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Author Topic: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)  (Read 9280 times)

Dreadstar

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RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« on: January 28, 2010, 01:50:52 pm »

I've just bought one of those nice little clearance twin motor powerboats from ebay,with the intention of tweaking it up like several of you have already done with the Dickie tugs. I was originally going to buy one of the Century powerboats,but it wasn't going to be easy to set up a decent rudder system into it. Instead I've gone for the Cig style boat,onto which I can graft a transom rudder assy. The electronics will be stripped out and replaced with an esc,receiver(probably a 2.4G),and a servo,an Acoms AS-17 should suffice,as unlike cars,most boat rudders don't require a lot of torque. I made the mistake in the past,of installing an ACE 1015 servo into a boat for steering duties,and tore the arm off the rudder post,I won't be doing that again. None of my boats,to date anyway,have the need for fast transit servo's,or the need for torques in excess of 14kg's,unlike my 1/8th nitro buggies or truggies.

 I'll keep you notified of the rebuild when things start to appear. :-))

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Martin (Admin)

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2010, 02:03:12 pm »

Cheapo boat from fleabay... my kinda man!  :-))
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2010, 02:08:44 pm »

Well,at just 20.00 +p&p,what did you expect? O0  I've also picked up a nice little mini vee,that I'm in the process of doing up,( photo's later). :-))
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tigertiger

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2010, 02:14:45 pm »

I've seen cheapo RTRs like this go really well with just one simple mod. Higher voltage battery. :-))
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essex2visuvesi

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2010, 06:32:18 pm »

I have some 7.4V 4200 MAH li pos that I bought that fit just nicely in the space where the "racing pack" nicad fits
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2010, 06:39:22 pm »

Well,the speedboat arrived this morning,but it didn't stay in it's original form for long.With a little bit of trial and error,I've got it running ok,but I still need to find a way of positioning the battery,as the original position is now taken up by the servo and ESC. I'm not sure if the rudder is going to be big enough though,but trials will soon tell me. :-))
 One thing I just realised with this ESC,are it's load currents:- Stall-170A, Peak-70A, Continuous-35A,Turns<=13T. There should be no problems with using this ESC in the boat. ;)



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Martin (Admin)

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2010, 06:56:57 pm »


Are there noise suppressors on the motors?
 With the ESC and receiver so close to the motors, make sure you do a range check before launch!
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john54

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #7 on: January 29, 2010, 08:45:05 pm »

Motors might need cooling aswell  & watch the conections the more amps the more heat ! All in all a bit of a mind field  :((  All good  fun  :-))
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john54

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2010, 06:45:44 am »

Sorry MINE field  :embarrassed:
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tigertiger

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2010, 07:29:21 am »

I thought 'mind field', although as slip, still fits the purpose  :-))
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2010, 07:29:56 am »

That would be true,if I was intending to upgrade the motors or props,but as I intend to do neither,then water cooling shouldn't be required. Considering that I come from a car racing background,the proximity of either the ESC or the receiver to the motors shouldn't be a problem. The receiver is further away from the motors than you can possibly get in a car,so that side of things should be ok. The only real difference here is that I'm using a larger capacity battery,but not an increased voltage type. :-) If I can set up an 1/18th scale car to run without interference,then a boat this size won't be a problem,especially when you consider that each motor already has two suppressor capacitors fitted as standard. :-))
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omra85

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #11 on: January 30, 2010, 08:01:43 pm »


,if I was intending to upgrade the motors or props,but as I intend to do neither,then water cooling shouldn't be required.


Yea, right! An ex car racer wouldn't possible be looking for more speed....   %) %)
Have fun, it looks a nice boat, especially for that price!
Should keep you entertained for .............. a half hour easily  ;)

So - this water cooling that you're NOT going to need .....  :-X

Cheers
Danny (your VR sailing Nemesis)
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #12 on: January 30, 2010, 09:47:02 pm »

Probably the only further upgrade that this little boat will get,is a bigger rudder,assuming that the response from the current one turns out to be poor.This was only intended to be a cheap little runabout,not a money pit,so it won't be getting a brushless system fitted.  :(( Speed is for the young,and I'm quite happy now just racing the wee Mardaves at about 20-25mph.I no longer race my nitro's,which do around 40-45mph,that's why I changed over to boats,to get away from the petrolhead mentallity of speed at all costs. I like my Neptune for the very simple reason,that it's slow. If this converted RTR runs at a decent pace,then I'll be very happy. :-))
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omra85

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #13 on: January 30, 2010, 10:45:20 pm »

Ah David, fed up with competing against 18 yr olds brought up on Playstations. Don't blame you a bit.
I still race (offshore 'models' at the moment) but only because I don't know any different ... (WoW - first race 1974 - you were but a lad!)  <:( <:(
Might join you - it's a more realistic philosophy for the more 'laid back' approach to life  ;)
Cheers
Danny
( in joke) - Where's Michael Fish when you need him?  ;) {-) {-) {-)
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #14 on: January 31, 2010, 10:09:09 am »

Ah,that famous sage of weather wisdom..................................................................not. %% He is the only weather watcher to be able to forecast heavy snow,and get a heatwave instead {-)
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #15 on: January 31, 2010, 11:51:35 pm »

Well,I tried her out today,and all I can say is.......the darned rudder's too small. However,when you can get a straight run,she's fast enough for what I'm wanting. I've plated over the existing rudder to make it both wider and deeper,which should hopefully help. Watch the short vid,and you'll see what i mean. {:-{

http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/xuihpilli/?action=view&current=DSCN1376.flv
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omra85

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #16 on: February 01, 2010, 09:50:18 am »

It does seem to have a liking for large rocks...  {-)
Have you got the maximum throw on the tiller (up to 45 deg each way)?
See how your 'extension' works.
Cute little thing ...... aaaaaaw  :-))

Danny
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #17 on: February 01, 2010, 11:28:28 am »

Yes,I am getting approx 45 deg throw to either side Danny. Here's a photo of the new rudder,that can be compared to the old one. :-)





Hopefully,this will give her a bit more bite in the turns,as I think the original one was just too small in surface area,hence the huge turning circle. {:-{

By the way,I've overtaken you in the Jules Verne trophy again  :-)) O0 O0 O0
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omra85

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #18 on: February 01, 2010, 01:27:48 pm »


By the way,I've overtaken you in the Jules Verne trophy again  :-)) O0 O0 O0


"again" would infer that, at some point I re-took you - again .....  {-) {-) {-)
Keep up the good work, only another 30 odd days to go!

Ready for the BIG one - leg 6 of the Clipper race? I think we'll have to start a new thread for it.
I'm having great fun (well Gina is ..  %) ) winding up the guys on the VR forum! 

BTW if you haven't noticed, I think I'm ahead of you in the Paris Buenos - Dakar ...   ;D

Cheers
Danny
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #19 on: February 14, 2010, 05:12:13 pm »

We've finally got some water back into our pond,(yippee),so I tried out the boat today,and the modified rudder works a treat. On 3700mAh packs,I'm getting around 15-20 mins runtime,even on full throttle,so I'm extremely happy with that. She runs well in excess of walking pace,and even at a jog,you're hard pushed to keep up with it,so as far as I'm concerned,there's no need to change the motors in her.
  The only real downside to the boat,is that there's no reverse,not that my ESC doesn't supply it,but rather that the props are one-way only,and can't move the boat backwards.They make great brakes though. I forgot to take my camera with me today though,so no vids unfortunately,but I'll get some during the week.
  All in all,I'm very pleased with the performance of this modified RTR. :-))
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andyn

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #20 on: February 14, 2010, 05:47:25 pm »

I was given one of these things, it got that sinking feeling, by accident I had left the tx in it too, but the batteries were in my pocket. The large hole in the bottom didn't help either...

 {-) :}
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #21 on: February 18, 2010, 03:41:19 pm »

Now that the pond has been refilled,I took the opportunity to nip down this afternoon for a wee run about. The only real problem today,were the sheer number of feathers on the pond,which is why the video stops so quickly.I'd picked one up on one of props.Anyway,here's the vid.

http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/xuihpilli/?action=view&current=DSCN1393.flv
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omra85

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #22 on: February 18, 2010, 06:29:44 pm »

Very nice.  Either a quiet afternoon or it's a noisy little so and so  ;)
Danny
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Dreadstar

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #23 on: February 18, 2010, 06:45:37 pm »

Actually a bit of both Danny. ok2
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pompebled

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Re: RTR speedboat(el cheapo)
« Reply #24 on: February 20, 2010, 04:20:17 pm »

That's a lot of noise for so little speed...

I'm sure with a better set-up (not necessarily new stuff) there's more speed possible, the props seem very inefficient, either in shape, os in position.

Regards, Jan.
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