Hi, first post, absolute beginner, all comments welcome.
I have bought the Runabout ready-built and am very pleased with it overall.
Have been enjoying adding finishing details and seeing it on the water, but have a couple of queries.
There is a slight leakage through the propshaft (standard Dumas fit, well packed with Molykote 111 silicone grease) about 2 dessertspoons after 40 min running, mostly slow cruising, I put a tampon in the bilge and that soaks it up very well.
I have fitted an ESS One sound module, which is great at low speed, but at higher speed the electric motor is quite loud and detracts from the effect.
There is a guy at the club who has a boat about 2/3 the size of mine with a Darke Horse motor and it is amazingly quiet, I noticed that his connector is alloy and rubber, mine is the red plastic variety, and wondered if that might contribute to the low sound volume.
I changed the Dumas prop for a 40mm Graupner 2 blade and noticed an improvement in speed and planing but it still sits little low at the stern and "nose up"
Saw a video of a similar boat with a brushless motor, which ran extremely well but howled like a demented banshee, definitely do not want that!
Boat runs on 2 5000 lips and has a fan-cooled esc, after 40 min mixed running, mostly slow cruising with stops the motor is warm to the touch, batteries, esc and sound module slightly above ambient and voltage at 12v or just under.
So, all in all a well behaved boat that looks and sounds great except for a rather coarse motor sound at speed.
I would prefer to avoid drilling holes in the hull for cooling if possible.
Not looking to spend money for the sake of it but would be prepared pay significantly more than the cost of the MFA motor if it brought a noticeable improvement in performance, but most importantly, a smoother, more pleasing motor sound.
Thank you.