some people are dodgy. But thats the risk sometimes you take. Yeah have been shopping around, but as it is in most cases in NZ, its who you know. My friend just gave me his business card on Thursday, he is a manager for a battery company now. SO... theres the source for the SLA :-))
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Well........... I'm going around in circles trying to decide what kind of paint scheme to paint it now.......... I have tried a few different styles and can't decide. Thought about going a modern style with that bright green all over, then decided to do deck green and rest of it red, but decided I don't like that after painting it. hmmm..... Ideas or examples? %%
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Well........... I'm going around in circles trying to decide what kind of paint scheme to paint it now.......... I have tried a few different styles and can't decide. Thought about going a modern style with that bright green all over, then decided to do deck green and rest of it red, but decided I don't like that after painting it. hmmm..... Ideas or examples? %%
i like the red/black color scheme..
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Yeah, thats what me thinks WEEDS, leave the red base, paint the top half of the hull black, and the next bit, leave the superstructure white and tower red, hmm... now i have to get some black paint :-))
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Just look on the pages on this thread,should give you some idea,as people have painted them in so many ways,one might grab your attention
Mark
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Check out these postings.
Loads of tugs here.
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=125.0
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Hey people! Well Finally thought I better finish this off, so pulled out of storage. Purchased radio gear and rudder servo, hunting down a battery and ESC. Battery question, I have found this one, is this the right type?
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics-photography/Batteries/Rechargeable/Other/auction-265598984.htm
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Hi there again KwakNZ! Happy New Year, you had disappeared off the radar! Yes, that's exactly the battery that a lot of us in UK have used for our Dickie tugs, go for it!
Danny
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Nice, will do that, now, regarding ESC, does the battery format affect the type of ESC i should get? For example the difference between the orginal 9.6v compared to the battery i just listed above. Because I found this ESC and was wondering if it would work well with the orginal motor and that SLA battery? Cheers for all this help lads!
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMMP7&P=ML OR
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Toys-models/Radio-control/Parts-accessories/Other/auction-264729079.htm
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That will work fine, I have a similar one in my Seaport.
Bit on the large size really, but rather to big than to small. :-))
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Well......... Sad to say that the Seaport Tug Says "Bye" From New Zealand now! <:(
It departed from air yesterday and entered the water world!
Ok.... I got it completed, well the mechanics of it sorted and going 2 weeks ago. Changed the radio gear, ESC, Battery, Servo etc and repainted it in temp colours before I was going to buy a second one and repaint both the same colour scheme. I took out the water nozzle squirter on this one and wanted the next one to have that. Anyways, Was at the local christ church model yacht club http://www.christchurchmodelyachting.org.nz/ lake Victoria in Christchurch cities botanical gardens. Had just placed it in and started to move away from the dock, when it started to lean to one side, I thought it may have been the battery. So bought it back to the dock and adjusted that, sent it back out. Got out into the middle which is a good 8 metres from the side and 2 metres deep, it got a big lean on and rolled onto its side. Not long after it was slowly disappearing into the duck poo ridden green/brown water. Then the bubbles of doom appeared! She went down within 2minutes. I asked the guy there, he said that it will eventually move its way down the lake to the end, this could take a couple of days as there is a current running that way! So...... Fingers crossed it will be there when I get there and no other "xxxxx" takes it! I have been looking at other tugs, the kitset side, this was my first boat and enjoyed working on something that wasn't hard at all! I'm not that crafty and dont want to build a hull from wood, would purchase a completed one tho... or use ABS one. Suggestions
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Just some pics
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Did you recover your boat?
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Did you recover your boat?
Nope, hasnt been seen! So will look at buying another boat sometime towards the end of the year. I change my focus back to Nitro and Scale 4x4 trucks lol! Kinda scared about pumping $$ into something and then see it disappear! But know for next time to add more float's!
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I GOT IT BACK! %% The tug is alive again! For people who don't know, Christchurch, New Zealand had a earthquake on Sept 4, this created huge damage around the city including the model Lake. This ended up being a good thing for me, as the lake cracked the clay base and my tug was sitting there in the middle of the biggest scale dry dock around! :-)) I got it home yesterday and had a wee look around it, but tonight decided to try a different receiver in it and it didnt work, so changed the servo and BANG, it went! So will get a new servo tomorrow and then some sand paper and re-paint it and add some foam to keep it a float this time! but wow! didnt think I would ever see it again.
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haha you clearly have a horse shoe up your ass then! wish i could recover my twin 4 stroke that is now somewhere out in the pacific by now!
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haha you clearly have a horse shoe up your "xxxxx" then! wish i could recover my twin 4 stroke that is now somewhere out in the pacific by now!
Hey Marty it is very important that you contact me as soon as possible regards Copyright infringement. Please contact me through my email as soon as possible. You need not respond to this posting, just contact me at manross@martysrcboats.com Apologies to the moderator regards this posting. http://www.martysrcboats.com/ (http://www.martysrcboats.com/) Martin Manross
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Hi KWAKNZ,
Keep that boat!!!!!!! :-)
If it survives an earthquake, it should survive anything that you can throw at it. O0 O0
But saying that, was it a bit top-heavy? {:-{ or maybe needs abit of lead to bring her down to the waterline. {:-{
Mick
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Hey,
Yeah was a little top-heavy, it did sit at water level but would sway and didnt have any floation if it got water inside. Have fixed this by adding a foam/rubber garden mat, have tested it and it keeps it well afloat when full of water. have sanded it back and primered it all, and just down the 1st coat. Had to track down some new screws and decided to paint it similar to the local port tug. "Blackadder"