As I had been concentrating on my four ways cargo ship and crane for some time, I decided to do a bit on the Sea Rover.
I had misplaced (lost😁) the servo, rudder and a few other parts.
I eventually found the box they were in and fitted the servo, rudder and speed control. The motor, coupling and propshaft were next, followed by a test of the rc. All working as it should, so a launch was planned with a friend,
I had to wait till my wife was finished using the car though....... and by that time it was too dark for boating........ Ah well.
Next day I booked the car and we went to launch Sea Rover.
I tried it on 7.4v and 11.1v, the latter causing the speed controller to heat up quite considerably, so once it had cooled, I used the 7.4v, which is plenty. Steering was very good, maybe a bit fierce at speed, I might try exponential on my transmitter to try and tame it a bit.
I will add a cooling fan to the esc and see if that keeps it cool. If not, I may have to use a higher amp speed control. It was supplied with the motor, which got just above lukewarm during my testing. I might have too big a prop on, but the motor isnt overheating, so I suspect the esc isnt rated high enough?
Anyway, very pleased with performance, its pretty nippy, a good bit faster than realistic scale speed, but fun.
It can cruise about very quietly at a more sedate pace, the steering is nice at these speeds, capable of turning quite tightly which is very handy as the river we use is fairly narrow with lots of rocks poking up, and a good few just below the surface that must be avoided.
I still have a fair bit to do before Sea Rover is finished but that can be done when I get time, no rush.
I decided the floor of the rear well needed planked so out with the coffee stirrers again and an hour or so had the floor looking not bad at all, definately better than bare ply, but not as uniform as buying strip wood for this purpose, ah well, it is supposed to be a budget build.
Sea Rover is a lovely looking little boat that has the feel of a bigger boat. I really enjoyed the build, and its not finished yet. I did notice during my test that the wake is very clean looking.
I dont know how far I will go with detailing, I would like to add some cleats on the deck, these may have to be made. I am going to fit my lifebelts at some point too, after I figure out the details of fitting my mast and fit it. This will allow me to complete the varnishing, I didnt varnish the area where this is going as I knew I still have to finish the mast first. It isnt esssntial, but I think it looks good.
Lots of varnishing to do on the cabin liners/walls and also all of the well deck/rear hatch. I have a wrist injury just now which is limiting what I can manage,so progress may be slowed for a while.
My friend's one hasnt seen much progress recently, it may be a winter launch for his! 😁