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[rockets]

When I first left school I worked at an auto and marine electrical and diesel shop. We used to use the old Lucas M35G inertia starter motors (inertia being the one that works by centrifugal force, pre engaged having a solenoid to throw the pinion out) to power go carts and all sorts of stuff.

My advice is get a M35G (inertia) and a M35J (Pre engaged) from the scrap yard. These starters were in just about every BL car from the 50's onwards. Then you swap the pre engaged coils into the inertia motor, as they are stronger coils and will last longer.

Cut the shaft down to accomodate whatever coupling you are using and provide it with a 12v battery switched through a decent set of contacts. Make sure that your battery is up to the job because nothing burns starters out quicker than batteries with loads of volt drop.

Bob will then surely be your auntie's live in lover. All this guff about it burning out in minutes is just that. I've seen them power go carts with proper fat knackers riding on them and they were just on simple belt and pulley drives. Moving a few kilos of boat through the water will be a piece of cake.
Obviously if you are not in a territory where Lucas starter motors are easily available then you could use a local alternative, such as Prestolite or Delco in the USA.

Incidentally some blower motors (MK2 Ford Escort, Scammell trucks, the list goes on) can be used too, they have a goodly amount of power if sensibly reduced through pulleys or gears. Yes I've seen them power go carts too. What fun we used to have as apprentices!

Rockets.

[phillnjack]

As for starter lasting a long time,  well take a look here. this is a lucas inertia m35G.


this is a inertia starter motor, on the shaft is a reel of 600 meters of twine that is used to pull a plastic carrier bag around a field.

Now that dont sound much does it. well the motor will be switched on and off every 2 seconds to keep average speed of around
2000 rpms = 35 to 40mph for a whippet to have a real good run chassing said carrier bag.

Now you can go on any site about lure machines (that is what this is) and ask about starter motors burning out.
you will find that if you use smaller spools and have to keep the motor running continuous for much more than a bout 2 minutes, the
starter motor gets a bit too hot to touch.
If running the lure on constant loop,ie keeping the twine going round and round the track, then your looking at
around  10 to 15 mins and the starter is completey shot to bits.

They get too hot and melt all the solder joints inside them, they are just not meant for any length of time running, thats why
all handbooks tell you to let the starter cool off between attempts to start the car.
Now the very same goes for all outboard marine starter motors and all truck starters, they were never designed for long term use,
just quick spurts of huge power.

Believe me even starters for 7 litre american cars  burn out on the lure machines if they run for any length of time


phill

[rockets]

That's an early M35 with the cover band. Get a later non cover band model which has a better armature, stick pre engaged coils in it (as I mentioned) and it will last a whole lot longer.

[phillnjack]

The point uis these are no good for model boats.
They would get far too hot if used for long periods slowed down.
Not many people will be needing to use these at 2,000 rpms continuously in a model boat.

It would be much better to use motors that are used to tilt truck cabs ,tail lifts, or even
winch motors rather than starters.
Now mobility scooters have real good motors that have bearing holding the shaft unlike starters that
only have bushes.

Starter motor shafts are not exactly a precision in the holing the shaft straight neaither, as the bushes are
not a real close tollerance, and the shaft on a starter does have a certain amount of wobble.

For model use and driving a shaft through a uj type coupling, we need something that is a close tollerance and
uses bearings to hold the shaft.

Now we could always redo all the bushes with bearing,rewind the starter itself and do a lot of other work to get it right.
But we still end up with a big lump of battery guzzling motor that is far inferior to what else is now around that
weighs considerably less and is easier to get hold of.


phill

[RRS01]

Thank You All for Your input!!!    I originally wanted an inexpensive (OK OK, cheap ) motor to power my ship incase the wind died down ... I hadn't even thought about a wiper or blower  motor    and, after seeing the error of my ways, I figure that's what I'll end up doing!  Luckily, I've got some time before I get to that point, as I'm still shaping the hull (almost done! HURRAY!!!)

THEN, on to the JOYS of planking        Still debating on whether to go with oak or mahogany 

[phillnjack]

Mahogany is a beautifull wood for boats
All the best ones had oak for the beams, and mahogany for the superstructure and hulls.
And if you can get honduras mahogany you realy do have the very best.

( you might have to cut up a piece of furniture to get the good stuff nowdays )


phill

[RRS01]

Mahogany is a beautifull wood for boats
All the best ones had oak for the beams, and mahogany for the superstructure and hulls.
And if you can get honduras mahogany you realy do have the very best.

( you might have to cut up a piece of furniture to get the good stuff nowdays )


phill

On a happy note, I might not have to cut up any furniture   I recently saw a TV add for a "hard wood flooring" warehouse, and am thinking about checking them out they might even have teak for the decks!

Wish me Luck!