Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Pleasure boats, Sports, Race, Power and Leisure Boats: => Topic started by: gregk9 on September 14, 2011, 08:10:05 pm
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If anyone has purchased a "SLOOPY" from prestwich in the past and can remember how easy they sailed and how the "self righting" feature worked everytime, well our club Chairman, Mark Hough has purchased the moulds and is now making a revised version if anyone is interested.
Kindly check out our own clubs website to see the pictures and video clips of the "HUFFY" as it is now called and if you then read the "special offers" page, it will give you more details on the boat.
(http://s1.postimage.org/pkno6thg/DSCF1482.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/pkno6thg/)
(http://s1.postimage.org/pkvxvjyc/P1010715c.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/pkvxvjyc/)
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http://chasewatermbc.blogspot.com/
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Hi Gyus and Girls and Martin,
Guess what I have managed to purchase on Ebay an original Sloopy.
The boat has been hidden away in someones Garage in Tasmania would you bel;ieve and I got her for 30 Aussie dollars
(http://s4.postimage.org/g7gt6mgk9/KGr_Hq_UOKj_UE5_Rbby_UGl_BOd_Qnt_EL_60_12.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/g7gt6mgk9/)
(http://s4.postimage.org/kpnpcglzt/KGr_Hq_UOKj_ME5_w_RCd1_BOd_Qe_Q3_Bg_60_12.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/kpnpcglzt/)
Her
Here she is . Came with Water cooled motor Servo brass prop tube and metal prob. Water cooling is a wrap around the can type and all seems to be there.
did this boat run on Nicads originally and would a straight 7.2 6 cell pack be too heavy for her or would a lipo be better on 8.4. I dont know if I have a brushed ESC in my collection thats the problem So might have to convert her to brushless. Any suggestions from you keen Sloopy or I believe Huffy owners out there.
Armo :-))
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I spent a few seasons racing Sloopy's, both mk1 & mk2. They were generally accepted to be the best formula 3 boats available.
The rules called for 6 sub c ni-cad cells & an unmodified 540 motor. The highest capacity cells at the time were 2000 scrc.
After many many hours of work, I was able to get a full race time running a 19 turn motor & a 30 mm prop. Most boats didn't run an esc, just a switch, as these boats were more than capable of turning at full chat.
For the best hull performance, its worth sharpening up the edges on the rails underneath, I used to run thick cyno along them, then sharpen them with fine sandpaper. Also, all the quickest boats trimmed the transom edge square, although you have to beef up the joint a lot in order to do this.
Ni-mh cells now offer much higher capacities than the old ni-cads, so it would now be possible to run a lower turn motor quite easily.Larger props didn't always increase speed, in fact i found that on flat calm, a 28mm prop gave me the fastest boat speed( it allowed the motor to rev higher), but as it was never flat with 6 or 7 of these things racing, i found the 31mm was the best set up.
i have wondered how mine would go with a 3600kv motor & 3s lipos, but i haven't got round to trying it. I'd be interest to see if you try it.
cheers Glenn
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Thanks for all the info glenn.
I managed to put her together last night and used the ESC from a thunder tiger brushless motor and then a 2000 nicad for the power. I have layed it all out as best as I think, gave her the bathtub test and seems no leaks and really took off when i hit throttle.
so will take it down the local pond here and give her a run to see how it went. Only thing the rudder broke away from its joiner when it was packed so I have tried some super glue looks solid enough at the moment but might have to look around for a new small rudder to do the job if she breaks.
Ill have the rescue boat just in case.
Armo
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I would strongly suggest you do a "stronger" repair on the rudder or replace it before you sail. Superglue may be strong, but under water it can often go very brittle and fail and the last thing you want is for the boat to go off in one direction and you not be able to turn the boat around and bring it back again.
Brass blade on brass pivot shaft is much bettre, as if it fails, you can alwasy turn to soldering it back together.
we have now raised our club classes to make the standard class use "UP TO" a 600 series motor, rather than a 540.
and our Modified class is unlimited, so brushless motors and outboard rudders and semi surface props is allowed and BOY do they fly!
if you dont believe me, check out our clubs website and watch some of the live video streams. these boats are so, so stable at speed, but if the do hit a wave, they simply dig in, turn over and refloat in seconds and away you go again. such a fun boat to sail and enjoy.
(http://s1.postimage.org/b6q1trljv/P1011043c.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/b6q1trljv/)
(http://s3.postimage.org/sztzkmr73/P1011069c.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/sztzkmr73/)
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hi Greg and thanks for info. I do believe she has the brass pivot and has a sharpened metal rudder to go with the metal prop. I think its been sitting in the shed for so long from who I bought her from that when it was packed the rudder was flat against the bottom of the Hull and the solder must have given way. I will gladly use your advice and go and see a mate today and get him to resolder the rudder then.l I used the superglue to line the rudder up with the servo and radio gear and then the bath tube test. No leaks and boy when I hit the throttle it wanted to leap out of the bath haha
thanks again.
Armo :-))
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Oh by the way i did ask Mr Hough if he were prepared to send some pricing s for hulls etc to see if we could start selling them here and form a small club in Injune australia but as yet I have not heard back from him at all. He did however send me some info re the Huffy.
perhaps if he reads this is might jog his memory.
Armo :-))
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Iin person at our club sailing day on satur, i will remind him then for you, no problem.
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Thank you very much it would be appreciated.
I reckon 10 of these little beauties would sell well here and we could all have some fun.
We dont have aclub as such but I have a few fast electrics like the Sea Predator and the apparition and genisis. I also have a small Mini Hydro called the small bolt so the Huffys could fit into a category on their own which I think would be great and affordable here.
Just to remind him its
charles.armstrong2@bigpond.com
re Hulls and accessories like full kits if he has them makes it easier for us as our nearest hobby shops are online or Brisbane which is a 14 hour drive from here.
So if your club do have the full kits or enough stuff for me to make em up we could get something going here
Armo :-))
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Hello again from Queensland Australia and Geez its terrible hot here 35C at the moment and 0108 in the afternoon.
Was going to go to the Billabong to tryout the Sloopy after getting her all together again but too hot Im afraid.
Anyhow have found the good gear to make her go from an old thunder tiger Brushed motorbike I had, So I got a Good ESC , 2000 NIMH Battery and the Pistol grip 2 channel Radio got the Rudder welded together and now she is ready for the water.
(http://s7.postimage.org/uoj1vv2dz/Completed_The_new_Sloopy_or_Huffy_001.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/uoj1vv2dz/)
(http://s7.postimage.org/dun1hrd93/Completed_The_new_Sloopy_or_Huffy_002.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/dun1hrd93/)
(http://s7.postimage.org/j5170jc9j/Completed_The_new_Sloopy_or_Huffy_003.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/j5170jc9j/)
Anyhow here she is all re painted in Wild Red with the running gear all ready to go,only thing missing is Decals.
Anyone got any for sale over there and willing to post em here. I will pay of course.
So I think she is fully stock standard I dont know, but will see what happens in the water.
I have bath tub tested her and no leaks yet.
Armo
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Re the last Picture of the bottom of the Hull.
My fault was still wet when I was fiddlin so now a quick rub back and bit of undercoat and she will look as good as new with repaint.
Top of boat came out okay though, Just got to put in a black window methinks dont know yet???
Armo :-))
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Hi Armo, glad you got it together OK.
Just a few thoughts before you run her, firstly you need to strap the cells down well to stop them moving when she turns over ( it will turn over) otherwise the cells will fall onto the top & stop the self righting from working.
Secondly,you need to wrap the receiver up as some water will get into the hull, its also a good idea to stuff some paper towel into the 2 back corners of the hull to soak up any water that does get in & stop it slopping around inside.
Finally, if you find the boat 'wanders'in a straight line, you need to trim the leading edge off the rudder so it is flush with the rudder stem, being careful not to weaken the weld between rudder blade & post.
Good luck with the first run, these are great fun boats :-))
Glenn
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Hi Glenn and thanks again.
Ok i have the battery pack nice and secure with the velcro on battery and the hull. I had some good stuff which I had ordered from HK and yes will be putting receiver into balloon tks for the advice.
Will put some absorbant into the corners as you suggest also.
Ha I said it was hot before in my last post, now we are going through Thunder and Lightning amazing how quick weather can change but still very humid now.
Ok then will keep you informed when she has her run and Im looking forward to it.
I have a few brushless motors etc ah sort of lying around haha so we might look at that as well as changing the drive system to cope. One never knows,.
I have a small Mini Hydro called the Small Bolt you might have heard of it and boy I was surprised by just how quick that little boat is, So I can imagine what a Sloopy brushless outfit would do Hmmmm.
cheers
Armo
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One word of caution with running " over powered" motors in these small craft. we do have several of these running with brushless motors, but if the throttle is pushed too high, they simply "roll over" due to "torque twist", so dont be too worried if it does flip over when pushed too quickly, this is th reason why, but the boat simply rolls back over again and will resume play, no problem.
BUT, make sure you FULLY tape around the upper deck piece, to seal it from water ingress as much as possible, a dag of tape on both sides will not make it watertight, as members have found out.
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Ok greg will do Im going to check out just what I have here in the brushless motor size to go with the 1.3 Lipo 11.1V which with a 3/16th drive system should do the trick I think a bit of fiddlin will see what happens. I will run her as is for a while though until I put my thinking cap on.
Tks again
Armo
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Hi Glenn and thanks again.
Ok i have the battery pack nice and secure with the velcro on battery and the hull. I had some good stuff which I had ordered from HK and yes will be putting receiver into balloon tks for the advice.
Will put some absorbant into the corners as you suggest also.
Ha I said it was hot before in my last post, now we are going through Thunder and Lightning amazing how quick weather can change but still very humid now.
Ok then will keep you informed when she has her run and Im looking forward to it.
I have a few brushless motors etc ah sort of lying around haha so we might look at that as well as changing the drive system to cope. One never knows,.
I have a small Mini Hydro called the Small Bolt you might have heard of it and boy I was surprised by just how quick that little boat is, So I can imagine what a Sloopy brushless outfit would do Hmmmm.
cheers
Armo
Velcro isn't strong enough by itself, I used to run just Velcro and found out the hard way....you need to strap it down with an elastic/rubber band as well. The velcro stops the battery sliding back and forth, the band stops it falling off it's mount when upside down.
Regards
Scoop
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Okay Scoop
thanks again for the advice and it will be done no problems I will do that mod in the morning and keep that battery in place.
Cheers
armo :-))
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Just a quick one.
Been doing a bit of research re a brushless version of the Huffy from this end
Here is what I reckon would be a good performing boat.
Motor - 2040SL 4800KV Brushless Inrunner Water Cooled Designed and recommended by comments as a great ECO boat Motor very reliable and fast plus great value for the dollars designed for 2 - 3S
Specs
Kv (rpm/v) 4800
Weight (g) 77
Max Current (A) 0
Resistance (mh) 0
Max Voltage (V) 11
Power(W) 0
Shaft A (mm) 2
Length B (mm) 45
Diameter C (mm) 25
Can Length D (mm) 39
Total Length E (mm) 55
ESC
Birdie 50amp Water Cooled W/3amp BEC Just a no nonsense Speed controller that will do the job.
3/16th Running gear with Surface piercing prop set up.
Battery would be 11.1 Volt Lipo probably the 2200 size used in the 450 Heli set ups and bit smaller than say a Nimh 2000 pack
Prop Size 28mm to 31mm approx.
I will keep this boat shown as standard but if Mr Hough decides he will send some hulls and bits and pieces then this might be the go for an Unlimited class of the Huffy
I think she would be a real goer.
I have a broken small bolt Hydro and Im sure the surface running gear would work luverly on the Huffy.
What do you think, any further ideas
Armo :-))
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I have managed to make arrangements with the Sponser of our Clubs HUFFY Challenge race series, "Deaks Models" and he IS WILLING to act as official supplier of the huffy boat kist AND all the associated parts [motors/props/rudders/servos etc] needed to complete the build.
PLEASE appreciate that due to certain import restrictions" he MAY NOT be permitted to ship any glue/plastic weld in to your country, as some customs official may class the liquid as an explosive material!
I would hate for your parcel to be blown up simply because of a small bottle of plastic weld !
PLEASE CONTACT "MARK" at the following address:-
sales@deaksmodels.com
he is willing to supply to UK, Europe And International!
So if anyone else fancies one of these superb little self righting fun boats,heres you chance to get one for youself and freinds!
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FANTASTIC GREG,
Many thanks for helping all those interested in this class of boat.
Im sure in the future we in Injune Australia will be having a great time with them.
Perrhaps if word gets around we could even have State competitions like NSW gainst Queensland and the like.
A sort of Australian championship with a decent boat that people could afford without paying out the 300 - 400 and more for these fast electrics which I have been doing
many thanks again from one who appreciates your good work.
Armo :-))
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Will he be putting it on his website?
Ned
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gregk9 eny idea of the price for the full kit :-))
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I or our club [Chasewater Model boat Club] don't produce complete kits [as yet], but its our club Chairman Mark Hough who purchased the moulds from prestwich Models and it is "he" who is producing the mould kits, originally as a "club race boat" for all our members to use.
its cheap to produce, simple to build, not too big in size thats you cant get more than 3 out on the water at a time. We should be able to race at least 6 per event [depending on numbers of course]
PLus this little boat "self rights", so if it does get knocked on a turn round a buoy, it dont matter, it turns itself back over. UNLIKE the "club 500" which constantly needs someone out on/in the water to "rescue" upturned craft.
it is going to bring the FUN back in to boat racing we hope.
Deak's models who is sponsering our clubs racing is in the process of setting up "stock" of spares for this boat, so it will be initially "him" that will be able to provide "full kits", but to be honest, the bits needed to build dont amount to much anyway.
6 inch M4 propshaft.
35mm 2 blade prop [not X or S type]
540 motor [is standard] but goes and lasts so much better on a 600.
motor cooling coil
water pickup pipe and outlet [can be simply brass/copper pipe - bent to shape]
standard/universal "mini" rudder brass blade type
standard or mini rudder servo [ there is spare styrene supplied with the kit to make motor and servo mounts]
7.2 v nimh OR 7.4 v Lipo battery.
suitable capacity esc [depending on motor choice]
what could be simpler, as most of the above items most boat builders have tucked away in their spares boxes.
nothing in the build is really "type specific", its designed to be easy to build and EASIER to replace damaged or broken components without returning to the supplier for specialist bits.
If you build a standard one, try it out, I bet you will then order a second hull kist and build a "modified one", with a brushless motor, external mounted rudder and a semi surface prop, THEN watch it go like stink ! AND still retain its self righting skills, so you can always run the boat without the fear of it sinking. Although you may think the boat is a bit on the small side, we at our club have even let the prevailing breeze gently blow the boat to shoreline in the event of a power failure, so no, you're never stuck out in the middle of a stretch of water.
If you view our clubs website, there are quite a few different video clips of these "HUFFIES" on there for you to view, then you can decide if you want one or not.
Afterall, they are NOT going top break the bank are they. its not as if you've just spent over 300 quid on a sports boat and you can walk twice round the pool before your boat reaches the opposite shore.
http://chasewatermbc.blogspot.com/
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hey Greg and thanks for the specs re the Huffy
I have gone ahead and turned Sloopy into a brushless version or as you say Unlimited and have trialled the parts. Now I have to fill in the old holes and get her painted up into a nice gloss black.
I have found a person here who is willing to professinally do any decals I require so she will look good and perform great.
I have the surface piercing prop approx 32mm and offset Rudder to match. She is equipped with a 2604KV brushed motor and a 50amp esc and will be running on 11.1V llipo.
Now can you advise if I should use the 1.3 11.1 like they use in some helicopters for battery or I have the bigger and longer 2200 3S used for aircraft which is just a wee bit smaller than say a 6 cell NIMH.
can you advise me on the above ???? re batteriy size please if possible.
Armo :-))
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As you can appreciate, the huffy hullis not too big, so space and "weight" [more importantly] is at a premium.
It ia difficult to advise on battery size/capacity as its all dependent on the motor size and battery drain due to its length of time used on the water.
Its a difficult one to try and balance out. weight versus sailing time
if you put too much weight in, the hull will sit too low in the water and the semi surface piercing prop wont be able to do its stuff, plus if you try and balance the weight forward towards the nose, you can make the boat prone to diving like a sub given half a chance!
It may be better to keep it light and have to reluctantly swap batteries more often, but at least the boat will skip across the water like a scalded cat [ha ha].
if you go for bigger/heavier abttery to increase sailing time,, as said above, the slightest wave or even crossing over your own bow wash can put the nose in to the water and its "dive dive dive !"
But, release the throttle and within seconds its bobbing back up to the surface "right side up" again and ready for action, no harm done.
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Hello all and especially greg whom I thank greatly for help and information.
Here is a Sneaak preview of the new Sloopy Brushless Hull.
I have chosen the Black as It looks Develish and I want to little boat to go like the Devil fast.
You will see three pictures and I have ordered all 3 sets of Decals which have been especially designed for me in gold to match the Black.
So Looks like after all the negoations between Deaks and Me hough are finished we will be running 2 stock and One unlimited now called Huffy's.
I hope you all like them Im excited about the gear which will be going into the Unlimited version and expect her to fly. I will supply pictures of the finished product.
(http://s8.postimage.org/9vkmx8x1t/mail_Armos_Racing_1_2_and_3.jpg) (http://www.postimage.org/)
Armo :-))
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Many thanks for your comments, greatly appreciated.
Please keep in touch with us and let us all know how you get on with them.
Please use the clubs email address and send us some video clips over and i;ll put them on our clubs website for you too, no problem.
feel free to keep in contact, if any of our club members can assist you [even if I cannot], I'll always "put the word out" for you.
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HUFFY [Sloopy] Availability.
Mark [our club chairman] Who purchased the hull moulds from prestiwch Models has come to an agreement with Deaks Models, to whom he will supply the "hull kits" for "Retail sale".
Deaks Models will be our "OFFICIAL SUPPLIER" for them.
So now anyone wishing to opurchase one of these super fun boats WITH full SELF RIGHTING ability.:
www.deaksmodels.com
e.mail: sales@deaksmodels.com
mark can post/ship ALL hull kits AND any other spares , rudders, motors, propshafts, props, batteries, esc's, radio gear and servo's you may need to complete your very own HUFFY.
(http://s7.postimage.org/re5pn28dj/P1010801c.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/re5pn28dj/)
(http://s8.postimage.org/sjt4ktjtt/P1010657.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/sjt4ktjtt/)
(http://s7.postimage.org/mzfcz5xpj/DSCF1482.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/mzfcz5xpj/)
(http://s8.postimage.org/kguy9hz8h/P1010634c.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/kguy9hz8h/)
(http://s7.postimage.org/mreegszjb/P1010635.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/mreegszjb/)
(http://s8.postimage.org/c2jwz5nkx/P1010636.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/c2jwz5nkx/)
(http://s7.postimage.org/k1ng2kwdj/P1010637c.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/k1ng2kwdj/)
(http://s7.postimage.org/epcdtocmf/P1010633c.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/epcdtocmf/)
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Hi. Does anybody know if it's possible to buy Sloopy/Huffy hulls anywhere or even if they are available.
I have tried the link on this page to Deaks models but it does not work. Thanks in advance Simon