Anyone into R/C boats

[DerbyDan]

I've rather always fancied an R/C boat... for nothing more than a bit of relaxing fun.....

Anyway on scouring ebay for my usual searches I spotted & subsquently have scored this Kyosho 'speedboat' for not too much ££s



Thing is I believe that the control for the motor is essentially an on-off switch, my question for all those boat experts is whether I could simply fit one of the car ESCs that I have to give proportion to the throttle?

I've seen lots boat specific 'watercooled' motors & speed controllers which are obviously required since the lack of airflow within a water-tight compartment causes the electrics to get hot... but i'm guessing this is more for when you fit faster motors??

[Coelacanth]

Back in the days of my Frog, I built an RC boat for my father. By today's standards it would've been quite primitive. Like you, I've been toying with the idea of building one for myself, there are a couple small lakes near where I live that would be fun to tear up with a boat like the one you got. It's just not in the budget right now, but one of these days...

I'm looking forward to reading the answers to your questions, that will come in handy for me, too.

[bearrickster]

I love the Boats I have about 10 of them I have been collecting parts for years. I need to put my vintage Dumas Hotshot 21 back together. it was my Very first RC anything. I sold it twice and it found its way back to me so I will keep it forever now. its all taken apart right now refiberglassing it and I am going to give it a proper paint job. it has a K&B 3.5 outboard witha tuned pipe. its wild looking.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Is it a 380 or 540 size motor? I only ask because the boat looks like one of the smaller models. Any esc and motor should work. Heat could be an issue and water cooling is always better, but if you just use a 7.2v battery I think you'll get by without it.

Of course all this is from a guy who has never owned a boat.

[DerbyDan]

Is it a 380 or 540 size motor? I only ask because the boat looks like one of the smaller models. Any esc and motor should work. Heat could be an issue and water cooling is always better, but if you just use a 7.2v battery I think you'll get by without it.

Of course all this is from a guy who has never owned a boat.

Ha-ha.... as a non-owner of an R/C boat before (I haven't actually recieved this one yet) I think my 'educated guess' would have come to the same conclusion. I'm guessing from the picture that the boat is roughly 2' long - the motor appears to be a 540?



Having just had a quick scan through whats available, it seems that one of Mtroniks ESCs from their 'Marine' range (water resistant) would be ideal as a basic upgrade... & I have a couple of 'mild' motors that could be used to 'pep' up performance.

Would love to see pictures of other people's 'launches' (is that the correct term?) and a brief description of the specs

[Dirtdiver]

Some of the best brushed rc boat esc's (if not the best) were made by Andy Montana. He manufactured a line of brushed speed controls under the name RC Hydros. They were waterproof and very dependable. He had excellent customer service and was always willing to help. He stopped making esc's when brushless took over but you still might be able to find a used one or NOS.

here is his link
http://www.montanadesign.com/rc-hydros.com/

[civilguy]

We had a Swamp Buggy (Dumas?) back in the 80s. I just took this in partial trade this past summer, Kyosho Fairwinds II circa 1993. I threw in a rx pack and reassembled it (had been packed in the original box since 2000 or so) and it went great! Not as fast or loud as the Swamp Buggy.

[Momo5]

I've been thinking about getting a boat for next summer. I've been eyeing an Aquacraft Supervee brushless for a while now. Does anyone have any personal feedback on this one?

[klavy69]

Thing is I believe that the control for the motor is essentially an on-off switch, my question for all those boat experts is whether I could simply fit one of the car ESCs that I have to give proportion to the throttle?

I've seen lots boat specific 'watercooled' motors & speed controllers which are obviously required since the lack of airflow within a water-tight compartment causes the electrics to get hot... but i'm guessing this is more for when you fit faster motors??

I've got a cheap gp marine waverocket v-hull boat approx. the same size as yours and its not watercooled. Its got a marine waverocket esc that gets very hot. I switched in a waterproof vxl brushless system one day for fun and it rocked but didn't take long to overheat it. I picked up a traxxas xl10 marine esc to put into it but just never did so it just sits there now . The original went back into it and it runs just fine. You might get lucky with yours too. I'll use this boat as my retrieval boat if I ever get it wet again I guess .

I've been thinking about getting a boat for next summer. I've been eyeing an Aquacraft Supervee brushless for a while now. Does anyone have any personal feedback on this one?

Momo5,
I was eyeballing that one at the lhs til someone bought it away from me so I ended up picking up a used Aquacraft UL-1 Superior. I haven't had a chance to run it yet but I seen the original owner run it. Was extremely fast and agile for a boat. Seemed to turn like it was on a rail. I was told because it was a tunnel hull boat but don't know from my own experience yet. Its ESC is rated for up to a pair of 6 cell lipos but don't know why anyone would want to do that when a pair of 2 cell 3200 lipos were faster than it needed. The deep v you are talking about that I seen at the lhs ran at the local marina and hit a boat motor sticking out the back of a pontoon boat and sank in about 18 feet of water on its maiden voyage . Running a heavy nimh battery without any extra flotation I guess isn't a good idea

[proffesso]

im a boater, old schooler too, electric mostly, but some nitro too

im still involved to a degree, but no lakes around here..so its kind of pointless, but you never know

ive managed to find myself a graupner systems cat, and jetstream 800, both NIB

here is an old school video of my grandfathers boats (he used to produce hulls and running gear) ...he doesnt have any of them anymore, including the molds so ive had to resort to ebay to slowly pick them up again

http://vimeo.com/22120569

[Lowgear]

I've had a number of boats over the years. The culmination was when I decided I wanted to build a large scale gas powered one. It ended up being a bad idea as I just had to buy the best of everything, and was too particular about its construction. That was coupled to the fact that Theres really no place around here to run it anyway. After spending around $1,300 on the project and not being close to completion I came to my senses and sold everything off.

Right now the only thing boat related I have is another gas boat hull. From what I was told its an Intimidator hull made by a company called Renegade. Its a catamaran thats pretty spaceship looking. I was going to sell it this summer but its buried, and I just never got around to it like most things it seems like.

[GJW]

yeah dan, i have an old jetstream and graupner eurostar, the later has so much torque it's leaps out of the water. spotted an old tekin water cooled esc case on ebay a few week ago that could be cool for your boat. how old is it?

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

I have the opposite problem of a lot of people. I have a pretty large lake right outside my back door, but just no desire to own a boat. A tugboat or sailboat would be kinda fun I guess. Maybe one of these days. Old pics, but the only ones I have on my work computer. Lakes don't change much anyway...



You can see my neighbor's dog, Stretch in the foreground. He likes to hang out with me.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

One thing you could do is squeeze one of these in there. It appears it would fit pretty easily with that type of motor mount and would pull that thing right up out of the water in a hurry! These motors are super durable and last forever too so heat wouldn't be much of an issue with it. Cheap too!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Traxxas-Titan-550-Motor-12T-Stampede-Rustler-Slash-/380355951814?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item588efb3cc6

[DerbyDan]

Theytookmythumb - Looks like you live within some lovely surroundings, I think it would be a crime not to get a boat at some point.

Civilguy - that sail boat looks really nice... I really like the idea of one of those - must be really relaxing guiding it up & down the lake/pond

Judging by the radio gear - I reckon the boat must be from the mid/late 80s - not sure i'd want to run a 'marine' speedo of the same vintage, somehow imagine any waterproof properties that it might have, would now be compromised?

I might try one of the Mtroniks ESCs & see how it goes, I've spotted on the net someones attempt at watercooling the motor in one of these boats... so I might try that too if the motor is getting particulaly hot?

P.S; Nice to hear other people's boating experiences